Gladiator

Rating:
Summary: WATCH THIS MOVIE WITH THE SOUND TURNED OFF....
Review: Or better yet, watch this movie when DVD players fimally come with a "remove the formulated dialogue" button.

OK- Let's be fair and discuss the movie's positives: Dialogue not withstanding, Ridley Scott's epic is very well paced, to say nothing of the fact that every reel is a visual masterpiece. John Mathieson (cinematographer) is truly a master of his craft, and Pietro Scalia(editor) cuts and dissolves with deft accuracy. The overall visuals in this film are nothing short of astounding, and are well worth a second and third look(DVD owners). Of course, the sound effects can hit so hard, your neighbors are sure to replace their anonymous hatemail with personalized pipe bombs. Russel Crowe was intense in Virtuocity, L.A. Confidential, The Insider, and he is intense in Gladiator as well. What could possibly be the reason for giving him talent-robbing dialogue? In addition, it's painfully obvious that the studio further removed the emotional impact of this film by watering down the battle scenes so that they could turn Ridley Scott's potential work of art into a more palatable "product" that is fun for the whole family. Don't know what I mean? Think of how the violence in Braveheart made Mel Gibson's character more interesting, and how the audience left the theater shaken with the reality of what they have witnessed: The truth of all the blood spilled by real people that were not afraid to perform the ultimate sacrifice for themselves, and their families. For some, Braveheart was a difficult movie to watch, and it should be. For those of you who criticized Braveheart for it's graphic violence; SOME LIFE SITUATIONS ARE NOT FOR EVERYONE, THEREFORE, ALL MOVIES SHOULD NOT BE FOR EVERYONE EITHER.

Now, picture the same Braveheart battle scenes- only before the cameras start to roll, replace all the spears, arrows and axes with Nerf bats and balls. Combine this with uninteresting dialogue that everyone has heard thousands of times over, and you are left with a cumulative result of "the little engine that could have been, but wasn't because once again, someone's artistic vision was stamped on heavily by Madison Avenue".

Now back to my original point- I'm sure there are many of you who could split hairs for hours on whether or not the violence in the movie had negligible impact, So I'll try not to beat that dead horse. What I wanted to get across before I went off on my little tangent, was that better dialogue COULD HAVE SAVED THIS MOVIE, and made it into an important film.

For those of you out there that are still planning on renting or buying the DVD, let me assist you in this decision making process by providing you with 2 little snippits of information:

A) Film summary for the audience: Never leave your greedy, power hungry and incestuous little brother alone with dear old dad. The End.

B) For Filmmakers: When given a budget that allows for man-eating CGI tigers, invest in the writing, writing, writing. If still unsure, see point A.

Rating:
Summary: WOW! What a movie!
Review: For the lovers of BraveHeart, if you miss this one, you've just proven yourself absolutely insane! Great story, great acting! Amazing musical score! Don't miss it!

Rating:
Summary: Average
Review: Sorry to go against the flow but I found this movie too long and too predictable and Russell Crowe's acting was wooden at best. Of course there is lots of action and I have to say I felt a bit like the citizens of Rome in the movie, every effect and situation was thrown at me in an effort to entertain. I wont be adding this to my collection

Rating:
Summary: To sum up in a word: Awesome
Review: This dvd is great, and the first one i purchased when i got a dvd player. Let me first start of with the movie. The movie is excellent, with great pacing, superb acting (Joquien Pheonix and Crowe are awesome!)a great storyline, and fabulous action. What more could you want? The sound on this dvd is great, in both formats. The DTS is better then the Dolby digital, but both are amazing and show the dvd's potential. The picture quality is sharp, and spot on. The extra's on this dvd are some of the best a dvd will have. 30 minutes of cut scenes, 3 documentaries, trailers, a diary of one of the actors on the set, cast and cre bio, storyboards and still photography. Loaded. This dvd is one of the best around, and i mean it. If your just getting a dvd player make sure to pick up this and Terminator 2 the ultimate edition.

Rating:
Summary: Maximum Maximus
Review: Make no mistake- this is Russell Crowe's movie. His performance as a Roman general-turned-slave carries this movie over top and makes its script flaws forgiveable. It also helps this movie avoid the laughable "men-in-skirts" syndrome that befalls so many Hollywood epics set in Classical times.

Crowe begins the film as heroic and victorious Maximus, Emperor Marcus Aurelius' favorite. Maximus leads his legions to victory in a battle sequence that simply must be seen to be believed- many aptly compared it to "Saving Private Ryan." It trumps Stanley Kubrick's "Spartacus" finale for terror and realism, if not for scale and spectacle. Within a few short scenes after Maximus' triumph, Joaquin Phoenix, as Commodus, usurps the throne and Maximus escapes and flees to Spain to find his beloved family murdered. Wounded, he ends up in Africa (a confusing transition that would've benefitted from at least one image of a ship) under the care of Oliver Reed. Maximus becomes the greatest gladiator of them all, which leads him to Rome and a showdown with Commodus.

In between are some amazing scenes of gladiatorial combat, where dust and blood mingle. One scene in particular stands out: Maximus isn't interested in putting on a show; as a soldier, he killed out of necessity. Now, he must kill for the pleasure of debauched crowds. After dispatching his foes, he angrily hurls his sword into a luxury box and taunts the crowd, then throws down his other sword and angrily spits into the sand. This is Russell Crowe at his finest, in a brutal action sequence with emotional content, where his character's pain and loss coalesce with the crowd's bloodlust to produce a dramatic and utterly believable gesture of contempt.

Joaquin Phoenix manages to convey a man driven to excess by his father's indifference towards his existence, and his slide into insanity, without sacrificing all sympathy for Commodus. Never mind that the movie's story owes more to Caligula and that the political scenes can't match those in "Spartacus" for veracity and labyrintine plotting- this is a rousing, gut-wrenching spectacle with a human center and plenty of emotion. Not only that, its recreation of the Colosseum is awe-inspiring.

The DVD provides a neat bundle of extras (storyboards, commentary, a documentary on gladiators and deleted scenes among others) that greatly enhance a marvelous, action-packed film. This is one of those movies for which this technology was created.

With Oliver Reed in his last role as Proximo, Maximus' owner-mentor, an excellently restrained Richard Harris as Marcus Aurelius (great emperor, so-so father) and Connie Nielson as Commodus' sister and would-be love interest.

Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest movies ever
Review: If you love the movie 'Braveheart', you are almost guaranteed to love 'Gladiator' also. These are big budget, quality movies containing some of the most beautiful musical scores as well. Definitely one word of caution : both of these movies portray extremely brutal and violent fights/warfare.

Rating:
Summary: "Epic masterpiece?" What the hell?!
Review: Boring plot is more akin to watching WWF wrestling than a "masterpiece." Boring characters, crappy special effects, ugly atmosphere, and pretentious acting don't make a great movie. Why is this movie receiving so much praise? I have no idea.

Rating:
Summary: NOTHING like Spartacus
Review: I like Ridley Scott and was expecting this to be a well made movie with an interesting story, but was sadly disappointed. The acting was poor and the story and characters were uninteresting. It's nowhere near as good as the epic movie Spartacus. Spartacus had great actors, relevant political themes and had several powerful philosophical ideals running through the story. I loved the scene where Spartacus and the man he was going to fight to death in the arena were sitting together while 2 other gladiators fought outside their holding pen. No dialogue and none was necessary, but you could really sense the fear and tension the 2 characters were feeling.

This Gladiator movie was okay, but not worth buying. It's not something I'll likely watch a second time. It just isn't very interesting and the acting doesn't seem that sincere either.

Rating:
Summary: Classic!
Review: I saw Gladiator and I can only say: Brilliant. Definitely the best movie for last year. I'm greek and I know the history of the facts and altough there are some historical inaccuracies in the movie, cast's performances are terrific, with Russell Crowe being the best of course. This movie is definitely Ridley Scott's masterpiece. Incredible scenes, adventure, action, special effects.. I just can't stop watching this DVD again and again and not only because of the movie. There is a second disc with tons of extras. I think this is the best DVD release I own. A serious must!

Rating:
Summary: Gee willikers, I hate to rain on everyone's parade, but --
Review: I saw this movie five years ago. It was called *Braveheart*. (And it wasn't much better than this tripe.)

There's so much to dislike, I'm not even sure where to commence. OK, the music. Laughably portentous rot by someone named Hans Zimmer. Tragic violins. Arabesque singing. World Beat bongos. The idea was to elevate the sophomoric material. It failed.

Number two -- the notions of the Roman Empire. The screenwriters seem to think that Senators were, rather like Hillary Clinton, ELECTED by ballots to their posts. This made me chuckle. A sad-looking Derek Jacobi, in a conversation with Joaquin Phoenix, proclaims at one point that the Senate, as opposed to the Emperor, is CHOSEN by the "people". May I interrupt? -- No. They were not. It was a hereditary right. Speaking of the people: where are they? I've never seen a movie where the populace is discussed so much without actually getting to KNOW any members of said politic body. Perhaps the gladiators are meant to stand in for the "people". If this was the screenwriters intent, they are again wrong. Gladiators were celebrities, usually beginning their career as captured prisoners of war or common felons. Hardly representative of the Roman "people". At any rate, the movie's ideas of the Roman people are obtuse. The word "mob" is given quite a workout. Again, Derek Jacobi: "He (meaning Commodus) will give them DEATH . . . and they will LOVE him for it," re: the apparent resumption of the gladiatorial spectacles. This a rather sweeping statement. If true, why's Commodus a bad guy? Hell, he's giving them what they want. The movie seems to believe that the Senate would represent the "people" better than the Emperor. In other words, the screenwriters don't know from Imperial Rome. The Roman Senate, from its inception, was a venal, aristocratic body who lived off the labor of Rome's slaves and poor tradesmen. Julius Caesar was killed by SENATORS because he wanted to reform some of these indignities. But the screenwriters believe that Rome's Senate musta been like the USA's Senate. At last check, our Senators haven't owned slaves since the 1860's.

Number three -- the story. Or what there is of it. Synopsis: *Braveheart*. If ya seen that hullabaloo, you don't gotta see *Gladiator*.

Number four -- performances. Russell Crowe looks mightily unhappy. Heck, the dude's grim even before his family gets hanged 'n' burnt to a fine crisp. All the "Oscar" talk in these many Amazon reviews is wishful thinking, because not only did he get into some fisticuffs with Matt Damon but he also violated America's Sweetheart. In other words, Hollywood don't like him. He was better in *L.A. Confidential*, anyway. Richard Harris as Marcus Aurelius and Oliver Reed as Proximo bring in some of the old professionalism and canniness. Joaquin Phoenix's Commodus is an unplayable part, so the disastrous result is not really his fault. The screenwriters saddle the Emperor with Freudian hang-ups. It's the same old song. Daddy doesn't love me . . . blah blah. Who cares. Not only that, Mr. Phoenix steals from Ralph Fiennes' Amon Goeth in *Schindler's List*. At one point, he even says of himself "Commodus the merciful . . ." -- recalling the scene where Schindler tries to persuade Fiennes to not be such a wacko. Well, that's typical of this movie's lack of originality.

Number five -- the production. Dusty browns and reds. Also, unaccountably, a stainless-steel blue atmosphere when we first see Rome guaranteed to make you squint your eyes. Same applies for the first battle scene in Germania. Dark blues and blacks. Not much is visible; you gotta take the victory on faith. The Germania scene was done better in *Braveheart*, anyway. Also, the gladiatorial fights are, as one reviewer wisely pointed out, done in the manner of an Oliver Stone production: the camera whizzes around, shakes, convulses into time-elapse . . . all the modern goodies. I think there were tigers in the ring at one point, but the camera wouldn't sit still long enough for me to be sure. I'll take Kirk fighting against the net-and-trident dude in *Spartacus* on any given Sunday.

This movie sux.