The movie moves
in the realm of depression and just stays there. Gladiator shows the things
that pushed an innocent hero to the point where death seemed like a relief from
all that the world had taken from him. Maximus, the main protagonist of the
movie, was portrayed by Russell Crowe in such a talented yet distinctive
fashion that you can’t help but bow to the way Maximus handled his trials and
tests to come out victorious in the end.
Filming took
place between January and May of 1999, with locations used in 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, burning down and killing Maximus' family. After everything is lost,
Maximus is reduced to slavery, and with one determination—revenge—he rises
through the ranks of the gladiatorial arena, all in the hope of getting back at
the man who killed his family and the Emperor.
Based squarely
on a pitch by David Franzoni, who worked with Spielberg on Amistad, Ridley
Scott was approached to make a movie from Franzoni’s original final draft.
However, he had the entire script re-written by John Logan, who added the death
of Maximus' family to create a lonely soldier with nothing to lose. Franzoni
was brought back when problems arose during the re-writes. He did all he could
to get the script back to the original draft. More issues sprang up when
Russell Crowe almost caused a total re-write of the script. Whenever he asked
questions, he demanded answers, and if the answers weren’t favorable, the
script had to be re-worked.
The movie can be
said to have drawn plot elements from two older films, The Fall of the Roman
Empire and Spartacus, both of which were made 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 was in love with a general), can be said to be taken from The Fall
of the Roman Empire. The gladiator aspect of this movie can be said to have
been inspired by Spartacus.
Gladiator was a
critical and financial success, winning 5 Academy Awards at the 73rd Academy
Awards: Best Picture, Best Actor (Russell Crowe), Best Visual Effects, Best
Costume Design, and Best Sound.
Gladiator is a classic movie that gives you a fun look at the Roman Empire as some believe it was—rough and full of politics. Here’s another shelf nominee.
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