Gladiator (2000 film)

Development

David Franzoni, who wrote the first draft of the Gladiator screenplay, traveled across Eastern Europe and the Middle East by motorcycle in 1972. "Everywhere I went in Europe, there were arenas", Franzoni recalled. "Even as I went east, going through Turkey, I began to think to myself this must have been a hell of a franchise." During a stop in Baghdad, Iraq, he started reading the 1958 Daniel P. Mannix novel Those About to Die,^[b] which gave him the idea for Gladiator.^[7]

Twenty-five years later, Franzoni wrote the screenplay for Steven Spielberg's Amistad, which was Spielberg's first film for DreamWorks Pictures. Though Amistad was only a moderate commercial success, DreamWorks was impressed with Franzoni's screenplay and gave him a three-picture deal as writer and co-producer.^[8] Remembering his 1972 trip, Franzoni pitched his gladiator story idea to Spielberg, who immediately told him to write the script.^[7] After reading the ancient Roman text Historia Augusta, Franzoni chose to center the story on Commodus. The protagonist was Narcissus, a wrestler who, according to the ancient historians Herodian and Cassius Dio, strangled Commodus to death.^[8]

DreamWorks producers Walter F. Parkes and Douglas Wick felt that Ridley Scott would be the ideal director to bring Franzoni's story to life.^[9] They showed him a copy of Jean-Léon Gérôme's 1872 painting Pollice Verso, which Scott said portrays the Roman Empire "in all its glory and wickedness".^[10] He was so captivated by the image that he immediately agreed to direct the film. When Parkes pointed out that Scott did not know anything about the story, Scott replied, "I don’t care, I’ll do it".^[11]

Once Scott was on board, he and Franzoni discussed films that could influence Gladiator, such as One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, La Dolce Vita, and The Conformist.^[7] However, Scott felt Franzoni's dialogue lacked subtlety, and he hired John Logan to rewrite the script. Logan rewrote much of the first act and made the decision to kill off Maximus's family to increase the character's desire for revenge.^[12] In November 1998, DreamWorks reached a deal with Universal Pictures to help finance the film: DreamWorks would distribute the film in North America, while Universal Pictures would distribute it internationally.^[13]

Casting

Before Russell Crowe was cast as Maximus, several other actors were considered for the role, including Antonio Banderas, Mel Gibson, and Tom Cruise.^[7] However, producers had Crowe at the top of their list after his breakout performance in L.A. Confidential (1997).^[7] Jude Law auditioned for Commodus, but Joaquin Phoenix was offered the part after sending in a "knockout" audition tape.^[14][7] Jennifer Lopez reportedly auditioned for Lucilla, but the role went to Connie Nielsen.^[15]

Principal photography

The film was shot at three main locations between January and May 1999.^[16] The opening battle scene set in the forests of Germania was shot at Bourne Wood, near Farnham, Surrey, in England.^[17] When Scott learned that the Forestry Commission was planning to remove a section of the forest, he obtained permission to burn it down for the scene.^[18] The scenes of slavery, desert travel, and the gladiatorial training school were shot in Ouarzazate, Morocco. The scenes set in Rome were shot in Malta, where the crew built a replica of about one-third of the Colosseum to a height of 52 feet (16 meters). The other two-thirds and remaining height were added digitally.^[19][20] The scenes of Maximus's farm were filmed in Val d'Orcia, Italy.^[21]

When filming battle scenes, Scott and cinematographer John Mathieson used multiple cameras filming at various frame rates and used a 45-degree shutter, which resulted in stylized visuals similar to those found in Saving Private Ryan.^[22] For the fight sequence involving tigers, both real tigers and a dummy tiger were used. Some of the live animals were filmed on set with the actors, and some were filmed against a bluescreen and then digitally composited into the scene.^[23][24]

Crowe was injured multiple times during principal photography. Describing the impact filming had on his body, Crowe said, "I've still got a lot of little scar[s]". He added, "I've had Achilles tendons go out, knees go out, both shoulders, this shoulder's actually had an operation on it ... I've got a lower back thing that just won't go away, and that's from a couple, sort of, fall impacts during fight sequences".^[15] Oliver Reed died of a heart attack on May 2, before all his scenes had been filmed. His character, Proximo, was meant to survive, but after Reed's death the script was revised to include his death at the hands of the Praetorian Guard. To make it appear that Reed had performed the entirety of Proximo's scenes, a body double was used, and Reed's face was digitally attached to the body of the double in post-production.^[c] The film is dedicated to Reed.

Script complaints and revisions

Although Franzoni and Logan completed a second draft of the screenplay in October 1998, Crowe has claimed that the script was "substantially underdone" when filming began three months later. In an interview with Inside the Actors Studio, Crowe said the crew "started shooting with about 32 pages and went through them in the first couple of weeks."^[27][28] The script was constantly changing throughout principal photography, with Scott soliciting input from writers, producers and actors.^[11] Some dialogue was created on the spot, such as Commodus's line "Am I not merciful?", which was ad-libbed by Phoenix.^[15] Crowe invented the phrase "Strength and Honor", which is a modified version of the Latin motto of his high school, "Veritate et Virtute", which translates as "Truth and Virtue".^[28] Crowe also improvised part of the scene in which Maximus describes his home to Marcus Aurelius. Instead of recounting the details of a fictional place, Crowe actually described his own home in Australia.^[29]

At one point, William Nicholson was hired to rewrite the script to make Maximus a more sensitive character. He reworked Maximus's friendship with Juba and developed the afterlife plot thread. He said he "did not want to see a film about a man who wanted to kill somebody".^[12] Crowe, however, was unhappy with some of Nicholson's dialogue. He allegedly called it "garbage", but is said to have claimed he is "the greatest actor in the world" and can "make even garbage sound good."^[15] According to a DreamWorks executive, Crowe "tried to rewrite the entire script on the spot. You know the big line in the trailer, 'In this life or the next, I will have my vengeance'? At first he absolutely refused to say it."^[30]

Music

The musical score for Gladiator was composed by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard, and conducted by Gavin Greenaway. The original soundtrack for the film was produced by Decca Records and released on April 25, 2000. Decca later released three follow-up albums: Gladiator: More Music From the Motion Picture (2001), Gladiator: Special Anniversary Edition (2005), and Gladiator: 20th Anniversary Edition (2020).^{[citation needed]}

"Now We Are Free"
Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard

Listen to a clip from the Gladiator score

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Problems playing this file? See media help.

In 2006, the Holst Foundation accused Hans Zimmer of copying the work of the late Gustav Holst in the Gladiator score. The organization sued Zimmer for copyright infringement and the case was settled out of court.^[31]

Initial theatrical release

Gladiator had its world premiere in Los Angeles, California, on May 1, 2000. The film was released in the United States and Canada on May 5, 2000.^[32] It earned $34.8 million during its opening weekend, making it the number one film of the weekend, and it remained number one in its second weekend, earning $24.6 million.^[33][34] During its third weekend, Gladiator fell to second place with $19.7 million, behind Dinosaur ($38.9 million).^[35] The film spent a total of ten weeks in the top ten at the box office, and was in theaters for over a year, finishing its theatrical run on May 10, 2001. Its total gross in the United States and Canada was $187.7 million.^[36] Gladiator opened on May 12, 2000, in the United Kingdom, and grossed £3.5 million in its opening weekend. It spent seven weeks at number one, and its total gross surpassed $43 million.^[d] The film was also number one for seven weeks in Italy, and for five weeks in France.^[e] Outside of the United States and Canada, Gladiator grossed $272.9 million, for a total worldwide gross of $460.6 million against a budget of $103 million.^[36] It was the second-highest-grossing film worldwide in 2000, behind Mission: Impossible 2 ($546.4 million).^[43]

Subsequent theatrical releases

In 2020, Gladiator was re-released in Australia and the Netherlands to commemorate its 20th anniversary. This limited released grossed $4.8 million. The following year, it was re-released in the United Kingdom, earning a gross of $16,257.^[36]

Home media

Gladiator was first released on DVD and VHS on November 21, 2000, and generated $60 million in sales within the first week.^[44][45] In September 2009, the film was released by Paramount Home Entertainment on Blu-ray, and in May 2018 it was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray.^[46] An extended version of the film, with 16 extra minutes of footage, is also available on all three formats.^[47][48][49]

Critical response

Gladiator was called "magnificent", "compelling", and "richly enjoyable" by some critics.^[f] Crowe's performance in particular received praise. Writing for The Wall Street Journal, Joe Morgensten said that Crowe "doesn't use tricks in this role to court our approval. He earns it the old-fashioned way, by daring to be quiet, if not silent, and intensely, implacably strong."^[53] Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times wrote that Crowe brings an "essential physical and psychological reality to the role", while Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter said that Crowe uses "his burly frame and expressive face to give dimension to what might otherwise have been comic book heroics."^[54][55] Variety called Crowe's performance "simply splendid".^[51]

Critics also praised Scott's directing and the visual style of the film. Manohla Dargis of LA Weekly commended Scott's state of the art filmmaking and expressed admiration for the film's "breathtaking, brutal lyricism".^[56] Entertainment Weekly called the opening battle sequence "extraordinary", and described Scott as a "visual artist at his most deluxe."^[57] Michael Wilmington of The Chicago Tribune called Gladiator "visually electrifying".^[50] In addition to Crowe's acting and Scott's directing, reviewers also applauded John Mathieson's cinematography, Arthur Max's production design, and the musical score composed by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard.^[g]

Although critics lauded many aspects of Gladiator, some derided the screenplay. Ian Nathan of Empire magazine called the dialogue "pompous", "overwritten", and "prone to plain silliness".^[58] Roger Ebert said the script "employs depression as a substitute for personality, and believes that if characters are bitter and morose enough, we won't notice how dull they are."^[59] Manohla Dargis called the story predictable and formulaic.^[56]

In his 2004 book The Assassination of Julius Caesar, the political scientist Michael Parenti described Gladiator as "unencumbered by any trace of artistic merit". He also criticized the film's depiction of Roman citizens, claiming that it portrays them as bloodthirsty savages.^[60] Brandon Zachary of the entertainment website ScreenRant has claimed that the plot of Gladiator borrows heavily from the 1964 film The Fall of the Roman Empire, which is also about the transition from Marcus Aurelius to Commodus and the latter's downfall.^[61]

Audiences polled on Gladiator's opening day by the market research firm CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.^{[62][better source needed]} On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 80% of 257 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The website's consensus reads: "While not everyone will be entertained by Gladiator's glum revenge story, Russell Crowe thunderously wins the crowd with a star-making turn that provides Ridley Scott's opulent resurrection of Rome its bruised heart."^[63] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 67 out of 100, based on 46 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[64]

Accolades

Gladiator won five awards at the 73rd Academy Awards, and was nominated for an additional seven.

Wins

• Best Picture
• Best Actor (Russell Crowe)
• Best Visual Effects
• Best Sound
• Best Costume Design

Additional nominations

• Best Director
• Best Original Screenplay
• Best Supporting Actor (Joaquin Phoenix)
• Best Original Score
• Best Cinematography
• Best Art Direction
• Best Film Editing^[65]

At the 58th Golden Globe Awards, Gladiator won two awards and was nominated for an additional three.

Wins

• Best Motion Picture – Drama
• Best Original Score – Motion Picture

Additional nominations

• Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama (Russell Crowe)
• Best Director
• Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture Drama (Joaquin Phoenix)^[66]

Gladiator also won the BAFTA Award for Best Film.^[67] In 2021, Empire magazine ranked Gladiator 39th on its "100 Best Movies Of All Time" list, and declared it the 22nd best film of the 21st century.^[68][69] The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes included the film on its list of "140 Essential 2000s Movies".^[70] The character Maximus placed 95th on Empire's list of 100 Greatest Movie Characters.^[71]

Fictionalization

• Marcus Aurelius was not murdered by his son Commodus; he died at Vindobona (modern Vienna) in 180 AD from the Antonine Plague. The epidemic, believed to be either smallpox or measles, swept the Roman Empire during his reign.^[75]
• There is no indication that Marcus Aurelius wished to return the Empire to a republican form of government, as depicted in the film. Moreover, he shared the rule of the Empire with Commodus for three years before his own death. Commodus then ruled alone until his death in 192 AD.^[76]
• The film depicts Marcus seizing victory in the Marcomannic Wars. In reality, the war was ongoing when he died. Commodus secured peace with the two Germanic tribes allied against Rome, the Marcomanni and the Quadi, immediately after his father's death.^[77]
• The character Maximus is fictional, although in some respects he resembles Spartacus, who led a slave revolt, and Marcus Nonius Macrinus, a general and friend of Marcus Aurelius.^[78][79][80]
• Although Commodus engaged in show combat in the Colosseum, he was not killed in the arena; he was strangled in his bath by the wrestler Narcissus. Commodus reigned for over twelve years, unlike the shorter period portrayed in the film.^[81]
• In the film, Lucilla is depicted as the widow of Lucius Verus. She has one son, also named Lucius Verus. In reality, Lucilla's son died long before the reign of Commodus, and she remarried Claudius Pompeianus soon after Verus's death. She had been married to Claudius for 11 years by the time her brother became Emperor, and her only living son during this time was Aurelius Pompeianus.^[82]
• The real-life Lucilla was implicated in a plot to assassinate her brother in 182 AD, along with several others. She was first exiled to the island of Capri by Commodus, then executed on his orders later in the year.^[83]
• In the film, Marcus banned gladiatorial games in Rome. The real Aurelius, however, banned games only in Antioch. No games were ever banned in Rome.^[84]
• It is implied that the death of Commodus did result in peace for Rome and a return to the Roman Republic. In reality, it ushered in a chaotic and bloody power struggle that culminated in the Year of the Five Emperors in AD 193, as shown in the second film. According to the historian Herodian, the Roman people were overjoyed at the news of Commodus's death, although they feared that the Praetorians would not accept the new emperor Pertinax.^[85]

Anachronisms

Although Gladiator takes place in the 2nd century AD, the Imperial Gallic armor and the helmets worn by the legionaries are from AD 75, a century earlier. The centurions, cavalry, standard bearers, and auxiliaries would have worn scale armor, known as lorica squamata.^[86][87] The Praetorian Guards wear purple uniforms in the film, but this wardrobe is not corroborated by historical evidence. On campaign, they usually wore standard legionary equipment with some unique decorative elements.^[88] Gladiator depicts Germanic tribes inaccurately wearing clothing from the Stone Age.^[89]

The film shows the Roman cavalry using stirrups. In reality, the cavalry used a two-horned saddle without stirrups. The stirrups were employed during filming because riding with a Roman saddle requires additional training and skill.^[84] According to the classical scholar Martin Winkler, catapults and ballistae would not have been used in a forest, as they were reserved primarily for sieges and were rarely used in open battles. There is no documentation of the use of flaming arrows or flaming catapult canisters in ancient history.^[84]