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Gladiator Came Out 20 Years Ago Today

Great movie. Russell Crowe was absolutely perfect for the role.

so was Phoenix

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really well cast all around
 
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DKehoe

Member
My Gran took me to see this in the cinema. I would have been 11 at the time and the film was a 15 certificate here in the UK. When we were getting the tickets the person at the counter asked my Gran if she knew it was a 15 and if everyone seeing it was that age. They then looked at me, blatantly knowing I wasn't close to 15. Obviously they were hoping my Gran didn't realise and would decide we should see something else instead. But she didn't give a fuck. She had seen the trailer and thought it looked badass. So she just said "yup" and the server, I guess having made the mental calculation that it wasn't worth the hassle, gave us the tickets. Great film.
 

diffusionx

Gold Member
It's held up a lot better than most BP winners in the 21st century.

Bought it in 4K last holiday. Connie Nielsen :messenger_smiling_hearts: :messenger_smiling_hearts:

I loved that early 2000's stretch of period piece epic movies. Gladiator, The Patriot, Troy, Kingdom of Heaven, etc. I saw all them in the theaters.

Don't really get much of the genre anymore.

Not enough stunning and brave, stronk womyn
 
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MaestroMike

Gold Member
My Gran took me to see this in the cinema. I would have been 11 at the time and the film was a 15 certificate here in the UK. When we were getting the tickets the person at the counter asked my Gran if she knew it was a 15 and if everyone seeing it was that age. They then looked at me, blatantly knowing I wasn't close to 15. Obviously they were hoping my Gran didn't realise and would decide we should see something else instead. But she didn't give a fuck. She had seen the trailer and thought it looked badass. So she just said "yup" and the server, I guess having made the mental calculation that it wasn't worth the hassle, gave us the tickets. Great film.

I was 11 as well. When I finally saw it it was on DVD on a small TV and I was super bummed out knowing that my family and I went to the theatres while is was still playing and I remember we were deciding to either watch that or Frequency and we ended up choosing Frequency. Frequency was still pretty good, though, but def would've been nice seeing Gladiator on the big screen. Oh, well.
 
Probably the peak of epic Hollywood moviemaking. Tons of crazy scenes, shakycam combat, explosions and quotable lines, yet solidly made with great acting, character development, awesome choreography and gorgeous cinematography.
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008

Banned
Probably the one movie that came out I wondered when a sequel was coming. And it never happened.
 
For the longest time, I had no interest in seeing it because the marketing made it seem like it'd be a brainless, style over substance popcorn flick (sort of like what 300 became). Now, of course, it's an all time favorite. The opening is still breathtaking and I never get tired of viewing it.

It's a shame Ridley Scott seemingly lost his motivation after this, starting by completely phoning in Hannibal.
 
This is still the worst movie that ever found a way to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Prove me wrong.

I liked Ridley Scott before this movie. Afterwards I think even he realized how shitty the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences really was for giving him the Best Picture Oscar for this piece of shit instead of the many better films he has made. He's been phoning it in ever since. The ongoing trainwreck which is the Alien prequel trilogy is arguably the nadir of his career.
 

highrider

Banned
Gladiator and Master and Commander are two films I can pretty much watch almost indefinitely and enjoy. There’s some films that allow your imagination to truly bring a period of history to life as much as one can.
 

highrider

Banned
This is still the worst movie that ever found a way to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Prove me wrong.

I liked Ridley Scott before this movie. Afterwards I think even he realized how shitty the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences really was for giving him the Best Picture Oscar for this piece of shit instead of the many better films he has made. He's been phoning it in ever since. The ongoing trainwreck which is the Alien prequel trilogy is arguably the nadir of his career.

Cmon bro. That’s like saying the Beatles suck prove me wrong. You’d be hard pressed to find a movie collection without a copy of Gladiator. The Alien movies still look great.. 😬
 

IDKFA

I am Become Bilbo Baggins
The last great "sword and sandal" epic.

Oh how I wish Hollywood/streaming service would make a new film/series based in this period.

Where is this epic film series based on the life of Hannibal Barca that Vin Diesel has been trying to make for over ten years?

What happened to the epic Roman TV series from Martin Scorsese called The Caesars that was announced in 2018? Is this also dead?

Is this time period cursed?!
 
M

Macapala

Unconfirmed Member
My dad took me to see it when I was 13. It was so fucking awesome. Definitely one I'm my favourites.
 
I'm convinced this movie was inspired by Demetrius And The Gladiators. The tiger fight in that one is incredible.
This is still the worst movie that ever found a way to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Prove me wrong.

I liked Ridley Scott before this movie. Afterwards I think even he realized how shitty the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences really was for giving him the Best Picture Oscar for this piece of shit instead of the many better films he has made. He's been phoning it in ever since. The ongoing trainwreck which is the Alien prequel trilogy is arguably the nadir of his career.

>implying Black Hawk Down, Matchstick Men, Kingdom of Heaven, American Gangster, The Martian and All the Money in the World are bad.

Gladiator was not even halfway through his filmography. I think that of all the movies he made since then, A Good Year and Robin Hood are the only true misfires. The rest are at least interesting or extremely well crafted.

Probably the one movie that came out I wondered when a sequel was coming. And it never happened.

Nick Cave's script is interesting.
 
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poppabk

Cheeks Spread for Digital Only Future
The last great "sword and sandal" epic.

Oh how I wish Hollywood/streaming service would make a new film/series based in this period.

Where is this epic film series based on the life of Hannibal Barca that Vin Diesel has been trying to make for over ten years?

What happened to the epic Roman TV series from Martin Scorsese called The Caesars that was announced in 2018? Is this also dead?

Is this time period cursed?!
Not quite sword and sandal, but the Last Kingdom is a great period series and has the swords at least. It was a little ropey production wise early on but it soon ramped up and the lead while never great has also improved dramatically. The battle scenes are great and outside of the 'hero' characters give a good sense of how these battles would really go down.
 

IDKFA

I am Become Bilbo Baggins
Not quite sword and sandal, but the Last Kingdom is a great period series and has the swords at least. It was a little ropey production wise early on but it soon ramped up and the lead while never great has also improved dramatically. The battle scenes are great and outside of the 'hero' characters give a good sense of how these battles would really go down.

Yeah I'm a big fan of the Last Kingdom. Agree with what you said about production being ropey early on. This is because season 1 and 2 were BBC productions, but season 3 is where Netflix took over. You can really see the production quality difference from season 3 onwards.

Maybe Netflix could also help out Martin Scorsese with his epic Roman TV series?
 

SpartanN92

Banned
If Gladiator was cast in 2020:
Maximus would obviously be a black trans female who is a paraplegic.
Commodus would be a white male Trump supporter with a Make Rome Great Again hat.

The gladiators fight to stop climate change.
 
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Skyr

Member
I love it so much. One of the most rewatchable movies of all time.
Joaquin Phoenix definitely steals the show. It’s incredible how well he can portray an evil bastard.
 

NeoIkaruGAF

Gold Member
Only watched it once and walked away disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a spectacular flick, but I just couldn’t stand how you get as much Rome as you can in a movie’s timeframe and then the last scene is as American as they get. I’m Italian and I love Roman history, so you can imagine how much that ending ruffled my feathers.

I should rewatch it to appreciate what it does right, which I remember is a lot.
 

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
I love it so much. One of the most rewatchable movies of all time.
Joaquin Phoenix definitely steals the show. It’s incredible how well he can portray an evil bastard.
He's still a fantastic actor even 20 years later - not a burnout and a testament to his talent.
 
The last great "sword and sandal" epic.

Oh how I wish Hollywood/streaming service would make a new film/series based in this period.

Where is this epic film series based on the life of Hannibal Barca that Vin Diesel has been trying to make for over ten years?

What happened to the epic Roman TV series from Martin Scorsese called The Caesars that was announced in 2018? Is this also dead?

Is this time period cursed?!

Historical epics in general are super expensive to make and risky from a financial standpoint for films. Marco Polo was the best original show Netflix had and it was cancelled due to production costs.

Master and Commander was an awesome film nominated for best picture and while it eventually was a profitable movie, it took a while and really didn't make that much of a profit.
 

mcz117chief

Member
It is pretty good, I liked it when I was younger, but now every ancient Rome movie pales in comparison to Spartacus: Blood and Sand. That one is just so on point with almost every thing. It is probably my favorite TV show of all time.
 
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