Gladiator

Rating:
Summary: The Best Movie Ever
Review: This is simply the best movie ever. It captures the best parts of Braveheart and Saving Private Ryan and puts them together for an awesome movie. Gladiator had very good actors and really got me into the scene of the Roman Empire. There is also a great deal of drama, which usually bores me, but here it really enhanced the movie. After seeing the movie in the theater, and seeing it again (the second time was actually better) I have been looking forward to getting this movie every day. From the amazing opening battle to the heart-stopping end, Gladiator keeps you hooked the whole time and long after too.

Rating:
Summary: All I can say is .... WOW!
Review: I thought that this was one of the best, if not THE BEST, movies I have ever seen. My best friend had seen it before I had, and since it seemed that I never had time to go see it in the theatres, I decided to wait for the DVD. I was glad that I did. If I had seen it in the theatre, I would have missed all the extras. Thats one thing I do love about DVDs, are the "supplemental features". This one has them all.

Russell Crowe was fantastic in this movie. Yes, L.A. Confidential made him known in Hollywood, but this is the movie that will make him a star. He shows a whole range of emotion, everything from remorse for not being able to save his wife and child, to wanting revenge on the evil emporer Commodus. He shows that he still loves Lucilla, and that he has the strength to overcome the obstacle of being a slave who was once the best General that Rome ever had.

It was a bit gory, but not so much as Saving Private Ryan. I was surprised at how it helped shape the story.

I did cry at the end, and I dont cry all that much at movies. This one really got to me, because I can only begin to imagine what this poor man went through.

If you havent seen this movie, my suggestion to you is to call your local video store, and have them hold it for you. This will win many oscars come next year. I for one am glad to have seen it.

Rating:
Summary: Spartacus for a new age
Review: As a director Ridley Scott only excels when he has the strongest material to work from. The best of Scott's films whether it be the classic (but flawed) Blade Runner, The Duelist or Alien work when style matches content. The two combine to create a forceful work of art. Like Hitchcock (with whom Scott is often compared because of his painterly approach to film), Scott has continued to deliver a series of stunning films. Gladiator, inspite of the fact that many of its elements are warm overs from other films, works because at its core it deals with the complexities and the very human face of politics.

The DVD transfer is simply stunning. The sound mix is among the best I've heard on a DVD (whether or not you listen to it in DTS or 5.1). Scott's comments are enlightening but even without them you can see why the scenes on disc two were cut. My only commplaint is with the way the DVD is sequenced. I would have preferred to see this without DTS (since it consumes so much disc space) and have the deleted scenes on the same disc. X-Men has the scenes set up so that they can be (with a slight pause) reintegrated into the film to give the viewer an idea of what the preview might have looked like. So, in essence, you get two versions of the film with the convience of the DVD format to choose.

The extras are terrific (particularly the documentary stuff) although not essential. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: THE FALL OF ROMAN EMPIRE added with SPARTACUS, but ...
Review: I really can't see why this film became so popular. It's basically the same story as Anthony Mann's THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, with the thematics of SPARTACUS added to it. This should have been a good idea for a great entertaining as well as powerfully emotional movie in which the audience engage themselves in spite of the fact that the story is 2000 years ago.

SPARTACUS is still a powerful film because it's also a story about humanity and idealism; the equality of all humans, freedom, etc.,. It's also has a lot of strong visuals and fine performances through out the entire film; the subject matter is so engaging the actors should be good.

THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE is a flawed film perhaps, but still is a great one in the way it investigates the corruption of power, which is also a very contemporary theme. (by the way, SPARTACUS was also partly directed by Mann).

Now comes GLADIATOR, which is a recent film, but I find it quite obselete because the thematic matter is reduced to one over-used stereotypical idea; the guy wants to fight against a poweful but corrupted empire because he wants to...see his family who are already dead? This mutilated hero doesn't even have the guts to revenge that precious family of his. Come on! Is that a bad joke or something?

How an actor, as good as he may be (and Crowe is a terrific one) can put his emotion in a character like this? Well, obviously he couldn't. All that remmains is the fact is that he is still good looking... The other actors are horrible. For instance, just compare the portrayal of the emperor as Anthony Mann envisioned him and the shallow vilan in this Ridley Scott version.

This film made me think again that Hollywood now has a lot to learn from its own history. Scott is basically a good, very skilled and inovative director I can't see why he could be satisfied with such an empty, uninteresting script.

Okay, I admit, the first 20 minutes battle sequence is quite interesting visually, and that's my reason for the one additional star. I hoped the filmmakers could keep that tention through out the film. But with such a bad script, I guess it must have been difficult to look continuously for interestitng things to interpret as image.

Rating:
Summary: BEST PICTURE 2000
Review: I was so impressed with this movie. Ridley Scott takes us back to ancient Rome like James Cameron did with Titanic. Visually a masterpiece of art. The music, the acting,the scenery,and the action is a sight to behold. A major treat for DVD. I think it's a must see movie.

Rating:
Summary: Gladiator -- Best of old and new
Review: Oliver Reed, Richard Harris, Derek Jacobi. Morituri te salutamus indeed! The R rating is for blood (fake, of course, but well done) and your kids have seen worse on TV. There is no sex or even bad language! The growling tigers are the best I've seen on film since Sheena QOJ in the 50's! For a Dreamworks production, this film is surprisingly free of political undertones (except of the anti-Gore ilk, if you'll forgive the pun), unlike the (for interracial sex in the first 10 minutes) 15REW-rated The Perfect Storm. It's just a plain good action movie, not unlike Mel Gibson's Oscar®-winning BRAVEHEART, his PATRIOT, and Spielberg's last decent film the Oscar®-winning SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. The action is surrounded by and laced with excellent acting in the best British tradition. The two newbies, Joaquin Phoenix and Connie Nielsen, are good additions to the seasoned cast. Phoenix, with his harelip scar, is destined to be typecast as a slimeball, I'm afraid, but he does it well. Nielsen, a Sela Ward lookalike, holds up her role as the only sexy personage in the film very well. And speaking of scars, the perfectly-scarfaced Tommy Flanagan reappears as Cicero, Russell Crowe's aide-de-camp. (He was Mel Gibson's aide-de-camp in Braveheart, the prima-nocte-"offended husband.") This DVD was well-worth the $$ spent for it.

Rating:
Summary: Spectacular!
Review: If you enjoyed this movie in the theatre, this is a must have DVD set! Aside from a magnificent film, the additional footage and commentary features of this DVD make it a great deal.

I absolutely loved it when I saw it in the theatres, and I was looking forward to being able to see it on DVD, and I was definitely not disappointed.

5 stars for Ridley Scott!

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant film, FANTASTIC special features
Review: The virtues of the film have been extolled at great length in previous reviews, so I shall here instead praise the greatness of the DVD. It is a dual-disc release, the first disc containing the film itself, and the second disc all the "extras." And, true to any Ridley Scott outing, the extras are there in great abundance. The second disc contains almost 2 hours worth of very well done documentary (nearly 1 full hour on the history of the gladiators of the Roman Empire, 1 half hour documentary on the filming of 'Gladiator,' and 1 half hour documentary on the scoring of the film which is itself worth buying the DVD for). Other features include story-board, stills from the film and cast/crew, the diary of someone who worked on the film which was written during production, production notes, deleted scenes and other goodies. Other films have far, far less for twice the price. The 'Gladiator' DVD is, in my opinion, the perfect example of why I love the DVD format, with its ability to contain more information and features. In this case, it helps to flesh out the experience of Ridley Scott's truly brilliant film, making it even more exciting and moving. It is a must have in any DVD collection.

Rating:
Summary: Best Movie Since Sparticus
Review: This is by far the greatest movie I have ever seen. Russell Crowe Does an ecellent job. This movie may not be ALL historically accurate, but it is close. It is somewhat like Titanic....mixing history and a fictional story. I would however rate this movie 5 of 5 because this is not a movie of just gore, but revenge. The story is clear, the sound is great and the actors are great. GET THIS MOVIE ASAP!

Rating:
Summary: You get your money's worth on this one!
Review: I wont compare this film to Spartacus or any other gladiator epic of the past, as this film really is a new breed of gladiator film. But I must say that I enjoy this better than Spartacus, the sets are much better and more realistic, the acting isnt as cheesy, and while I admit the story not being as good as Spartacus, Gladiator is simply more entertaining. I just hope we're not bombarded with more gladiator flicks over the next few years. That aside, this really is an enjoyable and worthwhile film. Yes, it is a bit violent at times (the fight choreographer was the same person who designed Braveheart's battle scenes- just FYI so you know what you are in for!) but it also has a very emotional story. Cameron Crowe is about as great a heroic character as you'll find in modern films. The cinematography is incredible! Ok, so it borrows a bit from some other modern films (Private Ryan, Braveheart) but seeing an aerial view of ancient Rome is one of the better uses of CGI that I've seen. Surprisingly, alot of this film uses CGI but its done so well you never notice it! The people in the Coloseum, for example, are mostly computer generated. I hate computer invlovement with films but this time they did a decent job--well okay, except for that tiger... The DVD package is outstanding, I really give hats off to Ridley Scott for consistently putting out excellent DVD packages. Most reputable directors wont be bothered to give commentaries (Spielberg!) as perhaps they feel they dont need too, but Ridley Scott almost always takes the time to give us insight on his art. His commentary on the Alien DVD was great, and this is no exception. There are so many interesting extra materials they had to put it on a second disc (over 3 hours worth). Also, unlike Spielberg's DVDs, the Dolby Digital and DTS soundtracks are on the same disc. To find all this in a package under 20 bucks is really incredible. Thanks to Ridley Scott (again) for making a great film and for putting out this great DVD package which basically shows off everything that is cool about the DVD format. Mr. Scott definitely knows what his audience wants! This is the best DVD purchase Ive ever made, hands down.