After the dull White Squall and the duff GI Jane, you'd have been forgiven for thinking that Ridley Scott had lost it forever. Yet Gladiator represents his best work since Thelma And Louise and, even better than that, it's surely the best sword `n' sandal epic since Spartacus. Russell Crowe excels as the general-turned-slave-turned-all-star-gladiator, desperate to avenge the death of his family at the hands of sneery boy-emperor Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix)...
DVD Extras:
Three documentaries (Gladiators Of Ancient Rome, Making Of and musical score featurette with Hans Zimmer), 11 deleted scenes, Ridley Scott commentary, storyboard comparisons, deleted footage montage, production notes, theatrical trailers and TV spots, cast and crew biographies, photo gallery.It's somehow fitting that such a blockbusting epic should be accompanied by such a colossal amount of extras. The stand-out is surely the hour-long doc on the history of gladiators, with academics discussing the lifestyle of these fighter slaves and comparing them to today's sports superstars. And while the deleted scenes are no goldmine, some do offer more plot insight. For example, one sees Lucilla reveal to Gracchus how Commodus is financing the games. Finishing for the bronze is Scott's commentary, in which he discusses Oliver Reed's final performance and comments on how tough it was making a historical epic accurately without knowing for sure what really happened. A spectacle of a special edition.
