Gladiator (film)
_Film |
name =Gladiator |
image =gladiatorteaser.jpg|
director =
Ridley Scott | producer =
Douglas Wick David Franzoni Branko Lustig | writer =
David Franzoni | starring =
Russell Crowe Joaquin Phoenix Connie Nielsen Oliver Reed Richard Harris | distributor =
DreamWorks (USA)
Universal Studios (non-USA) | released =
5 May,
2000 |
runtime =154 min. |
language =English |
gross =
Domestic: $187,705,427
Worldwide: $457,640,427 |
budget =$103,000,000 |
music = |
awards = |
imdb_id =0172495 |}}
Gladiator is a
2000 historical adventure film directed by
Ridley Scott, and starring
Russell Crowe and
Joaquin Phoenix. It won five
Academy Awards in the
73rd Academy Awards ceremony, including the prestigious
Academy Award for Best Picture.
Gladiator is a critically acclaimed and commercially successful film but, like most films based in antiquity, it was criticized by historians for its (abundant) inaccuracies . Nonetheless, it is considered a classic among many, because of its epic nature, beautiful setting, vivid battles, and praised direction from Ridley Scott. Some feel it is Crowe's defining performance. It is also referred to for making the classical epic popular again, leading to films like
Troy,
Alexander and
Kingdom of Heaven (incidentally, the latter was also directed by Ridley Scott).
A farmer-turned-soldier by the name of
Maximus Decimus Meridius (played by
Russell Crowe) is one of the top generals in the Roman army. He leads his men to many victories and gains the support from the masses and even the Roman Emperor,
Marcus Aurelius. The emperor is dying, and though he has a son,
Commodus (played by
Joaquin Phoenix), the emperor wishes to appoint temporary leadership to Maximus in order to return the power to the
Senate. On being told this by his father, Commodus kills him to inherit the position by default. Though he realises the truth of what has happened, Maximus is sentenced to death. Soldiers are also sent for his wife and son. Maximus, however, escapes his fate and races home only to find that he was too late, and his family has been killed. After burying his wife and son Maximus is taken by slavers as he sleeps, where he is forced to fight as a gladiator in various arena tournaments in order to stay alive. During this, he meets the Carthaginian gladiator, Juba, and a barbarian from Germania named Hagan. Juba proves to be a great comfort to him, and they often talk of the afterlife, and if they will meet their dead family and friends there.
To survive in the brutal life of a gladiator, Maximus appeals to the Roman people, under the name and title, "Spaniard". His power and fame continue to grow until he finally reaches the historic Roman
Colosseum and comes into contact again with his true enemy, Commodus. When realising that the famous "Spaniard" is in fact Maximus, Commodus is forced to let him live due to the cries of the crowd. Maximus later survives an indirect attack on his life when he is forced into a match against the "only undefeated champion in Roman History.", Tigris of Gaul. After a long battle, Tigris is defeated, though Maximus refuses to kill him, and is pronounced 'Maximus the Merciful'.
Following fight, Maximus meets with his former servant, Cicero, who informs him that his army is still loyal to him. Soon thereafter, Maximus forms a plot with Lucilla, Commodus' sister, and Gracchus, an influential republican senator, to rejoin with his army and topple Commodus by force. Commodus, however, learns of this plot and arrests Maximus on the eve of his coup. Now desperate to defeat Maximus, Commodus arranges a duel with him in the arena. Though he stabs Maximus before the fight begins, Maximus emerges victorious but dies soon after, passing on the wishes of Marcus Aurelius.
|
One of the much-praised CGI shots of Rome. |
Overall, Gladiator cost a collected $145.7 million to film and promote, with most of the production costs spent on computer special effects. However, the movie grossed over $187 million in American theaters alone and after earning more than $269 million overseas, Gladiator proved to be a huge success at the box office.
Actor
Oliver Reed died in
Malta during the filming of Gladiator; as a result, a
body double and digitally altered
outtake footage of the actor were used in his absence, at an estimated cost of $3 million. The film is dedicated to his memory.
Gladiator received more positive reviews than negative ones, but it was not without its share of detractors. In particular Roger Ebert was harshly critical of the film attacking the look of the film as "muddy, fuzzy, and indistinct." He also derided the writing saying that it "employs depression as a substitute for personality, and believes that if characters are bitter and morose enough, we won't notice how dull they are."
The
soundtrack was composed by
Hans Zimmer and
Lisa Gerrard, and conducted by
Gavin Greenaway. Most of the film was shot in
Morocco and
Malta where a replica of the Colosseum was built. The battle scene early in the film was shot in
England.
*
Russell Crowe -
Maximus*
Joaquin Phoenix -
Commodus*
Connie Nielsen -
Lucilla*
Richard Harris -
Marcus Aurelius*
Oliver Reed -
Proximo*
Derek Jacobi -
Senator Gracchus*
John Shrapnel -
Gaius*
Djimon Hounsou -
Juba, named after the ancient African king
*
Spencer Treat Clark - Lucius Verus, fictional son of the factual
Lucius Verus and
Lucilla*
Ralf Moeller - Hagan
*
Sven-Ole Thorsen - Tigris of
Gaul*Tommy Flanagan -
Cicero, Maximus' servant, named after the orator.
Trivia
*The four British veteran screen and classical stage actors (Shrapnel, Jacobi, Harris and Reed) were jokingly referred to by Crowe during filming as 'our
four horsemen of the Apocalypse'
[Diana Landau, Gladiator: The Making of the Ridley Scott Epic, p50], and their English accent is often copied in the film by the American and Australian actors in order to merge in.
*
Oliver Reed died of a
heart attack during filming. After his death a body double was used photographed in the shadows with a 3D
CGI mask of Oliver Reed's face to film the remaining scenes.
Historical
The
Roman emperors portrayed in the movie are
Marcus Aurelius (played by
Richard Harris), who ruled AD
161–
180, and his son, the deranged
Commodus, who ruled between
180–
192, and scandalized Roman society by appearing in the
Colosseum as a
gladiator, and spent most, if not all, of his time as Emperor in staging gladiatorial combats, seemingly obsessed with the sport. The film's characterization attempts to reflect Marcus Aurelius's reputation for wisdom but does so by placing a
modern democratic slant to his actions and beliefs. The representation of Commodus is extremely watered down, as the (possibly biased,
senatorial) sources such as the
Augustan History present Commodus as far more
insane and bloodthirsty than he appears in the film. While Commodus was the only Roman Emperor to fight as a gladiator (discounting reports of
Caligula having done the same, as there is no record outside of
Suetonius that he ever did so), he was killed by a gladiator, but not in the arena, as the film suggests.
Lucilla was Commodus's sister and was married to
Lucius Verus (mentioned in the film as the dead father of her son Lucius Verus, but not mentioned as co-emperor or seen), her father's co-emperor until his death in 169. The incest, or attempted incest, in the movie is not historically accurate. Lucilla was in fact implicated in plots with members of the senate to kill her brother. In 182, following an assassination attempt on Commodus, Lucilla was exiled to
Capri and subsequently executed on her brother's orders.
The opening battle most likely is intended to depict the last fight of the
Marcomannic wars. Nearing the end of the battle, Maximus inexplicably raises the cry 'Roma Victor,' meaning 'Rome, the Conqueror.' (Greco-Roman culture often anthropomorphized aspects of civilzation and nature in order to depict them as gods/goddesses to be recognized. Case in point: Rome as a
female entity and/or deity.)
The city of Rome is seen in all of its glory, and the Colosseum (then actually called the Flavian Amphitheatre) is accurately seen as the stadium for the Roman people, though the topography, views and ground plan of ancient city-centre Rome around it are entirely fictionalised.
The character of Maximus is entirely fictional, though he is similar in some respects to the historical figures of
Narcissus (the character's name in the first draft of the screenplay and the real killer of Commodus),
Spartacus (who led a significant slave revolt), and
Cincinnatus (the saviour of Rome who wished nothing more than to return to his farm).
A character in the film asserts that
"Rome was founded as a Republic", and the conclusion implies that it returned to
republicanism upon the death of Commodus. Rome did not revert to republicanism after the death of Commodus and Rome was not founded as a republic but as a kingdom, becoming a republic after the last King of Rome,
Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, was deposed in 510BC. After Commodus' death he was replaced as emperor by the general
Pertinax, who is never mentioned in the film.
Artistic
The film's plot basically comes from two 1960s films of
Hollywood's
sword and sandal genre,
The Fall of the Roman Empire and
Spartacus.The Fall of the Roman Empire (
1964) tells the story of Livius, who, like Maximus in
Gladiator, is Marcus Aurelius's heir. Both films tell the story of Commodus' murder of Marcus Aurelius and his seizure of power when he learns that the old emperor is planning to appoint Livius/Maximus as his successor. Livius/Maximus are exiled and seek to avenge Marcus Aurelius by killing Commodus.
Spartacus (1960) provides the film's
gladiatorial motif, as well as the character of Senator Gracchus, a fictitious senator (bearing the name of a pair of revolutionary
Tribunes from the
2nd century BC) who in both films is an elder statesman of
ancient Rome attempting to preserve the ancient rights of the
Roman senate in the face of an ambitious
autocrat —
Marcus Licinius Crassus in
Spartacus and Commodus in
Gladiator. Interestingly, both actors who played Grachus (in Spartacus and Gladiator), played Claudius in previous films,
Charles Laughton of Spartacus, played Claudius in the 1937 film
I, Claudius, Sir
Derek Jacobi of Gladiator, played Claudius in the 1975 BBC adaptation.
The story of Maximus bears similarity to Judah
Ben-Hur. Both are accused of treason to the
Roman Empire, becoming a slave and rising through the ranks, desiring vengeance and finding new life, be it
Christian or
pagan.
Additionally, Maximus, Quintus and other characters, as well as the opening sequence of the film (set in Germany), appear to be based on a work of
historical fiction by
Wallace Breem,
Eagle in the Snow (set some 200 years later).
The film's depiction of Commodus's entry into Rome borrows imagery from
Leni Riefenstahl's
Nazi propaganda film
Triumph of the Will (
1934), although Ridley Scott has pointed out that the iconography of Nazi rallies was of course inspired by the Roman Empire.
Gladiator was nominated in 36 individual ceremonies, including the
73rd Academy Awards, the
BAFTA Awards and the
Golden Globe Awards. Of 119 award nominations, the film won 48 prizes.
The film won five Academy Awards and was nominated for an additional seven, including
Best Supporting Actor for Joaquin Phoenix and
Best Director for Ridley Scott. There is controversy over the film's nomination for
Best Original Music Score. The award was officially nominated only to
Hans Zimmer, and not to
Lisa Gerrard due to
Academy rules. However, the pair did win the
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score as co-composers.
*
73rd Academy Awards**
Best Picture **
Best Actor (Russell Crowe)
**
Best Visual Effects**
Best Costume Design**
Best Sound *
BAFTA Awards**Best Cinematography
**Best Editing
**Best Film
**Best Production Design
*
Golden Globe Awards**Best Motion Picture - Drama
**Best Original Score - Motion Picture
#
Gladiator total gross at
Box Office Mojo#
Gladiator awards tally at
IMDB*
Gladiator*
Crusade*
Gladiator soundtrack*
*
4 Speeches from Movie in Text and Audio from AmericanRhetoric.com
* Gladiator's
script.
