Underplayed Gems

Gladiator (2000)

Gladiator poster
Directed by
Ridley Scott
Written by
David Franzoni, John Logan, William Nicholson
Cast
Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Richard Harris, Oliver Reed, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, Tomas Arana
Genre
drama film, action film, adventure film, epic film, melodrama, sword-and-sandal film
Country
United Kingdom, United States
Runtime
2h 35m
Rated
R
Rating
8.2 of 10 from 21,088 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

More films like thisWatch the trailer

or watch the trailer on YouTube

How it feels

A Roman general is betrayed by the emperor's power-hungry son and sold into slavery. He becomes a gladiator in the arena and fights his way back toward revenge.

epicbrutalvengefulsomberintensevisceraldramaticgrittysoaring

What happens

Gladiator is a 2000 epic action adventure drama film directed by Ridley Scott and written by David Franzoni, John Logan, and William Nicholson from a story by Franzoni. It stars Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, Derek Jacobi, Djimon Hounsou, and Richard Harris. Crowe portrays Maximus Decimus Meridius, a Roman general who is betrayed when Commodus, the ambitious son of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, murders his father and seizes the throne. Reduced to a slave, Maximus becomes a gladiator and rises through the ranks of the arena, determined to avenge the murders of his family and the emperor. The screenplay, initially written by Franzoni, was inspired by the 1958 Daniel P. Mannix novel Those About to Die. The script was acquired by DreamWorks Pictures, and Scott signed on to direct the film. Principal photography began in January 1999 and wrapped in May of that year. Production was complicated by the script being rewritten multiple times and by the death of Oliver Reed before production was finished. Gladiator had its world premiere in Los Angeles, California, on May 1, 2000. The film was released in the United States on May 5, 2000 by DreamWorks Distribution LLC, and internationally on May 12, 2000, by Universal Pictures through United International Pictures. The film grossed $466 million worldwide, becoming the second-highest-grossing film of 2000, and won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Crowe. A sequel, Gladiator II, was released in 2024. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

This page is from Underplayed Gems. Not quite it? You can browse by genre, country and year, or take this one into the 3D catalogue and ask the Catbot for something closer.