Many have been breathlessly awaiting this DVD, and Dreamworks has pulled out all the stops on this one. As with all Dreamworks titles, the image of Gladiator is a real gem. Whites are pure, blacks are deep and everything in between is absolutely perfect. There's no sign of oversaturation, even the heavy reds of the battle worn blood. Compression is also expertly handled with just a few shots very early on that exhibited only a minor bit pixel break up.
Contrast is also excellent with fine details visible even in shadow surroundings.
These are extremely minor complaints, however. Gladiator is truly beautiful. Encoded with both Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround EX and a discrete DTS ES 6.1 soundtracks, the audio is as glorious as the video. All channels, including the .1 LFE, are used to maximum effect with a heavy barrage of directional effects that totally drops you in the middle of the action. Dialog is well recorded and represented here with no distortion or masking from the thick effects.