Product: Gladiator [VHS] (2000)
Rating: 5.0
No VHS Sale of Gladiator Betrays Its Own Values
To be honest I was shocked and then disturbed when I read that the critically acclaimed Gladiator would be for sale on VHS for $111 dollars. Don't get me wrong. DVD is the newest trend in movie technology, and I support its amazingly low price for two very valuable discs. However, most of us can't afford DVD, let alone the cost of a full-priced movie. I paid full-price for Gladiator when it first was released because I was so impressed with the trailer. I continued watching the movie, though, at the dollar theaters because seven times seven dollars would equal a smaller checking account. Besides, one of Gladiator's themes is that everyone deserves fairness and dignity, whether slave or free, white or black, man or woman. The enormous video price for this film insults this value, allowing the few to enjoy this film just in time for Christmas. We can do better than this; Maximus died for a nobler cause than movie sales. This is a film which needs to be enjoyed by everyone, on both VHS and DVD.