Rating: 
Summary: Excellence on every level
Review: What is the best part of this DVD? Everything! The movie works at every level. It is a compelling story told by a strong cast, backed by breathtaking cinematography and a haunting musical score. It is an unparalled blend of action, morality and romance. The movie presents without preaching what every man should want to be, heroic without conceit, loyal to self and family without compromise, cognisant of duty without ambition.This would easily make my list of 10-best movies. As much as I enjoyed Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, I think Gladiator surpasses it at every point. It is a movie that will cause you to pause and think weeks after you see it.
Rating:
Summary: What a treat!
Review: DVD's can do one of two things: either they entertain you or AMAZE you. Extras are a large part of the amazement, and Gladiator delivers is like only a few other DVD's have in the past (ie - Criterion Collection Armageddon, or The Abyss Special Edition). This two disk feature provides top quality sound and picture, behind the scenes featurettes, detailed cast/crew bios, deleted scenes and oh so much more. The film itself is a fantastic production, well acted and produced, and serves up healthy portions of action and politcal intrigue. This is hand-down, one of the best films to come out of Dreamworks. I highly recommend it as an addition to any DVD enthusiast's collection. Happy viewing!
Rating: 
Summary: A toga picture to Crowe about!
Review: This is a sand and sandals gladiator epic with flair and intrigue. The plot is just a little too trite, the picture just a bit too long and the often pretentious dialogue is just so-so but the acting in support, the grand cinematography, the totally enveloping big sound and the magnificent battle staging, along with great computer special effects, all combine to make this one of the best action movies of the year! You get sucked in in spite of its flaws. Crowe is quite good as Maximus but I feel he was better in L.A. Confidential a few years ago. Here he nobly struts around as a killing machine with the right amount of angst and honorable rage. However, the supporting players really make this movie work. Joaquin Phoenix pouts, sulks, lusts, romps and schemes his way through his juicy role as Commodus, Maximus' evil foil (Academy members take note!). Wthout Phoenix, Crowe would be just another well-built dirty slave waiting to nobly die in the gladiatorial dust. It is true here that the star brings the masses in but the villain actually makes the movie work as entertaining art. Connie Nielson projects just the right air of conniving, jaded sadness as the Emperor's sister and Maximus' former lover. Oliver Reed as the cynical former gladiator who saves Maximus for the battle pits is convincingly world-weary, waiting for his redemption to come. Richard Harris is also fine in a small but integral part as the failing Roman emperor whose murder by Commodus acts as the catalyst for the subsequent machinations of the main players. Finally, Crowe's adoring gladiator buddies provide excellent redemptive "backup" for him at the proper times later in the picture. I saw this movie for the first time in the big screen theater and I was not all that impressed at that time. It took a second and even a third viewing on my home theater screen to really appreciate the fine work and detail that went into making this a superior entertainment. Comparisons to Kirk Douglas' Spartacus are inevitable. In many ways this picture is better made and has more to say about life, love and honor than even that old classic. Perhaps the extreme budget differential between the two plays a major role in that assessment but the bottom line for the discerning viewer is that this picture can stand alone against the best of its peers and still come out on top as an entertainment with a message. This is enjoyable escapist fare and comes highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Sound, Music and Other Thoughts
Review: I loved everything about the movie - but I will mention a few highlights that I found truly enjoyable. I loved the acting in the movie - Joaquin Phoenix puts on a show and is extremely convincing even when the plot gets unreasonably melodramatic at the end. And Connie Nielsen as the frightened mother and sister embroiled in palace intrigue is unforgettable. Ofcourse, Russell Crowe deserves every accolade heaped on him. What impressed me most about the DVD (and movie) was the soundtrack. From the opening sequence to the last, the music was simply mesmerising. Note how the music shifts moods and genre in keeping with the sequences playing out on the screen. Watching the hour-long special on the music and its composer on the accompanying second disc is a must. The quality of sound was amazing - I could have sworn I heard a horse neighing in my front-yard as Aurelius was conversing with Maximus in his tent after the battle!! The little touches to the script, to portray reality 2000 years ago, are admirable. The sewage issues being discussed in the Senate, the bloodthirstiness of the crowds at the Colisseum, the adoration for the gladiators, were all deftly portrayed without ever getting to be a heavy dose in history. Finally, the movie makes one realise why Rome was the greatest civilisation in Europe (inspite of its culture of arena violence and its deviation from the original political ideal that Maximus fights to restore) when the rest of the continent was dark and sinister.
Rating:
Summary: Thumbs down is a good thing in the ancient Roman arena
Review: __________________ I saw this twice in the theater and wanted to see it on DVD, curious about the performances. Were they as magnificent as I remembered, or was it the spectacle on the big screen? The film was a spectacle, but the impact is only slightly reduced on the small screen. The performances are towering, and the cast is excellent. This is a movie most will enjoy, particularly those who enjoyed Braveheart. I'm not particularly a Ridley Scott fan, but when the performances are great, it's the director. This is quite an achievement, particularly since it is a genre picture. While I like historical dramas, few are of this high quality, and I hope that lesser lights don't try a follow-on to the success of Gladiator. The companion disk has a behind the scenes or making of video which didn't interest me. I didn't want to spoil my experience of the movie by seeing the fakery. There is also an hour long historical supplement that is very educational. The child actor contributed a diary of his time on location, and although it took some time to get through all the pages, I found them to be amusing. The deleted scenes have alternate sound tracks provided by Ridley Scott, which was an excellent idea. It's easy to see that something needed to be cut due to the sheer length of the movie, but the story is further illuminated by viewing them, and the "betting" sequence is quite amusing. Before you read any more of this review, or any others, I strongly suggest you buy and view the film. If you still have doubts, check your local library -- many of them stock the VHS or DVD version, and will lend it to you more cheaply than a typical neighborhood video rental place. You may find that the local library doesn't stock it, but can get it from another nearby. Some libraries have online account management which allow you to request a check out of a book or video from a more convenient location. Everyone loves the selection at the video rental chain, but everyone should also try to support their local library. You are after all paying for it. This movie recently won the Academy Award for Best Picture (2000) which has tinkled off a number of people (including about one third to one half of the subsequent reviewers here on Amazon). Since there are 735+ reviews.... it seems like a good time for everyone to find a new hobby than reviewing "Gladiator". Since we no longer have live bloodsports (at least, not in the US) we engage in endless debate on trivial subjects, such as whether this or that Oscar was deserved. Two words -- WHO CARES? "Gladiator" is visually stunning -- less so that it was on the big screen -- has an excellent and integrated sound track, believable characters, great performances throughout, and the companion disk has a one hour documentary on the life of real Roman gladiators and the history of the "games". Other features of the companion disk include scenes that had to be cut, a making of the film diary of the child actor who played Lucius, as well as a behind the scenes documentary I didn't have the heart to watch. The movie is a work of art, and therefore, despite the fact that historical background was used, the plot is fictional. On the other hand, the emperor Commodus was suspected of murdering his father; he had some sort of physical ailment that lasted throughout his adult life; and the real Commodus was murdered by a slave who was employed by the emperor's political enemies to do so. That said, the historical accuracy of various details -- battle tactics and equipment, the names of the emperors and their families, the simulated city skylines -- is magnificent. Tigers were used in the real Roman games, as were orangutans (which were rediscovered in their SE Asian habitat in recent centuries), Indian elephants, and other Asian species imported for that purpose. The monsoon trade route to and from the Far East has been known for thousands of years, and in Hellenistic times became well known -- probably not for the first time -- in the Mediterranean basin. There are still those who think that no one sailed beyond the sight of the shore prior to 1400 AD, but those people are a pack of landlubber ninnies. "Spartacus" was a better film only in that the title character was loosely based on a real historical figure. But that movie was also a work of fiction, no less so than "Gladiator". "Ben Hur" I've not seen, but know that it was similarly fictionalized. I do hope that any historical blockbuster films which follow in the footsteps of "Gladiator" do as good a job of virtual time travel. Recommended viewing: -:- I, Claudius (DVD set, B00004U12X) -:- Spartacus (DVD, B00005A8TY) Recommended reading: -:- Everyday Life In Ancient Rome by Lionel Casson (0801859921) -:- Travel in the Ancient World by Lionel Casson (0801848083) -:- The Ancient Mariners by Lionel Casson (0691014779) -:- Sick Caesars by Michael Grant, particularly for the profiles of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus (0760709378, 00090312011) -:- A Scandalous History of the Roman Emperors by Anthony Blond (0786707593)
Rating:
Summary: Good popcorn flick, but --
Review: -- if you're looking for a really long movie with lots of violence and a true hero at the center, rent "The Deer Hunter" instead. In fact, the title "Gladiator" reminds me of a line from the first scene of the earlier film, where Christopher Walken says, "Hey, did you hear about the happy Roman? He was . . ."
Rating:
Summary: Russel Crowe at his Best!
Review: Many critics of the year 2000 have stated that there really weren't any good movies this year. They were wrong. Gladiator is an exceptional exception to the rule! Having watched several Russel Crowe films previously, I was unimpressed initially with the fact that people were raving mad about it and yet it stared Crowe. So I went along to watch it for myself. The film begins with a battle scene more realistic than any other film before (that I've seen anyway). When you think about a battle, you think knights in shining armour with glory charging down the mountainside to slay all the enemy, almost without loss. This battle was grim reality. In the heart of a German forest, amidst the oncoming winter, the mud and the grime, rank upon rank rank (excuse the pun, if you get it) are standing bravely waiting for the barbarian attack. The battlescene is horrendously gruesome with many killed and wounded on both sides. How the directors managed such realism is beyond me and shows the potential for the cinema in future films. The storyline continues, Crowe (the general in the aforementioned battle) being exiled by the cruel new emporer to become a circus gladiator. The rest of the movie follows his extremely melancholy life, in which wife and child are murdered, and he earns a reputation as one of the greatest gladiators in the arena. The film ends with Crowe fighting against the emporer in the arena. The emporer secretly wounds Crowe before the actual fight to give him an advantage. I won't say who won, or it would spoil the ending, but I will say that the Gladiator is A MUST SEE! Unless you can't stomach the gore, in which case I do not recommend it. For everyone else, though, this is definitely one of the best of all time, and you will miss out sorely if you never watch it...
Rating:
Summary: And the winner is ..... Gladiator!
Review: Yap... Mr. Oscar (statuette) is waiting for you... This is one great adventure/drama movie. One of the best movie in the last Millineium. Superb story, great directing, and a great cinematography, a beautiful assemble of actors, very nice costume, make-up, editing, etc., etc., etc... I wouldn't be surprised if this movie, gets at least 4-5 awards...
Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece
Review: This is one of the best film's that I've seen in quite some time. The breathtaking sequences and graphic effects really put me in this time period. I also like the special features such as the hour-long gladiator documentary, and deleted scenes with commentary from Ridley Scott. I definitely recommend adding this one to your library, and if you haven't seen it, rent it. You'll want to buy it then.
Rating:
Summary: Stunning and Riveting!
Review: This movie was one of the best I have ever seen. The detail is tremendous and the story line fantastic. It is a story of tradgedy and couragouesness(spelling). All ages will love this movie except for young children. This movie comes highly recommended. Enjoy watching it!
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