Gladiator (2000) *First Time Watching Reaction!! | We Were Entertained | 

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I think it's a big misinterpretation by women when it comes to why men like certain types of movies. Big explosions, car chases, battles, that's fun sure.. but we are drawn to films that portrey what it is to be a Man. What drives a man to want to be a protector, to be there for his family, to be loyal to his friends and honorable.

As my Daddy used to say, before he left this cold, cruel world, ''A big problem in this world is there are too many people who demand respect that never do anything worthy of it, and too many people who earn respect that never receive it.''

24 years after... still carries weight... film masterpiece for ages!... This was a well deserved oscar of best movie and best actor of the year! Great reaction, thank you for the watch!

Every..... Single...... Day. I have been marginally obsessed with Ancient Roman history since early high school. This is my favorite movie of all time in part because the character of Maximus is something of an amalgamation of two of my favorite figures from Roman history. In the first (And probably most obviously) he was part Spartacus, the gladiator slave who led a slave revolt against rome and for the better part of a decade was the terror of the Roman army. And secondly (and much lesser known) He was part Lucius Quinticus Cincinnatus. A roman general/political leader whom in a time of great distress was named dictator of Rome (this was before the empire when Rome was strictly a republic) took total power and then did the unthinkable when he had absolute control, he laid down his power and returned to life as a farmer.

After all these years, the ending to this movie still gets me...

"Brothers, what we do in life... echoes in eternity." Gladiator is an epic Ancient Roman historic drama masterpiece. It works on so many levels: the acting is phenomenal, the story is compelling, the backdrop of the film is beautiful. It's destined to be a classic, which is a film that can be watched and appreciated with each subseqent viewing. Also, Hans Zimmer does an excellent job in composing beautiful music that captures the tone of the film. The song, "Now We Are Free" by Lisa Gerrard that plays during the film credits is hauntingly beautiful and hypnotic. It's simply one of the greatest film scores ever made and shall be timeless for the rest of time.

This was the movie I really wished Ridley Scott had won the Oscar for.

You cut out one of my favorite parts when his friend buries the toys and says " I will see you again. But not yet. Not yet."

36:59 I love the fact that his image of the afterlife is the road leading downhill through the wheat fields toward his farm with his wife and son waiting for his return. His description of it earlier when he was talking to Marcus Aurelius (the emperor) sounded like paradise.

Everyone's gangster till they realize the epicness of Gladiator's emotional weight. Tears are fully expected. 🍻

As a grown man, I cry at the end every single time. You truly don’t get movies like this anymore. And yes, I think about Rome at least several times a week.

I was fortunate to sit and listen to the writer who was brought on board to re-write the script, on set. William Nicholson. They were filming already but Crowe was unhappy with the story, he was playing a man who just seemed to be a monster. Nicholson was brought in, sat in a mobile and made Crowe a family man, an unwilling soldier, a man who just wanted peace and his family and his farm. Nicholson said he reckons he added hugely to the takings becuse he attracted women to the cinema because of that. He kept on writing for 6 weeks as they were filming and developing the story when someone came in and said 'I'm sorry but we've run out of money.' By this time Nicholson says he'd been paid a million bucks or pounds so he wasn't bothered he was just enjoying the thrill of it all and of course it was a huge box office success. Incidentally Crowe went straight from winning an Oscar for the role to the set of the movie 'A Beautiful Mind' which you really ought to give a go, assuming you haven't....

Think about Rome once a day? no .... Think about ancient times ancient civilizations and humans journey throughout the ages once a day? Absolutely YES

"Do you think I'm afraid?" "I think you've been afraid all your life." One of my favourite hero/villain exchanges ever - I think that might have hurt Commodus more than the actual dagger.

‘You sold me queer giraffes!’

12:24 The fact, that you first hear the sound and then see the actual sword flying straight towards you for a badass kill, is one of the most low key badass moments in Hollywood history ever. 💯

I saw this in the theater. Thanks for reminding of the honor Crowe's character showed as a soldier. I do think of Rome not everyday but a lot. As an ex-soldier and historian I love military history and the impact Rome had along with Greece and Carthage. Loved Gladiator and it was great seeing the story again. Thanks Michelle and Natalie!

The end scene with Djimon Hounsou is one of the best scenes...

This and Terminator 2 are probably the two movies where grown ass men left the theaters in tears, lol. Oh, and I did see it in the theater. I was about 12 I think? A buddy and myself bought tickets for another movie because they wouldn't sell us the tickets for Gladiator. We simply thought, Okay, we'll buy the other tickets and walk in to see Gladiator, that's what we're here for. Needless to say, it did not disappoint. Though obviously at that age, it didn't hit as hard as seeing it a tad older. At this point, anytime you watch the movie, it's almost impossible to not tear up at the end.

Notice how his men are ready to defend him after he reveals his identity. Men follow courage.

I live in Rome. Why *wouldn't* I think about the Roman Empire every day?

Yes, Rome is a daily thought, for me. I have seen this movie consistently since its release, the death scene still hits hard. Oliver Reed, "Proximo", died before filming was finished. The last scenes you see him was footage spliced in. Ralf Moeller, "Hagen" told Scott he wanted a big death. Both Moeller and Sven Ole Thorsen, "Tigris" are friends of Schwarzenegger from bodybuilding days. Thorsen has been in multitudes of movies with Arnold.

Commodus strangles his father, the Emperor of Rome. Natalie: "I feel like he took it too far."

The "Thumbs Up" and "Thumbs Down" WAS began with the Gladiators. However, society has reversed it. "Thumbs Up" meant send the man to the heavens and kill him, while "Thumbs Down" meant let him live and send him back to the catacombs beneath the arena. That is what I was taught, so don't destroy me if you have different information.

In case no one mentioned, Proximo the slave owner died during filming after he basically drank himself into a heart attack, so they had to kill off his character using a body double, digital effects, and lots of shadows. "Shadows and dust."

Since you asked, The Roman Empire is hard for me to not think about daily. As a Christian, it's hard to think of Him and not remember that the Romans were an Essential part of His Story. Also, Oliver Reed (Proximo) poured the last days of his life into this movie.

Yes I do. Never quite realised it until it went viral. It's such a fascinating period of history that spans hundreds of years.

Can't help but feel sorry for Richard Harris..."Ceasar is whathisname, Dumbledore, from Harry Potter"

I read the book "Rubicon" by Tom Holland many years ago and have been thinking about Ancient Rome to an unhealthy degree since. Loved your reactions to "Gladiator". If you wanna stick with Rome you might also like "Ben Hur" with a young fella named Charlton Heston.❤️

Hi Michelle & Natalie, I`m glad you enjoyed the film, so far I have not come across a female reactor that has not, though you might expect that. Two British actors who stood out in this film, were Oliver Reed (Proximo, owner of the Gladiator school) & Derek Jacobi (Sen. Gracchus, the politician Lucilla introduced to Maximus). Oliver Reed starred in the `70`s re-telling of (The Three Musketeers, 1973 & (The Four Musketeers, 1974) which I hope you might react to at some point. Derek Jacobi had previous "Roman Empire" experience, as he portrayed the character Claudius in the 1976 BBC mini-Series (I Claudius), which detailed the history of the Imperial family. Well worth watching, if you are interested in what went on, it was also star-studded with British talent.

STRENGTH AND HONOR

I'm a guy - I don't think about the Roman Empire every day but I do at least 3-4 times a week. Two days ago I heard someone bring up "Roman Concrete" on a stream and I was once again blown away by it. Very basic explanation - it's a self-healing concrete that will seal cracks automatically. It was used thousands of years ago but knowledge of how it was made was lost during the middle ages. We have just recently discovered how it was made.

This movie is absolutely amazing. Top five of all time for me I own the extended cut on Blu-ray and I also saw it in the theater. Absolutely amazing movie.

Yes, men often think about civilization and Rome is basically the most hostorically significant civilization, and so they think about Rome. Rome was a civilizational marvel, teaches us about the reality of human nature, and also serves as lessons since it underwent a decline until itnachieved collapse.

Yes. You cannot get away from Rome’s influence in architecture and infrastructure. What they accomplished was amazing. We would do well to study the reasons for their downfall as well.

Just a note that incestual relationships did happen in the Roman empire. So Commudus desires for his sister (in this movie) did happen in that empire. But it did not happen in Commudus real story of his life. He didn't have the hots for his sister..

Yes I do... Especially in the last few years 😅

The movie got it wrong; historically, thumbs 'up' actually meant death and thumbs 'down' meant you should live.

Top 3 stories ever. This is not a movie,this is a masterpiece of humanity and so was Rome.

About the main characters : - Crowe played Maximus Decimus Meridius - Inspired by Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus (father of Lucius Aurelius Pompeianus) and Marcus Nonius Macrinus. - Dumbledore played Marcus Aurelius Antoninus - One of the most popular emperor of the Roman Empire, a great philosopher and intellectual. His literary work is still read, studied and highly praised today. He was not murdered and enjoyed a healthy relationship with his son Commodus. - Phoenix played Lucius Aurelius Commodus - He co-reign with his father as emperor for several years before becoming the one emperor upon his father's death. Commodus was assassinated 12 years after he became the sole emperor. At first he was poisoned but it didn't kill him, although it made him sick and dizzy. He was finished off, strangled, by his wrestling coach/sparring partner named Narcissus in his bathroom. This happened 10 years after he ordered the execution of his sister and his niece. - Nielsen played Annia Aurelia Lucilla - She schemed to have her brother, Commodus, assassinated. It was discovered and she was exiled on an island with her daughter for less than a year. Commodus sent a centurion (equivalent of a captain) to kill them. This was 2 years after Marcus Aurelius death. - Clark played Lucius Aurelius Pompeianus - Son of Lucilla and Pompeianus. Although the name and age in the movie are based on Lucius Verus, first son of Lucilla, everything else is based on her second son also named Lucius. Her first son died young and before Commodus became emperor. Not much is known about her second son, but he was also murdered around 20 years after Commodus death. Some trivia : 2:30 Real men think of the Roman Empire at least once per hour. 3:34 The portrayal of Germanic tribes is quite typical of western chauvinism. They didn't look like this at all. Asterix & Obelix, the comic series, are hell of a lot more accurate in their portrayal of Gallic/Germanic tribes. 4:06 Elysium, or the Elysian Fields, are equivalent to Eden. It is an ancient conceptualisation of the afterlife for the worthy. 4:31 Yeah, and purely fictional as well. Artillery on battlefield wasn't a thing during these times. Absolutely nothing make sense during this scene, battles are always fought in formation so there would never be one on one fight like we see in this scene. 5:43 The "good guys" are the Germanic tribes. They are fighting an Empire which by definition is evil and all about power and slavery. Germanic people are defending their land against an invader, but this movie portrays them as the barbarian sub-humans. 9:33 This didn't happen and they had a healthy relationship, they even co-reign together for a couple of years until Marcus Aurelius died. Also, even if Commodus didn't co-reign with his father, Marcus Aurelius probably wouldn't have been able to dishenerit his son without a huge civil war. Being Emperor of Rome is not like being Emperor Palpatine, an emperor is merely human and have to keep many people happy to stay in power. You can't easily do something like you see in this scene and if you absolutely can't help it, the Emperor would never do this in such an intimate and vulnerable way lol It would be either by edict, by imprisoning his son or by having a very huge escort of Pretorian around him. 11:40 These are not "guards" or ordinary soldiers and they do not share any relationship with nor any loyalty to Maximus. They are Praetorians, which is roughly the equivalent of the US Secret Service mixed with the Gestapo. They weren't nice people. And they killed many emperors. 12:25 Not really impressive. The sword would have simply bounced off the Praetorian armor because there's virtually nothing that can pierce such an armor during this time. 13:58 Oh, no, I assure you, they were plenty of reasons to do that, they simply weren't articulated in the movie. Women had influence, political ties, family members in influential positions. Letting them live would be a risk to Commodus reign, schemes could have been fomented around the son of Maximus to avenge his father, or by his wife to avenge her husband, soldiers loyal to Maximus could have rallied around them or someone who could have used Maximus family and his assassination to start a coup against Commodus. By the law and logic of this time, his family had to die. People don't know this, but in the ancient world (all over the globe!) it was VERY common and considered reasonable and justifiable to exterminate entire families if the head of the family or a very prominent and influential member commited what was considered a capital offense (arguably only when it was the kind of offense with the potential to jeopardize the authority of the ruler). It wasn't considered "cruel" per se, in the sense we understand the word today anyway. It was considered harsh, but not cruel. What the movie get quite wrong about that also is that the extermination of the family wasn't done so unceremoniously unless there was armed resistance. The family members would be arrested and imprisoned from less than a day to many years and then they would be executed with propiety through "humane" methods such as strangulation, beheading, poisoning (suicide) or hanging. Newborns, children, elders - usually no one was spared regardless of who or what they were. 18:00 Portrayal of gladiatorial combats are VERY inaccurate. It's like if George St-Pierre and Nick Diaz fought to death and GSP was killed. What do you think it would do to the sport if there was always one of the two top athletes killing each other? Gladiators were rarely killed in the arena and when they did died it was more often from accidental injuries that caused infection or bleeding than from someone who had the real intention of killing them. Lot of money was invested in them just like today with our athletes, and they even had sponsors to promote products and services during the games (not kidding). Although the movie is a 9/10, the accuracy of this movie is 1/10 as almost nothing in it is historically accurate.

Lol I think we do lol... being serious too!!

23:45 It was actually reversed back then. Somehow it got lost in translation. We have been doing it incorrectly for hundreds of years. Ridley Scott (The Director) thought about doing it correctly, but decided against it, because modern audiences wouldn't understand.

They are making a sequel to this right now GLADIATOR 2

Great reaction! It's always fun to see women react to Gladiator because they almost always go into it thinking it's a "guy" film that they probably won't enjoy all that much. Then they find out that it's much more than just Russell Crowe swinging a sword for two hours. Rocky and Rambo are two other films that usually surprise women with how good they are and how different the films are than what they expected.

Yes. I think about the Romans quite often. At one time they were a great empire. Marcus Aurelius will always be the philosopher, for me. His stoic ideals should be followed by every man. Great reaction!

It's not about rooting for someone in war It's about the tragedy of it in this one

15:57, “They call that a whole in one” lmao

I think that the fight scenes weren't there just to have fight scenes. They were very intentional to the charactor and story development. The fact that they were so well done was a bonus.

If you liked this one, you should definitely add Master and Commander to your list. Another excellent Russell Crowe flick.

Don't forget: Gladiators were slaves. By the way, the music played when he died is called: "Honor Him", by the great Hans Zimmer.

Guy here. I don't specifically set out to think of the Roman Empire but almost every day something or some subject will touch on it. As much as I love this movie it has a totally inaccurate depiction of gladiators. Gladiators fight in specific styles and in specific pairings. Gladiators did not fight animals that was done by bestiari and gladiators did not fight war reenactments that was done by criminals and prisoners of war. Gladiators were highly trained and expensive. If a gladiator died during a match the host had to pay for him. They were fed high starch diet so they developed a protective layer of fat that would help protect them from lethal wounds. They would still get wounded and bleed for the crowd but for the most part they lived. Sometimes accidents happened and a lethal wound was inflicted and basically a mercy killing was carried out on the sand of the arena. Some would die of infection later but the idea that one of the gladiators had to die each time is erroneous. The thumbs up or down thing isn't known either. It has been thought that the thumb was held out to the side and a thrusting motion was made to mimic the action of a thrusting sword not an actual thumbs down.

The movie is amazing and I heard they are actually making a sequel, Somethings should never be done.

I'm 59 year old man and can state that most men I know consider the "Maximus" character close to the ideal of what a man should be and is one major reason why they like this film. In this day and age it seems rare to see a "hero" character like this anymore.

The Princess loved Maximus more than any in life save her son. Who it is hinted may have actually belonged to Maximus. Once the vial is drawn back to the afterlife there is no coming back. Once Maximus opened that door it was curtains. The Princess releasing Maximus to go to his family was probably the hardest thing she ever did.

Ridley Scott knows his business.

It's definitely a great movie. It hits the soft part.

Hagen and Juba are the definition of Solid Bros here.

I come from a country that was part of the Roman Empire, I am from Romania. Italy, especially Rome, is an AMAZING, WONDERFUL city. The heart of fashion is in Milan. Please, do not miss to visit the most beautiful country in the world, Italy! All roads lead to Rome!

When I think of the US Senate, Star Wars, any European war, stoic masculinity, geopolitics, political corruption, monarchy, family dysfunction, the concept of citizenship, Greco-Roman mythology, dramatic storytelling, societal decline, or Christianity, I think of the Roman Empire (in varying degrees). So yes, I think of the Roman Empire at least once a day.

Yes i do. Roman empire.

I KNEW you’d tear at this one! I called it. My theater back then was completely sniffling and bawling. Totally get it.

Two ironic, funny, intelligent, tender, classy women. I offer you my most sincere congratulations.

History was actually opposite to what thumbs up meant. Thumbs down was what you wanted to see because it was a signal to your soldiers to put their swords down. Thumbs up meant swords up. We’ve been doing it wrong for a long time.

The greatest movie of all time! Can't wait for Gladiator 2 coming November 2024. Ridley Scott!!!!

The ancient Romans gestured with their thumbs instead of their pointer fingers like we do. When a gladiator was about to deliver a coup de gras to his defeated opponent he would sometimes pause and wait for the emperor to decide. If the emperor gestured with his thumb upside down in a downward motion (what we think of as a 'thumbs down'👎) it meant "drop your weapon, show mercy". If the emperor drew his upturned thumb across his neck ('thumbs up'👍) it meant "slice his throat" or "off with his head".

I cry every time I watch this. I cried with you today. Marcus Aurelius wisdom has passed far into history with the his meditations that are available to read. The character Russell played so well, surprisingly refined my personal views. I am trying to raise my three sons and daughter to be humans with integrity with how I protect and fight for them. If I can leave this world a better place and kids who will carry it on, then I have fought well.

Gladiator 2, following the life of the grown up Lucius, is coming out 2024.

Great reaction. I’m one of those women who love this movie, and love Russell Crowe. He couldn’t do a bad movie back then. Amazing films like L.A. Confidential, Master and Commander, Cinderella Man, A Beautiful Mind, and 3:10 To Yuma, just to name a few. Would love to see you react to one (or more) of them.

I really liked your commentary and your vibe, was fun to reminisce on this movie with you guys

My Mom was a Latin professor and author of Latin language textbooks. I don’t think of it every day but I grew up on Ancient Rome.

When Caesar said, "If only you had been born a man, what a Caesar you would have made." Actually her son being only 8 she would be her sons closest advisor and in a way the Caesar, through her son, that her father knew she would have been and make Rome what he knew it should be.

As a US Army Veteran, the ending stills makes me tear up.

Thanks ladies. One of my favourites. You know its a remake. The original was 60s . Alec Gunness played the emporer ( the fall of the roman empire ) but they are very different movies.

Ever since I heard about Rome and Greece as a child it has never left my mind even now as as a 22 year old haha. You can even hear men constantly bring it up with each other at the job site

My tears when watching this movie: "Now we are free."

The extended cut is my favourite movie of all time... some great stuff added...love it ❤

👍Russell Crowe saying 'Are you not entertained?' If you ladies are allowed, think you need that as a new clip and emoji for your channel! I think this is Ridley Scott's best film and another example of how, great script, brilliant direction and production, and superb performances from the cast can create a timeless classic! So glad you two reacted to it, and enjoyed it as much as I did when I first saw it in the theaters. As to your question, thinking about the Roman history and what ifs like the one suggested in the film, well not a daily thing for me, but yeah on a regular basis I ponder it for sure. Gladiator was such a perfect film, and did not need a sequel in my opinion. Which is why I will be really surprised if I am even remotely 'entertained' by Gladiator 2.

I think about Rome pretty frequently because before America they were the greatest civilization to ever exist. They never thought they would fall. But the reasons they fell are the same things happening in America today so it worries me. Inflation, political corruption, etc. Edit: I almost forgot, i think the thumbs up actually meant KILL back then too haa

Godzilla Minus One - superb movie with well written characters and drama (in a Godzilla movie, too!). tears and applause at the end from the audience. amazing movie

Great reaction and I agree with all of your points. And please don't leave out the brilliant musical score by Hans Zimmer. The theme song from this movie "Now We Are Free" is a classic!

I'd kinda like to hear Natalie talk more about releases and climaxes 😂gigity

The only reason I think of the Roman empire is simple, the collapse they experienced took hundreds of years. We are experiencing damn near the same fate in a much more rapid time frame. I don't think about this daily, and it blows me away that this is a thing, because I think it's good that men allegedly think of the Romans daily.

Yes I think about it every day

Amazing reaction, girls. Knew that the ending would get you both :)

“Seabiscuit” from 2003 is a great movie you two will love! Based on a true story and set in the depression era about an undersized race horse. Not just a horse racing movie, there is soo much more. No muted for several academy awards. A fantastic “feel good” movie

"are you entertained?" 🤣 lol something like that

Besides this & Alien; Great Ridley Scott films also include: 1982 - Blade Runner: The Final Cut 1991 - Thelma & Louise 2001/02 - Black Hawk Down 2003 - Matchstick Men 2007 - American Gangster 2015 - The Martian

40:31 Yes, Joaquin Phoenix's performance in this film is underrated, imo. He did an amazing job, because you do hate his character, but it also doesn't feel like a two-dimensional bad guy, which is important. You can see the pain, the envy and the anger in his performance. And of course Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed and Richard Harris also were absolutely incredible.

No, I don't think about the Roman Empire once a day. But I do like the Gladiator movie and I hear they're making a second one. I don't know how I feel about that. That one guy you said was so familiar but you couldn't place him. If you've ever seen Braveheart, he played in that as one of William Wallace's men. Commodus just wanted everything given to him and he just thought that everyone would love him. But he didn't earn any of it. Not like Maximus, who earned his place and admiration from his soldiers, friends, and the people. 5 hoot to you ladies. 🦉🦉🦉🦉🦉. And may God continue to bless y'all.

23:46 while this IS where it comes from.. historically thumbs up meant you were killed.. while thumbs down meant you were spared.

Matured women with mature commentary, thank you, ladies.

Did I make it, first like and comment?!?! *wipes sweat from brow* “Strength and honor” 😏

If you like Russell Crowe in this you should give "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" a try. BTW - I love this movie.

As a male and a degree in history I actually don't think of Rome all that much. Partially we have so many artifacts of their language, culture, and government in our modern world if you actually think about it we probably use something originating in Rome every day, whether we are aware of it or not.

it is a real shame that Joaquin Pheonix didn´t got an oscar for this movie!! his performance was outstanding and on another level...

This is a great movie definitely in the top ten of all time. Russell Crowe also did a Robin Hood remake that is really good

Gladiator isn't "infamous" it's "famous". Infamous means it's famous for being bad, I know what you meant but I keep hearing people say "infamous" when they mean "famous".

Never think about the Roman Empire...I wake up and think "Damn, I need to make some money!" lol

I think about history very often and compare current day to events from the past. I'm from Sweden so right now I am invested into learning how the country was created from different "tribes". Rome is always somewhere in the background even up in Swedish territories! For instance the Goths supposedly came from Sweden, how much truth there is in that who knows. We have Geats and that might be Goths so on... Rome I think of atleast a few times every week😂