Genre revisited but (hopefully) not revived

Rating: Null/10 (14 May 2000)

When I first started going to the cinema some 40 years ago, the sword-and-sandal saga was a staple part of the repertoire. Many of the films came from Italy and starred the ubiquitous former Mr Universe Steve Reeves who ironically died a few days before the opening in Britain of `Gladiator'. Easily the best of these epics was `Spartacus' (1960), but I had thought this type of film long dead before the talented and resourceful Ridley Scott  director of such magnificent work as `Alien', `Blade Runner' and `Thelma And Louise'  decided to revisit (but surely not revive) the genre. The plotting and values of `Gladiator' are decidedly old-fashioned, but the skill and technology deployed to bring it to the screen are state-of-the-art.
The basic storyline is thoroughly familiar to anyone who has seen `The Fall Of The Roman Empire' (1964): following the death of the philosopher-emperor Marcus Aurelius in AD 180, a noble soldier seeks to restore the glory that was Rome in the face of the corruption and brutality fostered by the new, young emperor Commodus. But, whereas `Fall' was very slow and stilted, from the opening battle scene in Germania to the closing combat in the Colosseum, `Gladiator' is simply thrilling. Above all, this is a tribute to Scott who is a consummate film-maker: the photography, the cutting, the sound, the music are all brilliant. Having twice visited the ruins of the Colosseum, I had wondered what it looked like originally and know I believe I know as a result of Scott's computer-generated recreation of the mighty edifice and its visceral exhibition of violence.
Yet the director is well-served by his stable of actors. New Zealander Russell Crow, who first came to the fore in `L.A. Confidential', is inspiring as Maximus, a hero as honourable and laconic as he is brave and resourceful. Plato would have been proud of him, since he believed that the only man fit to rule was one who did not want to do so. Joaquin Phoenix has a deeply unsympathetic role as Commodus but brings immense depth to the evil part. Among the other performers are an unusually venerable Richard Harris as Marcus Aurelius, Derek Jacobi who was so magnificent in the British television series `I, Claudius', and Oliver Reed who drank himself to death during the filming in Malta.