Gladiator
Tags: boring, cruelty, murder, dramatic, violence, cult, psychedelic, action, revenge, historical

Plot synopsis:
In AD 180, Hispano-Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius leads the Roman army to victory against the Germanic tribes near Vindobona on the Limes Germanicus. Now weary of battle, Maximus only desires to retire to his estate. But Emperor Marcus Aurelius tells him that his own son and heir, Commodus, is unfit to rule and that he will appoint Maximus as regent to help save Rome from corruption. When the Emperor reveals his plan to his son, Commodus murders him in a fit of rage.
Commodus announces he is the new Emperor and asks Maximus for his loyalty. When the general refuses, he is arrested by his officers and is sentenced to death at dawn. Maximus kills his captors and rides for his farm. He arrives too late, and finds it destroyed and his family murdered, by Commodus' orders. Maximus buries his wife and son, and then collapses from his wounds and grief. He is found by slavers who take him to Zucchabar in the North African province of Mauretania Caesariensis, where he is sold to a gladiator trainer named Proximo.
Although reluctant at first, Maximus fights in local tournaments and makes friends with two other gladiators: Juba, a Numidian who holds onto Maximus's figurines of his wife and child, and Hagen, a German. As he wins every match because of his military skills and indifference to death, he gains fame and recognition. But Proximo, who reveals that he himself was once a gladiator who fought well enough to be given his freedom, advises Maximus that being a good killer is not enough; a good gladiator is one who can "win the crowd". Proximo encourages Maximus to go to Rome and fight in the Colosseum, because Commodus has organized 150 days of games. He could then use the power he commands in the arena as leverage against the Emperor.
Maximus' first gladiatorial combat in the Colosseum is a re-enactment of the Roman victory over Carthage at the Battle of Zama. Although the gladiators (portraying the Carthaginians) are expected to be massacred, Maximus leads them to victory over the legionaries of Scipio Africanus. This prompts a surprised and delighted Commodus to enter the arena to offer his personal congratulations. When the emperor's young nephew, Lucius, also joins them, Maximus decides not to kill Commodus. Instead he reveals himself and vows to have vengeance. The Praetorian Guard is ordered to attack but this angers the crowd. Under pressure to keep the mob of Rome happy, Commodus angrily relents.
Maximus' next fight is a victory against a large undefeated gladiator. Despite Commodus's orders to kill the loser, Maximus spares his opponent's life. This defiance earns him the nickname "Maximus the Merciful" and more cheers of adulation. Angered at this outcome, Commodus enters the arena to taunt Maximus about his family's death. But the gladiator turns his back and walks away, another defiant act that is making him more popular than the Emperor.
Maximus discovers from Cicero, his ex-orderly, that his former legions remain loyal. Lucilla, Commodus' sister, and Gracchus, from the Senate, meet secretly with Maximus. He obtains their promise to help him escape Rome, rejoin his soldiers, topple Commodus by force, and hand power back to the Roman Senate. However, Commodus learns of the plot from Lucilla by threatening her son Lucius. The Praetorian Guard arrest Gracchus while others are sent to the gladiators' barracks. Maximus escapes after Proximo and his men (including Hagen) sacrifice themselves. But at the rendezvous point, Maximus is captured and Cicero is killed.
To win the crowd back, Commodus challenges Maximus to a duel in the Colosseum. However, he secretly stabs Maximus in the side before the match to gain an advantage. Nevertheless, Maximus disarms Commodus during their duel. When his Praetorian Guards refuse to give him another sword, the emperor tricks Maximus into disarming and produces a hidden knife, but Maximus drives the blade back into Commodus's throat. Maximus succumbs to his wounds shortly thereafter.
Maximus's last words are to ask for political reforms, for his gladiator allies to be freed, and for Senator Gracchus to be reinstated. While the body of Commodus is left unceremoniously on the floor of the arena, Maximus is solemnly carried away by his friends and allies to be given an honorable funeral as a "soldier of Rome". The crowd stands as a sign of respect as Maximus is carried out.
Later, a now-free Juba revisits the Colosseum at night. He buries the figurines of Maximus' wife and son at the spot where he died. He says he is now going back to his own family and promises to see Maximus again, "but not yet".

Review: If you can't feel something for the character, than the audience is lost.Luckily, in Ridley Scott's case, Russel Crowe is so captivating and convincing as a general loved by his troops and as a slave loved by the people that the movie really works.
Phoenix will surely be put on the map with Gladiator.But the real shining star in this film are the incredible action sequences which jolt the viewer right in with the opening sequences, as Maximus' true worth to the Roman Empire is displayed.
"Gladiator" definitely is a classic film as it combines a simple, but moving, story with beautiful scenery, filming, direction and score  it is truly a "complete" movie.I am mostly compelled with the beautiful script which in a way reminds me of poetry, though it is still everyday language.
The modern camera technique contrasts sharply to the brutality of the gladiators actions and blood shed during the movie; and I love the light contrasts thanks to the lenses which most definitely have been used to create a surreal feel to the entire movie."Gladiator" deserves all the awards and great reviews it has received, and for those of you who still haven't gone and watched it  I can assure you that it will be well worth your time and money.
And it bloody worked, the influence and interest in all things Roman or historically swashbuckling of film that followed post Gladiator's success is there for all to see.What we do in life echoes in eternity.So no originality in story, then.
While some of the CGI is hardly "Grade A" stuff, and there's a little over - mugging acting in support ranks as some of the cast struggle to grasp the period setting required, yet the way Gladiator can make the emotionally committed feel - overrides film making irks.
As he runs through the gamut of life's pains and emotionally fortified trials and tribulations, we are with him every step of the way, urging him towards his day of revenge splattered destiny; with Crowe superb in every pained frame, winning the Academy Award for Best Actor that he should have won for The Insider the previous year.Backing Crowe up is Joaquin Phoenix giving Commodus preening villainy and Connie Nielsen graceful as Lucilla (pitch Nielsen's turn here against that of Diane Kruger's in Troy to see the class difference for historical period playing).
The epic blockbuster returns with the 21st Century's answer to Cecil B DeMille, Ridley Scott and his dramatic tale of courage and revenge, GLADIATOR - "the general who became a slave, the slave who became a gladiator, the gladiator who defied an emperor".Once a great roman General, and as good as adopted son of Marcus Aurelius Caesar (Harris), Maximus (Crowe) is forced into exile by Commodus (Phoenix), heir to the throne, after the death of Marcus.
GLADIATOR transcends the notion of 'blockbuster' that we have become accustomed to in the age of electronic and special effects wizardry and instead offers a good old fashioned action film along the lines of Spartacus and and Ben Hur. Not only are we drawn into an archetypal story that contains all the classic elements a filmgoer could dream of (love, loss, courage, despair, good triumphing over evil etc etc) - also on offer is a visual feast of cinematic painting after painting - a rich tapestry of images that are breathtaking and ultimately visually satisfying.
The old guard thesps of Harris, Reed and Jacobi (Grachus) are uniformly strong as supporting characters, and Spencer Treat Clark (Lucius) does a fine job as the young heir to the throne.Add to this great cast excellent editing and post production work, and an intricate soundscape (including a magnificent Hans Zimmer score), and you have a film that, despite its length, was highly palatable and had me in there from beginning to end.
Aurelius, however, has other plans--he wants to make Maximus emperor, and requests that of the general, who wants nothing more than to go home to his family.I went into this movie having just watched Ben-Hur in my film studies class and having watched an episode of Xena only a couple of weeks earlier that featured the story of Marc Anthony and Cleopatra.
The costuming, the acting, the screenplay, the scenery, and the fighting styles made me think that I had traveled back to 180 A.D. Russell Crowe is a true Hollywood tough guy, and he is superb in this movie.
This movie doesn't go to excess on the violence as some of the other more recent epic films did, such as "Braveheart" or "The Patriot."The acting is excellent, beginning with Russell Crowe, who has established himself as one of the best actors of today.
I don't think there's one bad movie that Ridley Scott has made or that Russell Crowe has acted in.
Emperor Commodus is a truely evil and life-like villian who shows a lot of his wits in attempts to get his revenge against Maximus.Ridley Scott went to many different locations to shoot this film to make it real, and he does.
Taken in as a slave by Proximo (Reed), Maximus becomes a Gladiator and starts his journey to the Coliseum and revenge against Commodus.Scott's cast is powerful and he is not left wanting as powerful performances are delivered by all.
In an accomplished demonstration of her acting ability as Lucilla, Connie Nielsen saves the occasional scene as Joaquim Phoenix shows us that he can do evil', but is less convincing when it comes to the more emotional qualities of his role.As a vehicle for the plot, Scott's beautifully created and highly symbolic (there is an image of fire in nearly every shot of the film) dialogue scenes are of a certain merit with digitally created backgrounds that encompass the meticulous nature of the Roman Empire.
However, dialogue alone does not an epic movie make, and it is in the film's spectacular action sequences that Gladiator come into its own.
Where "Gladiator" delivers is in the area of raw human emotions we are so familiar with.As somebody said, switching to the other mind-set is half the fun, and Gladiator takes you right to the midst of Romans' politics, their passions, their dreams and their weaknesses.After Ben-Hur, I feel this is the best period movie to have ever emerged from Hollywood.-Murali Chari.
Apparently (according to a documentary about Hollywood screenwriters) only Russell Crowe didn't know what turd the script was so he contributed himself with the juvenile "husband of the dead wife" speech.Ridley Scott and his crew apparently knew what stinker they had to work with and did their best to defeat it with excellence in all areas and actually made two films in one.On the surface it's a revenge story.
A revenge story, yes, but well worth watching.But on another level "Gladiator" plays out like a remake of "Fall of a Roman Empire".
Maximus , then comes to Rome as a gladiator to seek revenge .He won't swear loyalty and gets a chance to redeem himself .Father of a murdered son , husband to a murdered wife and I shall have my revenge in this life or the next .This bloody good movie has great action sequences well staged with stylish and vitality , thrills ,fundamental emotions , fortright spectacle ,fierce combats including scud catapults , and is pretty entertaining .
The film results to be a special remake to ¨Fall of Roman Empire¨ directed by Antony Mann with Stephen Boyd , Sofia Loren and Christopher Plummer as Commodus , though is a little revisionist about characters , history and time when is developed the action .
The final product looked as although the actors learn the screenplay and decided the best issue was to take a good time and amuse themselves and both managed to stage some excellent action scenes .
Great performances abound , as stalwart Russell Crowe playing an enslaved ex-general who bent on vengeance , he is very fine ; in addition , vacilating empress Connie Nielsen is memorable and attractive , she comes up the film as a valiant and obstinate woman .
Magnificent and sensible musical score by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard , including wonderful songs .I found it fun , well-acted , in Peplum tradition and fast-paced.The motion picture packed with pomp and pageantry is lavishly produced by the prestigious Douglas Wick and David Franzoni , also screenwriter ; being glamorously directed by Ridley Scott , at his best and as stylish as ever , similarly his previous film ¨Someone to watch over me¨ and others as ¨Blade runner¨, ¨Black rain¨ , ¨Legend¨ in which his visual style is impressive .
It's a brilliant film, which (while containing weaknesses such as a script which wasn't quite as good as it could have been, and one climactic scene which completely changes, and ruins, the ending) manages to engage your heart and mind.The performances are without exception excellent (although the accents may distract a bit, there is such a wide variety of them).
Full marks for being one of the best films ever made.It is not historically accurate with the plot but that's not the point (it seems a mash of different events and people who existed at one time or another in during the Roman Empire.
The only thing that could be said about Gladiator, the last Ridley Scott's movie, is good entertainment.
With incredible cinematic deftness Mr. Scott has outdone himself, I doubt he will ever be able to top this masterpiece he has created with no little help from incredible actors, Crowe, Phoenix, and the rest of the spectacular cast helped to bring life to this film in ways I have never seen before.
But what makes this movie great is the story line is heart felt and you feel for Maximus after his family is murdered.
If you look below the surface, Gladiator has many facets of itself that makes a step above the rest.First, compliments to Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix (who was wrongly denied the Supporting Actor Oscar.)  One of the best examples of why this film is unusual is because of how varied and developed (or fleshed-out) the characters are.Another important thing to remember is that the film is not necessarily meant to be taken as a pinnacle masterpiece of the ages.
The story is strong, the acting (especially Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix) is exceptional, the fight scenes are thrilling, and the computer generated Rome is great.
I fell in love, and my daughter, who is nine and a half and has almost 300 videos, said it was the best film she had ever seen.I am one of those people who watches movies to be entertained, and this did it for me.10/10.
And also the cast, which sometimes is sacrificed for the show, shows a very great power: Russell Crowe is a suffering but determined Maximus, Joaquin Phoenix an evil, weak and complex Commodus, Connie Nielsen is so beautiful than good actress and then there is a great english trio formed by Richard Harris, Derek Jacobi and Oliver Reed (dead during the shots).
It's starts out like any good epic should with a masterfully filmed and executed exciting battle sequence that sets up the audience for one of those rare Hollywoodian confections that are both entertaining and artsy.
Everything about this testosterone-toned epic is meant to cater to a population who likes their filmed landscapes served to them WWF-style.Maximus (Russell Crowe) is a top army general in the army of Marcus Auerlius (Richard Harris), a dying patriarch who (in predictable fashion) unwittingly causes trouble within the family ranks by offering his throne to Maximus instead of to his son Commodus (Joaquin Pheonix).
Gladiator is a film everybody would enjoy, for it has a great story, great action and superb acting (no wonder Crowe got an Oscar!) Gladiator recounts the story of one of the greatest Roman generals Maximus, who was forced to slavery by the corrupt incestuous heir to the throne Commodus (Phoenix) who killed Marcus Aurelius the emperor for he knew he offered Maximus power over his own son.
(Commodus was actually strangled in his bath when poison wasn't killing him fast enough.) The sister of Commedus, Lucilla (who had actually been executed at the beginning of Commedus' reign) announces that we are all going to honor Maximus and restore the Republic.For a Roman history buff, this is like saying World War II was Hitler giving us all Ice Cream.What actually happened was that after Commedus (who wasn't that bad of a guy, really) Rome went into an embarrassing period known as the "Year of the Five Emperors, where a decent man was assassinated, the office of emperor was auctioned off, and three rival generals launched a civil war.This is universally agreed to be the tipping point of Rome's inevitable decline..
In the event of his death, ageing Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) intends to leave his trusted Hispano-Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe) in charge of Rome, instead of allowing his son Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) to become his successor.
This new life eventually leads him to the Colosseum of Rome, where he finally comes face to face with the man who betrayed him.From director Ridley Scott, Gladiator is a historical epic to rival the classics from the 'golden age' of Hollywood.
Opening in 180 A.D., with a brilliantly orchestrated battle between the Roman armies and the tribes of Germania, Scott's film grabs the viewer's full attention from the outset and doesn't let go until the end, having delivered an Oscar-winning central performance from Crowe, a memorable score by Hans Zimmer, excellent supporting roles from the likes of Harris, Phoenix, Connie Nielsen and Oliver Reed, and some of the most impressively bloody scenes of hand to hand combat ever filmed.If I were to choose my favourite scene, it would be the 're-enactment' of the battle of Carthage, a savage piece of action cinema in which Maximus and his fellow gladiators are ushered into the arena like cattle to the slaughter, only to turn the tables on their attackers, winning the hearts of the Roman masses in the process.
Watched one of All time Favorite Ridley Scott Films thats Gladiator one of my favorite Revenge/Sword & Sandals flick Films Featured an Amazing Performance from a Stellar Lead By Russell Crowe(L.A. Confidential ) as Maximus a former General Betrayed then turned Gladiator.
Arguably crowes best film the story is filled with epic period spectacle when we go from the smaller arenas to the The roman the story also moves forward in a grand way amazing performance from Crowe as the Anger filled Maximus.
Ridley Scott was drawn to direct this project by a painting entitled "Thumbs down", which depicted a scene (seen a few times in the film) where a gladiator is sentenced to death by the emperor.
The work on the script should not be underestimated as this is an effective story of a man trying to avenge his family and, on some level, get home.Maximus sees Russell Crowe in one of his finest performances.
Oliver Reed meets Crowe's performance stroke for stroke and is a great presence in this film (his performance became noted for being completed with the aid of CGI after his death toward the end of filming).Scott, however, is the real star of this film, making a world as rich and detailed as the one he created in "Blade Runner" and delivering a terrific story masterfully.
The hero was general maximus acted by russell crowe who made the best role in his career in this movie.
Also what made me like that movie was the story as talks about a man who was a general and then became a slave the a gladiator and then he challenges Cesar to a fight for death that is amusing and special..
It has everything any good movie should; an original story, great acting, and truly awe-inspiring direction.
Ridley Scott struck did very well with his direction of Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Neilsen, and Oliver Reed (who unfortunately suffered a fatal heart attack during filming).
After I viewed the film for the first time I felt that the gladiator fight scenes were too far apart, and not enough of them were in the movie.
An epic tale of power and corruption ensues and its very satisfying to witness, the fight scenes are fantastic and contain enough gore to bring realism without going overboard.Truly wonderful performances from Crowe Pheonix and Oliver Reed, bring this Ridley Scott masterpiece to life.Epic story, powerful drama, top movie 10/10.
What's so great about this movie is that it has a really entertaining and enthralling storyline, not just special effects and action (although it has a lot of that): it knows how to make us care about the people in it and how to develop a sense of style and elegance (thanks to director Ridley Scott).
The movie is fueled by a number of powerhouse performances: Russell Crowe is perfect as the title character, I loved Oliver Reed as Proximo, and Joaquin Phoenix made a perfectly hissable villain.
(To be fair, it does not have the very common third flaw, excessive noise.) There are many decent low-budget movies that get by with thin plots and bad dialogue, when directed quickly with some flair; but adding money, big-name (and talented) actors and length makes things worse, not better.I find the violence in Gladiator's battle and fighting sequences very distasteful.
It's outstandingly well done..Thank you Ridley Scott, Hanz Zimmer and Russel Crowe for making this movie so perfect.
"Gladiator" is, to me, one of the best films ever made, probably even in my personal Top 10 Movies of All Time -list.
Ridley Scott film Gladiator (2000), reputedly inspired by a painting, is set in ancient Rome at the time of Caesars (approximately 100-50 B.C.).
This film has one of the most moving endings ever.There is great acting from all the cast...Joaquin Phoenix makes a fantastic boo-hiss villain, and there is also excellent support from Connie Nielsen and the late Oliver Reed and Richard Harris.In short...Yes, I Am Entertained!.