Gladiator....an epic saga

I had seen this movie years back when Russel Crowe had bagged the Academy Award for the best actor. Last evening I happened to watch the DVD of this movie and I enjoyed it like sipping an old wine. One must congratulate Ridely Scott for the presentation of such a movie of the highest cinematic excellence. I decided to write a review on the movie and hence write below.

Civilized man’s greatest achievement is the Empire of Rome. Several writers have combed history books to unveil the grandeur of this empire. On the historical truths thus unravelled, various extravagant movies have been churned out from Holywood and other film producing nations, to throw light on the life of the people, on the wickedness and injustice of the tyrannical monarchs and the oppression of the subjects. There was no regular army in the early stages, and soldiers were drafted into the army from farmers as mercenaries. They did tilling of their lands as well as fighting on a part time basis. The Roman rulers waged many wars to extend the boundaries and to enhance their personal greatness.

 

Director, Ridley Scott has presented larger-than-life characters, magnificent scenery and fantastic sets. He enthralls and immerses the audience in an ocean of reality. He has used historical personages to suit the fictional screenplay. He deserves praise for the way he has created a second century Rome with all its splendour, very credible and stunning. The civilization of ancient Rome has been depicted in its true historical reality. The Collisseum has been resurrected to its full glory; any modern architect would not have been able to do the same, thanks to the modern technology. The games, the fights and the bloodshed at the Collisseum, truly portrayed by him, throw light on the stark grisliness of the rulers of Ancient Rome. They laugh, clap and enjoy at every drop of blood shed by the innocent slaves, very intriguing. 

 

Ridley Scott is a great showman. Gladiator is the story of a burly and magnetic General named Maximus (Russell Crowe). He is a farmer having a loving family at his village and he always expresses his desire to go back to them as soon as the war is over. He loves the nature. He wins many wars for the Roman Emperor. The Emperor dies and his son takes over. The fate has another say and Maximus loses everything, his family, his home and is forced to become a slave. He becomes a Gladiator and fights at the Collisseum in Rome with the fire of vengeance burning inside him like a volcano.  
 

The photography and special effects are par excellence. The music of Hans Zimmer is extraordinary and mind-boggling. On many occasions the pathos of the music stretches the strings of your heart and makes the eyes misty.

 

Russell Crowe as Maximus is most awesome. He fills the screen. He is a supremo who truly shines as a protagonist who defies all odds. He is commanding with temperance. He dominates with his clenched jaw, cold stare and a sure gait. He expresses feelings, on his rugged face, that come straight from the bottom of his heart. 
Phoenix has excelled in his role of a weak but wicked emperor in the roll of Commodus. He has truly given life to a spoiled and ruthless Roman ruler, as venomous as a snake, coiled and ready to strike. Richard Harris as the ailing emperor, Derek Jacobi, the late Oliver Reed and Connie Nielsen have all done justice to their rolls. Djimon Hounsou plays superb as Maximus’ brother-in-captivity.

 

  Gladiator is the saga of the victory of a heroic human being over insurmountable obstacles. It is an irony - a slave taking on the Roman Emperor.