Gladiator (2000)

Gladiator (2000)

10/10

Starring

Russell Crowe

Joaquin Phoenix

Connie Nielsen

Oliver Reed

Directed by Ridley Scott

The movie moves in the realm of depression and just stays there. Gladiator shows the things that pushed an innocent hero to the point that death seemed like a relief from all that the world has taken from him. Maximus the main protagonist of the movie was portrayed by Russell Crowe in such a talented yet distinctive fashion that you do nothing but bow to the way Maximus handled his trials and tests to come out victorious at the end.

Filming took place between January and May of1999 and the locations used were Bourne Woods, near Farnham Surrey in England, Ouarzazate Morocco and Fort Ricasoli Malta.

The movie plot is about a loyal Roman General Maximus (Russell Crowe), who is betrayed when the Emperor's son, Commodus, murders his father to become Emperor of Rome himself, and burns down and kills Maximus family. After everything is lost Maximus is reduced to slavery and he having one determination, revenge, rose through the ranks of the gladiatorial arena, all in the hope of getting back at the man who killed his family and Emperor.

Based squarely on a pitch by David Franzoni, who worked with Spielberg in Amistad, Ridley Scott was approached to make a movie from Franzoni’s original final draft but he had the whole script re-written by John Logan who was the person that added the death of Maximus family, to create a lonely soldier with nothing to lose, but Franzoni was brought back as problems start to erupt in the re-writes, Frazoni did all he could to get the script back to the original draft. More issues sprung up, when Russell Crowe almost caused a total re-write of the script, whenever he asked questions he demanded answers and if the answers were not favourable, the script had to be re-worked.

The movie can be said to have drawn plot from two older movies, The Fall of the Roman Empire and, Spartacus both of which were done in the 60s. A lot of the plot foundation, like the murder of the emperor by his son who wanted to marry his sister, who (Sister) was in love with a General can be said to be taken from the movie The Fall of the Roman Empire. The gladiator aspect of this movie can be said to have been gotten from the movie Spartacus.

Gladiator was a critical and financial success, and it won 5 Academy Awards in the 73rd Academy Awards, the awards were Best Picture, Best Actor (Russell Crowe), Best Visual Effects, Best Costume Design and Best sound.

Gladiator is a classic movie that gives you the fun to see the Roman Empire as some believe it was, rough and full of politics, here is another shelf nominee.