Gladiator
Published 2021-10-24
Film info
- Title Gladiator
- Director Ridley Scott
- Year 2000
- Run time 2hr 35m
- Genres Action, Adventure, Drama
- Tagline A hero will rise
- Cast Russell Crowe
Winner of five Academy Awards, Gladiator revived the sword and sandal epic while becoming one of the acclaimed and popular historical dramas of the decade. A general whose family is murdered by a corrupt prince embarks on a desperate quest for revenge that sees him fighting in front of thousands of Romans in the Coliseum.
Live blog
| Time | Comment |
|---|---|
| 6:01 | They have so many weapons compared to the peeps in the trees. |
| 13:00 | So a peaceful and united Europe, is it? Seems unlikely. |
| 16:37 | "Have I missed the battle?" "You have missed the war." |
| 24:31 | Surely if he is the Caesar, he can decide whether to be at war or not. |
| 36:56 | "Your faults as a son are my failure as a father." Not a compliment. |
| 45:34 | I'm always amazed how fast horses can go when they need to. |
| 55:29 | It's weird to think of him being so high up and no one recognising him. No pictures in them days. |
| 1:01:35 | Can't believe this is entertainment. |
| 1:09:46 | "Rome is a mob... take away their freedom and still they roar." |
| 1:20:06 | If we didn't already know Commodus was a bit creepy, he's watching people sleep now. |
| 1:34:44 | OMG at the woman cut in half. |
| 1:41:22 | Rulers that care too much what the people think of them are weak. |
| 1:44:08 | "It vexes me. I'm terribly vexed." |
| 1:58:16 | The tigers are terrifying. |
| 2:11:44 | He's literally standing at the foot of the statue. |
| 2:23:16 | Kids have such big mouths. |
| 2:33:05 | "Striking story." It's not bad, they made a film of it. |
| 2:43:50 | Not yet. |
Thoughts
I had seen this before a long time ago, but really the only thing I remembered of it is that Oliver Reed had sadly passed away during filming and they had to do some graphical trickery to finish off his storyline. What was most striking about this movie is that it has the lengthy runtime but it never felt too long. The story sweeps you up and you just want to know what is going to happen and how the corrupt Caesar is going to get his comeuppance. It's slightly awkward that Phoenix steals the show a little bit, and Crowe can't fully hide his Australian accent, but everyone in the cast is great.
I'm sure there are many historical inaccuracies, and of course the problem with a film like this is that we're two decades on now and all the findings in between will have no doubt proved elements of it incorrect. But it's a great drama, well told and shot, and very moving towards the end.
Rating: 5 / 5