Gladiator: A Rousing Spectacle

I was thoroughly entertained

The trailer for Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II came out recently, and I’m intrigued. I’ll definitely check it out in theaters. Though Ridley Scott’s movies can vary in quality, I’ve enjoyed pretty much all of the works of his I’ve seen. Even his messier movies have aspects that I adore. When I’m able to get on his wavelength and see what he’s doing, I tend to be impressed.

The trailer reminds me that, for many years, when asked what my favorite movie was, my response was the original Gladiator (directed by Ridley Scott, screenplay by David Franzoni and John Logan and William Nicholson, story by Franzoni) from 2000. It isn’t my favorite movie anymore, but I still love it and think of it fondly.

I didn’t watch it when it came out; I was far too young. When I was a preteen or teenager, my siblings and I were excited over our parents getting premium cable channels and DVR. This was before we got Netflix. We were able to watch a treasury of full length, uncut films, as long as we kept track of airing schedules and remembered to record.

One weekend, I was terribly sick with a nasty cold and fever. My mom kindly gave me snacks and a blanket so I could rest on the couch. I noticed that Gladiator was about to air, and I asked if I could watch it. I think she decided to be lenient that night, moved by sympathy for my miserable state. It was rated R, and I was rarely allowed to watch R-rated films at that age.

Thank you Mom!

I really enjoyed what I watched. I was pulled in by the very first shot: a warrior’s hand grazing wheat in a field gilded by sunlight. We viewers can tell the hand belongs to a warrior because the forearm is protected by a gauntlet.

The film then cuts to our protagonist, Maximus (played with Earth-shaking gravitas by Russell Crowe) as he leads an army to battle. He’s a general in the Ancient Roman Empire, and he declares one of many amazing (and quotable) lines in the film: “What we do in life echoes in eternity.” As an introduction to a badass hero, an audience member cannot ask for much more, I believe.

Maximus later has a private meeting with Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) in which Aurelius tells Maximus to lead Rome as Aurelius’s successor. Aurelius believes his son Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix, perfectly wicked in this role) isn’t fit to lead. When Maximus leaves and Aurelius shares his wish with Commodus, Commodus cruelly murders his father, usurps the seat of the emperor, and orders Maximus to be killed. Though Maximus escapes, he returns to his home to find his wife and son killed. He collapses, and is found by traders who sell him as a gladiator.

In his new, desperate circumstances, Maximus fights in the arena so skillfully, he easily captivates the crowds. Soon, he and the gladiators in his group are brought to the heart of Rome to fight in the famous coliseum. At every gladiator match, in the audience, is Emperor Commodus. Maximus is now face-to-face with the man who killed his family.

A virtuous hero thrown into unjust misfortune. A vile, heartless villain. The burning embers of revenge. These are the ingredients of a satisfying story, and Gladiator delivers in that regard.

The reason the film is no longer my favorite is because my tastes have changed. I now lean toward stories that are more complex and layered, with nuanced characters and thorny morality. This is just a matter of taste, though. There’s nothing inherently wrong with a simple story of good versus evil. Indeed, there is something satisfying in a story so elemental. Gladiator understands this and commits to having a righteous hero and an irredeemable villain. The larger-than-life performances of Crowe and Phoenix draw our investment.

The film makes the most of its premise through masterful execution. Scott and his team are determined to transport audiences to a vision of Ancient Rome, and they succeed through incredible sets, amazing costumes, and brilliant cinematography and editing.

The costumes were instantly iconic for me during my first viewing, and they are still so vivid in my mind. The armor of the soldiers and gladiators was so badass. The robes of the senators and Emperor were lavish and fit how I’d imagined them to be, based on books about Ancient Rome I’d skimmed in school. I applaud costume designer Janty Yates for her amazing work.

The sets are amazing, and I believe the film uses a mix of practical sets and CGI. The sun-cooked sand of the arenas in Maximus’s beginning days as a gladiator are baked into my memory. The famous coliseum feels tangible and concrete, due to the various parts of it we see: the underground area where the gladiators prepare, the seats where the citizens sit, and the special viewing area for the emperor. So many scenes and sequences take place in this setting, but because of the setting’s many parts, the scenes don’t feel repetitive.

I’ve had the fortune of seeing the remains of the actual Roman Coliseum. The film cannot capture the real place’s grandeur. I don’t think any film can. Still, though, the setting feels lived in and real, not artificial in any way.

I commend editor Pietro Scalia and cinematographer John Mathieson for helping build the sense of place in the movie. Through the camera’s movements and through how the scenes are composed, the viewers’ immersion is never broken. I remember certain swords-and-sandals epics that have had odd editing, and I remember being jarred out of the movie as a result. That never happened during the multiple times I’ve seen Gladiator.

Also, the combat sequences are brilliant. They are so pulse-pounding and riveting. The danger feels immediate, and the brutality is palpable. Several fights in the gladiatorial arena involve chariots and tigers. I haven’t seen the film in a while, but I remember being unable to distinguish how much of the effects during the fight scenes were CGI and how many were practical. This is a testament to the skills of Scott and his team of special effects artists.

I was actually talking about Gladiator recently with a dear friend of mine. We noticed how, though the combat is brutal, it isn’t gratuitous. It doesn’t relish in bloodshed, the way, for instance, the film 300 does. At the same time, it doesn’t sanitize violence either. It walks a fine line of illustrating the viciousness and inhumanity of the fights the gladiators were forced to do without finding pleasure in the bloodshed. My friend and I realized that Ridley Scott tends to handle violence in this delicate way very well. He similarly walked this fine line in his most recent film Napoleon. (I intend to discuss my thoughts on Napoleon here, but I’m waiting for the extended cut that Scott has teased!).

All the various elements of Gladiator work so well together to craft an incredible spectacle. We experience stories for various reasons. Sometimes, we want a brief escape into a time and place different from our own. We  want to be transported and fully invested in a different world for a few hours. 

Gladiator achieves this effect on the viewer. I remember being sick when I sat to watch the movie on the couch. There have been films that I’ve remembered having a headache during, or films where I recall constantly wiping my nose. There have been films I’ve watched while under the weather that didn’t allow me to escape enough to forget that I wasn’t feeling well. Gladiator did that, and I’m grateful.

I don’t remember Gladiator fondly just because it made my evening better. I watched the film many more times in my life. I kept coming back to it because of how deeply committed to crafting a spectacle all the artists involved were. The sights and sounds and story of the film just hit the heart on an elemental level. The movie feels epic and tangible at the same time. 

I would be making a big mistake if I didn’t include the film’s score by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard in my discussion. The music goes straight to the brain; it’s perfectly constructed to make the heart swell and the goosebumps rise. All the music is brilliant, but the closing tracks help tie up the film so powerfully.

I should revisit the film before the new one comes out. In the past, I would sometimes get nervous about sequels; I would worry that a continuation of the story that didn’t match the quality of the first installment would somehow “ruin” the original. I don’t really hold that belief anymore. I welcome continuations. And, if I don’t love the sequel, that’s okay. The original is still there to return to. But, I am definitely optimistic about the upcoming Gladiator II. Again, I find that Scott and his collaborators put so much effort into their projects and always make films worth reckoning with.