Product: Gladiator [VHS] (2000)
Rating: 5.0
Well worth it! A true Oscar winner!
I was reluctant to watch this movie but when my family insisted on the tape they knew my love for classics would draw me to the screen. The movie takes place just before the death of Marcus Aurelius - Caesar who died in 180 AD. Thereafter, the films takes place over a twelve year period during the reign of the Roman Emperor Commodus. While the film takes artistic license with Crowes Character - purely for entertainment purposes (which a movie should be - fun) there are interesting historical refernces to the barbarian tribes to the North/Northeast of the Roman Empire who were defeated (mostly yes by fire) and the sheer ingenuity of the Roman army. The Crowe character finds himself torn between a promise to return Rome to a Republic and the vicious Emperor who of course want's to maintain the rule of the Caesar's. Crowes character is written with heroic proportion and survives years of sufffering and near death episodes before being returned to Rome. Why no one ages in the film especially the Emperor's nephew Lucious is anyone's guess. However, the entertaining fight of good versus evil is well worth the price of the film. It was a real treat to see Derek Jacobi of "I Claudius" in the film, as well as marvelous performances all around.