Gladiator is a classic
 

I saw Gladiator again a little while back. I mentioned this to a neighbor and he called it a "big dumb movie." No, he's the dummy. A student of Roman history has to be impressed by the film's fidelity to the historical record even as Maximus is mostly fictional. Commodus' idea that gladiatorial spectacles would distract the people from economic problems and plague seems far fetched, but that is essentially what happened. Commodus ushered in an unprecedented scale of gladiator games after his father abolished them, and Commodus himself was a formiddable fighter. If anything, Commodus was more despicable in real life than as depicted in the movie. He was finally killed by a rival in the ring, but I believe he was murdered, not killled in individual combat.

The movie does sharply depart from history two ways, but only one of these is anachronistic: First, there's no evidence Commodus murdered his father, Marcus Aurelius; second, Marcus Aurelius' reign was dominated by warfare, but not in Germania. He fought mostly in Central Europe, and the last battle would have occurred in Pannonia, modern day Hungary. In fact, the Roman empire drew a line around "civilization" and built a very long wall to enclose it, called "the limes" in the European mainland, and Hadrian's Wall in Britannia. Germania lay on the other side of the limes. Like Caledonia, the lands north of Hadrian's wall, the Romans deemed Germania beyond civilization, unconquerable, and impervious to civilization.

I also enjoyed the film's theology, and I think it gives the movie depth. It's a reminder that Classical paganism was not devoid of spirituality, and itself possessed many beliefs that mirrored and served in a sense as forerunner to Christian beliefs. I especially like the ideas of adoring one's ancestors, and of course being reunited with dead ones after your own death.

Of course, among the glories of the movie are the cinemetography, the splendid battle and combat scenes and depictions of imperial Rome. The score is also very fine.

Finally, the version I watched was the extended version, and it seemed seemless, while over 2.5 hours long. In contrast, Apocalypse Now's extended version seemed to me a mess; those cut scenes should have stayed on the cutting room floor.

An original hisorical record of this period I've enjoyed is the fragment authored by Herodian, a Greek (what else?) scholar. It's hyperbolic and somewhat lacking in crediblity, but a facinating and enjoyable read, and a true artifact of the age.

I've never seen Gladiator, but everyone I talk to says it is fantastic. It is on TV from time to time. Obviously, you would recommend checking it out?

Saving Private Ryan falls into this category, too (havent seen but heard great things).

Don't miss it. Watch the extended version. Same with Saving Private Ryan. The opening scenes of each (battle scenes) are spectacular, breathtaking.

If they come on TV, I will try to catch them. i dont particularly care for graphic violence, so watching them in an unedited format may be a bit too much for me. I would assume the TV versions would cut out most of the graphic stuff without sacrificing too much story.

"God is war."--The judge

I tivo'd it off TNT last week sometime. It'll come around again.

Lately it seems that the cable channels have taken to cutting out boobs and swears but leaving in basically all of the violence. SPR has been aired uncut on the networks a few times. I also would recommend both, SPR more so, although both have their flaws, imo.

I will save you the time.

I just dont like watching people get their face blown off.

God created cauliflower, too. I dont like that, either, and abstain whenever possible.

God created you. I like you. I also like Seattle. I do not like the Utes.

SPR, like Schindler's, cannot be edited. Spielberg will not allow it. He will allow blurs and such to block out nudity (in Schindlers) but he will not allow SPR to edit the violence. I think that is why I have never seen it on TV, now that I remember. It is basically the unedited version.

I am not a fan of gratuitous violence, but I think a battle as significant and important as the taking of Omaha Beach should be shown in its full, awful reality. That movie should not be edited.