Product: Gladiator [VHS] (2000)
Rating: 5.0
Sound, Music and Other Thoughts
I loved everything about the movie - but I will mention a few highlights that I found truly enjoyable.I loved the acting in the movie - Joaquin Phoenix puts on a show and is extremely convincing even when the plot gets unreasonably melodramatic at the end. And Connie Nielsen as the frightened mother and sister embroiled in palace intrigue is unforgettable. Ofcourse, Russell Crowe deserves every accolade heaped on him.What impressed me most about the DVD (and movie) was the soundtrack. From the opening sequence to the last, the music was simply mesmerising. Note how the music shifts moods and genre in keeping with the sequences playing out on the screen. Watching the hour-long special on the music and its composer on the accompanying second disc is a must.The quality of sound was amazing - I could have sworn I heard a horse neighing in my front-yard as Aurelius was conversing with Maximus in his tent after the battle!!The little touches to the script, to portray reality 2000 years ago, are admirable. The sewage issues being discussed in the Senate, the bloodthirstiness of the crowds at the Colisseum, the adoration for the gladiators, were all deftly portrayed without ever getting to be a heavy dose in history.Finally, the movie makes one realise why Rome was the greatest civilisation in Europe (inspite of its culture of arena violence and its deviation from the original political ideal that Maximus fights to restore) when the rest of the continent was dark and sinister.