Gladiator (2000)

User Rating:

8.3/10   

Director:

Ridley Scott

Writers (WGA):

David Franzoni (story)
David Franzoni (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

5 May 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | History

Tagline:

Father of a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife and I shall have my vengeance in this life or the next

Plot:

When a Roman general is betrayed and his family murdered by a corrupt prince, he comes to Rome as a gladiator to seek revenge.

Plot Keywords:

Gladiator | Emperor | General | Death | Revenge

Awards:

Won 5 Oscars. Another 45 wins & 79 nominations

Cast

Russell Crowe	...	Maximus
Joaquin Phoenix	...	Commodus
Connie Nielsen	...	Lucilla
Oliver Reed	...	Proximo
Richard Harris	...	Marcus Aurelius
Derek Jacobi	...	Gracchus
Djimon Hounsou	...	Juba
David Schofield	...	Falco
John Shrapnel	...	Gaius
Tomas Arana	...	Quintus
Ralf Moeller	...	Hagen
Spencer Treat Clark	...	Lucius
David Hemmings	...	Cassius
Tommy Flanagan	...	Cicero
Sven-Ole Thorsen	...	Tiger

Also Known As:

The Gladiators (USA) (working title)
Gladiador (Argentina) (Peru) (Venezuela) [es]
Gladiador (Brazil) (Portugal) [pt]
Gladiator (Austria) (Germany) [de]
Гладиатор (Russia) [ru]
Gladiátor (Slovakia) [sk]
Gladiátor (Czech Republic) [cs]
Gladiaattori (Finland) [fi]
Gladiateur (Canada: French title) [fr]
Gladiator (Poland) [pl]
Gladiator (Spain) [es]
Gladiator (Finland) [fi]
Gladiator (Denmark) [da]
Gladiator (France) [fr]
Gladiatorul (Romania) [ro]
Gladijator (Serbia) [sr]
Gladijator (Croatia) [hr]
Gladyatör (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Il gladiatore (Italy) [it]
Monomahos (Greece) [el]
Vijeta (India: Hindi title) [hi]

MPAA:

Rated R for intense, graphic combat.

Runtime:

155 min | 171 min (extended version)

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES | Dolby Digital EX | SDDS

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) (re-rating on appeal) | Canada:14A (Alberta) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) (original rating) | Canada:18A (British Columbia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Iceland:16 | USA:R (certificate #37084) | Malaysia:18SG | Malaysia:U (cut version) | Netherlands:12 (TV rating) | Brazil:14 | Taiwan:R-12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:16 (bw) | Hong Kong:IIB | Israel:PG | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | Philippines:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Ait Benhaddou, Ouarzazate, Morocco

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

This is Russell Crowe's favorite of the American films that he has done. He also cites Maximus as his favorite character that he's played so far.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the film, the Colosseum is bigger than it really was (and is today). The interior proportions are correct, but the exterior looks about 1.5 times bigger.

Quotes:

Maximus: Strength and honor.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "HBO First Look: Gladiator (#7.7)" (2000)

Soundtrack:

Now We Are Free

Special effects and powerful acting make Gladiator an epic.

I borrowed this movie on DVD, but I wish I had seen it in the theater for it would have been a lot more fun and powerful there. Despite this, Gladiator is one of the most powerful and moving films I've ever seen. The plot goes so smooth together, as well as the acting and the terrific musical score. Director Ridley Scott puts all effort into making this film an epic, and he does just that. I'd have to say that anyone who likes Ridley Scott (I sure do) should see this. It is a lot like Ridley's other movies (Black Hawk Down was also amazing). If you can stand a little bit--well, ok a LOT of blood and gore, then you should see this. Russell Crowe shows an excellent performance like no other. I don't think there's one bad movie that Ridley Scott has made or that Russell Crowe has acted in. The fact that the brutal battles involving innocent slaves in this film actually happened in real life centuries ago makes it even more interesting and powerful. 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. The film is set in Rome, and it looks just like it. You feel as if you are there in the crowd, hearing them cheer and cheer to see the death. To some of you, this may sound a little barbaric, and believe me the film is VERY barbaric and brutual, however it teaches a very strong lesson of what happens when an economy turns as violent as Rome was. Ridley Scott goes to many lengths to make this movie real, because even though the characters are fictitious, all of this really did happen. Innocent people had to go through brutual fighting while thousands of people cheered for either their death or the enemy's death. If you were an inexperienced fighter, chances are you would get killed. But the strange thing is that Rome LOVED this. People came from all over to see these fights and to see the blood that was shed, that is why you can't blame the characters in this film for being so forlorn and saddened the whole time. The film itself is very dark. The theme is dark and the ending is dark. From beginning to end there is excessive violence (for those action movie-goers, this is a movie for you). But if the violence is concerning you, don't let it. The special effects make the movie great, but it's the acting and storyline that make it spectacular. HIGHLY RECCOMMENDED for anyone who wants a good time. Definitely makes you think. ***** out of *****.