"I am Maximus Decimus Meridius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance; in this life or the next."
That extract gives a great insight into how cool this movie was, now I know most people have seen it but it's still worth reviewing just because it wasso awesome when it came back and I want the few who didnt see it to know and the many who did to remember just how great it was and maybe they'll think about seeing it again or going out and buying it as now it costs next to nothing, my copy was 3 quid from Woolworths.
This epic masterpiece Directed by Ridley Scott was incredible. Watching it you see the power of the Emperors of Rome before the Senate had great control over them and also demonstrated more strongly is the strength of loyalty to the one true Emperor and where said loyalty will get you.
The movie begins on a snowy battlefield with large trees and thick clouds overhead, the Roman legions are preparing themselves for a large battle with Germanic tribes and are readying themselves. They are led by General Maximus who is followed around by his faithful dog who's name if it was said I cant remember. After a great fight scene in which during filming Russell
Crowe really did injure himself, his horse got startled and ran him into a Bush I believe, the victorious Roman army celebrates with the Emperors son arriving late to the battle along with his beauttiful sister (Yes even he thinks she's beautiful yuk.) Anyway Emperor Marcus Aurelius announces to Maximus that he wishes Maximus to succeed him instead of his son Commodus. Will the familyloving General Maximus be able to live the life of an Emperor and still see his home again? Will there be challenges to the thrown? Will Commodus turn against his former almost friend and steal power by killing his father? Yes, I'm sorry for saying but it does happen in the opening 15 minutes and I havnt reviewed enough of the story and it isnt exactly hidden in the title, how many Emperors you know who fought as Gladiators in their spare time? lol
Commodus murders his father in secret and assumes power of Rome before word gets out that Marcus wished Maximus to succeed him. Maximus is ordered to be executed but after a daredevil escape he rides like the wind to save his family....But is he already to late? for those who have not seen it this part of the movie although still early on will haveyou on the edge of your seats, such is the power of Ridley Scott lol.
Anyway after what comes to pass, comes to pass Maximus is discovered by a band of slave traders and merchants, he is taken by them and healed of his injuries from his earlier escape. When he arrives at his destination Maximus is sold as a slave and trained to be a Gladiator, hence the title lol. Will Maximus Co-operate with his captors? Could the strong willed General that he was make him rebute his captors? More importantlyif Maximus does not fight how will he survive the arena? But being trapped in the arena and a slave when you're not how can Maximus get to the new false Emperor Commodus and exact his revenge. The rest is for you to find out, but I promise you this to those who havnt seen it or at least not for a long time it is, or at least was when it was released one of the best Fictional Historical action movies ever. Incredibly choreographed fight scenes and a heartbraking, heartstopping storyline, dont start watching this movie late at night because its long and you wont be able to stop it once you've started.
Disc: Quite limited options on this disc but hey it was 3 pounds and it wasnt originally released as a DVD was it??? Anyway there are four options on the main menu, none of them very exciting; oh and there is one special feature however its in the languages section, there are no other special features.
-Play movie. Sets in motion a movie that will at parts makeguys think I want to be him and at other times, "HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN." For women I believe the immense power of this storyline could make you wish to cry, yes ok and a few of the guys to lol....I wanted to the first time I watched it I guess, but shhh dont tell anyone.
-Up next is scene selection, the scenes are not very well set out and it can be very tricky to find where you want to be as there is no title for the scenes and the page changer is very awkwardly set. Also they use a colour that fades into the back very well so when you're trying to work out where in h*** your cursor is the yellow icon with the red background can make that bit of a task. However there are alot of scenes to choose from which is great considering the length of the movie.
-Subtitles. There's not much to say here really. A good range of subtitle languages to choose fro, 4 in all, slightly limited. The choices are between English, Italian, Spanish and Portugese.
-Languages/Audio set up. Ok here we have the optional commentary with Ridley Scott the only bonus feature on the disc though I'm not complaining Ridley Scott's cool. My dad likes to claim he wentto school with him and his brother but I dont believe him, hey if anyone reading this knows them could you find out if they knew a Michael Edwards back in their primary school days LOL. Anyway languagewise there are 3 options to choose from here, English 5.1 Dolby Digital, Italian 5.1 Dolby Digital and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital.
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
Rating: 15
Directed by: Ridley Scott
Run Time: 155 minutes
Released: 2000
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
Production Year: 1977 - Action/Adventure - Director: Clint Eastwood - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring:Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, William Prince, Bill McKinney
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Great review. I love this film. That speech is amazing isnt it, never fails to send shivers down my spine. I really do think it was Russell Crowes finest hour though, I havent seen him in anything since that made me think he was as great an actor as in the role of Maximus. About the dog, well I remember reading that that line, at my signal unleash hell was supposed to be about the dog, i.e he was called hell! Bizaree or what. Dont know if its true.....
dan_pentagram 16.05.2007 02:18
Good review but im not sure i would give it 5 *'s
HotBlonde 14.05.2007 11:43
Well written review - one of my own fav films. lynsey
A big-budget summer epic with money to burn and a scale worthy of its golden Hollywood ... more
predecessors, Ridley Scott'sGladiatoris a rousing, grisly, action-packed epic that takes moviemaking back to the Roman Empire via computer-generated visual effects. ...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
A big-budget summer epic with money to burn and a scale worthy of its golden Hollywood ... more
predecessors, Ridley Scott'sGladiatoris a rousing, grisly, action-packed epic that takes moviemaking back to the Roman Empire via computer-generated visual effects. ...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
The General who became a slave. The slave who became a Gladiator. The Gladiator who defied ... more
an Empire.Winner of five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor, GLADIATOR is a dazzling combination of vivid action and extraordinary storytellin...
The great Roman General Maximus (Russell Crowe) has once again led the legions to victory ... more
on the battlefield. The war won Maximus dreams of home wanting only to return to his wife and son; however the dying Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) h...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Advantages: Great fast paced direction. Never slows. Superb fight scenes. Disadvantages: Two and a half hours is long enough to add more plot, the credits are longer than the film.
baddog 29.05.2001 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Gladiator (DVD)
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May 14th, 2007
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