In the waning portion of last century, the idea of a big budget sword & sandals epic had greatly fallen out of favor. You might have to go back to Stanley Kubrick’s Spartacus from 1960 to find a film that was immensely successful in the genre. As the new millennium was approaching, director Ridley Scott agreed to take a stab at reviving it after being approached with an exciting script for Gladiator from screenwriter David Franzoni, who had established his reputation on Steven Spielberg’s Amistad. While Scott loved the concept, he and some of the actors felt that some critical issues needed to be addressed in the script. Rewrites were being requested up until the very last moment, which caused major headaches for the crew and the studio. The attention to detail paid off dividends, though, as the film became an immense box office success on its way to winning Best Picture at the 73rd Academy Awards. Twenty years later, the movie still ranks among the best of the genre.
In AD 180, war-weary General Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe) is leading the Roman forces to victory against the Germanic tribes in the latest grasp for more power for Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris). Maximus is a respected General who has shepherded many victories, but is ready to return to Spain after many years away from his family. As he announces his intentions to do so to Aurelius, the Emperor informs Maximus that he wishes him to be his successor in favor of his feckless, erratic son, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix). Aurelius believes that Maximus is the only one capable of uniting the Roman Republic and staving off corruption. Commodus takes this news rather poorly by murdering his father, and blames Maximus for the deed after he refuses to swear his loyalty to him. Maximus is barely able to fight off death on the way to his execution, but succumbs to wounds after arriving home to discover his family has been murdered. Slave traders collect him and make him well enough to sell him off to a gladiator trainer named Proximo (Oliver Reed). Little does he or any of the other prisoners know, Maximus has the background to become the greatest gladiator the world has seen, all while on his quest for vengeance.
The journey of Maximus reluctantly fighting his way up from the lowly pits of a small town all the way to the Roman Colosseum is quite thrilling. He befriends fellow gladiators, Juba (Djimon Hounsou) and Hagen (Ralf Möller), and uses his military skills to win matches and gain a following among the people. The battles are elegantly choreographed from the messy brawls of the initial battles to the grand spectacle of the Colosseum. When Commodus realizes that Maximus is alive and fighting in his games, he has to delicately balance his desire to finish what he started with his need to placate the audience. Sequences involving tigers and ruthless violence get your heart beating incredibly fast. You suspect that Maximus is likely going to stay alive to get his revenge, but you also really start to care and worry for all of those closest to him, as well. Russell Crowe does a standout job of inhabiting the stoic nobility of a man who is broken, but still wants what is best for those around him. The savagery of the games disgusts him, but it is a necessary means to an end to save the Roman Republic and satiate his desire to see Commodus pay for the pain he has brought forth. Joaquin Phoenix showcases the impressive skills that would eventually win him his much-deserved Oscar twenty years later. Commodus is a reprehensible character filled with insecurity, but his presence on screen looms large. This movie is a prime example of actors being matched perfectly with the characters they are playing.
Ridley Scott does an outstanding job bringing all of the elements of this film together. Everything is so expertly crafted from the production design to the costumes to the editing and the performances. He has a singular vision that makes it to the screen in a feat of magnificent will. The story he has shaped gives the audience a meaty plot to sink into while providing a technical spectacle that was truly a marvel for its time. Emotions run high as Maximus nears the end of his saga with the deaths of many weighing him down. The climactic confrontation skillfully ties together all of the threads in an intensely satisfying manner. While it was a definite success at the time, Gladiator is a film that should continue to be recognized for the brilliant film that it is. Fans of epic cinema are encouraged to revisit this one sooner rather than later.
Video Quality
This new Gladiator Steelbook sports the exact same discs that were present in the previous 4K UHD Blu-Ray combo pack. The 4K presentation is largely excellent with only minor moments of inconsistency. The detail present here is fantastic from the varied terrain of forests and deserts to the nuances of the costumes to the scruffy, bloody faces of our gladiators. The transfer is beautifully filmic with a healthy amount of grain present, which gives settings a great amount of texture. The image is sharp and clear with only the occasional speckle of damage visible. Colors gain the most impressive improvement here with deeper, bolder colors on display, especially when it comes to fire. Battles are littered with fire such as flaming arrows and huge exploding balls that really pop off the screen with intensity. Black levels also run much deeper than the old Blu-Ray that is also included in the package. A fresh new master probably would not hurt this film, but this is a pretty excellent 4K presentation as it stands.
Audio Quality
This 4K UHD release comes with a DTS: X Master Audio track that brings a nice sonic vitality to the film. The film is packed with kinetic action sequences from the initial battle replete with clanging swords and exploding fireballs that fill the speakers. Sounds are accurately positioned throughout the mix with directionality never being an issue. When arrows fly by and zoom around the room, you feel like you are right in the middle of the action. The roar of crowd in the Colosseum fills the rear channels as the intense hits from the battle keeps the side and front channels very busy. The film has a very particular sound design that is stylized for effect, much in the same way as the visuals. This leads to some sounds being emphasized more at times rather than maintaining authenticity to life. Dialogue comes through clearly without ever being overwhelmed by the Hans Zimmer score or the many sound effects. If the film is ever released again, it would be interesting to see this one get a Dolby Atmos track, but this presentation is a fantastic representation of the movie.
Special Features
The main reason for this new release is to get the film in a sleek new Steelbook that is truly gorgeous in person. The front artwork depicts a bent over Maximus in the Colosseum defending himself in battle, and the rear features him ascending from the pits to the arena as sun shines on him. The interior is a still from the film of Maximus battling the Tigris of Gaul. Photos of the Steelbook can be found at the end of this review.
- Theatrical Cut Commentary: Director Ridley Scott, editor Pietro Scalia and cinematographer John Mathieson give a technically rich deep-dive into the making of the film. Each figure is particularly excited to reveal details about their area of expertise and how they all work together to shape the final product.
- Extended Cut Commentary: Director Ridley Scott and star Russell Crowe provide a fairly clean-cut track where they discuss all of the technical and emotional beats from the film including motivations and anecdotes from shooting. A slightly livelier track than the theatrical cut.
- Deleted Scenes Index: Thirteen deleted scenes are provided with optional commentary from Ridley Scott.
- The Scrolls of Knowledge – Historical Pods: One hour and nineteen minutes of additional historical videos are provided here that you can choose to watch during the movie or in a grouping all of its own. Those who want to know more about real life gladiators should definitely check this out.
- Strength & Honor – Creating The World of Gladiator: A mind-boggling three hour and seventeen minute long documentary on the making of Gladiator that answers pretty much every single question you could ever dream up to ask about the film. The different segments include Story & Development, Weapons, Costume Design, Production Journals, Resurrecting Proximo, Visual Effects and Release and Impact. My personal favorite is the Oscar night footage from Release and Impact, but there is so much good stuff here.
- Image & Design: A five-part featurette that provides a bit of a deeper dive into some technical elements of developing the film.
- Production Design: A ten-minute look into exactly what production design entails for a film such as this one, along with some galleries you can scroll through.
- Storyboarding: A nearly fourteen minute look at the development of storyboards along with more options to view developing sequences than you could ever hope to see.
- Costume Design Gallery: Scroll through early concepts of costumes of various characters from the film.
- Photo Galleries: Another assortment of groupings of photos from the filmmaking process.
- Weapons Primer – Simon Atherton: A five-minute look at what went into making the thousands of weapons that were used in the movie.
- Abandoned Sequences & Deleted Scenes: Five additional incomplete scenes are provided with explanations as to why they were not completed along with optional commentary as well as the chance to explore the topic in greater depth with additional featurettes. Really wish they could have included the rhino fight!
- The Aurelian Archives: Further opportunities to dive deep into the minute details of Gladiator.
- The Making of Gladiator: A 25-minute documentary about making the film, which largely seems redundant after the 3+ hour documentary elsewhere on the disc.
- Gladiator Games – The Roman Bloodsport: A fifty-minute look at the ancient sport of Gladiator fighting with historians and the like. A very fun addition!
- Hans Zimmer – Scoring Gladiator: A 21-minute discussion with Hans Zimmer about how he developed the Oscar-nominated score and how the sound developed throughout the process.
- An Evening with Russell Crowe: A 27-minute Q&A with Russell Crowe following a screening of the film. This serves as a personal highlight among the special features. At one point, Crowe shares a hilarious story about how he got roped into singing at the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville.
- Maximus Uncut – Between Takes with Russell Crowe: Eight-minutes of Crowe being candid on set, which showcases his goofy side in a likable way. Another gem among the immense amount of special features.
- My Gladiator Journal by Spencer Treat Clark: Over 100 slides are available to peruse from the young actor’s time making the film. You get some fun insight into the process if you take the time to thumb through them.
- VFX Explorations – Germania & Rome: A 24-minute look at the special effects process for the film. It is a lot of fun to see how they so seamlessly blended real life set pieces with technology that helped accentuate the shots.
- Trailers: The teaser and theatrical trailer are both provided, and they do a good job of building the excitement for the film.
- TV Spots: Twenty spots totaling nine-minutes are showcased here with a different hook for each spot. The various marketing techniques are fascinating to view.
Final Thoughts
Gladiator holds up as one of the finest achievements of the early 2000s. On top of being a technically brilliant piece of filmmaking, the story is a thrilling and emotional ride that is anchored by the incredible Russell Crowe. The 4K UHD Blu-Ray offers up a stellar A/V presentation along with a mind-melting amount of special features. This new Steelbook is gorgeous in its presentation, which makes it the recommended choice if you have not yet upgraded this one to 4K UHD. Highly Recommended
Gladiator (Steelbook Edition) is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
