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:

British post-production house "The Mill" was responsible for most of the CGI effects in the film. Among their responsibilities were to composite real tigers filmed on blue screen into the fight sequences, and adding smoke trails and extending the flight paths of the opening battle's flaming arrows. They also used 2000 live actors to create a CGI crowd of about 35,000 people. One of their major hurdles was to create a digital body double for the recently deceased Oliver Reed.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The tunics that the gladiators wore were colored. Dyed fabric was considered very high class, almost royal, and would not have been used for slaves.

Quotes:

Lucilla: My brother hates all the world and you most of all.
Maximus: Because your father chose me.
Lucilla: No. Because my father loved you. And because I loved you.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Making of 'The Phantom of the Opera' (2005) (V)

Soundtrack:

Pavor

Best of 2000

Very rarely a film meshes together as finely as Gladiator. Its vivid action, superb writing, breathtaking acting, moving cinematography, and flawless score all amalgamate into a zenith of film making.

Russell Crowe, severely underrated after his brilliant roles in LA Confidential and The Insider, justifies his position in the elite of Hollywood in this film. The calibre of his performance is stunning. Along with an excellent supporting cast, Crowe truly transfers the intense emotions of this flick to the audience.

Gladiator is a must see. It is a cliche to call a movie "powerful", but Gladiator's power is unavoidable. 10/10