Gladiator
When the movie Gladiator was released in 2000, I had very mixed emotions about it all. It was the best of films. It was the worst of films. To me, one of the best things about Gladiator, besides being a box office hit, is that it sparked people’s interest in the Ancient World. There have been many books, plays, films, and works of art from this particular era that continue hold the fascination of the general public.
Gladiator was written by David Franzoni and directed by Ridley Scott. Some of the main actors are Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Richard Harris, and Oliver Reed. It was filmed all over the world in different studios and locations such as Morocco, Siena, England, UK, California, and even Italy. All of the cast and crews traveling around to perfect this feature film paid off in the end when it grossed thirty four million in the opening weekend alone. Overall, the film received a whopping one hundred and three million dollars and gained spectacular reviews. It was nominated for a Grammy, Young Artist Award, and many others. It won many prestigious awards in 2001 including ‘Best Movie’ at the MTV Movie Awards, the Golden Globe for ‘Best Picture’ and ‘Best Original Score’, and the Academy Awards for ‘Best Actor in a Leading Role’, ‘Best Picture’, ‘Best Effects/Visual Effects’, ‘Best Costume Design,’ and ‘Best Sound.’ The plot of Gladiator, although not historically based, does have some historical relevancy to it. Scott, the director, hired a historian to help him make ‘Gladiator’ as authentic as possible. Even though the film was set around a fictional character, Maximus, the film was still set in ancient Rome and provided many good visuals. Somehow, even after all
Scotts’ hard work, this fi...
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...e Colosseum saw some four centuries of active use until the struggles of the Western Roman Empire and the gradual change in public tastes put an end to the festivities held there. By the 20th century, all the weather, natural disasters, and neglect had destroyed almost two-thirds of the original Colosseum, including all of the arena’s marble seats and its decorative elements. Restoration efforts began in the 1990s, and have continued over the years. Today, it's a major tourist attraction, playing host to 3.9 million visitors each year. The Colosseum has also been featured in many movies and is still famous all over the world to this day.
Overall, this movie did teach me some things about the Ancient Romans that I was not aware of before. Looking into the Colosseum and gladiators in depth made me realize that there was more to this era of history than I thought.
I think ''Gladiator'' presented the prospect of helping to re-establish a film genre which had not been stumbled upon successfully in a long time.
Rome’s most famous landmark, Colosseum is a large Amphitheatre that could hold up to 50,000 people seated, which is located in Rome, Italy. The Colosseum was used as a royal treat, entertainment where gladiators would fight with wild beast in front of people, animal hunt, theatre performances and public executions for public entertainment and also the King himself. Most of the public event was held at Colosseum. The Roman Colosseum was built between 69 to 79 CE by the Vespasian emperor.
Many events took place at the historical Colosseum. Most of the events that were scheduled involved either death and/or destruction. A few of the events were chariot racing, the feeding of Christians to lions, and gladiator fights. At a causality rate nearly 50% died each ‘show’. The chariot racing, which was very popular with the Romans, was held at the Circus Maximus and was seen as a family event. Many people today see Roman entertainment as cruel, but not all forms of entertainment
sunset. The gladiators not only fought against other gladiators but also against wild beast such
After its debut in America on May 5th of 2000, the movie Gladiator has been a nationwide symbol of heroism(Imdb). The film was directed by Ridley Scott and the lead roles of the film were carried out by Russell Crowe as Maximus and Joaquin Phoenix as Commodus(Imdb). The movie takes place during the reign of the Holy Roman Empire in the year 180 A.D. The Emperor, Marcus Aurelius, is dying and wishes to leave the Roman Empire under the control of Roman General Maximus Meridius. The Emperor’s son Commodus betrays Maximus, kills his father, and takes control of Rome. In betraying Maximus, Commodus has his family killed. Maximus knowing this returns to Rome as a gladiator under the alias “Spaniard” in search of revenge(Imdb). According to Aristotle, “Tragedy is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude”(Kwheeler). In order for someone to be considered a tragic hero, the person must meet the criteria of high social status, suffer from a hamartia, face a catastrophe, invoke catharsis, and experience anagnorisis and peripeteia(Kwheeler).
...members of the Flavian Dynasty, dedicated by Emporer Titus. The Colosseum could hold 45,000 people sitting and 5,00 standing. Beneath the floors were passage ways by which stage effects were raised into the arena.
The Colosseum is an important part of ancient Roman history. The amphitheater is a symbol of Roman culture. The Colosseum displayed the violence of Roman culture. This incredibly unique amphitheater dominated the city of Rome. It was one of the most innovative and complex structures during that time period. The vastness of this impressive building displayed the wealth and power of the Roman Empire to other empires and enemies of the Romans. The Colosseum was created for public entertainment purposes. Gladiator fights with prisoners of war and slaves, wild animal hunts, professional fights, and public executions all took place at the Colosseum. Sea battles, rarely performed at the Colosseum, involved flooding the arena with water and releasing sharks for gladiators to fight. The excitement and thrill of each event kept spectators coming back.
For example, “to the people of ancient Rome the arena of gladiatorial combat was a reflection of the awesome strength, power, and indeed civilization of their mighty empire, whose territorial achievements had been secured through military violence” (Baker 18). This evidence suggests that gladiatorial combat was the mechanism that fueled the Roman identity to the rest of the world. In addition, the games acted as a ceremonial tribute to its participants. For instance, “life expectancy in Rome was not high, and the vast majority could not reasonably expect to live far beyond the age of thirty. It was thus extremely important to meet one’s death with courage, honor and dignity – indeed, to look on death with contempt; a Roman citizen had only to visit the arena to witness these qualities in awesome abundance” (Baker 19). The strength of Roman culture that was mentioned previously is identified in each citizen. Rome paved the way for paying tribute to your country, and dying for it with honor. To showcase just how important, the games were to Roman society, they constructed various arenas to pay homage to the sport. As the sport continued to gain popularity, “just about every Roman city had its own amphitheater. The most majestic, the Colosseum, held 50,000 spectators and offered every sort of diversion from circus acts to reenactments of historic naval battles on the flooded arena floor. Roman emperors spent vast
N.p., n.d. Web. The Web. The Web. 25 Apr. 2014. The 'Standard' of the 'Standard The "Life of a Gladiator.
"Roman Colosseum - Rome, Italy - Great Buildings Architecture." Architecture Design Architectural Images Drawings History and More - ArchitectureWeek Great Buildings. Web. 12 Feb. 2012.
While the most popular games were 'chariot racing' and simulated naval battles, fights in the amphitheatres, shown in these mosaics include gladiator V gladiator, gladiator V animal (pic 2) and animal V animal, were a common feature. Less common, but not infrequent was the release of wild beasts from the pits into the arena where hundreds of criminals had earlier been positioned. These spectacles all deeming to be very entertaining to spectators.
The Colosseum is one of the most well-known structures in Rome, Italy. The Colosseum was built almost two thousand years ago to host games for gladiators. The Colosseum provided for entertainment for the Romans, a form of punishment for those who did not obey the laws, and a place of great architectural beauty.
Gladiator (2000) is an action drama about a Roman general that is betrayed by his country and is forced to fight in the Colosseum. This particular scene, which runs for approximately 5 minutes, is the aftermath of the fight scene between Maximus, the betrayed general, and Commodus, the jealous emperor who betrayed him. This scene is not only significant because it is the concluding scene of the film, but also because it represents the end of Maximus’s enslavement and his coming to peace with dying.
Today, the Colosseum still stands, but in ruins. It now serves as a tourist attraction. Thousands of tourists from all over the world come to see this ancient stadium. This Colosseum is standing proof of the great architecture and engineering that the Romans possessed. Even today, in a world of skyscrapers, the Colosseum is very impressive. One of Rome’s most popular tourist attractions, The Colosseum tells very much about Roman culture. Even in ruins, the Colosseum continues to stand as a great marvel and a spectacular artifact.
Starting with the Roman Colosseum, which is located in the center of Rome. It is a ginormous amphitheater of huge 80 arched entrance and seating arrangements for 55,000 spectators. The Colosseum was built over 2000 years ago, which was commissioned by Emperor Vespasian and completed by his son Titus. Originally it was known as Flavian Amphitheatre. The designs of sport stadiums all over the world are still influenced by the Roman Colosseum to this very day!