Gladiator is a classic

[SeattleUte]

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.