Gladiator (2000) DreamWorks Pictures/Universal Pictures 📢 Director: Ridley Scott 💰 Producer: Douglas Wick, David Franzoni, Branko Lustig 👫 Cast: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, Derek Jacobi, Djimon Hounsou, Richard Harris. 🏆 Awards ceremony: -73rd Academy Awards: March 25, 2001. Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California. 🎭 Other films nominated for Best Picture this year: -Chocolat. -Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. -Erin Brockovich. -Traffic. 📕 Plot summary: Set in AD 180, this is the story of Maximus Decimus Meridius (RUSSELL CROWE) who defies the Emperor of Rome, Commodus (JOAQUIN PHOENIX) and is ultimately captured as a slave and forced to become a gladiator by fighting in arenas. He quickly earns the respect of the crowds, which pisses Commodus off even further until the two men meet in a fight-to-the-death at the end. 💥 Standout scene(s): The moment when Maximus is ordered to take off his helmet and reveal his true identity to Commodus. 🔑 Facts: -The 73rd Academy Awards. -Nominated for 12 Academy Awards, it won 5: Best Picture, Actor (Russell Crowe), Sound, Costume Design, Visual Effects. -Second Best Picture appearance for Richard Harris (Unforgiven). -Second Best Picture appearance for Oliver Reed (Oliver!). 🙂 Personal opinion: For this project I watched the Extended Cut of the film (which adds approximately an extra 15 minutes worth of footage that was cut from the Theatrical version). The opening 5 minutes felt like it was setting up another BRAVEHEART. A couple of hours later it was turning into a BEN-HUR/SPARTACUS knock-off. The one thing that really spoils the film is the bad editing. It forces the impatient viewer (that's me) to endure scenes for much longer than they need to be. Insert shots, cutaway shots, reaction shots... all spoil the continuity and flow of the film. It seems like a lot of unnecessary padding and pointless scenes, most of which are either too loud and need you to adjust your volume, or too bloody quiet that require you to switch on your subtitles! The balance is all off. I thought the directing was above average; there was just too much of it! The music adds a nice background and the cinematography at times provides a decent view (despite the obvious CGI stuff). Russell Crowe is okay, Joaquin Phoenix is more interesting and Connie Nielsen just seems to get in the way. Oliver Reed adds a nice little touch to the character element but I quickly reached the conclusion that due to how tiring the film became I wasn't really that bothered about the plot - which was too complicated for its own good for the most part. Very slow and needs a lot of willpower to get through it. Did it deserve the Oscar? ✅YES. 5/10

Review date: 13 May 2025