As an historian. . .

Rating: Null/10 (21 May 2000)

As an historian I can't resist commenting on the movie. I teach a course on Roman history and frankly. . .I LOVED IT! Granted, as in all films, they run right over most of the historic details (such as Commodus ruled for 12 years and did not die in the arena but instead was strangled by a wrestler) but what the heck, it was other things I was looking for. I've visited Rome several times and was stunned to see the relatively good accuracy of recreating the arena, especially the details such as the awnings. One of my students who traveled to Rome with me was by my side at the movie, and when the scene first shifts to the arena we were on the edge of our seats, noting the details and were thrilled, pointing out where we had stood. Nor did Scott go 50s Hollywood with thousands of gladiators fighting it out at once, the games were terribly expensive and even in Rome a fight with fifteen or twenty on a side was a big show, except of course for the famed dedication of a water works project during the reign of Cladius were supposedly five thousand fought in one day in a fake naval battle.
If you want to catch a sense of what Rome really looked like, the sense of the power of the cult of gladiatorial combat, and visually what a Roman army looked like (though not quite fought like) this film will do it. And, as well, if you want to get a bit of a creepy sense that you too might have been seduced by the power of the games, as the character of Oliver Reed so beautifully explains, then definitely see this film.
The battle sequence at the start was stunning and incredibly well acted, though I still wait for the day when the moment of contact between the opposing sides is done correctly, with mass formations, shields overlapping, piliums (heavy Roman javelins) flying. But yet again, what the heck, it was pretty darn close!
I hope Gladiator sets a new trend towards films set in other historic periods and with it the effort to recreate the look of that time. I know that a lot of my more stuffy peers will sniff, whine about details etc. but when you are trying to motivate a 100 level freshman survey class, this film will spark the interest and get the questions flowing, which can then be directed into "real" history.
One question though and I hope someone responses. Was it me or did I hear the battle chant from the movie Zulu? Zulu is one of my favorites and I could swear that twice I heard the banging of the shields and battle chant at the very start of the movie when the Germans attacked. Let me know, its been bothering me.
Enjoy the film