Gladiator (2000) DVD Review – UK

When Roman general Maximus is betrayed, and his family murdered, he becomes a slave and eventually a gladiator who travels to Rome to seek his revenge.

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When Roman general Maximus is betrayed, and his family murdered, he becomes a slave and eventually a gladiator who travels to Rome to seek his revenge.

Runtime

2 Hours 29 Minutes

BBFC rating

Region

Region 2

Sound

Dolby Digital 5.1

Aspect

2.35:1

Release year

2000

Details

Maximus is a powerful and popular general, loved by his soldiers and respected by the people of Rome. Even the ageing Emperor Marcus Aurelius is impressed by his stature and courage in battle. Before his death, the Emperor chooses Maximus over his own son Commodus to succeed him and return the Roman Empire to the people. Naturally, Commodus is far from impressed by this decision and, after assuming the role of Emperor, sentences Maximus and his family to death.

Although Maximus manages to escape from his executioners, he is unable to rescue his family in time, arriving home to discover the burnt and tortured bodies of his wife and only son. Losing the will to live, and suffering from injuries sustained during his escape, he collapses only to be captured by slavers who sell him to a gladiator school where he is destined to fight until he dies.

Initially unwilling to fight, Maximus discovers that by training hard and becoming a successful gladiator he can travel to Rome to fight at the Colosseum and take his revenge on Commodus, whilst fulfilling the dying wish of Marcus Aurelius. Using his knowledge of the battlefield, he quickly impresses the crowds and the time soon comes when he and his fellow gladiators are called to Rome. There they are to participate in a marathon of gladiatorial games held in honour of the new Emperor, finally giving Maximus the opportunity he has been waiting for.

Picture & Sound

For such a new film I thought the picture quality was actually rather disappointing. However, the problem is not really with the DVD transfer itself, which is bright, colourful and maintains an above average bit-rate throughout, but with the appearance of the source material. There is an almost continuous layer of grain and picture noise which takes some of the shine off what is otherwise an excellent transfer. Quite why such a recent and expensive production should look this way is rather surprising.

Putting that quibble aside, the sound is totally mind blowing as this disc contains one of the first mainstream Region 2 releases to offer a DTS soundtrack. Those people fortunate enough to own a DTS compatible DVD player and amplifier are about to discover what they've been missing. The sound is truly awesome, with the rear channels being continuously used throughout the film. During the initial battle scenes you are completely surrounded by thuds, screaming, shouting, charging horses and thousands of arrows flying over your head - so much so that I kept ducking and looking behind me in case a barbarian was charging towards me.

Once the film moves to the Colosseum you are enveloped by the cheering crowds and battling gladiators as lions roar and swords clash all around you. If you ever needed proof that your subwoofer was working then you'd be hard pushed to find a better film to remove the cobwebs from the ceiling - and probably annoy your neighbours at the same time. Even during the quieter scenes there are birds twittering and numerous other ambient effects recreating the day-to-day sounds of Rome.

Both the Dolby Digital and DTS soundtracks are sparkling examples of what DVD can achieve. Nevertheless, the DTS soundtrack towers over the Dolby Digital track with the sheer brilliance of its separation and additional presence. Dialogue is firmly fixed in the centre channel, with no bleeding, and is so clear and audible that there is never any need to keep cranking up the volume after a hasty retreat from the levels used during the battle scenes.

One of my work colleagues bought the film and had the pleasure of hearing his first DTS soundtrack on his home cinema set-up. The following day he rushed into my office and couldn't praise the sound enough. He was so blown away by the experience that it may finally convince him to get his DVD player chipped in order to access the wider selection of DTS titles available on Region 1. If that's not an endorsement of the soundtrack then I don't know what is.

Menu & Extras

As you'd expect from such a major release, the second disc is packed with supplementary material. Ridley Scott provides an informative commentary, whilst the deleted scenes can be viewed with optional director's commentary explaining why they failed to make the final cut. There's also the HBO First Look making-of feature, a Learning Channel documentary examining Roman blood sports and a feature looking at Hans Zimmer's memorable musical score.

Fans wanting to delve even deeper into the production are also well catered for, with storyboards, conceptual artwork, a production journal from Spencer Treat Clark, photo galleries, trailers, production notes and biographies. Pietro's Treasure Chest provides another collection of deleted material and, taken together, there's enough here to keep you occupied for several hours after the film has finished. This is exactly the sort of package you'd expect for one of the year's biggest films.

Overall

This big-budget epic is rightly worthy of its Hollywood predecessors. Whereas the great historical epics of old relied upon enormous sets and thousands of extras, this first epic of the 21st century makes full use of the computer to recreate ancient Rome on an equally impressive scale. There are some fabulous CGI views of the city and the Colosseum, although occasionally they do look a little too obviously computer generated, along with some crafty digital work to make the crowds considerably larger than they really were. Nevertheless, the sheer scale of the production is frequently breathtaking.

Russell Crowe is superb as Maximus, giving the character enough presence to make both his soldiers and the cinema audience want to follow him into battle. Joaquin Phoenix is equally impressive as Commodus, creating a wonderfully unpleasant and cowardly villain who becomes increasingly unstable as his grip on power begins to weaken. Add excellent performances from Connie Nielsen, Richard Harris, Djimon Hounsou and the late Oliver Reed and there really isn't a weak link amongst the principal cast.

Ridley Scott also proves once again that he knows how to create a spectacular looking film. The opening battle immediately throws you into the mud, flames and violence of Roman warfare, whilst the gladiatorial sequences grow increasingly impressive as Maximus progresses towards Rome. The first appearance of the Colosseum is particularly spectacular and is one of those moments where the combination of picture, music and sound reminds you exactly why you bought a DVD player and home cinema system in the first place.

At nearly two and a half hours the film is certainly long, but there is very little time to become bored. There's always another battle, political manoeuvre or confrontation waiting around the corner and the story moves along at an impressive pace. I wasn't completely convinced by the ending, which felt a little disappointing after everything that had gone before, but that's a relatively minor complaint against such an entertaining film.

With an impressive set of extras and quite simply one of the finest soundtracks I've heard on DVD, it is very hard to fault this package. The picture could have been better, but once that DTS soundtrack starts throwing arrows around the living room you'll probably be too busy ducking behind the sofa to notice. What an epic, what a disc, what a purchase! Highly recommended.