Watched this with my Bride yesterday. I had forgotten what a good film it was. The usual mangling of history by Hollywood: Commodus was co-Emperor with his father Marcus Aurelius and did not murder him. He reigned for 12 years before being strangled by a favorite. His assassination did not herald a rebirth of the Republic, but a bout of civil war, giving a foretaste of the bad third century of the Empire which consisted of brief bouts of stable rule in a period of endless civil war.
However as entertainment it is rousingly good, with a hero to cheer and a villain to boo. The look of the film is superb and the score is magnificent. My Bride found it a good accompaniment to her crocheting which pleased me. We were entertained.
I’ve read the opening battle scene was text book.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVLGwTggO8U
They certainly nailed the Germans. The Romans were perhaps using more catapults than normal, but otherwise it was a perfect example of what happened when the Teutonic tribes of the time were foolish enough to try a stand up fight against legions without 10-1 odds in their favor.
For some reason, my clearest memory of that opening battle scene was the insults the Teutons shouted at the Romans (in modern German, of course..?) Not repeatable here, but it was a laugh-out-loud moment for me.
Regarding the opening battle scene, I was quite displeased with them using Zulu taunts, from the movie Zulu, as German. I recognized it immediately.
Here is a link about the Zulu used.
https://screenrant.com/gladiator-opening-scene-zulu-tribute-explained/
Many of these films could be improved greatly by sticking to the real history and then filling in the blanks with decent scripting. This particular period was one in which the empire could have gone several different ways but continued the path of conquest without real consolidation of its gains. Eventual breakup was inevitable.
Maybe it’s the shot-angle, but the cavalryman appears to be using the wrong sword. Roman infantry used the short “gladius”, cavalry the longer “spatha”. It was a slashing sword without a sharp point (and so “spatha” was slang for a eunuch).
I remember watching Gladiator when it came out and being completely unmoved by the movie. Russell Crowe was Russell Crowe to me. He looked completely odd playing Maximus in Roman garb.
I couldn’t stop comparing it to Braveheart, which I think is one of the best examples of epic cinema I have ever seen to this day.
This is one of those “remote drop” movies for me. It may well be a weak spot if mine, but I am always entertained by it, despite much of its BS historicity.