This past week, I saw the trailer for Gladiator II, and that made me think about the original film from 2000. It has been a long time since I had seen the original and so I thought it would be a good idea to rewatch the Oscar winner before the sequel comes out in November.

Gladiator won several Academy Awards including Best Picture and best Lead Actor. It is an epic film well deserving of such honors. Russell Crowe, Juaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielson, Richard Harris, Djimon Hounsou, and Oliver Reed led the cast of the Roman epic, directed brilliantly by Ridley Scott. How Scott did not receive the Best Director Oscar for this masterpiece is beyond me (I take nothing away from Steven Soderbergh, though I have never seen Traffic, the film in which he won that year).

There are some criticisms about Gladiator not being historically accurate. I will not hold that against any movie that is not a documentary. I fail to see why that would be a reasonable or applicable criticism of any movie based in a historical time period.

According to IMDB, “Maximus is a powerful Roman general, loved by the people and the aging Emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Before his death, the Emperor chooses Maximus to be his heir over his own son, Commodus, and a power struggle leaves Maximus and his family condemned to death. The powerful general is unable to save his family, and his loss of will allows him to get captured and put into the Gladiator games until he dies. The only desire that fuels him now is the chance to rise to the top so that he will be able to look into the eyes of the man who will feel his revenge.”

The amazing large scale battle scenes are unbelievably shot and directed by Scott. The action is top notch and beautifully shot in all its bloody violence. The smaller scale action inside the Coliseum was every bit as well directed and perhaps even more impressive. The scene involving the tigers was thrilling with every step and the final showdown between Maximus and Commodus was designed perfectly, very satisfyingly as well as emotionally. Visual effects were another Oscar win for the team from Gladiator.

The sound of this movie was masterful. Gladiator did receive the Oscar for best Sound and it was well deserved again. The sound of the clanking swords to the sound of the metal slicing through skin and bone are chilling.

The performances were breathtaking in many ways. Russell Crowe displayed such a visceral power in his anger and grief that fueled his revenge, yet never got in the way of the man he was. He was matched by the jealousy and insecurity of Juaquin Phoenix. He becomes so very sinister during the run of this movie, all built on the sense of loss of the love of his father.

Crowe and Phoenix do not share a ton of scenes, but when they are together, the energy is palpable.

“Are you not entertained?” I absolutely was. This was an amazing film and I certainly hope that the sequel coming later in the year is a worthy successor to this.