Product: Gladiator [VHS] (2000)
Rating: 5.0
"What you do in life, echoes in eternity."
Gladiator is my first ever DVD, and I can't think of a better way to start "DVDing". The soundtrack happens to be also my favorite CD, with memorable songs that complement perfectly the feel of the movie. The movie starts off in 180 A.D., in the finale of the wars in Germania. Russell Crowe is Maximus, the legendary General who wins the war for Rome and its caesar, Marcus Aurelius. Aurelius is old and has to choose a heir to the throne; but, instead of choosing his own son Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix in an excellent performance) he decides to elect Maximus as his succesor. This isn't seen well, obviously, by Commodus, who kills his father before he's made his decision public (Maximus had made it clear that he would refuse, anyway) and proclaimes himself new Emperor of Rome. Maximus doesn't support this new Imperator, and Commodus orders him and his family to be killed. The attempt on Maximus fails (else we wouldn't have a story), but his family's killed, and he vows revenge. After burying his wife and son, he's so beaten that a group of slave traders easily captures him, converting him subsequently into a gladiator. His combat skills are so good, he soon becomes a superstar among gladiators and is sent back to Rome, to fight in the Coloseum. He's in Rome, so is the Emperor...you can imagine what comes next. Although the movie's a little too novelesque at times, its all done so well that you can't do anything but like this movie. The bonus features of this DVD will entertain you on their own, even without the movie itself. All in all, its a great buy.