Western Civilization

FI L M HISTORY

Gladiator(2000)

THE FILMGLADIATOR, directed by Ridley Scott, is a

fictional story set in the Roman Empire near the end of

the second centuryC.E. In the movie, Emperor Marcus

Aurelius (Richard Harris) informs his son Commodus

(Joaquin Phoenix) that he intends to turn over imperial

power to his successful and respected general, Maximus

(Russell Crowe), in the hope that this decent and honest

man can restore the Roman senate and revive the

republic. Commodus reacts by killing his father,

assuming the position of emperor, and ordering the

deaths of Maximus, his wife, and son. Maximus escapes

but returns to Spain too late to save his wife and child.

He is captured and then sold into slavery to Proximo

(Oliver Reed), who trains him to be a gladiator. Maximus

is eventually sent to Rome, where he becomes a

superhero in the gladiatorial games in the Roman

Colosseum, all the while awaiting an opportunity to

avenge the deaths of his wife and son by killing

Commodus. Maximus becomes involved in a plot with

Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), the emperor’s sister, and

Gracchus (Derek Jacobi), a Roman senator, to rejoin his

army, march on Rome, and overthrow the emperor.

When Commodus discovers the plot, he challenges the

captured Maximus to a duel in the Colosseum but stabs

him first to ensure his own success. Despite his injury,

Maximus kills the emperor in combat.

Gladiatoris a relatively exciting story, but how much

of it is based on historical facts? With the exception of

Marcus Aurelius, Commodus, and Lucilla, all of the

characters are fictional. Marcus Aurelius was a kind

emperor with a love of philosophy and died in 180C.E.,

probably of plague, and certainly not by his son’s hands,

as depicted in the film. Commodus ruled from 180 to

192, although he was only eighteen when he became

emperor, not in his late twenties as in the movie; and he

had blond hair, not dark hair. Commodus was an unstable

and cruel young man who was strongly attracted to

gladiatorial contests. He was obsessed with performing in

the arena, especially with slaughtering animals. He was

not killed in the Colosseum, however, but was strangled

by his wrestling partner on the last day of 192.

Contrary to the movie, Marcus Aurelius had no

intention of restoring the republic; by 180, most Romans

had become well accustomed to the empire. In fact,

Marcus Aurelius had already made his son Commodus a

joint ruler in 177. Nor had Marcus Aurelius banned

gladiatorial games, as the movie claims. And although

Commodus’s sister Lucilla did enter into a plot with some

senators to assassinate her brother in 182, the plot failed,

and the conspirators, including Lucilla, were executed.

AlthoughGladiatorshows little concern for historical

facts, the movie did demonstrate that many people are

still interested in ancient history. It became one of the

highest-earning films of 2000 and won numerous

awards, including Academy Awards for Best Picture and

Best Actor for Russell Crowe. Moreover, the film helped

to renew interest in Roman history—sales of

biographies of historical Roman figures and Marcus

Aurelius’sMeditationsincreased noticeably in the years

after the movie was released.

Maximus (Russell Crowe) triumphs in the Roman Colosseum.

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DreamWorks/Courtesy The Everett Collection, Inc.

136 Chapter 6The Roman Empire

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