06-19-2008, 07:28 PM
Quote:the screen play for Gladiator was basically a cut and paste job from FOTRE, and the "The Robe" sequel "Demetrius and the Gladiators." (with a little Spartacus thrown in)You know "The Robe" and "Demetrius and the Gladiators" were shot as a single film, right ? They just packaged and released the footage as two films. This method of filming the "sequel" at the same time was more common back in the 50s and 60s. But it was done as recently as 1978 with the release of "Superman". The first two "films" were simply shot during the same year, with the same sets, and with the same cast.
This was exactly how "Cleopatra" was shot as well. It was supposed to be released as two separate films with the second one centering around Marcus Antonus. But the studio decided to release them both as one film and consequently about a third of the footage was cut out to create a three hour film instead of two two-hour movies
(There's a search for the lost footage but only a few scenes have been recovered so far, AFAIK)Quote:Then there was Barrabas, which also had a lot of gladiator sequences which were in many ways superior to the other two. But it's also interesting how Gladiator steered clear of many of the "gladiator movie" cliches-- no long training sequences, for example, and no "poor, conflicted gladiators being made to slaughter innocent Christian" scenes.We should also remember "Quo Vadis" (1951) which also had similarities : deranged emperor, heroic Roman general, and gladiator scenes. Funny, the main character "Marcus Vinicius" (Robert Taylor) was the smartest protagonist. He was thrown into the hippodrome to die a martyr's death but, unlike Maximus and Livius, he was rescued by his army when his soldiers stormed the arena in full armor ! Then Emperor Galba comes in to save the day
About the cliches : yes, I was tired of gladiators even before "Gladiator came out. I'm not that fascinated with the ancient "sport" (neither were the ancients who preferred to see the races). But I think the Christian martyrs are completely legitimate to show as they were historical people. There WERE martyrs under Nero and Marcus Aurelius (which is a blemish to his legacy but not the only one by any means). In fact, Ridley Scot did film Christian martyrdoms for "Gladiator" which you can see on the original DVD under "deleted scenes". Unfortunately, the death by lions scene was not reinserted into the Extended version. But there is one snippet which was reinserted which is during Maximus' time in Morocco where we see a prisoner praying while holding a cross. Scot, I suspect, omitted the lion scene for PC reasons which I take as a slight.
Quote:If FOTRE was some kind of wonderful classic of cinema, you might have more of a point. But it's not-- it's a worthwhile, but flawed film, IMHO. The main problems, pointed out above, are the script and the central character. The script of "Gladiator" may be partly based on FOTRE, but it in many ways its better, and there is simply no question of Russell Crowe's Maximus being a superior protagonist to Stephen Boyd's Livius.Couldn't agree more. Besides, Crowe is an "A" actor unlike Taylor or Boyd. His accent is better and his performances are always superb, IMO.
~Theo
Jaime
