Product: Gladiator [VHS] (2000)
Rating: 5.0
great movie...notwithstanding the violence
**NOTE: There is a deleted scene in the DVD extras of Maximus witnessing Christians being fed to the lions in the Colosseum--something which historically occurred under the reign of emperor Marcus Aurelius (as well as numerous other emperors). As shown in the scene, the Christians would kneel down to pray and sing psalms while awaiting their slaughter. Go to google and type in "The Christian Martyr's Last Prayer" to see an accurate painting of this, with the priest intoning the psalms surrounded by Christians in prayer. The visionary Maria Valtorta also described these events in unrelenting detail.***I remember first watching this movie in the theaters, and in the final scene, a man in the audience stands up, begins cursing, and storms out of the theater. It was then that I realized how affective this movie can be; for the good and the bad alike. Those who deny the afterlife will likely feel uneasy watching it. And those who believe in the afterlife will likewise feel uneasy, watching the destruction of a soul.What is most striking about this movie, is how good and evil are seemingly enfleshed into the two main characters, portraying one's descent into darkness, and the others ascent to glory. The former possessed all the riches of the world, and the latter possessed nothing--humbled to a slave state--and yet was in the end glorified while the other forgotten. The parallels to the spiritual life are quite obvious, and it is packaged into a masterful execution, though notwithstanding the violence.