Gladiator (2000)

“My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions and loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.”

This five-time Academy Award-winning historical epic had box-office smash-hit written in its stars: directed by Ridley Scott and featuring several generations of major acting talent in its cast, including Oliver Reed, Connie Nielsen and Joaquin Phoenix. Gladiator is the tale of the Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe).

As a fearless and gifted soldier, a respected general who has led the Roman army to many victories, and a true servant of Rome, Maximus had earned the unwavering trust of the ageing Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris).

But Maximus has a dramatic turn in fortunes following the death of the Emperor. Commodus (Phoenix), the emperor’s corrupt teen son, seizes the throne despite Marcus Aurelius’s final decree to return Rome to the Senate as a Republic.

With Aurelius’ favourite general a serious threat to his ambitions, Commodus orders the execution of Maximus and his family.

Maximus escapes his executioners but returns home too late to save his family. Collapsing from grief and injury, he is captured by slave traders and sold to Proximo (Oliver Reed), who runs a gladiator school in North Africa.

Fueled by a desire for revenge, Maximus becomes a champion in the arena. His skill and stoicism earn him the nickname “The Spaniard.”

Commodus organises 150 days of games at the Colosseum to win over the Roman people, and Proximo’s troupe is brought to Rome to perform. During a reenactment of the Battle of Zama, Maximus leads his fellow gladiators to an upset victory, forcing Commodus to enter the arena to meet the “Barbarian” champion.

When Maximus reveals his true identity, the crowd’s adoration prevents Commodus from killing him on the spot. Maximus begins conspiring with Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) – Commodus’s sister and Maximus’s former lover – and Senator Gracchus to overthrow the Emperor.

Commodus discovers the plot, executes the conspirators, and kills Proximo. To prove his own greatness, he challenges a chained and secretly stabbed Maximus to a duel in the Colosseum.

Despite his fatal wound, Maximus manages to kill Commodus before succumbing to his injuries.

In his final moments, Maximus sees a vision of his family in the afterlife. His body is carried out of the arena with honour by the soldiers, as the dream of a restored Roman Republic begins to take shape.

Following Oliver Reed’s sudden death from a heart attack during the 1999 filming of Gladiator, Ridley Scott completed the film using a combination of digital face mapping, body doubles, and repurposed footage rather than recasting the role.

Visual effects company The Mill used a $3.2 million, 3D “mask” of Reed’s face on a double to create the necessary scenes, ultimately earning the late actor a BAFTA nomination.

“What we do in life echoes in eternity!”

Maximus
Russell Crowe
Commodus
Joaquin Phoenix
Lucilla
Connie Nielsen
Proximo
Oliver Reed
Marcus Aurelius
Richard Harris
Gracchus
Derek Jacobi
Juba
Djimon Hounsou
Falco
David Schofield
Gaius
John Shrapnel
Quintus
Tomas Arana
Hagen
Ralf Moeller
Lucius
Spencer Treat Clark
Cassius
David Hemmings
Cicero
Tommy Flanagan
Tiger
Sven-Ole Thorsen
Slave Trader
Omid Djalili
Valerius
John Quinn
Maximus’ Wife
Giannina Facio
Maximus’ Son
Giorgio Cantarini

Director
Ridley Scott