Gladiator is a 2000 epic historical drama film directed by Ridley Scott, starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Ralf Möller, Oliver Reed, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, John Shrapnel and Richard Harris.

 

A man robbed of his name and his dignity strives to win them back, and gain the freedom of his people, in this epic historical drama from director Ridley Scott. In the year 180, the death of emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) throws the Roman Empire into chaos. Maximus (Russell Crowe) is one of the Roman army's most capable and trusted generals and a key advisor to the emperor. As Marcus' devious son Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) ascends to the throne, Maximus is set to be executed. He escapes, but is captured by slave traders. Renamed Spaniard and forced to become a gladiator, Maximus must battle to the death with other men for the amusement of paying audiences. His battle skills serve him well, and he becomes one of the most famous and admired men to fight in the Colosseum. Determined to avenge himself against the man who took away his freedom and laid waste to his family, Maximus believes that he can use his fame and skill in the ring to avenge the loss of his family and former glory. As the gladiator begins to challenge his rule, Commodus decides to put his own fighting mettle to the test by squaring off with Maximus in a battle to the death.

 

Gladiator received positive reviews, with 78% of the critics polled by Rotten Tomatoes giving it favorable reviews, with an averaged score of 7 out of 10. At the website Metacritic, which employs a normalized rating system, the film earned a favorable rating of 64/100 based on 37 reviews by mainstream critics. The Battle of Germania was cited by CNN as one of their "favorite on-screen battle scenes", while Entertainment Weekly named Maximus as their sixth favorite action hero, because of "Crowe's steely, soulful performance", and named it as their third favorite revenge film. In 2002, a Channel 4 (UK TV) poll named it as the sixth greatest film of all time. Paul Ashbourne, an established movie critic, gave the movie three thumbs up, naming it as his favorite movie of all time. In an online review, Ashbourne stated it has a solid story plot with effects which transport us back to ancient Roman times. He admits to have viewed the film over seventy times. Entertainment Weekly put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "Are you not entertained?"

 

The film earned $ 34.83 million on its opening weekend at 2,938 U.S. theaters. Within two weeks, the film's box office gross surpassed its $103 million budget. The film continued on to become one of the highest earning films of 2000 and made a worldwide box office gross of $ 457,640,427, with over $ 187 million in American theaters and more than the equivalent of $ 269 million in non-US markets.

 

Gladiator won five Academy Awards in 2001, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Russell Crowe), Best Visual Effects, Best Costume Design and Best Sound (Bob Beemer, Scott Millan and Ken Weston); the film was nominated for an additional seven, including Best Supporting Actor for Joaquin Phoenix and Best Director for Ridley Scott.