"Gladiator" couldn't come close

Rating: 10/10 (27 October 2001)

I loved it. It's sad, yet affirming. The music is a kind you don't hear in films anymore, with sweet strings and quiet tones. The acting is credible and convincing. And there's a story. Russell Crowe sweating and grunting isn't drama. Kirk Douglas telling a man he has to kill that he loves him like a son, and making you weep as he does it... _That's_ drama.
The whole thing is fine, even the one slave-turned-soldier who apparently was captured in Brooklyn (judging from his accent). Peter Ustinov does the cowardly hero to perfection. Charles Laughton makes intrigue interesting. And Olivier is evil. It doesn't get any better.