Product: Gladiator [VHS] (2000)
Rating: 5.0
Gladiator, Directed by Ridley Scott
Few movies come along during our lives that make us stop in our tracks and take notice. The star-loaded action movies always grab attention but that is to be expected. Gladiator doesn't fall into that genre. Ridley Scott's epic of Roman General, Maximus (played by Russel Crowe) is a movie that commands attention. From the intricately detailed by battle sequences at the beginning to the monstrous recreation of Rome (albeit computer enhanced), Gladiator is every bit as good as the critics and media have praised it to be.Since buying the DVD version shortly after Christmas, having seing it when it first came out in theaters in May, I've only enhanced my appreciation for it. As it says on the case " The General who became a slave. The Slave who became a gladiator. The Gladiator who defied an emperor." That is really all of the story that you need to know if you have not seen this film. To give any more away spoils the movie.On the musical side, Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard composed a score that is as moving as it is dramatic. Nearly of the score coincides directly with key points in the film and add just that extra touch to the scene. I don't think there has been a score quite to match it in the last few years.Comparisions with Braveheart and other movies like it are evident but this film stands on it's own. Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix (as Commodus) and Scott give their all in the movie of the year for 2000. Anyone who hasn't yet seen Gladiator owes it to themselves to purchase it. You won't regret it.