Gladiator

Year:

2000

Duration:

155 min | 171 min (Extended Edition)

Genres:

Action | Drama

IMDB rate:

8.5

Director:

Ridley Scott

Awards:

Won 5 Oscars. Another 53 wins & 85 nominations

Details

Country: USA

Release Date: 2000-05-05

Filming Locations: Ait Benhaddou, Morocco

Earnings

Budget: $103,000,000

Opening Weekend: $34,819,017 (USA) (7 May 2000)

Gross: $187,705,427 (USA) (27 April 2013)

Cast

Actor

Character

Connie Nielsen

Gladiator

Oliver Reed

Gladiator

Giannina Facio

Tommy Flanagan

Gladiator

Russell Crowe

Maximus

Joaquin Phoenix

Commodus

Richard Harris

Marcus Aurelius

Derek Jacobi

Gracchus

Djimon Hounsou

Juba

David Schofield

Falco

John Shrapnel

Gaius

Tomas Arana

Quintus

Ralf Moeller

Hagen

Spencer Treat Clark

Lucius

David Hemmings

Cassius

Sven-Ole Thorsen

Tigris

Omid Djalili

Slave Trader

Nicholas McGaughey

Praetorian Officer

Chris Kell

Scribe

Tony Curran

Assassin #1

Mark Lewis

Assassin #2

John Quinn

Valerius

Alun Raglan

Praetorian Guard #1

David Bailie

Engineer

Chick Allan

German Leader (as Chick Allen)

David Nicholls

Giant Man (as Dave Nicholls)

Al Ashton

Rome Trainer #1 (as Al Hunter Ashton)

Billy Dowd

Narrator

Ray Calleja

Lucius' Attendant

Giorgio Cantarini

Maximus' Son

Allan Corduner

Trainer 1 (extended edition) (as Alan Corduner)

Michael Mellinger

Trainer 2 (extended edition)

Said Amel

Proximo's Man (extended edition)

Adam Levy

Officer 1 (extended edition)

Gilly Gilchrist

Officer 2 (extended edition)

Malcolm Ellul

Centurion (uncredited)

James Fiddy

Roman Soldier (uncredited)

Ruth Frendo

Roman Girl - scene with Maximus (uncredited)

Kjeld Gogosha-Clark

CGI Motion Capture Gladiator

Mehdi Kashani

Roman Soldier (uncredited)

Tom Kay

Roman Soldier (uncredited)

Phil Lowes

Rider (uncredited)

Nic Main

Roman Soldier (uncredited)

Antonio Meitin

Battlefield Medic (uncredited)

João Costa Menezes

Roman Soldier (uncredited)

Mike Mitchell

Fighter (uncredited)

Norman Campbell Rees

Sedan Chair Carrier (uncredited)

Neil Roche

Roman Soldier (uncredited)

Paul Sacks

Catapult Commander Shouts 'Loose' (uncredited)

Steve Saunders

German Barbarian (uncredited)

Christian Simpson

Chief Catapult Operator (uncredited)

Brian Smyj

Coliseum Gladiator (uncredited)

Tony Tomlinson

Extra (uncredited)

Michael Yale

Citizen of Rome (uncredited)

Did you know?

Trivia

In the Spanish dubbed version Maximus says he is from Emerita Augusta (now called Mérida). The Spanish dubbers claimed that "Trujillo doesn't combine the 'qualities' to be cradle of the gladiator."

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The production company offered the Roman sets to the Maltese authorities as the basis of a theme park but the authorities dithered in their reply so most of the set was struck.

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For the crowd scenes in the Colosseum, in addition to the real life extras and the digital ones, 400 cardboard cut-outs of spectators were also used.

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Goofs

The opening battle is wildly inaccurate. The Roman legions were trained to fight as a regimented force, and to maintain formation for mutual support. In the film, the formation collapses instantly upon contact with the enemy; in addition to being inaccurate, this would have almost certainly led to a Roman defeat, as, on a solo basis, the barbarians were by far the better warriors. Further, the Roman legions used spears called pila. Doctrine called for them to be thrown while the enemy closed. The Romans would then draw their swords and fight, while remaining in formation. Though the Romans are shown holding their pila in the opening scenes, they are never used against the barbarians, and we see no pila-riddled shields and/or corpses in the background.

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When Maximus stabs Commodus in the neck, the blood pearl on Commodus' right cheek appears and disappears between shots.

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When Marcus Aurelius asks Maximus to tell him about his home, he says the soil is "black, like my wife's hair". When we see her later, Maximus' wife is a brunette.

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Quotes

Juba: I didn't know men could build such things.

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Maximus: Five thousand of my men are out there in the freezing mud. Three thousand of them are bloodied and cleaved. Two thousand will never leave this place. I will not believe that they fought and died for nothing.

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Commodus: It vexes me. I'm terribly vexed.

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Faq

Q

Why are Juba and Maximus marked with red and yellow paint on their chests when fighting Hagen?

A

They're going though a semi-audition to find out if they'll make good or great gladiators. When Juba fights with Hagen (using wooden swords), he fights pretty fiercely and receives a red mark on this tunic on orders from Proximo himself. Proximo seems to be the the sole judge of the candidates. He sees that Juba has a fighter's spirit & it puts him at the top of the running. Maximus blatantly refuses to fight and receives a yellow mark that puts him somewhere in the middle of the candidates, however Proximo probably senses that Maximus will one day become a great gladiator. He does, primarily because of his need for revenge.

Q

Why did the slave trader suddenly say he'd bought Juba "in a salt mine in Carthage"?

A

Juba had said he was a hunter. The slave trader probably didn't want Proximo to buy Juba because he could have been sold at a higher price elsewhere to a different customer. However, Proximo saw right through the ruse knowing that Juba would make a great gladiator -- not even the slave trader could hide Juba's muscular physique.

Q

A Note Regarding Spoilers

A

The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. Spoiler tags have been used sparingly in order to make the page more readable.

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