Reminds me of that RU-vid video that talks about how the best CGI is the CGI you dont notice. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-bL6hp8BKB24.html
Right, but CGI is done by workers who aren’t unionized while practical effects have union workers and labor protections. So it’s cheaper to externalize the production costs onto the workers who create digital effects in crunch time, especially if they’re overseas from the rest of the team. The expense on their mental and physical health can be kept off the budget.
@@pads-zr9ln Rome had glory and horror at the same time. I think the movie did a brilliant job showing this. And its reminds us a lot of ourselves, for better and worse.
I was 21 and already a mega history buff when I saw it. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. From the snowy forests of Germania to the deserts of North Africa. I thought, "They fucking did it." Then lots more history buffs started appearing XD
Exactly! And no mention that when Gladiator was released on DVD it broke sales records, was the top-selling DVD for many years after, and remains one of the top selling DVDs in history.
@@AverageAlien True, however I always loved, absolutely LOVED the fact that the main "barbarian" bad guy got taken down by like 6 random Roman soldiers and not Maximus. Always hate that in movies, when the two army leaders magically find each other in the middle of the fking battlefield.
I'm surprised you guys didn't mention that when Gladiator was released on DVD it broke sales records, was the top-selling DVD for many years after, and remains one of the top selling DVDs in history.
As a German native speaker I bought the VHS of the movie in English to watch it in original version. As soon as I got a DVD player it was the first disc I bought. It was perfect for training my English hearing and therefore still has a special place in my memory.
Maximus confronting Commodus after the first Coliseum battle is still one of my favorite moments in cinema. The way Crowe delivers that line is chilling.
When it came out my group of friends went from playing wiffle ball to having epic fights with the bats and certain rules. I guess LARPing is similar but we went all out hitting. We did it on bikes like Jousting at one point and when pvc pipe started to be used instead of wiffle ball bats parents stopped the games. But great time. The sandlot of my life.
I was 16 when I watched this, i went to see it with my first ever pay cheque, it was my mothers birthday and I got her a puppy and we named him Max. The memories here are insane! Great times 👍
@@rickymurray Geez, this comment thread is a rollercoaster of emotion. I went from smiling to frowning then crying. Sorry for the double loss but happy you have such wonderful memories with the two of them🥺
As a video game developer I can attest to the concept of, no matter how beautiful a scene looks, or how fun the gameplay is, if the music does not match, then the scene is just and empty boring fruitless experience, and devoid of feeling.
@@waltersvg Jude is fantastic and would've made a great Commodus, but you're crazy to think this was Phoenix's worst performance. His role in Gladiator is universally praise as one of his best performances ever.
@@danieldevito6380 It's not that I think it was a bad performance but that it was his least strongest. I think it was more about his being cast in that role that didn't sell it for me. Oddly enough though I wanted to say that his best performance was in "the Master". I don't care for the subject matter much at all but he really sold me on that movie.
@@waltersvg I never saw the master, however, I don't think I'm able to single out what I believe his best performance was. He was great in Walk The Line, Joker, We Own The Night, The Village... He truly is one of the best actors of our generation.
@@alasdairmacintyre9383 the only shit about this movie was Scott injecting his stupidass modern political bullshit (get rid of an emperor and "return Rome to the senate" nonsense. Besides that, it was excellent by every possible metric.
Maximus' Theme, played over his reconnection with the earth and with himself as his hand coasts through the wheat, has long been one of my favorite pieces of cinematic music.
When this Movie came out, I was living a secluded lifestyle, no T.V., Movies, Commercial B.S., etc. I was working as a Roadie, and one my fellow Roadies, and I were Setting Up a Show one night when he mentioned this Movie. Told him I never seen it,probably never would, but go ahead and tell me about it, sounds interesting, and we had all night. So he Orated the entire movie for me, and did a really Good Job of it. That hooked me. And a year later, I bought DVD at Wallyworld. Wow!!! Even knowing the Whole Story, it was FANTASTIC!!! Worthy of Multiple Academy Awards, in my opinion. Russell, and Joaquin were Outstanding!!! Direction was Great!! Everything, just Fantastic!!! A CLASSIC ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The sequel for this film that was originally going to be written by Nick Cave was going to involve him being a ghost that compares us people through time really bat shit stuff
It's kind of obvious once you hear that too. It's story is sort of disjointed. I mean, the politics and emperor scenes always felt out of place. Like it almost shouldn't have been about an emperors son killing his father to hold onto power and all that and stayed simple about a general sold into slavery and forced to fight etc.
This movie is right up there with the greatest movies of all time and really defined my childhood. Other examples are The Patriot, Braveheart, Saving Private Ryan, Gladiator, Kingdom Of Heaven, The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, Remember The Titans, Man On Fire, Black Hawk Down, The Last Samurai, We Were Soldiers, Enemy At The Gates, and of course, The Rock. All those movies including this one really defined my childhood and my love of certain genres. All of them really spoke to me in a way no other movies could.
@@wyganter If you read my list carefully, you would notice a movie in it where no one actually dies. Other than that, movies where people die are the most gripping of all movies. Do you know why? It is because when people die, it shows how fleeting life truly is, and that the way we live it matters above all else. To quote gladiator, "What we do in this life, echoes in eternity". War movies I suspect, are actually the greatest of all movies for the simple fact that it reminds people that without those willing to die for what they believe in, they would have no ability to express their thoughts in such a way without reprisal. In fact many places in the world right now can't do that because they did not have people willing to pay the ultimate sacrifice. Luckily in America we do. And we will never forget it.
@@oberynredviper7828 There is no conceivable world where blade is one of the greatest movies of all time lol. Acting? Cinematography ? Plot? Script? It's definitely a very entertaining movie but it doesn't hit any of the tops in any category that matters outside of maybe just pure entertainment.
Beautifully filmed and directed by Ridley Scott with an amazing performance by Russell Crowe ending with Lisa Gerrard’s beautiful and moving of rendition of “ Flavum.” Outstanding.
"Oliver Reed died of a heart attack..." This was after a drinking session where he downed over eight pints (20oz) of lager, twelve double rums and half a bottle of whiskey, won an arm-wrestling contest against many members of the British Royal Navy crew, HMS Cumberland, and insisted on paying for the entire round. The Pub, 136 Archbishop Street, Valletta, Island of Malta 1444 Malta
@@icemanire5467 He's buried there, Churchtown, County Cork. There's some interesting/humorous interviews with him on here. Quite the man! He'd no doubt be cancelled today, due to his weapons grade, toxic masculinity. 😉
WTF happened to Ridley Scott’s Gladiator? It f*cking ROCKED and is considered a new classic and a must see for anyone who claims to be a fan of movies.
As a kid i remember this movie just sticking with me. I had only seen it in parts and only understood it, but the few visuals you saw. It stuck with me forever- So as an adult I finally watched gladiator, and it felt like a roller coaster ride- in a good way. Movies i often watch nowadays i just dont feel that connection, but it's something about gladiator thats just amazing. Now seeing the HUGE effort each individual put into the movie... it's no wonder i'm so enamored by it, I'm glad to see the mix of both old and young talented actors working together- though i feel bad for the script writers. As a writer myself must suck getting your stuff just ripped apart for minor differences in the plot XD.
Good on you, I did the same with the Matrix in Religion class. Had to build a whole argument about how The Matrix perfectly illustrated the tenants of Buddhism, reincarnation and the pursuit of Nirvana to convince her. Basically BS'ed my way to watching a film in our next double lecture.
Full on one of my favourite movies. Almost Shakespearean in its delivery of the pathos of the tragedy, which was not overblown like some directors might have been tempted towards. It's a surprise then at how it came together in such an anarchic way. Perhaps it was just meant to 'be'.
My mom took me to see this movie back in the day. I was surprised she liked it so much!! One of my favorite movies and Joaquin Phoenix in this movie is one of my absolute all time favorite parts!!
@@commentmaster_666 What exactly is your problem? Are you offended by what I said in my comment? Does the idea of me spending a couple of hours rewatching an enjoyable movie upset you, for some reason?
Still one of the best movies ever made and the best actors for the characters. Amazing how such a crazy conundrum of events to make the movie which could have ended the production ended up making a masterpiece.
Reminds me, I haven't watched this in a while. Absolutely love the movie, one of a handful I tend to watch at least once a year, along with another Crowe movie, Master and Commander. Given all the re-writes during production, it's almost a miracle this didn't turn in to a disaster. Appreciate the video essay, you do a fantastic job, thank you.
While Russel crow had a brilliant performance, the real gem of the film is phoenix’s Commodus. His performance floors me every time i watch gladiator. I say to myself, “damn is he really this good?” Yes, yes joaquin phoenix is really that good.
The strength of this film is that it has pathos, we are relentlessly drawn into the characters, the story, and the universe where everything takes place. Films in the same genre, such as Troy, Alexander, and Kingdom of Heaven, lack pathos, and thus turn pale in comparison.
That "Pizzaria line" caught me off guard and I busted into LOL.... An Average Italian in Roman times: "Yo Vinnie, let's go by Max's place and grab a slice of pepperoni !" :))
after a video like that, i think this channel needs more interaction. very well put together. you DO need to bring up the score for a movie like this tho. other than that, that was some great trivia.
Kingdom of Heaven holds up similarly well, but you have to see the director's cut. Theatrical didn't nail it. Gladiator is amazing though! Ridley Scott seems like such a "controlled chaos" type of guy to work with but I can identify because that's how I work. I like to improvise.
Agree 100%! Both these movies are in my top half dozen of all time! Great stories, acting, music, and spectacular scenes. Everything that Hollywood should be.
I never noticed it was CGI that was used at that time to complete those scenes of Reed's... but I did think something was odd about it. Not in terms of how it looked, I mean you can tell if you know what you are looking for but it looks good to be fair, especially for the 2000s. No just because of how the scene was shot. The brisk manner of its pacing etc. I wondered why they had to do that. It felt... weird. Like they had put in just what they literally HAD to, and nothing else. It all made sense later on when I found out about it being done with CGI. But I actually found out about it, much later on.
Rome and Spartakus the HBO Series would also not have been possible without this coming first and opening the genre back up for studios. And indirectly it probably also made the Game of Thrones series possible too. It's ultimately just an early medieval costume piece in a time that never happened.
Wonder how many little boys like me and my brother saw the adverts months before release and were like ''that looks fkin boss! 😲 I've got to see that!!'' We went and spoke to the guy across the street who ran a video and game renting shop who told us he would have it as soon as it's released and gave us dibs. We watched it as a family and then we had to own it! Something of an enigma when a historic movie makes history.
This is the type of movie where, when you find out your 13 year old cousin has never seen it, you pull out your Director's Cut Blu-ray and say "we're watching this tonight".
I still remember seeing this in the theater when it was released. I got the CD of the soundtrack after as well. I put it under Braveheart, but still up there.
Thank you for this summary of pre and production woes faced by the writers, producers, directors and ultimately the stars of this move, which nearly 21 yrs later still stands as a beautiful movie. I must confess that I have learned most of this from the Ridley Scott's narration of the director's cut DVD. Thanks
I still can't think of a better or more realistic depiction of ancient warfare then the opening battle. it's an absolute masterpiece and the snow was just the icing on top, you felt like you were there in the struggle
