Review of Gladiator (Extended Special Edition)

Introduction

An old Hollywood tradition has been the `sword and sandals` epic film. Ben Hur, Cleopatra and Spartacus amongst others are probably the pick of the crop, but this type of film hadn`t been seen on a large scale production for around 30-40 years. Then in the summer of 2000, a film came that would change all of that and lead to the likes of Troy and Alexander. The man to both acclaim and blame would be Ridley Scott, who brought a unique and epic film to the silver screen that had a massive impact and made a star of Russell Crowe.

Maximus (Russell Crowe) is a victorious General in the service of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris), and a man who simply wants to go home to his wife and son. Aurelius has another job for him first though, to see the transition of Rome from dictatorship to republic. Sadly for all, Aurelius` son Commudus (Joaquin Phoenix) is not willing to stand down and murders his father, and orders the deaths of Maximus and his family. Maximus manages to survive, but battered and injured ends up in the service of Proximo (Oliver Reed) as a gladiator. Despite initial reluctance, Maximus finds he excels in his new role and when the new Emperor decrees a series of Games in honour of his dead father, Maximus and his fellow fighters find themselves on their way to the Coliseum for a confrontation with Commodus. Meanwhile political intrigue, plotting and betrayal are all happening behind the scenes and which inevitably draws on Maximus as the focus of attention, and a climactic fight that could decide on the direction of the Roman Empire.

Gladiator was initially a slow burner, taking $35m over the opening weekend in the US. Word of mouth gave the film a life of its own though, and it is estimated that US Box Office takings ended up at approx $187m against an estimated $103m budget. Add on the takings for overseas and the profit made from the extensive and impressive first DVD release and you can see why another version of this film on DVD seems such a good idea…

Video

Excellent transfer, but what did you really expect from a film only five years old? The opening sequence in Germania is tinged blue to emphasise the coldness and barrenness of the Western Front. The dream sequences are also tinged, whilst the main arena and gladiatorial scenes have a dusty brightness to them. The main interior shots have an almost X-Files feel to them, although the Romans clearly use flaming torches rather than the Duracell-powered type. The CGI is flawless, even the later scenes with Oliver Reed are seamless, and everything appears to be on a grand and epic scale.

It is worth noting that Gladiator picked up Oscars for Best Picture, Best Visual Effects and Best Costume Design.

Audio

An explosive soundtrack with plenty of effects to boom out of your speakers. The opening battle sequence has the sound to equal the stunning visuals, and you`re not let down regardless of which big fight scene you are watching. Hans Zimmer`s music is quite simply glorious, both imperious during the battle scenes and melancholic during the quieter moments. The latter is enriched with the vocal and writing talents of Lisa Gerrard (Dead Can Dance).

It should be noted that whilst the music soundtrack was only nominated for an Oscar that year, Gladiator did win the Oscar for best sound.

Features

More than you can shake a stick at. Where to start?

Disc 1:

Introduction by Ridley Scott - very short piece that can be played separately but also runs before the main feature anyway. Scott makes it clear that this is an extended version and NOT the Director`s Cut which he insists is the one already shown in the cinema.

Commentary by Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe

Are You Not Entertained? - a historical and production trivia track that runs through the film. Subtitles are disabled during the playing of this option.

Disc 2:

Strength And Honour: Creating The World of Gladiator - documentary spanning 3 hours that covers just about every aspect of the production. Can be watched whole or in separate parts as follows:

The Tale of the Scribes (35 minutes) - covers the story development
The Tools of War (13 minutes) - a look at the weaponry of the film
Attire of the Realm (20 minutes) - an in-depth look at costume design
The Heat of Battle (1 hour 5 minutes) - behind the scenes documentary for the three big battle sequences
Resurrecting Proximo (25 minutes) - on the problem of resolving the character arc after Oliver Reed tragically died three weeks before the end of filming
The Glory of Rome (20 minutes) - a look at the visual fx used to create the ancient city of Rome
Echoes In Eternity (18 minutes) - an examination of the release and impact of the film

Disc 3:

Abandoned Sequences & Deleted Scenes - a look at some of the set pieces that were ultimately pulled or abandoned from the production due to either timing or expense:

Alternate title sequence - small featurette on the original title sequence that was trimmed for timing purposes. This sequence is also available to watch in isolation.
Blood Vision - storyboards and footage of an abandoned sequence where Maximus has a vision about the death of his wife and son.
Rhino Fight - Originally planned to be one of the big sequences in the film, this set piece was abandoned due to the huge cost. Storyboards plus some footage of a CGI rhino done for testing purposes.
Maximus & Juba deleted scene - from just before the chained fight in Zucchabur, not a finished shot and not necessary in the end for story development.

VFX Explorations: Germania & Rome

Trailers

Production Design - interview with Production Designer on how Rome was created in around 20 weeks. There is also a Production Gallery extra here with drawings and photo`s of the main sets.

Storyboarding:

Storyboard Demonstration: Sylvain Despretz - Gladiator`s storyboard artist walks us through creating two frames, dealing with detail, light and shadow.
Storyboard To Film Comparisons (with optional commentary from Despretz) - Covers the Germania battlefront, chain fight and Battle of Carthage. You can use the use the ANGLE button to flick between either the storyboards by themselves or a comparison with both the boards and finished shots on-screen.
Storyboard Gallery - lots of storyboards from various parts of the film for you to look at, broken down into sections or you can view all at once

Costume Design Gallery - sketches/paintings of the costumes of the main characters and some of the more elaborate gladiators, includes photo`s of the finished articles.

That enough for you?

Conclusion

This is one of the epic films of the last five years, if not longer. Gladiator has a timeless quality that I think will ensure it never dates, especially seeing as it`s not a contemporary film. The spectacle of savage yet glorious fight sequences will attract the boys, but the entangled plot of political intrigue, revenge and the theme of going home will keep the serious film fans entertained.

Ridley Scott has proven himself time and time again behind the camera and you can`t really imagine anyone but him pulling off a film of this scale. Russell Crowe leads a superb cast as the General who finds himself a slave not long after the eve of his biggest victory. Joaquin Phoenix brings a semblance of unhinged madness to his role as the usurper Emperor, displaying both an unhealthy bloodlust and also fear at the popularity of the man he betrayed and what Maximus stands for. Connie Nielsen brings the right feel to the role of Lucilla, a woman caught in a tug of war between protecting her son and doing the right thing for Rome.

With this film aiming for the heights of epic status, it is only fitting that old hands from British TV do their bit to raise the standard of acting on this film. Jon Shrapnel (King Lear, Oedipus The King) and Derek Jacobi (I, Claudius) give powerful yet understated performance as Roman Senators Gaius and Gracchus respectively. The old film hands are present too in both Richard Harris and Oliver Reed. That this was to be Reed`s film swansong is fitting as he gives an impressive performance here after years in the wilderness where the public perception was one of excess and drink. His final performance does him proud.

The extended version of this film adds around another twenty minutes onto the film. The new scenes don`t really change much but do add some depth to both the story and the characters. By itself it wouldn`t really be a necessary purchase for any but the most die-hard fans. However, the extras contained across all the discs are more than enough to justify the price, as very few are carried across from the previous release. The 3 hour documentary is superb in its own right, but the other extras also give us much more detail and information than we`ve had before. This is a more than worthwhile companion to sit alongside the previous 2 disc set where you can view all the extras in one day and not see much repetition. For those who missed out first time, however, this is a must buy of the `sword and sandals` film that re-inspired a genre.