Gladiator Movie Review 2000

Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Harris) decides to name victorious general Maximus (Crowe) his heir over the ruler's own son, the decadent Commodus (Phoenix). But Commodus manages to take over the Empire anyway. Maximus is betrayed, his family killed, and he is sold as a slave, eventually learning the ways of a gladiator. Then he returns to Rome to fight before the new Emperor and get his revenge. Last role for Reed (playing owner/trainer Proximo), who died during production. Unlike the cheesy Italian muscle epics of the early '60s this is swords, sandals, and killer beasts for a new generation, with a compelling hero in Crowe.

Distribution

Cinema Classics, 332 E. 11 St., New York, NY 10003, Phone: (212)677-6309, Fax: (212)677-5412, Email: cclassics@cinemaclassics.com

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 154 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Rome--Ancient, Sword & Sandal, Revenge, Slavery, Big Battles, Wild Kingdom, Brothers & Sisters, Royalty, Politics, Top Grossing Films of 2000

Screenplay

David Franzoni, John Logan, William Nicholson

Cast

Russell Crowe, Joaquin Rafael (Leaf) Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Djimon Hounsou, Ralph (Ralf) Moeller, Derek Jacobi, Oliver Reed, Richard Harris, David Schofield, John Shrapnel, Tomas Arana, Spencer (Treat) Clark, Tommy Flanagan, David Hemmings, Sven-Ole Thorsen

Cinematography

John Mathieson

Director

Ridley Scott

Music

Hans Zimmer

Producer

Douglas Wick, Branko Lustig, Walter F. Parkes, Laurie MacDonald, Dreamworks Pictures, Universal Pictures, Scott Free, Dreamworks Pictures

Awards

Oscars 2000: Actor (Crowe), Costume Des., Film, Sound, Visual FX; British Acad. 2000: Cinematog., Film; Golden Globes 2001: Film--Drama, Score; Natl. Bd. of Review 2000: Support. Actor (Phoenix); Broadcast Film Critics 2000: Actor (Crowe), Cinematog., Film, Support. Actor (Phoenix).