As resplendently near perfect as you'd expect it to be; Gladiator resurrects the Roman Epic from cinema oblivion

Rating: 9/10 (30 August 2005)

Ridley Scott's Oscar winning 'Gladiator' (2000) effectively resurrects the Roman epic from oblivion and to thunderous effect. The film stars resident Aussie heartthrob, Russell Crowe as Maximus, a loyal General to the Emperor Marcus Aurelius (the late and very great Richard Harris). After a victorious campaign in Germania, Marcus decides that Maximus will succeed him on the throne; a move that does not bode well with the Emperor's only son and legitimate heir, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix). Determined to secure his birthright, Commodus murders his father before he has a chance to tell Maximus of his placement, and shortly thereafter frames Maximus for that murder. And although Commodus' sister  and sometimes incestuous playmate, Lucilla (Connie Nielson) is both enamored and loyal to her father and Maximus there is little she can do but acquiesce to Commodus' sycophantic desire to be loved, in order to keep his psychotic wrath at bay.
Escaping certain death, Maximus returns home to discover that his wife and young son have been slaughtered under Commodus' authority. From here on, the story develops magnificently along the lines of a revenge tragedy, sumptuously fleshed out by a series of stunning digital visual effects. And although this reviewer has never been a fan of digital manipulation in cinema (for most of it betrays total integration with elements of the story), for once at least the thought-numbing grandeur of ancient Rome seems to have been the perfect compliment to the prowess of technical wizardry. The screen is filled with gorgeous, mesmerizing  and for the most part  realistic renderings of the coliseum and senate, the byways and winding streets of ancient Rome, and the reinvented rustic countryside and battlefields peppered with barbarism. Derek Jacobi, David Schofield and the late Oliver Reed, round out the cast with superb character performances.
The screenplay by David Franzoni, John Logan and William Nicholson keeps every plot entanglement sharp and moving in a linear fashion, culminating in a series of climactic battles that ultimately ensure a showdown between Commodus and Maximus and seal their fates. If one complaint may be levied at the production, it's at its sometimes heavy handed use of camera panning and film editing that generally makes a rabid coleslaw of the action sequences  never once allowing the viewer to rest on an image but instead having to endure a barrage of snippets wielded as though under the disguise of being visually paint-balled. On occasion these sequences grow more tiresome than thrilling  a quality tempered by the rest of the movies attention to detail and formidable direction. Ridley Scott, long overdue for the Oscar as Best Director, was again overlooked for the honors on this occasion  a genuine shame. Though, at least in this reviewer's mind, nothing will ever rival the titanic and emotional swell of William Wyler's Ben-Hur (1959), Gladiator is a close second on both accounts; a vivid, powerful and ultimately satisfying bit of escapism that should continue to thrill as long as there are fans of the sword and sandal quickie.
Gladiator has been re-released in a handsome three disc set from Dreamworks. This set includes both the theatrical cut and a newly assembled director's vision for the film that is 17 minutes longer. In both cases Dreamworks has gone back to the drawing board and remastered the image  removing much of the heavy and distracting edge enhancement that accompanied its first release on DVD nearly four years ago. Though digital images still tend to appear a tad harsher, or more finely defined than the rest of the image  thereby betraying the fact that they are more blue screen than actual set design, the muddy color scheme that plagued the original DVD have been greatly corrected on this reissue. Fine detail is superbly rendered. Contrast and shadow levels are perfectly realized. The stylized look of the film is more finely rendered this time around. Truly, there is nothing about the image to dissuade one from indulging in the splendor of this epic storytelling. The audio is 5.1 and appears to be the same audio mix as the previously issued DVD. It's sonically bombastic and a great compliment to the image.
Extras on this occasion include all of the previously issued material  some slightly fleshed out with added material that ably fleshes out the production from start to finish. There's also a new audio commentary and intro to the extended edition from Ridley Scott, a trivia track and snippets of Russell Crowe speaking on his participation in the film. On disc 2 there are seven featurettes  which cumulatively add up to one 3hr and 20 min. documentary on the making of the film. Disc 3 includes a visual effects reel and insight into several abandoned sequences, as well as trailers, television spots and previews.