GLADIATOR

Gladiator is a 2000 British/American epic film directed by Ridley Scott, starring Russell Crowe,Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, and Richard Harris.

Released in the United States on May 5, 2000, it was a box office success, receiving generally good reviews, and was credited with briefly reviving the historical epic. The film was nominated for and won multiple awards; it won five Academy Awards in the 73rd Academy Awards includingBest Picture.

Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius, a native of Hispania, leads the Roman Army to victory against Germanic barbarians in the year A.D. 180, ending a prolonged war, and earning the esteem of elderly Emperor Marcus Aurelius. As the battle ends, the son and daughter of the Emperor arrive from Rome, Commodus and Lucilla. As the surviving soldiers pay tribute to Maximus, Commodus arrives at the battle ground and attempts to curry favor with his father. Aurelius however favors Maximus which makes Commodus both jealous and suspicious.

Knowing that his time was short, the dying Aurelius decides to appoint leadership to the morally-upstanding Maximus, with a desire to eventually return power to the Roman Senate, effectively reviving the Republic. Aurelius informs Maximus of his decision before telling Commodus. Maximus reluctantly accepts the appointment after expressing a wish to return home to his family. The emperor later informs Commodus who, in a fit of rage and jealousy, murders his father. Declaring himself the emperor, Commodus asks Maximus for his loyalty, which Maximus, realizing Commodus is responsible for the Emperor's death, refuses. Commodus orders Maximus' execution and dispatches Praetorian Guards to carry out the order as well as to kill his wife and son. Maximus narrowly escapes by killing his captors, but is injured in the process. Taking the horses of the now dead Praetorians, he races home only to discover his wife and son crucifiedamidst the smoldering ruins of his home. After burying his family, Maximus succumbs to grief and exhaustion and collapses.

Slave traders find Maximus and take him to Zucchabar, a rugged Roman province in North Africa, where he is purchased by Antonius Proximo, the head of a gladiator school and a former gladiator himself. Maximus initially refuses to fight, but as he defends himself in the arena his formidable combat skills lead to a rise in popularity with the audience and respect among his fellow fighters. Known as "The Spaniard", he trains and fights further and befriends Juba, a Numidian hunter and Hagen, a hulking Germanic barbarian who, until Maximus' emergence, was Proximo's prized gladiator.

In Rome, Commodus reopens the gladiatorial games to pay tribute to his father and gain the favor of the people, and Proximo's gladiators are hired to participate. Proximo informs Maximus who sees this as an opportunity to get close enough to Commodus to exact revenge. Later in Romeduring a reenactment of the Battle of Zama from the Second Punic War, Maximus dons a battle helmet which partly covers his face to hide his true identity and then leads Proximo's gladiators, in the guise of Hannibal's forces, to a decisive victory against a more powerful force who are in the guise of The Roman Legionnaires that were led by Roman General Scipio Africanus, in a battle they were historically slated to lose. Echoing the shock and amazement of the crowd, Commodus descends into the arena accompanied by his nephew Lucius to meet this "Spaniard". As the young emperor approaches, Maximus is tempted to kill Commodus then and there but young Lucius' presence prevents him. Commodus asks The Spaniard for his name and Maximus responds with a blatant act of defiance. Commodus angrily instructs him to remove his helmet and tell him his name. A seething Maximus reveals his identity and defiantly vows vengeance for the murder of his family. The Emperor, unable to kill Maximus because of the crowd's approval for him, leaves the arena as the crowd roars and chants Maximus' name.

Lucilla, after seeing Maximus alive, secretly arranges to meet with him. Maximus angrily accuses her of taking part in her father's and his family's murders which she denied. She tells Maximus that she has powerful allies in the senate who want to see Commodus overthrown. She asks Maximus for his aid in helping to overthrow her brother to which he refuses. As the games continue the next day, Commodus pits Maximus against Tigris of Gaul, Rome's only undefeated gladiator, in an arena surrounded by chained tigers. Despite being nearly overcome by the beasts, Maximus defeats the larger and more powerful Tigris but refuses to kill him thereby deliberately insulting Commodus by directly defying his orders. The crowd cheers Maximus, bestowing him the title "Maximus The Merciful". Commodus becomes more frustrated at his inability to kill Maximus, let alone stop his soaring popularity. As Commodus descends once again to the arena to confront Maximus, he is greeted with a chorus of boos from the crowd. The Emperor then tries to goad Maximus into rash action by insulting his murdered family. An enraged Maximus simply walks away.

Maximus is later found by his former servant Cicero, who reveals that Maximus's army remains loyal to him. Maximus forms a plot with Lucilla and Senator Gracchus to rejoin his army to return to Rome and overthrow Commodus. Suspecting his sister's betrayal, Commodus indirectly threatens her young son and forces her to reveal the plot. Praetorian guards immediately arrest Gracchus and storm Proximo's gladiator barracks, battling the gladiators while Maximus escapes. Hagen and Proximo are killed in the siege while Juba and the survivors are imprisoned. Maximus escapes to the city walls only to witness Cicero's death and be captured by a legion of Praetorian guards.

The next day, Commodus challenges a bound and restrained Maximus to a duel to be fought in front of a full audience in the Colosseum. Acknowledging that Maximus' lethal skills far exceeds his own, Commodus stabs Maximus with a stiletto, puncturing his lung, and has the wound concealed. In the arena, the mortally wounded and dazed Maximus fights purely on instinct as the two exchange blows before Maximus rips the sword from Commodus' hands. As Commodus screams for another sword, Quintus orders the Praetorian guards not to assist Commodus. A stricken Maximus drops his own sword, and Commodus pulls a hidden stiletto and renews his attack but Maximus manages to kill him by forcing Commodus to plunge the knife into his own throat. As Commodus collapses in the now-silent Colosseum, a dying Maximus begins seeing visions of the afterlife and his family. He reaches out to them, but is pulled back to reality by Quintus, who asks for instructions. Maximus orders the release of Juba and the rest of Proximo's surviving gladiators and the reinstatement of Senator Gracchus, instructing him to return Rome to a Senate-based government. Maximus then collapses and Lucilla runs to his side. Maximus quietly dies in her arms as his soul wanders into the afterlife to his family. Lucilla reminds everyone that Maximus was a soldier of Rome and that his memory should be honored. Juba, Senator Gracchus, Quintus, and Proximo's gladiators gently carry his body out of the Colosseum, leaving Commodus behind.

That night, Juba returns to an empty Colosseum and buries Maximus' figures of his wife and son in the blood stained sand where Maximus fell and vows that he shall see him again in the afterlife but "not yet." Juba then departs for his homeland and his own family.

Awards

Gladiator was nominated in 36 individual ceremonies, including the 73rd Academy Awards, the BAFTA Awards, and the Golden Globe Awards. Of 119 award nominations, the film won 48 prizes.^[44]

The film won five Academy Awards and was nominated for an additional seven, including Best Supporting Actor for Joaquin Phoenix and Best Director for Ridley Scott. There was controversy over the film's nomination for Best Original Music Score. The award was officially nominated only to Hans Zimmer, and not to Lisa Gerrard due to Academy rules. However, the pair did win the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Scoreas co-composers.