Gladiator is a 2000 epic historical drama film directed by Ridley Scott and written by David Franzoni, John Logan, and William Nicholson. The film was co-produced and released by DreamWorks Pictures and Universal Pictures. DreamWorks Pictures distributed the film in North America while Universal Pictures released it internationally through United International Pictures. Crowe portrays Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius, who is betrayed when Commodus, the ambitious son of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, murders his father and seizes the throne. Reduced to slavery, Maximus becomes a gladiator and rises through the ranks of the arena to avenge the murders of his family and his emperor.
Gladiator premiered in Los Angeles on May 1, 2000, and was released theatrically in Australia on May 4, the United States on May 5 and in the United Kingdom on May 11. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for the acting (particularly Crowe’s and Phoenix’s performances), Scott’s direction, visuals, screenplay, action sequences, musical score and the production values. It was a box office success, grossing $187.7 million in the United States and $457 million worldwide, making it the second highest-grossing film of 2000. The film won multiple awards, including five at the 73rd Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Actor for Crowe, Best Costume Design, Best Sound and Best Visual Effects.
Plot.
In 180 AD, Hispano-Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius intends to return home after he leads the Roman army to victory against the Germanic tribes near Vindobona on the Limes Germanicus. Emperor Marcus Aurelius tells Maximus that his own son, Commodus, is unfit to rule and that he wishes Maximus to succeed him, as regent, to help save Rome from corruption and restore the republic. Upon hearing this, Commodus murders his father. Commodus proclaims himself the new emperor, asking Maximus for his loyalty, but the latter refuses. Maximus is arrested by the Praetorian Guard and is told that he and his family will die. He kills his captors and rides for his home near Trujillo, where he finds his wife and son crucified. Maximus buries them, then collapses from his injuries.
Slavers find him, and take him to the city of Zucchabar in the Roman province of Mauretania Caesariensis, where he is sold to gladiator trainer Proximo.
Maximus reluctantly fights in local tournaments, his combat skills helping him win matches and gain popularity. He befriends two other gladiators: Hagen, a German; and Juba, a Numidian. Proximo reveals to Maximus that he was once a gladiator who was freed by Marcus Aurelius, and advises him to “win the crowd” to win his freedom.
When Commodus organizes 150 days of games to commemorate his father’s death, Proximo takes his gladiators to Rome to fight in the Colosseum. Disguised by a masked helmet, Maximus debuts in the Colosseum as a Carthaginian in a re-enactment of the Battle of Zama. Unexpectedly, he leads his side to victory,
and Commodus enters the Colosseum to offer his congratulations. He orders the disguised Maximus, as leader of the gladiators, to show himself and give his name; Maximus removes his helmet and declares vengeance. Commodus is compelled by the crowd to let the gladiators live, and his guards are held back from striking them down.
Maximus’s next fight is against a legendary undefeated gladiator, Tigris of Gaul. Commodus has arranged for several tigers to be set upon Maximus during the duel; Maximus, however, prevails. Commodus orders Maximus to kill Tigris, but Maximus spares his opponent’s life; he is called “Maximus the Merciful” by the crowd. Angered at this outcome, Commodus taunts Maximus about his family’s deaths, but the latter turns and walks away.
Filming.
The film was shot in three main locations between January and May 1999. The opening battle scenes in the forests of Germania were shot in three weeks in the Bourne Woods, near Farnham, Surrey, in England. When Scott learned that the Forestry Commission planned to remove a section of the forest, he persuaded them to allow the battle scene to be shot there and burn it down. Scott and cinematographer John Mathieson used multiple cameras filming at various frame rates and a 45-degree shutter, creating stop motion effects in the action sequences, similar to techniques used for the battle sequences of Saving Private Ryan (1998).
Subsequently, the scenes of slavery, desert travel, and gladiatorial training school were shot in Ouarzazate, Morocco, just south of the Atlas Mountains over a further three weeks. To construct the arena where Maximus has his first fights, the crew used basic materials and local building techniques to manufacture the 30,000-seat mud brick arena. Finally, the scenes of Ancient Rome were shot over a period of nineteen weeks in Fort Ricasoli, Malta.
In Malta, a replica of about one-third of Rome’s Colosseum was built, to a height of 52 feet (15.8 meters), mostly from plaster and plywood (the other two-thirds and remaining height were added digitally).
The replica took several months to build and cost an estimated $1 million. The reverse side of the complex supplied a rich assortment of Ancient Roman street furniture, colonnades, gates, statuary, and marketplaces for other filming requirements. The complex was serviced by tented “costume villages” that had changing rooms, storage, armorers, and other facilities. The rest of the Colosseum was created in computer-generated imagery using set-design blueprints and textures referenced from live action, and rendered in three layers to provide lighting flexibility for compositing in Flame and Inferno software.
Box office.Â
Gladiator grossed $187.7 million in the United States and Canada and $269.9 million in other territories for a total of $457.6 million, against a production budget of $103 million. In North America, the film earned $34.8 million in its opening weekend at 2,938 theaters, topping the box office. It remained number one in its second weekend grossing $24.6 million, and dropped to third place in its third weekend with $19.7 million behind newcomers Dinosaur and Shanghai Noon.Cast:
- Russell Crowe as Maximus Decimus Meridius:
- Joaquin Phoenix as Commodus:
- Connie Nielsen as Lucilla:
- Oliver Reed as Antonius Proximo:
- Derek Jacobi as Senator Gracchus:
- Djimon Hounsou as Juba:
- Richard Harris as Marcus Aurelius:
- Ralf Möller as Hagen:
- Tommy Flanagan as Cicero:
- David Schofield as Senator Falco:
- John Shrapnel as Senator Gaius:
- Tomas Arana as Quintus
- Spencer Treat Clark as Lucius Verus:
- David Hemmings as Cassius:
- Sven-Ole Thorsen as Tigris of Gaul.
- Omid Djalili as a slave trader.
- Giannina Facio as Maximus’s wife.
- Giorgio Cantarini as Maximus’s son,
- John Quinn as Valerius.