Gladiator

UK Release Date. 12 May 2000
Certification. 15
Running Time. 2 hours 35 mins
Director. Ridley Scott
Cast. Russell Crowe, Richard Harris, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, Connie Nielsen, Joaquin Phoenix, Oliver Reed.
Rating. 93%

Review.

"There was once a dream that was Rome. You could only whisper it. Anything more than a whisper and it would vanish - it was so fragile."

Not since the golden age of William Wyler's Ben Hur (1959), Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus (1960) and Joseph L. Mankiewicz's Cleopatra (1963), had the cinema-going public been party to sword and sandal epics that swallowed an entire Sunday afternoon. Whilst it could be said these films fell out of fashion over the past 40 years, Ridley Scott's Gladiator was one hell of a return. 

The film claimed five awards at the 73rd Academy Awards ceremony, including Best Picture. And with good reason - Gladiator boasts a cavalcade of exceptional visuals, top-notch performances and impressive direction.

Russell Crowe dominates as Maximus Decimus Meridius,

"...Commander of the armies of the north, General of the Felix Legions and loyal servant to the true empower, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife... and I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next."

Crowe - at the peak of his career - was the most watchable of actors, exuding the sheer physicality of a wild animal. Like a young Marlon Brando, Crowe commands the screen with such intrinsic assuredness that you simply cannot take your eyes off him. Crowe's Maximus embodies all that is good in the Roman ideal - where strength is found in honour. A man of action fuelled by a need for vengeance, Crowe perfectly balances a warrior's brutality with the sensitivity and vulnerability of a freshly traumatised family man. 

Joaquin Phoenix's Commodus, on the other hand, is an odious, snivelling and indolent character, continually snarling every line of dialogue and seemingly incapable of even the slightest glimpse of anything reflecting his noble lineage. Phoenix ensures Commodus understands his own absence of nobility and honour, but embraces these traits as liberating qualities. Much of the behing-the-scenes complexity and depth comes courtesy of Connie Nielsen as Lucilla, Commodus' sister (and muse) and Maximus' former lover, who acts with political expediency in order to survive, but asserts herself firmly in the shadows.

Ridley Scott's trademark visual panache - making everything seem utterly glorious no matter how brutal - presents events on a truly epic canvas of soft light and arid landscapes. CGI may have created Rome's massive Colosseum, but the gore-splattered combat sequences are a result of exceptional stunt work and fight choreography. The use of actual trebuchets, fire, tigers and chariots add to the impressive spectacle in a way that looks genuine. For a film that was released more than twenty years ago, Gladiator still looks outstanding.

Hans Zimmer's lavish score catches the ominous majesty of the cruel empire and Lisa Gerrard's vocals and contributions earned her a co-credit as composer. Gladiator's score may lay claim to be one of Zimmer's best with tracks such as The Battle, Honor Him and Now We Are Free. 

Yes, Gladiator may be a film that celebrates brawn over brain and spectacle over intimacy, but my, is it one hell of a ride. Scott acknowledges all the touchstones of the films of the early 1960s while deploying all the tricks the modern filmmaker has to hand. It is hardly subtle, but its impact is absolute. An audience lost in the spectacle of a 'slave that became more powerful than the Emporer of Rome.'