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GLADIATOR (2000) DIRECTOR'S CUT FULL LENGTH MOVIE REACTION - WATCH ALONG (Patreon)

Published:
2023-11-23 03:32:50
Imported:
2023-12
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GLADIATOR (2000) DIRECTOR'S CUT FULL LENGTH MOVIE REACTION - WATCH ALONG

Comments

James Forrest

So that was the best watch-through yet and I'm so delighted that you watched the Extended Edition which has so much more subtlety and depth than the original cut. The scene at the end, where the former slaves carry him, is so symbolic of the whole film, and the closing sequence, where Juba buries his idols, is just wonderful; that friendship is one of the keys to the whole movie. It's just a beautiful story, and the performances are staggering. As fantastic as Crowe, Honsou, Harris, Neilson and Phoenix were - and all were absolutely stellar - my favourite performance is still that of the late Oliver Reed. This was his final film, and he died whilst shooting it. The old Hell raiser demonstrated again why he was one of the most revered actors of all time ... he is flawless in this film and Proximo is such a tremendous, heroic character. In the end it is his own personal values which lead him to side with Maximus, as brilliantly exemplified in the scene where he finds out that Commodus "killed the man who set you free." In that moment he proves himself a man worthy of Aurelius' respect, a man who the great man would have considered honourable and courageous. And to think Maximus originally laughs at the very suggestion that they could possibly have known one another. But of course, the film would have been much less without the tortured soul who is Commudus himself, driven almost mad by insecurity and the knowledge that he was not loved by his father. The real Marcus Aurelius was remembered as a giant of his time, and is one of the fathers of Stoicism; his book Meditations is still read by millions of people every year. I read it annually. Yet in a handful of scenes and in a handful of what seem at first like throwaway remarks you understand that growing up in the shadow of this man has taken an enormous toll on both of his children; it turned the son into a raging man-child who never quite became a fully whole person and his daughter into someone capable of incredible coldness and detachment. As telling as the moments with Commodus and his father are, that tiny scene where Aurelius and Claudia are walking arm in arm and he says "Pretend you are a dutiful daughter and I am a loving father" says more about their relationship than a thousand flashbacks or exposition scenes ever could. It is so powerful and so perfect and so complete in and of itself. His compliment to her, "what a Caesar you would have made" is also bookended by a question. "Would you have been just?" That's how much damage he realises he's done to her, that's his deep seated knowledge of the kind of person she might be. Everything about the movie is amazing, from the storyline to the acting to the set building, the whole world it creates feels real and alive. As you would expect from Ridley Scott. Funny story; he had just left Morroco after principal photography, when he was approached to direct Hannibal and he turned it down flat because he was like "Oh man, I can't do another sand and sandals epic ..." and had to be assured that it was the Thomas Harris book and not a film about the great conqueror! There is a fantastic documentary about the making of Gladiator called "Strength And Honour: Creating The World Of Gladiator" which covers everything from the concept (he was sold on the idea by a painting believe it or not, which the screenwriter brought to the pitch, a bit like when he was looking for the design for the Alien and Gieger gave him some of his sketches) to the writing to the casting right up to the movie's release. There was a lot of bickering and fighting over certain elements of the film - Russell Crowe hated large sections of the script for example, which is hard to believe considering how wonderful it is - but all agree that they made a movie for the ages. Oddly, although it won huge crticial acclaim Roger Ebert, the great critic, only gave it two stars and never wavered in that view. It's one of the only times i've ever disagreed with the great man's rating on a film. I knew you guys would love this, although I had hoped for a few tears at the end haha!

TheMediaKnights
>>122882136

Wow! Thank you for the massive compliment. It means a lot to us hearing how much you enjoyed this. We thoroughly enjoyed this film! The performances were fantastic! I can't believe that Russell Crowe didn't like parts of the script. I'd love to know which part did he disagree with. Also really enjoyed how Joaquin Phoenix portrayed Commudus. As you mentioned he is a broken man that has never been the number one choice and it is so tragic to see him go down this path. The way Proximo was portrayed was also fantastic! We agree, that is a performance worth shouting out as well. The writing is so good and effective it delivered everything it needed to and whatever was left up for interpretation the actors covered gracefully. Lastly I cannot believe Roger Ebert gave this 2 stars. I'll go check out his review and see exactly what it is he did not enjoy from this. Thank you for sharing your insight with us!

James Forrest

Yeah :) He underestimated his own ability to deliver it beautifully!

Dioskur

Meh, wanted to watch this but netflix offers the normal version only. on some movies its ok to skip over parts due to another cut, but this one changes 14 scenes for over 15 minutes total. Thats just too much. Not your fault. You have to chose one version, cant change it