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Specifications: - Two discs - Region 1 - Run time: approx. 154 minutes - Subtitle: English - Scene selection: Full motion - Package: Keep case (2-disc)
Video Features:
Audio Features: - English: THX Surround EX - English: DTS-ES Digital Surround, DTS 5.1 compatible - English: Dolby Surround
Bonus Materials: -
Audio commentary by director -
Deleted scenes (11) with optional -
"Treasure Chest" montage of - "Making of Gladiator" behind-the- scenes special -
"Gladiator Games: Roman Blood -
"Hans Zimmer: Composing Gladiator" - Spencer Treat Clark's "My Gladiator Journal" production diary - Slideshow of concept art and storyboard stills - Behind-the-scenes gallery of stills - Original theatrical trailer - TV spots (4) - Cast & crew bios - Production notes
DVD-ROM* features: - Web links**
Release Dates: Theatrical Release: 5/5/00 DVD Release: 11/21/00 Review Date: 11/18/00
List price: $ 29.95 On-line price: $ 22.49 Pre-order price was: $ 16.99
*DVD-ROM features require DVD-ROM drive on your PC with certain minimum system requirements
**web links require internet access
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| Gladiator Signature Selection (2-disc) - Dolby Digital & DTS-ES |
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Starring:
Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Director: Ridley Scott
MPAA Rating: R Genre: Action - Adventure - Drama Studio: DreamWorks
Pictures |
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Movie: A+ Video: A Audio: A+ Extras: A+
Summary: "Gladiator" is a story about Maximus, "the general who became a slave... the slave who became a gladiator... the gladiator who defied an
empire." "Gladiator" is simply one of the best
movies of the year 2000. On
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The Story
"Gladiator" is an epic motion picture about...
"The general who became a slave... the slave who became a gladiator... the gladiator who defied an empire"
Maximus (Russell Crowe) is emperor Marcus Aurelius' (Richard Harris) greatest general. He just defeated Rome's last enemy in Germania, along the Roman Empire's northern border. (Obviously, we know that nothing could be further from the truth, since this is just the beginning of the movie.) As glorious as this victory is, Marcus Aurelius' poor health makes him question the meaning of his life and his achievements. He asks Maximus to rule the empire after he dies, until the senate is ready to assume power.
When Marcus informs his son Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) of this decision, the over-ambitious son kills his own father and claims the throne. When Maximus is summoned, he immediately realizes foul play and rejects Commodus' offer to serve under him. Feeling betrayed, Commodus orders the general's execution, but our hero manages to escape from his own execution and flees home. However, he arrives home too late, as the ruthless Commodus had already ordered the brutal murder of Maximus' wife and son.
Crushed, wounded and exhausted, Maximus is rescued by slave traders and sold into slavery. After he recovers, Maximus applies his skill as a soldier and quickly makes a name for himself as a gladiator. Eventually, he is brought to Rome, where he performs in front Commodus and the large crowd in the Roman Colosseum. After consistently defeating is opponents, he is paid a visit by Commodus on the stadium floor. There, Maximum is forced to unmask and reveal himself. When he does so, he identifies himself as Maximus and says that he is
"Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife, and I will have my vengeance in this life or the next."
Oooooohhh. We'll leave there so you can enjoy the rest of this spectacular epic motion picture.
There are plenty of gory violence in the battle sequences. What did you expect from the movie called "Gladiator"? Action fans will be not be disappointed. The visual special effects of the roman cityscape, particularly the Roman Colosseum, are quite stunning. Surprisingly drama fans will also enjoy this movie. Believe it or not, but there is a rich plot with sufficient character study in this action-based epic movie. Russell Crowe and many of the supporting cast gave awesome performances in this latest masterpiece by director Ridley Scott.
The audio commentary includes director Ridley Scott, director of photography ("DP") John Mathieson, and film editor Pietro Scalia. The running audio commentary is insightful and quite engaging as they discuss a number of interesting topics including how the tone and mood of the movie were set with the opening titles, the historical accuracy of movie's portrayal of the period's gladiatorial games, the significance of Maximus reaching for a handful of earth before commencing battle, the set design, the musical score, and many other topics.
There are 11 deleted scenes with optional director's commentary in the section entitled "From the Cutting Room Floor". The deleted scenes are entitled, "Battle Aftermath", "Looking for Strength", "Dye Market", "Stage Direction", "Fed To The Lions", "A Meeting at Gracchus' House", "Father and Son", "The Execution", "Spies Close In", "Another Enemy", and "Fighting with Fire". In his optional director's commentary, Ridley Scott explains the significance and the story behind these scenes. There are some really good scenes which we thought would have worked well in the final movie, as they offer more insight into story. Among them are "Battle Aftermath", "A Meeting at Gracchus' House", "Father and Son", "The Execution", "Spies Close In", and "Another Enemy". However, as you can imagine, the movie is already over 2 1/2 hours long, so these scenes were probably cut for run-time reasons. An intense scene is the "The Execution". It's very powerful emotionally. We've never seen anything like this. Ugggggh. Great movie making at its best. Also included in this menu selection is an 11-minute montage of deleted scenes, entitled "The Treasure Chest", as produced by film editor Pietro Scalia and set to the hauntingly beautiful musical score. Very well done.
The 25-minute "Making of Gladiator" behind-the-scenes special is a fast-paced and intriguing look at a number of aspects behind the movie's production, from the physical exertion in performing the awesome battle scenes and stunts, to the risks of performing stunts with live Bengal tigers, to a brief history of the roman gladiatorial games, to the enormous scale and production effort behind the opening battle scene, to filming on location, to building a local provincial arena from scratch using local construction materials in Morocco, to building of a full-scale section of the Roman Colosseum, to the computer generated visual effects of the complete Colosseum, and to the composition of the musical score. It features interviews with many of the cast and crew. Can you imagine -- they actually burned down a portion of a forest to film the opening battle scene? Incredible this production is.
"Gladiator Games: Roman Blood Sport" is an astonishing history of the gladiatorial games. It explains the popularity of these games during the Roman Empire, the rules of the game, and the nature of the gladiators. As you can guess, the game ends only when "blood is let". That is when someone actually dies, hence the nick name "blood sport". The hour-long program features testimonies from scholars and historians who tell us of the true history of gladiators. It's a very interesting and well-produced program. It's surprising how this sport originated. We'll let you find out when you watch it yourself.
The 20-minute interview with Hans Zimmer on the musical score, entitled "Hans Zimmer: Composing Gladiator" is a very insightful look at the inspirations for the musical score. Hans Zimmer is very articulate and seems to really love his work. His brilliance shows in the engaging and hauntingly beautiful musical score, accented with magnificent vocals by Lisa Gerrard. The musical score literally helps tell the story and perfectly complements the movie scenes.
"My Gladiator Journal" is a diary written by child actor Spencer Treat Clark on his laptop computer during production, from the time he departs on a plane from New York to London. It's pretty cool and is an insightful look at the life of a child actor during the production of an epic film. It includes quite a few still pictures.
"Original Storyboards" is a slideshow of concept art and storyboard stills. There are also a behind-the-scenes gallery of stills, an original theatrical trailer, a theatrical teaser, four TV spots, cast and crew biographies, and production notes. DVD-ROM feature offers access to the movie web site. There's a lot here -- enough to fill a Roman Colosseum. And the two-disc set completes this substantial feel.
Video & Audio
The image quality of this anamorphic widescreen DVD is simply top notch. The colors are accurate and saturated, while shadow details are excellent. The stunning picture quality pays tribute to the spectacular epic cinematography.
This DVD (more specifically the first disc containing the feature film) features both THX Surround EX (which is the more correct term than Dolby Digital EX, which is really the theatrical version) and DTS-ES Matrix or Discrete 6.1 surround sound. We prefer the DTS soundtrack, hands down. It is simply more awesome. We used our Sony STR-V444ES receiver which features Sony's proprietary virtual 6.1 matrix surround sound processing, which simulates the effects of a back surround channel with just the usual left and right surround speakers. The sound mix is hair raising, with ample use of the low frequency effects (LFE) channel. In the opening and gladiatorial battle sequences, the LFE channel will put any subwoofer to the test. The DTS surround sound is very well-balanced and effective. The dialogue is crystal clear as is hauntingly beautiful and engaging musical score which greatly enhances the mood of the movie.
Recommendation
I highly recommend this "Gladiator" Signature Selection DVD. If you only collect a few DVD titles each year and enjoy a sweeping epic that is action-packed, make sure you to pick up this title. It's awesome. DreamWorks has already shipped over 2.6 million copies to retail in the U.S. and Canada before this title even was released on November 21, 2000. They expect this title to be one of the best-sellers for holiday season 2000, and we can see and hear exactly why that would be true.
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