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Braveheart (soundtrack)

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Braveheart

Soundtrack album

Released
1995
Braveheart is the soundtrack album to the 1995 film Braveheart.
The soundtrack for Braveheart was composed and conducted by James Horner, and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. It is Horner's second of three collaborations with Mel Gibson as director. The soundtrack, comprising 77 minutes of film score, was noticeably successful; album co-producer Simon Rhodes produced a follow-up soundtrack in 1997 titled More Music from Braveheart. International and French versions of the soundtrack have also been released.[citation needed] Horner's score includes a melody that appeared again in his 1997 music for Titanic.[1]
Irish band Clannad wrote a theme tune for the film, entitled 'Croí Cróga' (meaning 'braveheart'). However, the track was not used in the soundtrack, but was released by Clannad on the album 'Lore'. The "End Credits" (and possibly some other tracks) owe some of their incredible beauty to Pavane pour une infante défunte by Maurice Ravel.
Music[edit]
1."Main Title" – 2:52
2."A Gift of a Thistle" – 1:37
3."Wallace Courts Murron" – 4:25
4."The Secret Wedding" – 6:33
5."Attack on Murron" – 3:00
6."Revenge" – 6:23
7."Murron's Burial" – 2:13
8."Making Plans/Gathering the Clans" – 1:52
9."Sons of Scotland" – 6:19
10."The Battle of Stirling" – 5:57
11."For the Love of a Princess" – 4:07
12."Falkirk" – 4:04
13."Betrayal & Desolation" – 7:48
14."Mornay's Dream" – 1:15
15."The Legend Spreads" – 1:09
16."The Princess Pleads for Wallace's Life" – 3:38
17."'Freedom'/The Execution/Bannockburn" – 7:24
18."End Credits" – 7:16
More Music from Braveheart (1997)[edit]
1."Prologue: 'I Shall Tell You of William Wallace'" [Narration: Robert The Bruce]
2."Outlawed Tunes on Outlawed Pipes"
3."The Royal Wedding" [Narration: Robert The Bruce]
4."'The Trouble with Scotland'" [King Edward The Longshanks]
5."Scottish Wedding Music"
6."Prima Noctes"
7."The Proposal" [William Wallace and Murron]
8."'Scotland Is Free!'" [William Wallace]
9."Point of War/Johnny Cope/Up in the Morning Early"
10."Conversing with the Almighty" [Stephen, William Wallace, Hamish, Campbell]
11."The Road to the Isles/Glendaruel Highlanders/The Old Rustic Bridge by the Mill"
12."'Sons of Scotland!'" [William Wallace]
13."Vision of Murron"
14."'Unite the Clans!'" [William Wallace]
15."The Legend Spreads" [Scottish Highlanders]
16."'Why Do You Help Me?'" [William Wallace And Princess Isabelle]
17."For the Love of a Princess"
18."'Not Every Man Really Lives'" [William Wallace and Princess Isabelle]
19."'The Prisoner Wishes to Say a Word'" [The Executioner and William Wallace]
20."'After the Beheading' [Robert The Bruce]
21."'You Have Bled with Wallace!'" [Robert The Bruce]
22."Warrior Poets" [William Wallace]
23."Scotland the Brave/The Badge of Scotland/The Meeting of the Waters"
24."Leaving Glen Urquhart/The Highland Plaid/Jock Wilson's Ball"
25."Kirkhill/The Argyllshire Gathering/The Braemar Highland Gathering"
Album length: 68:53
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ The Titanic in Myth and Memory Tim Bergfelder, Sarah Street - 2004 "Horner's music for Braveheart (1995) includes a melody that appears in the score for Titanic. The former also makes copious use of the uilleann pipes, a characteristically Irish instrument that resonates oddly with the film's Scottish setting"
  


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Braveheart (soundtrack)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search


Braveheart

Soundtrack album

Released
1995
Braveheart is the soundtrack album to the 1995 film Braveheart.
The soundtrack for Braveheart was composed and conducted by James Horner, and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. It is Horner's second of three collaborations with Mel Gibson as director. The soundtrack, comprising 77 minutes of film score, was noticeably successful; album co-producer Simon Rhodes produced a follow-up soundtrack in 1997 titled More Music from Braveheart. International and French versions of the soundtrack have also been released.[citation needed] Horner's score includes a melody that appeared again in his 1997 music for Titanic.[1]
Irish band Clannad wrote a theme tune for the film, entitled 'Croí Cróga' (meaning 'braveheart'). However, the track was not used in the soundtrack, but was released by Clannad on the album 'Lore'. The "End Credits" (and possibly some other tracks) owe some of their incredible beauty to Pavane pour une infante défunte by Maurice Ravel.
Music[edit]
1."Main Title" – 2:52
2."A Gift of a Thistle" – 1:37
3."Wallace Courts Murron" – 4:25
4."The Secret Wedding" – 6:33
5."Attack on Murron" – 3:00
6."Revenge" – 6:23
7."Murron's Burial" – 2:13
8."Making Plans/Gathering the Clans" – 1:52
9."Sons of Scotland" – 6:19
10."The Battle of Stirling" – 5:57
11."For the Love of a Princess" – 4:07
12."Falkirk" – 4:04
13."Betrayal & Desolation" – 7:48
14."Mornay's Dream" – 1:15
15."The Legend Spreads" – 1:09
16."The Princess Pleads for Wallace's Life" – 3:38
17."'Freedom'/The Execution/Bannockburn" – 7:24
18."End Credits" – 7:16
More Music from Braveheart (1997)[edit]
1."Prologue: 'I Shall Tell You of William Wallace'" [Narration: Robert The Bruce]
2."Outlawed Tunes on Outlawed Pipes"
3."The Royal Wedding" [Narration: Robert The Bruce]
4."'The Trouble with Scotland'" [King Edward The Longshanks]
5."Scottish Wedding Music"
6."Prima Noctes"
7."The Proposal" [William Wallace and Murron]
8."'Scotland Is Free!'" [William Wallace]
9."Point of War/Johnny Cope/Up in the Morning Early"
10."Conversing with the Almighty" [Stephen, William Wallace, Hamish, Campbell]
11."The Road to the Isles/Glendaruel Highlanders/The Old Rustic Bridge by the Mill"
12."'Sons of Scotland!'" [William Wallace]
13."Vision of Murron"
14."'Unite the Clans!'" [William Wallace]
15."The Legend Spreads" [Scottish Highlanders]
16."'Why Do You Help Me?'" [William Wallace And Princess Isabelle]
17."For the Love of a Princess"
18."'Not Every Man Really Lives'" [William Wallace and Princess Isabelle]
19."'The Prisoner Wishes to Say a Word'" [The Executioner and William Wallace]
20."'After the Beheading' [Robert The Bruce]
21."'You Have Bled with Wallace!'" [Robert The Bruce]
22."Warrior Poets" [William Wallace]
23."Scotland the Brave/The Badge of Scotland/The Meeting of the Waters"
24."Leaving Glen Urquhart/The Highland Plaid/Jock Wilson's Ball"
25."Kirkhill/The Argyllshire Gathering/The Braemar Highland Gathering"
Album length: 68:53
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ The Titanic in Myth and Memory Tim Bergfelder, Sarah Street - 2004 "Horner's music for Braveheart (1995) includes a melody that appears in the score for Titanic. The former also makes copious use of the uilleann pipes, a characteristically Irish instrument that resonates oddly with the film's Scottish setting"
  


Categories: 1995 soundtracks
James Horner albums







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Log in



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Braveheart

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  (Redirected from Braveheart (film))
Jump to: navigation, search

For other uses, see Braveheart (disambiguation).

Braveheart
Braveheart imp.jpg
Theatrical release poster

Directed by
Mel Gibson
Produced by
Mel Gibson
Alan Ladd, Jr.
Bruce Davey
Stephen McEveety
Written by
Randall Wallace
Starring
Mel Gibson
Sophie Marceau
Patrick McGoohan
Catherine McCormack
Narrated by
Angus Macfadyen
 Mel Gibson (final battle)
Music by
James Horner
Cinematography
John Toll
Edited by
Steven Rosenblum

Production
 company

Icon Productions
The Ladd Company

Distributed by
Paramount Pictures
(USA & Canada)
20th Century Fox
(International)

Release dates

May 24, 1995


Running time
 177 minutes[1]
Country
United States
Language
English
Budget
$72 million[2]
Box office
$210.4 million[2]
Braveheart is a 1995 epic historical medieval war drama film directed by and starring Mel Gibson. Gibson portrays William Wallace, a 13th-century Scottish warrior who led the Scots in the First War of Scottish Independence against King Edward I of England. The story is based on Blind Harry's epic poem The Actes and Deidis of the Illustre and Vallyeant Campioun Schir William Wallace and was adapted for the screen by Randall Wallace.
The film was nominated for ten Academy Awards at the 68th Academy Awards and won five: Best Picture, Best Makeup, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Editing, and Best Director.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Production
4 Soundtrack
5 Release and reception 5.1 Box office
5.2 Reviews
5.3 Effect on tourism
5.4 Awards and honors
5.5 Cultural effects
5.6 Wallace Monument
6 Historical inaccuracy 6.1 Jus primae noctis
6.2 Occupation and independence
6.3 Portrayal of William Wallace
6.4 Portrayal of Isabella of France
6.5 Portrayal of Robert the Bruce
6.6 Portrayal of Longshanks and Prince Edward
6.7 Wallace's military campaign
6.8 Use of the Irish or uilleann pipes
7 Accusations of Anglophobia
8 References
9 External links

Plot[edit]
In 1280, King Edward "Longshanks" (Patrick McGoohan) invades and conquers Scotland following the death of Alexander III of Scotland, who left no heir to the throne. Young William Wallace (Mel Gibson) witnesses Longshanks' treachery, survives the deaths of his father and brother, and is taken abroad to Rome (and other countries) by his paternal Uncle Argyle (Brian Cox), where he is educated. Years later, Longshanks grants his noblemen land and privileges in Scotland, including Prima Nocte (or droit du seigneur, the right of the lord to have sex with female subjects on their wedding nights). When Wallace returns home, he reunites with his childhood friend, Hamish (Brendan Gleeson). Wallace falls in love with his other childhood friend, Murron MacClannough (Catherine McCormack); they marry in secret so she will not have to spend the night with the local English lord. Wallace rescues Murron from being raped by English soldiers, but as she fights off their second attempt, Murron is captured and publicly executed. In retribution, Wallace leads his clan to slaughter the English garrison in his hometown and send the occupying garrison at Lanark back to England.
This enrages Longshanks, who orders his son, Prince Edward, to stop Wallace by any means necessary. Wallace rebels against the English, and as his legend spreads, hundreds of Scots from the surrounding clans join him. Wallace then leads his army to victory at Stirling and then sacks the city of York, killing Longshanks' nephew and sending his head back. Wallace seeks the assistance of Robert the Bruce (Angus Macfadyen), the son of nobleman Robert the Elder (Ian Bannen) and a contender for the Scottish crown. Robert is dominated by his father, who wishes to secure the throne for his son by submitting to the English. Worried by the threat of the rebellion, Longshanks sends his son's wife, Isabella of France (Sophie Marceau), to try to negotiate with Wallace, hoping Wallace will kill her and thus draw the French king to declare war. Wallace refuses the bribe sent with Isabella by Longshanks, but after meeting him in person, Isabella becomes enamored of Wallace. Meanwhile, Longshanks prepares an army to invade Scotland.
Warned of the coming invasion by Isabella, Wallace implores the Scottish nobility that immediate action is needed to counter the threat and to take back the country. Leading the English army himself, Longshanks confronts the Scots at Falkirk where noblemen Lochlan and Mornay betray Wallace. The Scots lose the battle, and Morrison and Hamish's father die at the battle. As Wallace charges toward the departing Longshanks on horseback, he is intercepted by one of the king's lancers, who turns out to be Robert. Remorseful, Robert gets Wallace to safety before the English can capture him. Wallace kills Mornay and Lochlan for their betrayal, and wages a guerrilla war against the English for the next seven years, assisted by Isabella, with whom he eventually has an affair. Robert, intending to join Wallace and commit troops to the war, sets up a meeting with him in Edinburgh. However, Robert's father has conspired with other nobles to capture and hand over Wallace to the English. Learning of his treachery, Robert disowns his father. Isabella exacts revenge on the now terminally ill Longshanks by telling him she is pregnant with Wallace's child, and intent on ending Longshanks' line and ruling in his son's place.
In London, Wallace is brought before an English magistrate, tried for high treason, and condemned to public torture and beheading. Even whilst being hanged, drawn and quartered, Wallace refuses to submit to the king. As cries for mercy come from the watching crowd deeply moved by the Scotsman's valor, the magistrate offers him one final chance, asking him only to utter the word, "Mercy", and be granted a quick death. Wallace instead shouts, "Freedom!", and the judge orders his death. Moments before being decapitated, Wallace sees a vision of Murron in the crowd, smiling at him.
In 1314, Robert, now Scotland's king, leads a Scottish army before a ceremonial line of English troops on the fields of Bannockburn, where he is to formally accept English rule. As he begins to ride toward the English, he stops and invokes Wallace's memory, imploring his men to fight with him as they did with Wallace. Robert then leads his army into battle against the stunned English, winning the Scots their freedom.
Cast[edit]
Mel Gibson as William Wallace James Robinson as young William Wallace
Sophie Marceau as Princess Isabella of France
Patrick McGoohan as King Edward "Longshanks"
Catherine McCormack as Murron MacClannough Mhairi Calvey as young Murron
Angus Macfadyen as Robert the Bruce
Brendan Gleeson as Hamish Andrew Weir as young Hamish
James Cosmo as Campbell
David O'Hara as Stephen of Ireland
Peter Hanly as Prince Edward
Ian Bannen as Bruce's father
Seán McGinley as MacClannough
Brian Cox as Argyle Wallace
Sean Lawlor as Malcolm Wallace
Sandy Nelson as John Wallace
Stephen Billington as Phillip
John Kavanagh as Craig
Alun Armstrong as Mornay
John Murtagh as Lochlan
Tommy Flanagan as Morrison
Donal Gibson as Stewart
Jeanne Marine as Nicolette
Michael Byrne as Smythe
Malcolm Tierney as Magistrate
Bernard Horsfall as Balliol
Peter Mullan as Veteran
Gerard McSorley as Cheltham (inspired by Hugh de Cressingham)
Richard Leaf as Governor of York
Mark Lees as Old Crippled Scotsman
Tam White as MacGregor
Jimmy Chisholm as Faudron
Production[edit]



 Gibson (right) on set with 20th Century Fox executive Scott Neeson
Gibson's production company, Icon Productions, had difficulty raising enough money even if he were to star in the film. Warner Bros. was willing to fund the project on the condition that Gibson sign for another Lethal Weapon sequel, which he refused. Paramount Pictures only agreed to American and Canadian distribution of Braveheart after 20th Century Fox partnered for international rights.[3] The production budget has been estimated by IMDb at US$72 million.
While the crew spent six weeks shooting on location in Scotland, the major battle scenes were shot in Ireland using members of the Irish Army Reserve as extras. To lower costs, Gibson had the same extras, up to 1,600 in some scenes, portray both armies. The reservist had been given permission to grow beards and swapped their military uniforms for medieval garb.[4]
According to Gibson, he was inspired by the big screen epics he had loved as a child, William Wyler's The Big Country (1958) and Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus (1960).[citation needed]
Braveheart was shot in the anamorphic format with Panavision C- and E-Series lenses.[5]
Gibson toned down the film's battle scenes to avoid an NC-17 rating from the MPAA; the final version was rated R for "brutal medieval warfare".[6]
In addition to English, the film's primary language, French, Latin, and Scottish Gaelic are spoken.
Soundtrack[edit]
Main article: Braveheart (soundtrack)
The score was composed and conducted by James Horner and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. It is Horner's second of three collaborations with Mel Gibson as director. The score has gone on to be one of the most commercially successful soundtracks of all time. It received considerable acclaim from film critics and audiences and was nominated for a number of awards, including the Academy Award, Saturn Award, BAFTA Award, and Golden Globe Award.
Release and reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
On its opening weekend, Braveheart grossed $9,938,276 in the United States and $75.6 million in its box office run in the U.S. and Canada.[2] Worldwide, the film grossed $210,409,945 and was the thirteenth highest-grossing film of 1995.[2]
Reviews[edit]
Braveheart met with generally positive reviews. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a score of 78% with an average score of 7.2/10. The film's depiction of the Battle of Stirling Bridge was listed by CNN as one of the best battles in cinema history.[7] In his review, Roger Ebert gave the film 3.5 stars out of four, writing: "An action epic with the spirit of the Hollywood swordplay classics and the grungy ferocity of 'The Road Warrior'."
In a 2005 poll by British film magazine Empire, Braveheart was No. 1 on their list of "The Top 10 Worst Pictures to Win Best Picture Oscar".[8] Ironically Empire Magazine's readers also voted Braveheart the best film of 1995.[9] Scottish actor and comedian Billy Connolly claimed Braveheart was "a great piece of work".[10]
Effect on tourism[edit]
In 1996, the year after the film was released, the annual three-day "Braveheart Conference" at Stirling Castle attracted fans of Braveheart, increasing the conference's attendance to 167,000 from 66,000 in the previous year.[11] In the following year, research on visitors to the Stirling area indicated that 55% of the visitors had seen Braveheart. Of visitors from outside Scotland, 15% of those who saw Braveheart said it influenced their decision to visit the country. Of all visitors who saw Braveheart, 39% said the film influenced in part their decision to visit Stirling, and 19% said the film was one of the main reasons for their visit.[12] In the same year, a tourism report said that the "Braveheart effect" earned Scotland ₤7 million to ₤15 million in tourist revenue, and the report led to various national organizations encouraging international film productions to take place in Scotland.[13]
The film generated huge interest in Scotland and in Scottish history, not only around the world, but also in Scotland itself. Fans came from all over the world to see the places in Scotland where William Wallace fought, also to the places in Scotland and Ireland used as locations in the film. At a Braveheart Convention in 1997, held in Stirling the day after the Scottish Devolution vote and attended by 200 delegates from around the world, Braveheart author Randall Wallace, Seoras Wallace of the Wallace Clan, Scottish historian David Ross and Bláithín FitzGerald from Ireland gave lectures on various aspects of the film. Several of the actors also attended including James Robinson (Young William), Andrew Weir (Young Hamish), Julie Austin (the young bride) and Mhairi Calvey (Young Murron).
Awards and honors[edit]
Braveheart was nominated for many awards during the 1995 Oscar season, though it wasn't viewed by many as a major contender such as Apollo 13, Il Postino: The Postman, Leaving Las Vegas, Sense and Sensibility, and The Usual Suspects. It wasn't until after the film won the Golden Globe Award for Best Director at the 53rd Golden Globe Awards that it was viewed as a serious Oscar contender. When the nominations were announced for the 68th Academy Awards, Braveheart received ten Academy Award nominations, and a month later, won five.[14]

Year
Ceremony
Category
Recipients
Result

1995 68th Academy Awards Best Picture Mel Gibson, Alan Ladd, Jr., and Bruce Davey Won
Best Director Mel Gibson Won
Best Original Screenplay Randall Wallace Nominated
Best Cinematography John Toll Won
Best Costume Design Charles Knode Nominated
Best Sound Mixing Andy Nelson, Scott Millan, Anna Behlmer, and Brian Simmons Nominated
Best Sound Editing Lon Bender and Per Hallberg Won
Best Film Editing Steven Rosenblum Nominated
Best Makeup Peter Frampton, Paul Pattison, and Lois Burwell Won
Best Original Score James Horner Nominated
53rd Golden Globe Awards Best Motion Picture - Drama Braveheart Nominated
Best Director Mel Gibson Won
Best Original Score James Horner Nominated
Best Screenplay Randall Wallace Nominated
49th British Academy Film Awards Best Director Mel Gibson Nominated
Best Film Music James Horner Nominated
Best Production Design Thomas E. Sanders Nominated
Best Cinematography John Toll Won
Best Costume Design Charles Knode Won
Best Makeup Peter Frampton, Paul Pattison, and Lois Burwell Nominated
Best Sound Andy Nelson, Scott Millan, Anna Behlmer, and Brian Simmons Won
1st Empire Awards Best Film[9]  Won
American Film Institute listsAFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – Nominated[15]
AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – No. 91
AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains: William Wallace – Nominated Hero[16]
AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes: "They may take away our lives, but they'll never take our freedom!" – Nominated[17]
AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores – Nominated[18]
AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – No. 62
AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – Nominated[19]
AFI's 10 Top 10 – Nominated Epic Film[20]
Cultural effects[edit]
Lin Anderson, author of Braveheart: From Hollywood To Holyrood, credits the film with playing a significant role in affecting the Scottish political landscape in the mid to late 1990s.[21]
Wallace Monument[edit]



 Tom Church's Freedom statue.
In 1997, a 12-ton sandstone statue depicting Mel Gibson as William Wallace in Braveheart was placed in the car park of the Wallace Monument near Stirling, Scotland. The statue, which was the work of Tom Church, a monumental mason from Brechin,[22] included the word "Braveheart" on Wallace's shield. The installation became the cause of much controversy; one local resident stated that it was wrong to "desecrate the main memorial to Wallace with a lump of crap".[23] In 1998, someone wielding a hammer vandalized the statue's face. After repairs were made, the statue was encased in a cage every night to prevent further vandalism. This only incited more calls for the statue to be removed, as it then appeared that the Gibson/Wallace figure was imprisoned. The statue was described as "among the most loathed pieces of public art in Scotland".[24] In 2008, the statue was returned to its sculptor to make room for a new visitor centre being built at the foot of the Wallace Monument.[25]
Historical inaccuracy[edit]
Randall Wallace, who wrote the screenplay, has acknowledged Blind Harry's 15th century epic poem The Acts and Deeds of Sir William Wallace, Knight of Elderslie as a major inspiration for the film.[26] In defending his script, Randall Wallace has said, "Is Blind Harry true? I don't know. I know that it spoke to my heart and that's what matters to me, that it spoke to my heart."[26] Blind Harry's poem is now not regarded as historically accurate, and although some incidents in the film which are not historically accurate are taken from Blind Harry (e.g. the hanging of Scottish nobles at the start), there are large parts which are based neither on history nor Blind Harry (e.g. Wallace's affair with Princess Isabelle).
Elizabeth Ewan describes Braveheart as a film which "almost totally sacrifices historical accuracy for epic adventure".[27] The "brave heart" refers in Scottish history to that of Robert the Bruce, and an attribution by William Edmondstoune Aytoun, in his poem Heart of Bruce, to Sir James the Good Douglas: "Pass thee first, thou dauntless heart, As thou wert wont of yore!", prior to Douglas' demise at the Battle of Teba in Andalusia.[28] It has been described as one of the most historically inaccurate modern films.[29]
Sharon Krossa notes that the film contains numerous historical errors, beginning with the wearing of belted plaid by Wallace and his men. In that period "no Scots ... wore belted plaids (let alone kilts of any kind)."[30] Moreover, when Highlanders finally did begin wearing the belted plaid, it was not "in the rather bizarre style depicted in the film".[30] She compares the inaccuracy to "a film about Colonial America showing the colonial men wearing 20th century business suits, but with the jackets worn back-to-front instead of the right way around."[30] "The events aren't accurate, the dates aren't accurate, the characters aren't accurate, the names aren't accurate, the clothes aren't accurate—in short, just about nothing is accurate."[31] The belted plaid (feileadh mór léine) was not introduced until the 16th century.[32] Peter Traquair has referred to Wallace's "farcical representation as a wild and hairy highlander painted with woad (1,000 years too late) running amok in a tartan kilt (500 years too early)." [33]
In 2009, the film was second on a list of "most historically inaccurate movies" in The Times.[29] In the humorous non-fictional historiography An Utterly Impartial History of Britain (2007), author John O'Farrell notes that Braveheart could not have been more historically inaccurate, even if a "Plasticine dog" had been inserted in the film and the title changed to William Wallace and Gromit.[34]
Randall Wallace has defended his script from historians who have dismissed the film as a Hollywood perversion of actual events.[citation needed] In the DVD audio commentary of Braveheart, Mel Gibson acknowledges many of the historical inaccuracies but defends his choices as director, noting that the way events were portrayed in the film was much more "cinematically compelling" than the historical fact or conventional mythos.
Jus primae noctis[edit]
Edward Longshanks, King of England, is shown invoking Jus primae noctis, allowing the Lord of a medieval estate to take the virginity of his serfs' maiden daughters on their wedding nights. Critical medieval scholarship regards this supposed right as a myth, "the simple reason why we are dealing with a myth here rests in the surprising fact that practically all writers who make any such claims have never been able or willing to cite any trustworthy source, if they have any."[35][36]
Occupation and independence[edit]
The film suggests Scotland had been under English occupation for some time, at least during Wallace’s childhood, and in the run-up to the Battle of Falkirk Wallace says to the younger Bruce, “We can have what we never had before, a country of our own.” In fact Scotland had been invaded by England only the year before Wallace's rebellion; prior to the death of King Alexander III it had been a fully separate kingdom.[33]
Portrayal of William Wallace[edit]
As John Shelton Lawrence and Robert Jewett write, "Because [William] Wallace is one of Scotland's most important national heroes and because he lived in the very distant past, much that is believed about him is probably the stuff of legend. But there is a factual strand that historians agree to", summarized from Scots scholar Matt Ewart:

Wallace was born into the gentry of Scotland; his father lived until he was 18, his mother until his 24th year; he killed the sheriff of Lanark when he was 27, apparently after the murder of his wife; he led a group of commoners against the English in a very successful battle at Stirling in 1297, temporarily receiving appointment as guardian; Wallace's reputation as a military leader was ruined in the same year of 1297, leading to his resignation as guardian; he spent several years of exile in France before being captured by the English at Glasgow, this resulting in his trial for treason and his cruel execution.[37]
A.E. Christa Canitz writes about the historical William Wallace further: "[He] was a younger son of the Scottish gentry, usually accompanied by his own chaplain, well-educated, and eventually, having been appointed Guardian of the Kingdom of Scotland, engaged in diplomatic correspondence with the Hanseatic cities of Lübeck and Hamburg". She finds that in Braveheart, "any hint of his descent from the lowland gentry (i.e., the lesser nobility) is erased, and he is presented as an economically and politically marginalized Highlander and 'a farmer'—as one with the common peasant, and with a strong spiritual connection to the land which he is destined to liberate."[38]
Colin McArthur writes that Braveheart "constructs Wallace as a kind of modern, nationalist guerrilla leader in a period half a millennium before the appearance of nationalism on the historical stage as a concept under which disparate classes and interests might be mobilised within a nation state." Writing about Braveheart‍ '​s "omissions of verified historical facts", McArthur notes that Wallace made "overtures to Edward I seeking less severe treatment after his defeat at Falkirk", as well as "the well-documented fact of Wallace's having resorted to conscription and his willingness to hang those who refused to serve."[39] Canitz posits that depicting "such lack of class solidarity" as the conscriptions and related hangings "would contaminate the movie's image of Wallace as the morally irreproachable primus inter pares among his peasant fighters."[38]
Portrayal of Isabella of France[edit]
Isabella of France is shown having an affair with Wallace prior to the Battle of Falkirk. She later tells Edward I she is pregnant, implying that her son, Edward III, was a product of the affair. In reality, Isabella was three years old and living in France at the time of the Battle of Falkirk, was not married to Edward II until he was already king, and Edward III was born seven years after Wallace died.[40][41] (This aspect of the plot may however have been inspired by Sydney Goodsir Smith's play The Wallace: A Triumph In Five Acts, which unhistorically has Isabella present at the Battle of Falkirk longing for a "real man".) At that time it would also have been unusual to send a woman on a diplomatic mission into a war zone.
Portrayal of Robert the Bruce[edit]



 Mel Gibson as William Wallace wearing woad.
Robert the Bruce did change sides between the Scots loyalists and the English more than once in the earlier stages of the Wars of Scottish Independence, but he never betrayed Wallace directly, and he probably did not fight on the English side at the Battle of Falkirk (although this claim is made by one important medieval source, John of Fordun's chronicle). Later, the Battle of Bannockburn was not a spontaneous battle; he had already been fighting a guerrilla campaign against the English for eight years. His title before becoming king was Earl of Carrick, not Earl of Bruce.[33]
Portrayal of Longshanks and Prince Edward[edit]
The actual Edward I was ruthless and temperamental, but the film exaggerates his character for effect. Edward enjoyed poetry and harp music, was a devoted and loving husband to his wife Eleanor of Castile, and as a religious man he gave generously to charity. The film's scene where he scoffs cynically at Isabella for distributing gold to the poor after Wallace refuses it as a bribe would have been unlikely. Edward died on campaign and not in bed at his home.[33]
The depiction of the future Edward II as an effeminate homosexual drew accusations of homophobia against Gibson.

We cut a scene out, unfortunately. . . where you really got to know that character [Edward II] and to understand his plight and his pain. . . . But it just stopped the film in the first act so much that you thought, 'When's this story going to start?'[42][better source needed]
The actual Edward II, who fathered five children by two different women, was rumoured to have had sexual affairs with men, including Piers Gaveston who lived on into the reign of Edward II. The Prince's male lover Phillip was loosely based on Piers Gaveston.[citation needed]
Gibson defended his depiction of Prince Edward as weak and ineffectual, saying:

I'm just trying to respond to history. You can cite other examples – Alexander the Great, for example, who conquered the entire world, was also a homosexual. But this story isn't about Alexander the Great. It's about Edward II.[43]
In response to Longshank's defenestration of the Prince's male lover Phillip, Gibson replied: "The fact that King Edward throws this character out a window has nothing to do with him being gay ... He's terrible to his son, to everybody."[44] Gibson asserted that the reason Longshanks kills his son's lover is because the king is a "psychopath".[45] Gibson expressed bewilderment that some filmgoers would laugh at this murder.
Wallace's military campaign[edit]
"MacGregors from the next glen" joining Wallace shortly after the action at Lanark is dubious, since it is questionable whether Clan Gregor existed at that stage, and when they did emerge their traditional home was Glen Orchy, some distance from Lanark.[46]
Wallace did win an important victory at the Battle of Stirling Bridge, but the version in Braveheart is highly inaccurate, as it was filmed without a bridge (and without Andrew Moray, joint commander of the Scots army, who was fatally injured in the battle). Later, Wallace did carry out a large-scale raid into the north of England, but he did not get as far south as York, nor did he kill Longshanks' nephew.[33] (However this was not as wide of the mark as Blind Harry, who has Wallace making it to the outskirts of London, and only refraining from attacking the city after an appeal by the Mayor's wife.)
The "Irish conscripts" at the Battle of Falkirk are also unhistorical; there were no Irish troops at Falkirk (although many of the English army were actually Welsh), and it is anachronistic to refer to conscripts in the Middle Ages (although there were feudal levies).[33]
Use of the Irish or uilleann pipes[edit]


 This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2015)
Throughout the film the soundtrack makes use of the Irish uilleann bagpipes and at one point during Wallace's father's funeral, the Scottish bagpipes being 'played' at the funeral are accompanied by the uilleann pipes in the soundtrack. Not only are the pipes from the wrong country, the chances of there being any bagpipes at the funeral were very slim as the Highland pipes were only used in Scotland from 1400 onwards.
Accusations of Anglophobia[edit]
Sections of the English media accused the film of harbouring Anglophobia. The Economist called it "xenophobic",[47] and John Sutherland writing in The Guardian stated that: "Braveheart gave full rein to a toxic Anglophobia".[48][49][50] In The Times, MacArthur said "the political effects are truly pernicious. It’s a xenophobic film."[49] Ian Burrell of The Independent has noted, "The Braveheart phenomenon, a Hollywood-inspired rise in Scottish nationalism, has been linked to a rise in anti-English prejudice".[51] Contemporary Scottish writer and commentator Douglas Murray has described the film as "strangely racist and anti-English".[52]
References[edit]
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2.^ Jump up to: a b c d "Braveheart (1995)". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. Archived from the original on 2014-05-02. Retrieved 2013-02-07.
3.Jump up ^ Michael Fleming (25 July 2005). "Mel tongue-ties studios". Daily Variety.
4.Jump up ^ "Braveheart 10th Chance To Boost Tourism In Trim". Meath Chronicle. August 28, 2003. Retrieved April 30, 2007.
5.Jump up ^ Chris Probst (1 June 1996). "Cinematic Transcendence". American Cinematographer (Los Angeles, California, United States: American Society of Cinematographers) 77 (6): 76. ISSN 0002-7928.
6.Jump up ^ Classification and Rating Administration; Motion Picture Association of America. "Reasons for Movie Ratings (CARA)". Archived from the original on 2010-12-11.
7.Jump up ^ "The best – and worst – movie battle scenes". CNN. 30 March 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-01.[dead link]
8.Jump up ^ "Mel Gibson's "Braveheart" Voted Worst Oscar Winner". hollywood.com. Archived from the original on 2013-02-03.
9.^ Jump up to: a b "Empire Award Past Winners - 1996". Empireonline.com. Bauer Consumer Media. 2003. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
10.Jump up ^ Leo Suryadinata, Nationalism and Globalism, East and West (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asia Studies) 2000, pg 248
11.Jump up ^ Zumkhawala-Cook, Richard (2008). Scotland as We Know It: Representations of National Identity in Literature, Film and Popular Culture. McFarland. p. 147. ISBN 978-0-7864-4031-3.
12.Jump up ^ MacLellan, Rory; Smith, Ronnie (1998). Tourism in Scotland. Cengage Learning EMEA. p. 230. ISBN 978-1-86152-089-0.
13.Jump up ^ Martin-Jones, David (2009). Scotland: Global Cinema – Genres, Modes, and Identities. Edinburgh University Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-7486-3391-3.
14.Jump up ^ "The 68th Academy Awards (1996) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Archived from the original on 2012-09-23. Retrieved 2011-10-23.
15.Jump up ^ http://www.afi.com/Docs/100years/movies400.pdf
16.Jump up ^ AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains Nominees[dead link]
17.Jump up ^ "AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes Nominees" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-03-28. Retrieved 2013-06-20.
18.Jump up ^ "HollywoodBowlBallot" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-03-28. Retrieved 2013-06-20.
19.Jump up ^ "Movies_Ballot_06" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-03-28. Retrieved 2013-06-20.
20.Jump up ^ "AFI's 10 Top 10 Ballot" (PDF). Retrieved 2013-06-20.
21.Jump up ^ Boztas, Senay (31 July 2005). "Wallace movie ‘helped Scots get devolution’ – [Sunday Herald]". Braveheart.info. Archived from the original on 2013-07-02. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
22.Jump up ^ "Wallace statue back at home of sculptor". The Courier. 16 October 2009. Retrieved 17 October 2009.
23.Jump up ^ Hal G. P. Colebatch (8 August 2006). "The American Spectator". Spectator.org. Archived from the original on 2007-10-12. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
24.Jump up ^ Kevin Hurley (19 September 2004). "They may take our lives but they won't take Freedom". Scotland on Sunday. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
25.Jump up ^ "Wallace statue back with sculptor". BBC News. 16 October 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
26.^ Jump up to: a b Anderson, Lin (2005). Braveheart: From Hollywood to Holyrood. Luath Press Ltd. p. 27.
27.Jump up ^ Ewan, Elizabeth (October 1995). "Braveheart". American Historical Review 100 (4): 1219–21. doi:10.2307/2168219.
28.Jump up ^ "Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers and Other Poems / Aytoun, W. E. (William Edmondstoune), 1813–1865". Infomotions.com. 2004-02-04. Archived from the original on 2012-03-29. Retrieved 2013-06-20.
29.^ Jump up to: a b White, Caroline (4 August 2009). "The 10 most historically inaccurate movies". London: The Times. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 2009-08-05.
30.^ Jump up to: a b c Krossa, Sharon L. "Braveheart Errors: An Illustration of Scale". Archived from the original on 2013-10-09. Retrieved 2009-06-15.
31.Jump up ^ Krossa, Sharon L. "Regarding the Film Braveheart". Archived from the original on 2012-11-13. Retrieved 2009-11-26.
32.Jump up ^ "A History of Scottish Kilts | Authentic Ireland Travel". Authenticireland.com. Archived from the original on 2013-12-05. Retrieved 2013-06-20.
33.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Traquair, Peter Freedom's Sword, HarperCollins Publishers (1998)
34.Jump up ^ O'Farrell, John (2007), An Utterly Impartial History of Britain, Doubleday, p. 126
35.Jump up ^ Classen, Albrecht (2007). The medieval chastity belt: a myth-making process. Macmillan. p. 151. ISBN 9781403975584. Archived from the original on 2013-06-09.
36.Jump up ^ "Urban legends website". Snopes.com. Retrieved 2013-06-20.
37.Jump up ^ Lawrence, John Shelton; Jewett, Robert (2002). The Myth of the American Superhero. Wm. B. Eerdmans. p. 163. ISBN 978-0-8028-4911-3.
38.^ Jump up to: a b Canitz, A. E. Christa (2005). "'Historians ... Will Say I Am a liar': The Ideology of False Truth Claims in Mel Gibson's Braveheart and Luc Besson's The Messenger". In Utz, Richard J.; Swan, Jesse G. Studies in Medievalism XIII: Postmodern Medievalisms. D.S. Brewer. pp. 127–142. ISBN 978-1-84384-012-1.
39.Jump up ^ McArthur, Colin (1998). "Braveheart and the Scottish Aesthetic Dementia". In Barta, Tony. Screening the Past: Film and the Representation of History. Praeger. pp. 167–187. ISBN 978-0-275-95402-4.
40.Jump up ^ Ewan, Elizabeth (October 1995). "Braveheart". The American Historical Review (Bloomington: Indiana University Press) 100 (4): 1219–21. doi:10.2307/2168219. ISSN 0002-8762. OCLC 01830326.
41.Jump up ^ White, Caroline (4 August 2009). "The 10 most historically inaccurate movies". London: The Times. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 2009-08-05.
42.Jump up ^ Della Cava, Marco R. (May 24, 1995). "Gibson has faith in family and freedom". USA Today.
43.Jump up ^ Stein, Ruth (May 21, 1995). "Mel Gibson Dons Kilt and Directs". San Francisco Chronicle.
44.Jump up ^ "Gay Alliance has Gibson's 'Braveheart' in its sights", Daily News, 11 May 1995, retrieved 13 February 2010
45.Jump up ^ Matt Zoller Seitz (May 25, 1995). "Icon: Mel Gibson talks about Braveheart, movie stardom, and media treachery". Dallas Observer. Archived from the original on 2007-12-22. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
46.Jump up ^ Way, George & Squire, Romily (1994). Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia. pp. 220–221.
47.Jump up ^ "Economist.com". Economist.com. 18 May 2006. Archived from the original on 2011-06-29. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
48.Jump up ^ world "John Sutherland". The Guardian (London). 11 August 2003. Retrieved 2010-04-26.[dead link]
49.^ Jump up to: a b "Braveheart battle cry is now but a whisper". London: Times Online. 24 July 2005. Archived from the original on 2011-06-29. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
50.Jump up ^ Colin, McArthur (2003). Brigadoon, Braveheart and the Scots: Distortions of Scotland in Hollywood Cinema. I. B. Tauris. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-86064-927-1. Archived from the original on 2013-06-10.
51.Jump up ^ Burrell, Ian (8 February 1999). "Most race attack victims `are white': The English Exiles – News". London: The Independent. Archived from the original on 2013-12-19. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
52.Jump up ^ "Douglas Murray and Michael Coren - Scottish Independence". CNN. 23 Feb 2013. Archived from the original on 2014-03-16. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
External links[edit]
 Wikiquote has quotations related to: Braveheart
Braveheart at the Internet Movie Database
Braveheart at AllMovie
Braveheart at Rotten Tomatoes
Braveheart at Box Office Mojo
Braveheart at Metacritic
Roger Ebert's review of Braveheart


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Categories: 1995 films
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Braveheart

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For other uses, see Braveheart (disambiguation).

Braveheart
Braveheart imp.jpg
Theatrical release poster

Directed by
Mel Gibson
Produced by
Mel Gibson
Alan Ladd, Jr.
Bruce Davey
Stephen McEveety
Written by
Randall Wallace
Starring
Mel Gibson
Sophie Marceau
Patrick McGoohan
Catherine McCormack
Narrated by
Angus Macfadyen
 Mel Gibson (final battle)
Music by
James Horner
Cinematography
John Toll
Edited by
Steven Rosenblum

Production
 company

Icon Productions
The Ladd Company

Distributed by
Paramount Pictures
(USA & Canada)
20th Century Fox
(International)

Release dates

May 24, 1995


Running time
 177 minutes[1]
Country
United States
Language
English
Budget
$72 million[2]
Box office
$210.4 million[2]
Braveheart is a 1995 epic historical medieval war drama film directed by and starring Mel Gibson. Gibson portrays William Wallace, a 13th-century Scottish warrior who led the Scots in the First War of Scottish Independence against King Edward I of England. The story is based on Blind Harry's epic poem The Actes and Deidis of the Illustre and Vallyeant Campioun Schir William Wallace and was adapted for the screen by Randall Wallace.
The film was nominated for ten Academy Awards at the 68th Academy Awards and won five: Best Picture, Best Makeup, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Editing, and Best Director.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Production
4 Soundtrack
5 Release and reception 5.1 Box office
5.2 Reviews
5.3 Effect on tourism
5.4 Awards and honors
5.5 Cultural effects
5.6 Wallace Monument
6 Historical inaccuracy 6.1 Jus primae noctis
6.2 Occupation and independence
6.3 Portrayal of William Wallace
6.4 Portrayal of Isabella of France
6.5 Portrayal of Robert the Bruce
6.6 Portrayal of Longshanks and Prince Edward
6.7 Wallace's military campaign
6.8 Use of the Irish or uilleann pipes
7 Accusations of Anglophobia
8 References
9 External links

Plot[edit]
In 1280, King Edward "Longshanks" (Patrick McGoohan) invades and conquers Scotland following the death of Alexander III of Scotland, who left no heir to the throne. Young William Wallace (Mel Gibson) witnesses Longshanks' treachery, survives the deaths of his father and brother, and is taken abroad to Rome (and other countries) by his paternal Uncle Argyle (Brian Cox), where he is educated. Years later, Longshanks grants his noblemen land and privileges in Scotland, including Prima Nocte (or droit du seigneur, the right of the lord to have sex with female subjects on their wedding nights). When Wallace returns home, he reunites with his childhood friend, Hamish (Brendan Gleeson). Wallace falls in love with his other childhood friend, Murron MacClannough (Catherine McCormack); they marry in secret so she will not have to spend the night with the local English lord. Wallace rescues Murron from being raped by English soldiers, but as she fights off their second attempt, Murron is captured and publicly executed. In retribution, Wallace leads his clan to slaughter the English garrison in his hometown and send the occupying garrison at Lanark back to England.
This enrages Longshanks, who orders his son, Prince Edward, to stop Wallace by any means necessary. Wallace rebels against the English, and as his legend spreads, hundreds of Scots from the surrounding clans join him. Wallace then leads his army to victory at Stirling and then sacks the city of York, killing Longshanks' nephew and sending his head back. Wallace seeks the assistance of Robert the Bruce (Angus Macfadyen), the son of nobleman Robert the Elder (Ian Bannen) and a contender for the Scottish crown. Robert is dominated by his father, who wishes to secure the throne for his son by submitting to the English. Worried by the threat of the rebellion, Longshanks sends his son's wife, Isabella of France (Sophie Marceau), to try to negotiate with Wallace, hoping Wallace will kill her and thus draw the French king to declare war. Wallace refuses the bribe sent with Isabella by Longshanks, but after meeting him in person, Isabella becomes enamored of Wallace. Meanwhile, Longshanks prepares an army to invade Scotland.
Warned of the coming invasion by Isabella, Wallace implores the Scottish nobility that immediate action is needed to counter the threat and to take back the country. Leading the English army himself, Longshanks confronts the Scots at Falkirk where noblemen Lochlan and Mornay betray Wallace. The Scots lose the battle, and Morrison and Hamish's father die at the battle. As Wallace charges toward the departing Longshanks on horseback, he is intercepted by one of the king's lancers, who turns out to be Robert. Remorseful, Robert gets Wallace to safety before the English can capture him. Wallace kills Mornay and Lochlan for their betrayal, and wages a guerrilla war against the English for the next seven years, assisted by Isabella, with whom he eventually has an affair. Robert, intending to join Wallace and commit troops to the war, sets up a meeting with him in Edinburgh. However, Robert's father has conspired with other nobles to capture and hand over Wallace to the English. Learning of his treachery, Robert disowns his father. Isabella exacts revenge on the now terminally ill Longshanks by telling him she is pregnant with Wallace's child, and intent on ending Longshanks' line and ruling in his son's place.
In London, Wallace is brought before an English magistrate, tried for high treason, and condemned to public torture and beheading. Even whilst being hanged, drawn and quartered, Wallace refuses to submit to the king. As cries for mercy come from the watching crowd deeply moved by the Scotsman's valor, the magistrate offers him one final chance, asking him only to utter the word, "Mercy", and be granted a quick death. Wallace instead shouts, "Freedom!", and the judge orders his death. Moments before being decapitated, Wallace sees a vision of Murron in the crowd, smiling at him.
In 1314, Robert, now Scotland's king, leads a Scottish army before a ceremonial line of English troops on the fields of Bannockburn, where he is to formally accept English rule. As he begins to ride toward the English, he stops and invokes Wallace's memory, imploring his men to fight with him as they did with Wallace. Robert then leads his army into battle against the stunned English, winning the Scots their freedom.
Cast[edit]
Mel Gibson as William Wallace James Robinson as young William Wallace
Sophie Marceau as Princess Isabella of France
Patrick McGoohan as King Edward "Longshanks"
Catherine McCormack as Murron MacClannough Mhairi Calvey as young Murron
Angus Macfadyen as Robert the Bruce
Brendan Gleeson as Hamish Andrew Weir as young Hamish
James Cosmo as Campbell
David O'Hara as Stephen of Ireland
Peter Hanly as Prince Edward
Ian Bannen as Bruce's father
Seán McGinley as MacClannough
Brian Cox as Argyle Wallace
Sean Lawlor as Malcolm Wallace
Sandy Nelson as John Wallace
Stephen Billington as Phillip
John Kavanagh as Craig
Alun Armstrong as Mornay
John Murtagh as Lochlan
Tommy Flanagan as Morrison
Donal Gibson as Stewart
Jeanne Marine as Nicolette
Michael Byrne as Smythe
Malcolm Tierney as Magistrate
Bernard Horsfall as Balliol
Peter Mullan as Veteran
Gerard McSorley as Cheltham (inspired by Hugh de Cressingham)
Richard Leaf as Governor of York
Mark Lees as Old Crippled Scotsman
Tam White as MacGregor
Jimmy Chisholm as Faudron
Production[edit]



 Gibson (right) on set with 20th Century Fox executive Scott Neeson
Gibson's production company, Icon Productions, had difficulty raising enough money even if he were to star in the film. Warner Bros. was willing to fund the project on the condition that Gibson sign for another Lethal Weapon sequel, which he refused. Paramount Pictures only agreed to American and Canadian distribution of Braveheart after 20th Century Fox partnered for international rights.[3] The production budget has been estimated by IMDb at US$72 million.
While the crew spent six weeks shooting on location in Scotland, the major battle scenes were shot in Ireland using members of the Irish Army Reserve as extras. To lower costs, Gibson had the same extras, up to 1,600 in some scenes, portray both armies. The reservist had been given permission to grow beards and swapped their military uniforms for medieval garb.[4]
According to Gibson, he was inspired by the big screen epics he had loved as a child, William Wyler's The Big Country (1958) and Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus (1960).[citation needed]
Braveheart was shot in the anamorphic format with Panavision C- and E-Series lenses.[5]
Gibson toned down the film's battle scenes to avoid an NC-17 rating from the MPAA; the final version was rated R for "brutal medieval warfare".[6]
In addition to English, the film's primary language, French, Latin, and Scottish Gaelic are spoken.
Soundtrack[edit]
Main article: Braveheart (soundtrack)
The score was composed and conducted by James Horner and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. It is Horner's second of three collaborations with Mel Gibson as director. The score has gone on to be one of the most commercially successful soundtracks of all time. It received considerable acclaim from film critics and audiences and was nominated for a number of awards, including the Academy Award, Saturn Award, BAFTA Award, and Golden Globe Award.
Release and reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
On its opening weekend, Braveheart grossed $9,938,276 in the United States and $75.6 million in its box office run in the U.S. and Canada.[2] Worldwide, the film grossed $210,409,945 and was the thirteenth highest-grossing film of 1995.[2]
Reviews[edit]
Braveheart met with generally positive reviews. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a score of 78% with an average score of 7.2/10. The film's depiction of the Battle of Stirling Bridge was listed by CNN as one of the best battles in cinema history.[7] In his review, Roger Ebert gave the film 3.5 stars out of four, writing: "An action epic with the spirit of the Hollywood swordplay classics and the grungy ferocity of 'The Road Warrior'."
In a 2005 poll by British film magazine Empire, Braveheart was No. 1 on their list of "The Top 10 Worst Pictures to Win Best Picture Oscar".[8] Ironically Empire Magazine's readers also voted Braveheart the best film of 1995.[9] Scottish actor and comedian Billy Connolly claimed Braveheart was "a great piece of work".[10]
Effect on tourism[edit]
In 1996, the year after the film was released, the annual three-day "Braveheart Conference" at Stirling Castle attracted fans of Braveheart, increasing the conference's attendance to 167,000 from 66,000 in the previous year.[11] In the following year, research on visitors to the Stirling area indicated that 55% of the visitors had seen Braveheart. Of visitors from outside Scotland, 15% of those who saw Braveheart said it influenced their decision to visit the country. Of all visitors who saw Braveheart, 39% said the film influenced in part their decision to visit Stirling, and 19% said the film was one of the main reasons for their visit.[12] In the same year, a tourism report said that the "Braveheart effect" earned Scotland ₤7 million to ₤15 million in tourist revenue, and the report led to various national organizations encouraging international film productions to take place in Scotland.[13]
The film generated huge interest in Scotland and in Scottish history, not only around the world, but also in Scotland itself. Fans came from all over the world to see the places in Scotland where William Wallace fought, also to the places in Scotland and Ireland used as locations in the film. At a Braveheart Convention in 1997, held in Stirling the day after the Scottish Devolution vote and attended by 200 delegates from around the world, Braveheart author Randall Wallace, Seoras Wallace of the Wallace Clan, Scottish historian David Ross and Bláithín FitzGerald from Ireland gave lectures on various aspects of the film. Several of the actors also attended including James Robinson (Young William), Andrew Weir (Young Hamish), Julie Austin (the young bride) and Mhairi Calvey (Young Murron).
Awards and honors[edit]
Braveheart was nominated for many awards during the 1995 Oscar season, though it wasn't viewed by many as a major contender such as Apollo 13, Il Postino: The Postman, Leaving Las Vegas, Sense and Sensibility, and The Usual Suspects. It wasn't until after the film won the Golden Globe Award for Best Director at the 53rd Golden Globe Awards that it was viewed as a serious Oscar contender. When the nominations were announced for the 68th Academy Awards, Braveheart received ten Academy Award nominations, and a month later, won five.[14]

Year
Ceremony
Category
Recipients
Result

1995 68th Academy Awards Best Picture Mel Gibson, Alan Ladd, Jr., and Bruce Davey Won
Best Director Mel Gibson Won
Best Original Screenplay Randall Wallace Nominated
Best Cinematography John Toll Won
Best Costume Design Charles Knode Nominated
Best Sound Mixing Andy Nelson, Scott Millan, Anna Behlmer, and Brian Simmons Nominated
Best Sound Editing Lon Bender and Per Hallberg Won
Best Film Editing Steven Rosenblum Nominated
Best Makeup Peter Frampton, Paul Pattison, and Lois Burwell Won
Best Original Score James Horner Nominated
53rd Golden Globe Awards Best Motion Picture - Drama Braveheart Nominated
Best Director Mel Gibson Won
Best Original Score James Horner Nominated
Best Screenplay Randall Wallace Nominated
49th British Academy Film Awards Best Director Mel Gibson Nominated
Best Film Music James Horner Nominated
Best Production Design Thomas E. Sanders Nominated
Best Cinematography John Toll Won
Best Costume Design Charles Knode Won
Best Makeup Peter Frampton, Paul Pattison, and Lois Burwell Nominated
Best Sound Andy Nelson, Scott Millan, Anna Behlmer, and Brian Simmons Won
1st Empire Awards Best Film[9]  Won
American Film Institute listsAFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – Nominated[15]
AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – No. 91
AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains: William Wallace – Nominated Hero[16]
AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes: "They may take away our lives, but they'll never take our freedom!" – Nominated[17]
AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores – Nominated[18]
AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – No. 62
AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – Nominated[19]
AFI's 10 Top 10 – Nominated Epic Film[20]
Cultural effects[edit]
Lin Anderson, author of Braveheart: From Hollywood To Holyrood, credits the film with playing a significant role in affecting the Scottish political landscape in the mid to late 1990s.[21]
Wallace Monument[edit]



 Tom Church's Freedom statue.
In 1997, a 12-ton sandstone statue depicting Mel Gibson as William Wallace in Braveheart was placed in the car park of the Wallace Monument near Stirling, Scotland. The statue, which was the work of Tom Church, a monumental mason from Brechin,[22] included the word "Braveheart" on Wallace's shield. The installation became the cause of much controversy; one local resident stated that it was wrong to "desecrate the main memorial to Wallace with a lump of crap".[23] In 1998, someone wielding a hammer vandalized the statue's face. After repairs were made, the statue was encased in a cage every night to prevent further vandalism. This only incited more calls for the statue to be removed, as it then appeared that the Gibson/Wallace figure was imprisoned. The statue was described as "among the most loathed pieces of public art in Scotland".[24] In 2008, the statue was returned to its sculptor to make room for a new visitor centre being built at the foot of the Wallace Monument.[25]
Historical inaccuracy[edit]
Randall Wallace, who wrote the screenplay, has acknowledged Blind Harry's 15th century epic poem The Acts and Deeds of Sir William Wallace, Knight of Elderslie as a major inspiration for the film.[26] In defending his script, Randall Wallace has said, "Is Blind Harry true? I don't know. I know that it spoke to my heart and that's what matters to me, that it spoke to my heart."[26] Blind Harry's poem is now not regarded as historically accurate, and although some incidents in the film which are not historically accurate are taken from Blind Harry (e.g. the hanging of Scottish nobles at the start), there are large parts which are based neither on history nor Blind Harry (e.g. Wallace's affair with Princess Isabelle).
Elizabeth Ewan describes Braveheart as a film which "almost totally sacrifices historical accuracy for epic adventure".[27] The "brave heart" refers in Scottish history to that of Robert the Bruce, and an attribution by William Edmondstoune Aytoun, in his poem Heart of Bruce, to Sir James the Good Douglas: "Pass thee first, thou dauntless heart, As thou wert wont of yore!", prior to Douglas' demise at the Battle of Teba in Andalusia.[28] It has been described as one of the most historically inaccurate modern films.[29]
Sharon Krossa notes that the film contains numerous historical errors, beginning with the wearing of belted plaid by Wallace and his men. In that period "no Scots ... wore belted plaids (let alone kilts of any kind)."[30] Moreover, when Highlanders finally did begin wearing the belted plaid, it was not "in the rather bizarre style depicted in the film".[30] She compares the inaccuracy to "a film about Colonial America showing the colonial men wearing 20th century business suits, but with the jackets worn back-to-front instead of the right way around."[30] "The events aren't accurate, the dates aren't accurate, the characters aren't accurate, the names aren't accurate, the clothes aren't accurate—in short, just about nothing is accurate."[31] The belted plaid (feileadh mór léine) was not introduced until the 16th century.[32] Peter Traquair has referred to Wallace's "farcical representation as a wild and hairy highlander painted with woad (1,000 years too late) running amok in a tartan kilt (500 years too early)." [33]
In 2009, the film was second on a list of "most historically inaccurate movies" in The Times.[29] In the humorous non-fictional historiography An Utterly Impartial History of Britain (2007), author John O'Farrell notes that Braveheart could not have been more historically inaccurate, even if a "Plasticine dog" had been inserted in the film and the title changed to William Wallace and Gromit.[34]
Randall Wallace has defended his script from historians who have dismissed the film as a Hollywood perversion of actual events.[citation needed] In the DVD audio commentary of Braveheart, Mel Gibson acknowledges many of the historical inaccuracies but defends his choices as director, noting that the way events were portrayed in the film was much more "cinematically compelling" than the historical fact or conventional mythos.
Jus primae noctis[edit]
Edward Longshanks, King of England, is shown invoking Jus primae noctis, allowing the Lord of a medieval estate to take the virginity of his serfs' maiden daughters on their wedding nights. Critical medieval scholarship regards this supposed right as a myth, "the simple reason why we are dealing with a myth here rests in the surprising fact that practically all writers who make any such claims have never been able or willing to cite any trustworthy source, if they have any."[35][36]
Occupation and independence[edit]
The film suggests Scotland had been under English occupation for some time, at least during Wallace’s childhood, and in the run-up to the Battle of Falkirk Wallace says to the younger Bruce, “We can have what we never had before, a country of our own.” In fact Scotland had been invaded by England only the year before Wallace's rebellion; prior to the death of King Alexander III it had been a fully separate kingdom.[33]
Portrayal of William Wallace[edit]
As John Shelton Lawrence and Robert Jewett write, "Because [William] Wallace is one of Scotland's most important national heroes and because he lived in the very distant past, much that is believed about him is probably the stuff of legend. But there is a factual strand that historians agree to", summarized from Scots scholar Matt Ewart:

Wallace was born into the gentry of Scotland; his father lived until he was 18, his mother until his 24th year; he killed the sheriff of Lanark when he was 27, apparently after the murder of his wife; he led a group of commoners against the English in a very successful battle at Stirling in 1297, temporarily receiving appointment as guardian; Wallace's reputation as a military leader was ruined in the same year of 1297, leading to his resignation as guardian; he spent several years of exile in France before being captured by the English at Glasgow, this resulting in his trial for treason and his cruel execution.[37]
A.E. Christa Canitz writes about the historical William Wallace further: "[He] was a younger son of the Scottish gentry, usually accompanied by his own chaplain, well-educated, and eventually, having been appointed Guardian of the Kingdom of Scotland, engaged in diplomatic correspondence with the Hanseatic cities of Lübeck and Hamburg". She finds that in Braveheart, "any hint of his descent from the lowland gentry (i.e., the lesser nobility) is erased, and he is presented as an economically and politically marginalized Highlander and 'a farmer'—as one with the common peasant, and with a strong spiritual connection to the land which he is destined to liberate."[38]
Colin McArthur writes that Braveheart "constructs Wallace as a kind of modern, nationalist guerrilla leader in a period half a millennium before the appearance of nationalism on the historical stage as a concept under which disparate classes and interests might be mobilised within a nation state." Writing about Braveheart‍ '​s "omissions of verified historical facts", McArthur notes that Wallace made "overtures to Edward I seeking less severe treatment after his defeat at Falkirk", as well as "the well-documented fact of Wallace's having resorted to conscription and his willingness to hang those who refused to serve."[39] Canitz posits that depicting "such lack of class solidarity" as the conscriptions and related hangings "would contaminate the movie's image of Wallace as the morally irreproachable primus inter pares among his peasant fighters."[38]
Portrayal of Isabella of France[edit]
Isabella of France is shown having an affair with Wallace prior to the Battle of Falkirk. She later tells Edward I she is pregnant, implying that her son, Edward III, was a product of the affair. In reality, Isabella was three years old and living in France at the time of the Battle of Falkirk, was not married to Edward II until he was already king, and Edward III was born seven years after Wallace died.[40][41] (This aspect of the plot may however have been inspired by Sydney Goodsir Smith's play The Wallace: A Triumph In Five Acts, which unhistorically has Isabella present at the Battle of Falkirk longing for a "real man".) At that time it would also have been unusual to send a woman on a diplomatic mission into a war zone.
Portrayal of Robert the Bruce[edit]



 Mel Gibson as William Wallace wearing woad.
Robert the Bruce did change sides between the Scots loyalists and the English more than once in the earlier stages of the Wars of Scottish Independence, but he never betrayed Wallace directly, and he probably did not fight on the English side at the Battle of Falkirk (although this claim is made by one important medieval source, John of Fordun's chronicle). Later, the Battle of Bannockburn was not a spontaneous battle; he had already been fighting a guerrilla campaign against the English for eight years. His title before becoming king was Earl of Carrick, not Earl of Bruce.[33]
Portrayal of Longshanks and Prince Edward[edit]
The actual Edward I was ruthless and temperamental, but the film exaggerates his character for effect. Edward enjoyed poetry and harp music, was a devoted and loving husband to his wife Eleanor of Castile, and as a religious man he gave generously to charity. The film's scene where he scoffs cynically at Isabella for distributing gold to the poor after Wallace refuses it as a bribe would have been unlikely. Edward died on campaign and not in bed at his home.[33]
The depiction of the future Edward II as an effeminate homosexual drew accusations of homophobia against Gibson.

We cut a scene out, unfortunately. . . where you really got to know that character [Edward II] and to understand his plight and his pain. . . . But it just stopped the film in the first act so much that you thought, 'When's this story going to start?'[42][better source needed]
The actual Edward II, who fathered five children by two different women, was rumoured to have had sexual affairs with men, including Piers Gaveston who lived on into the reign of Edward II. The Prince's male lover Phillip was loosely based on Piers Gaveston.[citation needed]
Gibson defended his depiction of Prince Edward as weak and ineffectual, saying:

I'm just trying to respond to history. You can cite other examples – Alexander the Great, for example, who conquered the entire world, was also a homosexual. But this story isn't about Alexander the Great. It's about Edward II.[43]
In response to Longshank's defenestration of the Prince's male lover Phillip, Gibson replied: "The fact that King Edward throws this character out a window has nothing to do with him being gay ... He's terrible to his son, to everybody."[44] Gibson asserted that the reason Longshanks kills his son's lover is because the king is a "psychopath".[45] Gibson expressed bewilderment that some filmgoers would laugh at this murder.
Wallace's military campaign[edit]
"MacGregors from the next glen" joining Wallace shortly after the action at Lanark is dubious, since it is questionable whether Clan Gregor existed at that stage, and when they did emerge their traditional home was Glen Orchy, some distance from Lanark.[46]
Wallace did win an important victory at the Battle of Stirling Bridge, but the version in Braveheart is highly inaccurate, as it was filmed without a bridge (and without Andrew Moray, joint commander of the Scots army, who was fatally injured in the battle). Later, Wallace did carry out a large-scale raid into the north of England, but he did not get as far south as York, nor did he kill Longshanks' nephew.[33] (However this was not as wide of the mark as Blind Harry, who has Wallace making it to the outskirts of London, and only refraining from attacking the city after an appeal by the Mayor's wife.)
The "Irish conscripts" at the Battle of Falkirk are also unhistorical; there were no Irish troops at Falkirk (although many of the English army were actually Welsh), and it is anachronistic to refer to conscripts in the Middle Ages (although there were feudal levies).[33]
Use of the Irish or uilleann pipes[edit]


 This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2015)
Throughout the film the soundtrack makes use of the Irish uilleann bagpipes and at one point during Wallace's father's funeral, the Scottish bagpipes being 'played' at the funeral are accompanied by the uilleann pipes in the soundtrack. Not only are the pipes from the wrong country, the chances of there being any bagpipes at the funeral were very slim as the Highland pipes were only used in Scotland from 1400 onwards.
Accusations of Anglophobia[edit]
Sections of the English media accused the film of harbouring Anglophobia. The Economist called it "xenophobic",[47] and John Sutherland writing in The Guardian stated that: "Braveheart gave full rein to a toxic Anglophobia".[48][49][50] In The Times, MacArthur said "the political effects are truly pernicious. It’s a xenophobic film."[49] Ian Burrell of The Independent has noted, "The Braveheart phenomenon, a Hollywood-inspired rise in Scottish nationalism, has been linked to a rise in anti-English prejudice".[51] Contemporary Scottish writer and commentator Douglas Murray has described the film as "strangely racist and anti-English".[52]
References[edit]
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5.Jump up ^ Chris Probst (1 June 1996). "Cinematic Transcendence". American Cinematographer (Los Angeles, California, United States: American Society of Cinematographers) 77 (6): 76. ISSN 0002-7928.
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9.^ Jump up to: a b "Empire Award Past Winners - 1996". Empireonline.com. Bauer Consumer Media. 2003. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
10.Jump up ^ Leo Suryadinata, Nationalism and Globalism, East and West (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asia Studies) 2000, pg 248
11.Jump up ^ Zumkhawala-Cook, Richard (2008). Scotland as We Know It: Representations of National Identity in Literature, Film and Popular Culture. McFarland. p. 147. ISBN 978-0-7864-4031-3.
12.Jump up ^ MacLellan, Rory; Smith, Ronnie (1998). Tourism in Scotland. Cengage Learning EMEA. p. 230. ISBN 978-1-86152-089-0.
13.Jump up ^ Martin-Jones, David (2009). Scotland: Global Cinema – Genres, Modes, and Identities. Edinburgh University Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-7486-3391-3.
14.Jump up ^ "The 68th Academy Awards (1996) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Archived from the original on 2012-09-23. Retrieved 2011-10-23.
15.Jump up ^ http://www.afi.com/Docs/100years/movies400.pdf
16.Jump up ^ AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains Nominees[dead link]
17.Jump up ^ "AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes Nominees" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-03-28. Retrieved 2013-06-20.
18.Jump up ^ "HollywoodBowlBallot" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-03-28. Retrieved 2013-06-20.
19.Jump up ^ "Movies_Ballot_06" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-03-28. Retrieved 2013-06-20.
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21.Jump up ^ Boztas, Senay (31 July 2005). "Wallace movie ‘helped Scots get devolution’ – [Sunday Herald]". Braveheart.info. Archived from the original on 2013-07-02. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
22.Jump up ^ "Wallace statue back at home of sculptor". The Courier. 16 October 2009. Retrieved 17 October 2009.
23.Jump up ^ Hal G. P. Colebatch (8 August 2006). "The American Spectator". Spectator.org. Archived from the original on 2007-10-12. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
24.Jump up ^ Kevin Hurley (19 September 2004). "They may take our lives but they won't take Freedom". Scotland on Sunday. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
25.Jump up ^ "Wallace statue back with sculptor". BBC News. 16 October 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
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27.Jump up ^ Ewan, Elizabeth (October 1995). "Braveheart". American Historical Review 100 (4): 1219–21. doi:10.2307/2168219.
28.Jump up ^ "Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers and Other Poems / Aytoun, W. E. (William Edmondstoune), 1813–1865". Infomotions.com. 2004-02-04. Archived from the original on 2012-03-29. Retrieved 2013-06-20.
29.^ Jump up to: a b White, Caroline (4 August 2009). "The 10 most historically inaccurate movies". London: The Times. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 2009-08-05.
30.^ Jump up to: a b c Krossa, Sharon L. "Braveheart Errors: An Illustration of Scale". Archived from the original on 2013-10-09. Retrieved 2009-06-15.
31.Jump up ^ Krossa, Sharon L. "Regarding the Film Braveheart". Archived from the original on 2012-11-13. Retrieved 2009-11-26.
32.Jump up ^ "A History of Scottish Kilts | Authentic Ireland Travel". Authenticireland.com. Archived from the original on 2013-12-05. Retrieved 2013-06-20.
33.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Traquair, Peter Freedom's Sword, HarperCollins Publishers (1998)
34.Jump up ^ O'Farrell, John (2007), An Utterly Impartial History of Britain, Doubleday, p. 126
35.Jump up ^ Classen, Albrecht (2007). The medieval chastity belt: a myth-making process. Macmillan. p. 151. ISBN 9781403975584. Archived from the original on 2013-06-09.
36.Jump up ^ "Urban legends website". Snopes.com. Retrieved 2013-06-20.
37.Jump up ^ Lawrence, John Shelton; Jewett, Robert (2002). The Myth of the American Superhero. Wm. B. Eerdmans. p. 163. ISBN 978-0-8028-4911-3.
38.^ Jump up to: a b Canitz, A. E. Christa (2005). "'Historians ... Will Say I Am a liar': The Ideology of False Truth Claims in Mel Gibson's Braveheart and Luc Besson's The Messenger". In Utz, Richard J.; Swan, Jesse G. Studies in Medievalism XIII: Postmodern Medievalisms. D.S. Brewer. pp. 127–142. ISBN 978-1-84384-012-1.
39.Jump up ^ McArthur, Colin (1998). "Braveheart and the Scottish Aesthetic Dementia". In Barta, Tony. Screening the Past: Film and the Representation of History. Praeger. pp. 167–187. ISBN 978-0-275-95402-4.
40.Jump up ^ Ewan, Elizabeth (October 1995). "Braveheart". The American Historical Review (Bloomington: Indiana University Press) 100 (4): 1219–21. doi:10.2307/2168219. ISSN 0002-8762. OCLC 01830326.
41.Jump up ^ White, Caroline (4 August 2009). "The 10 most historically inaccurate movies". London: The Times. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 2009-08-05.
42.Jump up ^ Della Cava, Marco R. (May 24, 1995). "Gibson has faith in family and freedom". USA Today.
43.Jump up ^ Stein, Ruth (May 21, 1995). "Mel Gibson Dons Kilt and Directs". San Francisco Chronicle.
44.Jump up ^ "Gay Alliance has Gibson's 'Braveheart' in its sights", Daily News, 11 May 1995, retrieved 13 February 2010
45.Jump up ^ Matt Zoller Seitz (May 25, 1995). "Icon: Mel Gibson talks about Braveheart, movie stardom, and media treachery". Dallas Observer. Archived from the original on 2007-12-22. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
46.Jump up ^ Way, George & Squire, Romily (1994). Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia. pp. 220–221.
47.Jump up ^ "Economist.com". Economist.com. 18 May 2006. Archived from the original on 2011-06-29. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
48.Jump up ^ world "John Sutherland". The Guardian (London). 11 August 2003. Retrieved 2010-04-26.[dead link]
49.^ Jump up to: a b "Braveheart battle cry is now but a whisper". London: Times Online. 24 July 2005. Archived from the original on 2011-06-29. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
50.Jump up ^ Colin, McArthur (2003). Brigadoon, Braveheart and the Scots: Distortions of Scotland in Hollywood Cinema. I. B. Tauris. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-86064-927-1. Archived from the original on 2013-06-10.
51.Jump up ^ Burrell, Ian (8 February 1999). "Most race attack victims `are white': The English Exiles – News". London: The Independent. Archived from the original on 2013-12-19. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
52.Jump up ^ "Douglas Murray and Michael Coren - Scottish Independence". CNN. 23 Feb 2013. Archived from the original on 2014-03-16. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
External links[edit]
 Wikiquote has quotations related to: Braveheart
Braveheart at the Internet Movie Database
Braveheart at AllMovie
Braveheart at Rotten Tomatoes
Braveheart at Box Office Mojo
Braveheart at Metacritic
Roger Ebert's review of Braveheart


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Categories: 1995 films
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1990s biographical films
20th Century Fox films
American epic films
American war films
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Fiction narrated by a dead person
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Best Film Empire Award winners
Films directed by Mel Gibson
Films set in Scotland
Films shot in Highland, Scotland
Films shot in County Wicklow
Films that won the Academy Award for Best Makeup
Films whose director won the Best Director Academy Award
Films whose director won the Best Director Golden Globe
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War drama films
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Anti-English sentiment
Films set in the 13th century
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Wars of Scottish Independence
William Wallace
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List of accolades received by Gladiator

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The following is a list of the nominations and awards that Gladiator received.


Contents  [hide]
1 Organizations
2 Guilds
3 Critics groups
4 References
5 External links

Organizations[edit]

Organization
Category
Recipients and nominees
Result
Academy Awards[1][2] Best Picture  Won
Best Actor in a Leading Role Russell Crowe Won
Best Actor in a Supporting Role Joaquin Phoenix Nominated
Best Art Decoration and Set Decoration Arthur Max and Crispian Sallis Nominated
Best Cinematography John Mathieson Nominated
Best Costume Design Janty Yates Won
Best Director Ridley Scott Nominated
Best Editing Pietro Scalia Nominated
Best Original Score Hans Zimmer Nominated
Best Screenplay – Original David Franzoni, John Logan and William Nicholson Nominated
Best Sound Bob Beemer, Scott Millan and Ken Weston Won
Best Visual Effects Tim Burke, Neil Corbould, Rob Harvey and John Nelson Won
BAFTA Awards Best Actor in a Leading Role Russell Crowe Nominated
Best Actor in a Supporting Role Joaquin Phoenix Nominated
Oliver Reed (posthumous) Nominated
Best Cinematography John Mathieson Won
Best Costume Design Janty Yates Nominated
Best Direction Ridley Scott Nominated
Best Editing Pietro Scalia Won
Best Film David Franzoni, Branko Lustig and Douglas Wick Won
Best Makeup & Hair Paul Engelen and Graham Johnston Nominated
Best Music Lisa Gerrard and Hans Zimmer Nominated
Best Production Design Arthur Max Won
Best Screenplay – Original David Franzoni, John Logan and William Nicholson Nominated
Best Sound Bob Beemer, Per Hallberg, Scott Millan and Ken Weston Nominated
Golden Globe Awards Best Actor in a Leading Role – Drama Russell Crowe Nominated
Best Actor in a Supporting Role Joaquin Phoenix Nominated
Best Director Ridley Scott Nominated
Best Film – Drama  Won
Best Original Score Lisa Gerrard and Hans Zimmer Won
Guilds[edit]
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains 50th best Hero character (General Maximus Decimus Meredius)
2001 American Cinema Editors Eddie Awards Best Edited Feature Film — Dramatic
5th Art Directors Guild Awards Excellence in Production Design Award, Feature Film — Period or Fantasy Films

Critics groups[edit]
London Film Critics Circle Actor of the Year (Russell Crowe)

References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "The 73rd Academy Awards (2001) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 2011-11-19.
2.Jump up ^ http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=107726&page=1
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,96204,00.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2001/jan/23/filmnews.oscars2001
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b41045_gladiator_tiger_top_golden_globes.html
External links[edit]
Awards for Gladiator at Internet Movie Database
  


Categories: Lists of accolades by film
Gladiator (2000 film)


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List of accolades received by Gladiator

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

The following is a list of the nominations and awards that Gladiator received.


Contents  [hide]
1 Organizations
2 Guilds
3 Critics groups
4 References
5 External links

Organizations[edit]

Organization
Category
Recipients and nominees
Result
Academy Awards[1][2] Best Picture  Won
Best Actor in a Leading Role Russell Crowe Won
Best Actor in a Supporting Role Joaquin Phoenix Nominated
Best Art Decoration and Set Decoration Arthur Max and Crispian Sallis Nominated
Best Cinematography John Mathieson Nominated
Best Costume Design Janty Yates Won
Best Director Ridley Scott Nominated
Best Editing Pietro Scalia Nominated
Best Original Score Hans Zimmer Nominated
Best Screenplay – Original David Franzoni, John Logan and William Nicholson Nominated
Best Sound Bob Beemer, Scott Millan and Ken Weston Won
Best Visual Effects Tim Burke, Neil Corbould, Rob Harvey and John Nelson Won
BAFTA Awards Best Actor in a Leading Role Russell Crowe Nominated
Best Actor in a Supporting Role Joaquin Phoenix Nominated
Oliver Reed (posthumous) Nominated
Best Cinematography John Mathieson Won
Best Costume Design Janty Yates Nominated
Best Direction Ridley Scott Nominated
Best Editing Pietro Scalia Won
Best Film David Franzoni, Branko Lustig and Douglas Wick Won
Best Makeup & Hair Paul Engelen and Graham Johnston Nominated
Best Music Lisa Gerrard and Hans Zimmer Nominated
Best Production Design Arthur Max Won
Best Screenplay – Original David Franzoni, John Logan and William Nicholson Nominated
Best Sound Bob Beemer, Per Hallberg, Scott Millan and Ken Weston Nominated
Golden Globe Awards Best Actor in a Leading Role – Drama Russell Crowe Nominated
Best Actor in a Supporting Role Joaquin Phoenix Nominated
Best Director Ridley Scott Nominated
Best Film – Drama  Won
Best Original Score Lisa Gerrard and Hans Zimmer Won
Guilds[edit]
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains 50th best Hero character (General Maximus Decimus Meredius)
2001 American Cinema Editors Eddie Awards Best Edited Feature Film — Dramatic
5th Art Directors Guild Awards Excellence in Production Design Award, Feature Film — Period or Fantasy Films

Critics groups[edit]
London Film Critics Circle Actor of the Year (Russell Crowe)

References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "The 73rd Academy Awards (2001) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 2011-11-19.
2.Jump up ^ http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=107726&page=1
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,96204,00.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2001/jan/23/filmnews.oscars2001
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b41045_gladiator_tiger_top_golden_globes.html
External links[edit]
Awards for Gladiator at Internet Movie Database
  


Categories: Lists of accolades by film
Gladiator (2000 film)


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Gladiator (soundtrack)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search


Gladiator: Music From the Motion Picture

Soundtrack album by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard

Released
April 25, 2000
Recorded
2000
Genre
Soundtrack
Length
61:31
Label
Decca
Producer
Klaus Badelt, Ridley Scott, Hans Zimmer

Professional ratings

Review scores

Source
Rating
Allmusic 4/5 stars[1]
Film Score Reviews 4.5/5 stars
Filmtracks 3/5 stars
SoundtrackNet 4/5 stars
Gladiator is the original soundtrack of the 2000 film of the same name. The original score and songs were composed by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard and were released in 2000, titled Gladiator: Music From the Motion Picture. The Lyndhurst Orchestra performing the score was conducted by Gavin Greenaway.
The album won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score and was also nominated for the Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Score ("Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music").


Contents  [hide]
1 Track listing
2 Commercial success
3 Certifications
4 More Music from Gladiator
5 Special Anniversary Edition
6 Musical impact
7 References
8 External links

Track listing[edit]
1."Progeny" – 2:14
2."The Wheat"– 1:03
3."The Battle"– 10:02
4."Earth"– 3:01
5."Sorrow"– 1:26
6."To Zucchabar"– 3:16
7."Patricide"– 4:08
8."The Emperor Is Dead"– 1:21
9."The Might of Rome"– 5:18
10."Strength and Honor"– 2:09
11."Reunion"– 1:14
12."Slaves to Rome"– 1:00
13."Barbarian Horde"– 10:33
14."Am I Not Merciful?"– 6:33
15."Elysium"– 2:41
16."Honor Him"– 1:19
17."Now We Are Free"– 4:14
Commercial success[edit]
Well-reviewed by critics (popular score review sites Filmtracks, Moviewave, and Scorereviews all give it overall positive reviews) and fans (370 Amazon.com reviews with a 4.5 avg. rating) alike, this score has attained admirable commercial stock in the film music world. Not since James Horner's Titanic soundtrack (which sold millions) had a movie score been in such high demand.
Certifications[edit]

Region
Certification
Sales/shipments


Poland (ZPAV)[2]
Platinum 100,000*
*sales figures based on certification alone


More Music from Gladiator[edit]


 This section contains wording that promotes the subject in a subjective manner without imparting real information. Please remove or replace such wording and instead of making proclamations about a subject's importance, use facts and attribution to demonstrate that importance. (August 2010)

Gladiator: More Music From the Motion Picture

Soundtrack album by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard

Released
February 27, 2001
Recorded
2000
Genre
Soundtrack
Length
57:58
Label
Decca Records
Producer
Alan Mayerson, Ridley Scott, Hans Zimmer

Professional ratings

Review scores

Source
Rating
AllMusic 2.5/5 stars[3]
SoundtrackNet 4/5 stars
Tracksounds 4.5/5 stars
On February 27, 2001, nearly a year after the first soundtrack's release, Decca released Gladiator: More Music From the Motion Picture. This CD contained an additional 18 cuts from the film (including remixes of earlier scores like "Now We Are Free"). Many tracks also use dialogue from the movie, such as Maximus' famous quote "Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife... and I will have my vengeance." While the release was not popular with critics, it was a fair commercial success.
Track listing1."Duduk of the North" - 5:33 (duduk by Djivan Gasparyan and Sevak Sahakyan)
2."Now We Are Free (Juba's mix)" - 4:47
3."The Protector of Rome" - 1:25 (featuring Russell Crowe as Maximus and Richard Harris as Marcus Aurelius)
4."Homecoming" - 3:35 (featuring Joaquin Phoenix as Commodus and Russell Crowe)
5."The General Who Became a Slave" - 3:03
6."The Slave Who Became a Gladiator" - 6:11 (featuring Oliver Reed as Proximo and Russell Crowe as Maximus)
7."Secrets" - 1:59
8."Rome Is the Light" - 2:43
9."All That Remains" - 0:54
10."Maximus" - 1:09 (guitar by Heitor Pereira)
11."Marrakesh Marketplace" - 0:42
12."The Gladiator Waltz" - 8:25 (featuring Russell Crowe, original synth demo version by Hans Zimmer)
13."Figurines" - 1:01 (yangqin by Lisa Gerrard)
14."The Mob" - 2:22
15."Busy Little Bee" - 3:47 (featuring Connie Nielsen as Lucilla and Russell Crowe as Maximus)
16."Death Smiles at Us All" - 2:29 (featuring Joaquin Phoenix as Commodus and Russell Crowe as Maximus)
17."Not Yet" - 1:32 (featuring Djimon Hounsou as Juba)
18."Now We Are Free (Maximus mix)" - 6:21
Special Anniversary Edition[edit]

Gladiator: Special Anniversary Edition

Soundtrack album by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard

Released
2005
Recorded
2000
Genre
Soundtrack
Length
1:17:00
Label
Decca Records
Producer
Alan Mayerson, Ridley Scott, Hans Zimmer
For the film's 5 year anniversary a double CD edition was released combining the 2 previous editions.
Musical impact[edit]
Hans Zimmer's style influenced many composers, who used elements like female wailing vocals and the "battle waltz" for ancient war movies that followed.
Harry Gregson-Williams, a member of Zimmer's own Media Ventures Productions, relayed scoring duties for Ridley Scott's later film, Kingdom of Heaven.
In June 2006, agents representing the estate of composer Gustav Holst (1874–1934) filed a lawsuit claiming that Zimmer plagiarized material from The Planets. Specifically, "The Battle" was believed to plagiarize Holst's "Mars, the bringer of war".[4] The Track "Barbarian Horde" reprises most of these themes.
Film music critics noted that the score also borrows from works by Richard Wagner, particularly themes from Siegfried and Götterdämmerung, included in the latter half of "The Might of Rome" and "Am I Not Merciful?"[5]
In 2003 Luciano Pavarotti released the song "Il gladiatore" from his album Ti Adoro. The song was based on a theme from the score, featured on the soundtrack as track 4, "Earth". Pavarotti told Billboard magazine that he was meant to sing this song in the film, "But I said no then. Too bad. It's a magnificent song and a tough movie. Still, there is so much drama in just the song."[6]
The "Il gladiatore" version of this song, was performed by Andrea Bocelli during the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final in Rome, where FC Barcelona defeated Manchester United F.C..
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Allmusic review
2.Jump up ^ "Polish album certifications – Soundtrack – Gladiator" (in Polish). Polish Producers of Audio and Video (ZPAV).
3.Jump up ^ Allmusic review
4.Jump up ^ Beek, Michael (June 2006). "Gladiator Vs Mars-Zimmer is sued". Music from the Movies. Archived from the original on 2007-12-30.
5.Jump up ^ Filmtracks.com
6.Jump up ^ Billboard magazine
External links[edit]
Last.FM Gladiator Soundtrack page (all tracks with previews)
About the Lyrics of: Now we are free
Zimmer, Hans; Gerrard, Lisa; Fowler, Bruce; Fowler, Walt (2001), Gladiator : more music from the motion picture, Decca, p, OCLC 464674768

Awards
Preceded by
The Legend of 1900 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score
 2000 Succeeded by
Moulin Rouge!


[hide]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Hans Zimmer


Soundtracks
The Lion King ·
 The Thin Red Line ·
 Gladiator ·
 Mission: Impossible II ·
 Beyond Rangoon ·
 Black Hawk Down ·
 Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron ·
 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl ·
 Batman Begins ·
 The Da Vinci Code ·
 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest ·
 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End ·
 The Simpsons Movie ·
 Pirates of the Caribbean: Soundtrack Treasures Collection ·
 The Dark Knight ·
 Sherlock Holmes ·
 Inception ·
 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides ·
 Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows ·
 The Dark Knight Rises ·
 Man of Steel ·
 The Lone Ranger ·
 12 Years a Slave ·
 Rush ·
 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 ·
 Interstellar
 

Related
Discography ·
 Remote Control Productions
 

Wikipedia book Book:Hans Zimmer ·
 Category Category:Hans Zimmer
 

  


Categories: Albums certified platinum by the Polish Producers of Audio and Video
Film soundtracks
Hans Zimmer albums
2000 soundtracks
2001 soundtracks
Gladiator (2000 film)
Film scores by Hans Zimmer









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This page was last modified on 21 March 2015, at 07:12.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
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Powered by MediaWiki
   
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gladiator_(soundtrack)













Gladiator (soundtrack)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search


Gladiator: Music From the Motion Picture

Soundtrack album by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard

Released
April 25, 2000
Recorded
2000
Genre
Soundtrack
Length
61:31
Label
Decca
Producer
Klaus Badelt, Ridley Scott, Hans Zimmer

Professional ratings

Review scores

Source
Rating
Allmusic 4/5 stars[1]
Film Score Reviews 4.5/5 stars
Filmtracks 3/5 stars
SoundtrackNet 4/5 stars
Gladiator is the original soundtrack of the 2000 film of the same name. The original score and songs were composed by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard and were released in 2000, titled Gladiator: Music From the Motion Picture. The Lyndhurst Orchestra performing the score was conducted by Gavin Greenaway.
The album won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score and was also nominated for the Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Score ("Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music").


Contents  [hide]
1 Track listing
2 Commercial success
3 Certifications
4 More Music from Gladiator
5 Special Anniversary Edition
6 Musical impact
7 References
8 External links

Track listing[edit]
1."Progeny" – 2:14
2."The Wheat"– 1:03
3."The Battle"– 10:02
4."Earth"– 3:01
5."Sorrow"– 1:26
6."To Zucchabar"– 3:16
7."Patricide"– 4:08
8."The Emperor Is Dead"– 1:21
9."The Might of Rome"– 5:18
10."Strength and Honor"– 2:09
11."Reunion"– 1:14
12."Slaves to Rome"– 1:00
13."Barbarian Horde"– 10:33
14."Am I Not Merciful?"– 6:33
15."Elysium"– 2:41
16."Honor Him"– 1:19
17."Now We Are Free"– 4:14
Commercial success[edit]
Well-reviewed by critics (popular score review sites Filmtracks, Moviewave, and Scorereviews all give it overall positive reviews) and fans (370 Amazon.com reviews with a 4.5 avg. rating) alike, this score has attained admirable commercial stock in the film music world. Not since James Horner's Titanic soundtrack (which sold millions) had a movie score been in such high demand.
Certifications[edit]

Region
Certification
Sales/shipments


Poland (ZPAV)[2]
Platinum 100,000*
*sales figures based on certification alone


More Music from Gladiator[edit]


 This section contains wording that promotes the subject in a subjective manner without imparting real information. Please remove or replace such wording and instead of making proclamations about a subject's importance, use facts and attribution to demonstrate that importance. (August 2010)

Gladiator: More Music From the Motion Picture

Soundtrack album by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard

Released
February 27, 2001
Recorded
2000
Genre
Soundtrack
Length
57:58
Label
Decca Records
Producer
Alan Mayerson, Ridley Scott, Hans Zimmer

Professional ratings

Review scores

Source
Rating
AllMusic 2.5/5 stars[3]
SoundtrackNet 4/5 stars
Tracksounds 4.5/5 stars
On February 27, 2001, nearly a year after the first soundtrack's release, Decca released Gladiator: More Music From the Motion Picture. This CD contained an additional 18 cuts from the film (including remixes of earlier scores like "Now We Are Free"). Many tracks also use dialogue from the movie, such as Maximus' famous quote "Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife... and I will have my vengeance." While the release was not popular with critics, it was a fair commercial success.
Track listing1."Duduk of the North" - 5:33 (duduk by Djivan Gasparyan and Sevak Sahakyan)
2."Now We Are Free (Juba's mix)" - 4:47
3."The Protector of Rome" - 1:25 (featuring Russell Crowe as Maximus and Richard Harris as Marcus Aurelius)
4."Homecoming" - 3:35 (featuring Joaquin Phoenix as Commodus and Russell Crowe)
5."The General Who Became a Slave" - 3:03
6."The Slave Who Became a Gladiator" - 6:11 (featuring Oliver Reed as Proximo and Russell Crowe as Maximus)
7."Secrets" - 1:59
8."Rome Is the Light" - 2:43
9."All That Remains" - 0:54
10."Maximus" - 1:09 (guitar by Heitor Pereira)
11."Marrakesh Marketplace" - 0:42
12."The Gladiator Waltz" - 8:25 (featuring Russell Crowe, original synth demo version by Hans Zimmer)
13."Figurines" - 1:01 (yangqin by Lisa Gerrard)
14."The Mob" - 2:22
15."Busy Little Bee" - 3:47 (featuring Connie Nielsen as Lucilla and Russell Crowe as Maximus)
16."Death Smiles at Us All" - 2:29 (featuring Joaquin Phoenix as Commodus and Russell Crowe as Maximus)
17."Not Yet" - 1:32 (featuring Djimon Hounsou as Juba)
18."Now We Are Free (Maximus mix)" - 6:21
Special Anniversary Edition[edit]

Gladiator: Special Anniversary Edition

Soundtrack album by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard

Released
2005
Recorded
2000
Genre
Soundtrack
Length
1:17:00
Label
Decca Records
Producer
Alan Mayerson, Ridley Scott, Hans Zimmer
For the film's 5 year anniversary a double CD edition was released combining the 2 previous editions.
Musical impact[edit]
Hans Zimmer's style influenced many composers, who used elements like female wailing vocals and the "battle waltz" for ancient war movies that followed.
Harry Gregson-Williams, a member of Zimmer's own Media Ventures Productions, relayed scoring duties for Ridley Scott's later film, Kingdom of Heaven.
In June 2006, agents representing the estate of composer Gustav Holst (1874–1934) filed a lawsuit claiming that Zimmer plagiarized material from The Planets. Specifically, "The Battle" was believed to plagiarize Holst's "Mars, the bringer of war".[4] The Track "Barbarian Horde" reprises most of these themes.
Film music critics noted that the score also borrows from works by Richard Wagner, particularly themes from Siegfried and Götterdämmerung, included in the latter half of "The Might of Rome" and "Am I Not Merciful?"[5]
In 2003 Luciano Pavarotti released the song "Il gladiatore" from his album Ti Adoro. The song was based on a theme from the score, featured on the soundtrack as track 4, "Earth". Pavarotti told Billboard magazine that he was meant to sing this song in the film, "But I said no then. Too bad. It's a magnificent song and a tough movie. Still, there is so much drama in just the song."[6]
The "Il gladiatore" version of this song, was performed by Andrea Bocelli during the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final in Rome, where FC Barcelona defeated Manchester United F.C..
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Allmusic review
2.Jump up ^ "Polish album certifications – Soundtrack – Gladiator" (in Polish). Polish Producers of Audio and Video (ZPAV).
3.Jump up ^ Allmusic review
4.Jump up ^ Beek, Michael (June 2006). "Gladiator Vs Mars-Zimmer is sued". Music from the Movies. Archived from the original on 2007-12-30.
5.Jump up ^ Filmtracks.com
6.Jump up ^ Billboard magazine
External links[edit]
Last.FM Gladiator Soundtrack page (all tracks with previews)
About the Lyrics of: Now we are free
Zimmer, Hans; Gerrard, Lisa; Fowler, Bruce; Fowler, Walt (2001), Gladiator : more music from the motion picture, Decca, p, OCLC 464674768

Awards
Preceded by
The Legend of 1900 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score
 2000 Succeeded by
Moulin Rouge!


[hide]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Hans Zimmer


Soundtracks
The Lion King ·
 The Thin Red Line ·
 Gladiator ·
 Mission: Impossible II ·
 Beyond Rangoon ·
 Black Hawk Down ·
 Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron ·
 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl ·
 Batman Begins ·
 The Da Vinci Code ·
 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest ·
 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End ·
 The Simpsons Movie ·
 Pirates of the Caribbean: Soundtrack Treasures Collection ·
 The Dark Knight ·
 Sherlock Holmes ·
 Inception ·
 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides ·
 Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows ·
 The Dark Knight Rises ·
 Man of Steel ·
 The Lone Ranger ·
 12 Years a Slave ·
 Rush ·
 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 ·
 Interstellar
 

Related
Discography ·
 Remote Control Productions
 

Wikipedia book Book:Hans Zimmer ·
 Category Category:Hans Zimmer
 

  


Categories: Albums certified platinum by the Polish Producers of Audio and Video
Film soundtracks
Hans Zimmer albums
2000 soundtracks
2001 soundtracks
Gladiator (2000 film)
Film scores by Hans Zimmer









Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















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What links here
Related changes
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Page information
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Cite this page

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Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Italiano
Nederlands
Polski
Português
Edit links
This page was last modified on 21 March 2015, at 07:12.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
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Gladiator (2000 film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search


Gladiator
A man standing at the center of the image is wearing armor and is holding a sword in his right hand. In the background is the top of the Colosseum with a barely visible crowd standing in it. The poster includes the film's title, cast credits and release date.
Theatrical release poster

Directed by
Ridley Scott
Produced by
Douglas Wick
David Franzoni
Branko Lustig
Screenplay by
David Franzoni
John Logan
William Nicholson
Story by
David Franzoni
Starring
Russell Crowe
Joaquin Phoenix
Connie Nielsen
Oliver Reed
Derek Jacobi
Djimon Hounsou
Richard Harris
Music by
Hans Zimmer
Lisa Gerrard
Cinematography
John Mathieson
Edited by
Pietro Scalia

Production
 company

Scott Free Productions
Red Wagon Entertainment[1]

Distributed by
DreamWorks Pictures (North America)
Universal Pictures (International)

Release dates

May 1, 2000 (Los Angeles)
May 5, 2000 (United States)
May 12, 2000 (United Kingdom)


Running time
 155 minutes[2] (Theatrical cut)
 164 minutes[3] (Director's cut)
Country
United States[4]
 United Kingdom[5]
Language
English
Budget
$103 million[6][7]
Box office
$457.6 million[8]
Gladiator is a 2000 American-British epic historical drama film directed by Ridley Scott, starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Ralf Möller, Oliver Reed (in his final film role), Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, John Shrapnel, and Richard Harris. Crowe portrays the fictional character, loyal Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius, who is betrayed when Commodus, the ambitious son of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, murders his father and seizes the throne. Reduced to slavery, Maximus rises through the ranks of the gladiatorial arena to avenge the murders of his family and his emperor.
Released in the United States on May 5, 2000, Gladiator was a box office success, received generally positive reviews, and was credited with rekindling interest in the historical epic. The film won multiple awards, notably five Academy Awards in the 73rd Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Actor for Crowe.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Production 3.1 Screenplay
3.2 Pre-production
3.3 Filming
3.4 Post-production
4 Historical authenticity 4.1 Development
4.2 Fictionalization
4.3 Anachronisms
5 Influences
6 Music
7 Reception 7.1 Accolades
8 Impact
9 Home media
10 Cancelled sequel
11 See also
12 Notes
13 References
14 Further reading
15 External links

Plot[edit]
In AD 180, Spanish-Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius leads the Roman army to a decisive victory against the Germanic tribes near Vindobona, ending a long war on the Roman frontier and winning the favor of Emperor Marcus Aurelius. The emperor is already old and dying, and although he has a son, Commodus, he asks Maximus to succeed him as a regent and turn Rome back into a republic. The emperor speaks with Commodus afterwards and attempts to explain his decision. A weeping Commodus retorts that Marcus Aurelius never valued his son, and he kills the emperor.
Maximus is confronted by Commodus, who asks for Maximus' loyalty, but the general suspects his plot and refuses. General Quintus, a subordinate and old friend to Maximus, chooses to follow Commodus' orders and sends men to the Roman province of Spain to kill Maximus' wife and son on their farm estate. Maximus manages to escape his own execution and makes the long journey to his farm on horseback, but finds his family already dead and their bodies crucified. He buries them and collapses in despair. A passing slave caravan captures Maximus, assuming he is a deserter. Maximus is taken to Zucchabar, in the North African province of Mauretania. He is sold to a man named Proximo, who uses him as a gladiator.
Although reluctant to fight at first, Maximus is forced to fight in local tournaments and wins every match because of his military skills and traumatized indifference to death. He befriends Proximo's other gladiators, including a Numidian named Juba and a German named Hagen. Maximus' successes allow Proximo to bring the team to the Roman Colosseum, where now-Emperor Commodus has organized 150 days of games to honor his late father. Proximo explains to Maximus that he was himself a gladiator who fought well enough in the Colosseum to win his freedom, granted to him by Marcus Aurelius himself. Maximus realizes that if he fights well enough in the Colosseum he may have a chance to personally meet the Emperor, providing a chance to kill Commodus.
Having arrived at the Colosseum, Proximo's team is put in a match meant to reenact the Battle of Zama. Maximus and his teammates are on foot, armed with spears and shields, against a cohesive and well-equipped force of mounted fighters and archers in chariots. Through Maximus' leadership, however, the team is able to destroy their opponents, despite having to play the role of the defeated in the reenactment. Commodus comes into the arena to personally congratulate "the Spaniard" (Maximus) on his victory. Maximus braces himself to kill Commodus, but at the last moment decides against it because of the presence of Commodus' young nephew Lucius Verus. At this point, Maximus removes his helmet and reveals himself to the startled Commodus, and promises to exact vengeance against him. While a stunned Commodus longs to execute the former general on the spot, he cannot as the vast arena crowd chants "Live!" repeatedly, demonstrating their support for Maximus.
Commodus tries to have Maximus killed by paying Tigris of Gaul, a former gladiator who earned his freedom by never being defeated, to come back and fight Maximus. During the match, Colosseum staff approach Maximus from behind, holding tigers by the leash, in order to put Maximus at a disadvantage. Against all expectations, Maximus wins, but spares Tigris' life despite the crowd and Commodus urging he kill his opponent. He is then declared by the crowd to be "Maximus the Merciful", further angering Commodus. Face to face, the emperor taunts Maximus with harrowing details of how his family died. Maximus responds by turning his back on Commodus and walking away.
As Maximus is being escorted back to the gladiator's quarters, his former orderly Cicero approaches him and says that Maximus still has the loyalty of the Legion, encamped near Rome. Commodus' sister Lucilla and the senator Gracchus secure a meeting with Maximus, and Maximus obtains their promise to help him escape Rome, rejoin his soldiers, topple Commodus by force, and hand over power to the Senate. Commodus, however, suspects a plot and forces Lucilla to confess it by threatening to kill her son Lucius. Praetorians close in upon the gladiator quarters before Maximus can leave. Proximo refuses to open the gate, enabling Maximus to escape. When the Praetorians break through, Proximo's gladiators assault them in order to give Maximus more time. The Praetorians kill Hagen and execute Proximo. Maximus reaches the rendezvous but more Praetorians are waiting. Cicero is killed and Maximus is captured.
Desperate to kill Maximus and to restore his own standing, Commodus arranges a public duel between them. Before the fight begins, Commodus stabs the chained Maximus in the side, leaving him severely weakened, but also admits obliquely to killing his own father, in Quintus' presence. During the fight, Maximus manages to evade Commodus' blows and disarm him. Commodus asks the Praetorians to give him a sword, but Quintus orders the guards to sheathe their weapons. Commodus produces a hidden stiletto, but Maximus turns the blade back into Commodus' throat, killing him.
Maximus succumbs to the stab wound, asking with his last words that reforms be made, his gladiator allies freed, and that Senator Gracchus be reinstated. As he dies, he has a vision of walking through a gate into a field of grain and of being finally reunited with his wife and son in the afterlife. At the behest of Lucilla, the gladiators, Lucius, Quintus, and Gracchus carry out Maximus' body for an honorable funeral as a "soldier of Rome", leaving Commodus behind in the dirt. Some time later, Juba revisits the Colosseum at night, and he buries Maximus' small figurines of his wife and son at the spot where he died. Juba promises that he will see Maximus again, "but not yet".
Cast[edit]
Russell Crowe as Maximus Decimus Meridius: a Hispano-Roman legatus forced into becoming a slave who seeks revenge against Commodus. He has earned the favor of Marcus Aurelius, and the love and admiration of Lucilla prior to the events of the film. His home is near Trujillo[9] in today's Province of Cáceres, Spain. After the murder of his family he vows vengeance. Maximus is a fictional character partly inspired by Marcus Nonius Macrinus, Narcissus, Cincinnatus, and Maximus of Hispania. Mel Gibson was first offered the role, but declined as he felt he was too old to play the character. Antonio Banderas and Hugh Jackman were also considered.[citation needed]
Joaquin Phoenix as Commodus: The corrupted, twisted and immoral son of Marcus Aurelius, he murders his father when he learns that Maximus will hold the emperor's powers in trust until a new republic can be formed.
Connie Nielsen as Lucilla: Maximus's former lover and the older child of Marcus Aurelius. Lucilla has been recently widowed. She resists her brother's incestuous advances for she hates him, while also having to be careful to protect her son, Lucius, from her brother's corruption and wrath.
Oliver Reed as Antonius Proximo: An old, gruff gladiator trainer who buys Maximus in North Africa. A former gladiator himself, he was freed by Marcus Aurelius, and gives Maximus his own armor and eventually a chance at freedom. This was Reed's final film; he died during filming. In the original script, Proximo was supposed to live.
Derek Jacobi as Senator Gracchus: A member of the Roman Senate who opposes Commodus's rule and an ally of Lucilla and Maximus.
Djimon Hounsou as Juba: A Numidian tribesman who was taken from his home and family by slave traders. He becomes Maximus's closest ally and friend.
David Schofield as Senator Falco: A Patrician, a senator opposed to Gracchus. He helps Commodus to consolidate his power.
John Shrapnel as Senator Gaius: Another Roman senator allied with Gracchus, Lucilla, and Maximus against Commodus.
Tomas Arana as General Quintus: another Roman legatus, who served under and was a friend to Maximus. Made commander of the Praetorian Guard by Commodus, after betraying Maximus. In the extended version, Quintus sees the mad side of the Emperor when he is forced to execute two innocent men. Quintus later redeems himself by refusing to allow Commodus a sword during his duel with Maximus.
Ralf Möller as Hagen: A Germanic warrior and Proximo's chief gladiator who later befriends Maximus and Juba during their battles in Rome.
Spencer Treat Clark as Lucius Verus: The young son of Lucilla. He is named after his father Lucius Verus. He is also the grandson of Marcus Aurelius.
David Hemmings as Cassius: the master of ceremonies for the gladiatorial games in the Colosseum.
Tommy Flanagan as Cicero: Maximus's loyal servant who provides liaison between the enslaved Maximus, his former legion based at Ostia, and Lucilla. He is used as bait for the escaping Maximus and eventually killed by the Praetorian Guard.
Sven-Ole Thorsen as Tigris of Gaul: An undefeated champion gladiator who is called out of retirement by Commodus to kill Maximus but is defeated, yet not killed, by Maximus. Dolph Lundgren was initially considered for the role.
Richard Harris as Marcus Aurelius: The old and wise emperor of Rome who appoints Maximus, whom he loves as a son, with the ultimate aim of returning Rome to a republican form of government. He is murdered by his son Commodus before his wish can be fulfilled.
Omid Djalili as a slave trader.
Giannina Facio as Maximus's wife.
Giorgio Cantarini as Maximus's son who is the same age as Lucilla's son Lucius.
Production[edit]
Screenplay[edit]
Gladiator was based on an original pitch by David Franzoni, who wrote the first draft.[10] Franzoni was given a three-picture deal with DreamWorks as writer and co-producer on the strength of his previous work, Steven Spielberg's Amistad, which helped establish the reputation of DreamWorks. Not a classical scholar, Franzoni was inspired by Daniel P. Mannix’s 1958 novel Those About to Die, and he chose to base his story on Commodus after reading the Augustan History. In Franzoni's first draft, dated April 4, 1998, he named his protagonist Narcissus, a wrestler who, according to the ancient sources Herodian and Cassius Dio, strangled Emperor Commodus to death.[11]

Several dead men and various scattered weapons are located in a large arena. Near the center of the image is a man wearing armor standing in the middle of an arena looking up at a large crowd. The man has his right foot on the throat of an injured man who is reaching towards the crowd. Members of the crowd are indicating a "thumbs down" gesture. The arena is adorned with marble, columns, flags, and statues.

Pollice Verso (Thumbs Down) by Jean-Léon Gérôme, the 19th-century painting that inspired Ridley Scott to tackle the project.
Ridley Scott was approached by producers Walter F. Parkes and Douglas Wick. They showed him a copy of Jean-Léon Gérôme's 1872 painting entitled Pollice Verso (Thumbs Down).[12] Scott was enticed by filming the world of Ancient Rome. However, Scott felt Franzoni's dialogue was too "on the nose" (lacking subtlety) and hired John Logan to rewrite the script to his liking. Logan rewrote much of the first act, and made the decision to kill off Maximus's family to increase the character's motivation.[13]
Russell Crowe describes being eager for the role as pitched by Walter F. Parkes, in his interview for Inside the Actors Studio: "They said, 'It's a 100-million-dollar film. You're being directed by Ridley Scott. You play a Roman General.' I've always been a big fan of Ridley's."[14]
With two weeks to go before filming, the actors complained of problems with the script. William Nicholson was brought to Shepperton Studios to make Maximus a more sensitive character, reworking his friendship with Juba and developed the afterlife thread in the film, saying "he did not want to see a film about a man who wanted to kill somebody."[13]
The screenplay faced many rewrites and revisions. Crowe allegedly questioned every aspect of the evolving script and strode off the set when he did not get answers. According to a DreamWorks executive, "(Russell Crowe) tried to rewrite the entire script on the spot. You know the big line in the trailer, 'In this life or the next, I will have my vengeance'? At first he absolutely refused to say it."[15] Nicholson, the third and final screenwriter, says Crowe told him, "Your lines are garbage but I'm the greatest actor in the world, and I can make even garbage sound good." Nicholson goes on to say that "probably my lines were garbage, so he was just talking straight."[16]
Russell Crowe described the script situation: "I read the script and it was substantially underdone. Even the character didn't exist on the pages. And that set about a long process, that's probably the first time that I've been in a situation where the script wasn't a complete done deal. We actually started shooting with about 32 pages and went through them in the first couple of weeks."[14]
Of the writing/filming process, Crowe added, "Possibly, a lot of the stuff that I have to deal with now in terms of my quote unquote volatility has to do with that experience. Here was a situation where we got to Morocco with a crew of 200 and a cast of a 100 or whatever, and I didn't have anything to learn. I actually didn't know what the scenes were gonna be. We had, I think, one American writer working on it, one English writer working on it, and of course a group of producers who were also adding their ideas, and then Ridley himself; and then, on the occasion where Ridley would say, 'Look, this is the structure for it -- what are you gonna say in that?' So then I'd be doing my own stuff, as well. And this is how things like, 'Strength and honor,' came up. This is how things like, 'At my signal, unleash hell,' came up. The name Maximus Decimus Meridius, it just flowed well."[14]
Pre-production[edit]
In preparation for filming, Scott spent several months developing storyboards to develop the framework of the plot.[17] Over six weeks, production members scouted various locations within the extent of the Roman Empire before its collapse, including Italy, France, North Africa, and England.[18] All of the film's props, sets, and costumes were manufactured by crew members due to high costs and unavailability of the items.[19] One hundred suits of steel armour and 550 suits in polyurethane were made by Rod Vass and his company Armordillo. The unique sprayed-polyurethane system was developed by Armordillo and pioneered for this production. Over a three-month period, 27,500 component pieces of armor were made.[citation needed]
Filming[edit]
The film was shot in three main locations between January–May 1999. The opening battle scenes in the forests of Germania were shot in three weeks in the Bourne Woods, near Farnham, Surrey in England.[20] When Scott learned that the Forestry Commission planned to remove the forest, he convinced them to allow the battle scene to be shot there and burn it down.[21] Scott and cinematographer John Mathieson used multiple cameras filming at various frame rates and a 45-degree shutter, creating stop motion effects in the action sequences, similar to techniques used for the battle sequences of Saving Private Ryan (1998).[22] Subsequently, the scenes of slavery, desert travel, and gladiatorial training school were shot in Ouarzazate, Morocco just south of the Atlas Mountains over a further three weeks.[23] To construct the arena where Maximus has his first fights, the crew used basic materials and local building techniques to manufacture the 30,000-seat mud brick arena.[24] Finally, the scenes of Ancient Rome were shot over a period of nineteen weeks in Fort Ricasoli, Malta.[25][26]
In Malta, a replica of about one-third of Rome's Colosseum was built, to a height of 52 feet (15.8 meters), mostly from plaster and plywood (the other two-thirds and remaining height were added digitally).[27] The replica took several months to build and cost an estimated $1 million.[28] The reverse side of the complex supplied a rich assortment of Ancient Roman street furniture, colonnades, gates, statuary, and marketplaces for other filming requirements. The complex was serviced by tented "costume villages" that had changing rooms, storage, armorers, and other facilities.[25] The rest of the Colosseum was created in computer-generated imagery using set-design blueprints and textures referenced from live action, and rendered in three layers to provide lighting flexibility for compositing in Flame and Inferno software.[29]
Post-production[edit]

Men in white robes with the Colosseum in the background.

 Several scenes included extensive use of computer-generated imagery shots for views of Rome.
British post-production company The Mill was responsible for much of the computer-generated imagery effects that were added after filming. The company was responsible for such tricks as compositing real tigers filmed on bluescreen into the fight sequences, and adding smoke trails and extending the flight paths of the opening scene's salvo of flaming arrows to get around regulations on how far they could be shot during filming. They also used 2,000 live actors to create a computer-generated crowd of 35,000 virtual actors that had to look believable and react to fight scenes.[30] The Mill accomplished this by shooting live actors at different angles giving various performances, and then mapping them onto cards, with motion-capture tools used to track their movements for three-dimensional compositing.[29] The Mill created over 90 visual effects shots, comprising approximately nine minutes of the film's running time.[31]
An unexpected post-production job was caused by the death of Oliver Reed of a heart attack during the filming in Malta, before all his scenes had been shot. The Mill created a digital body double for the remaining scenes involving his character Proximo[29][dead link] by photographing a live action body-double in the shadows and by mapping a three-dimensional computer-generated imagery mask of Reed's face to the remaining scenes during production at an estimated cost of $3.2 million for two minutes of additional footage.[32][33] Visual effects supervisor John Nelson reflected on the decision to include the additional footage: "What we did was small compared to our other tasks on the film. What Oliver did was much greater. He gave an inspiring, moving performance. All we did was help him finish it."[32] The film is dedicated to Reed's memory.[34]
Historical authenticity[edit]



 The Numidian king Juba. The Numidians were most likely of Berber origin, instead of Sub-saharan origin.
Development[edit]
The film is loosely based on real events that occurred within the Roman empire in the latter half of the 2nd Century AD. As Ridley Scott wanted to portray Roman culture more accurately than in any previous film, he hired several historians as advisors. Nevertheless some deviations from historical fact were made to increase interest, maintain narrative continuity, and for practical or safety reasons. Scott also stated that due to the influence of previous films affecting the public perception of what ancient Rome was like, some historical facts were "too unbelievable" to include. For instance in an early version of the script, gladiators would have been carrying out product endorsements in the arena; while this would have been historically accurate, it was not filmed for fear that audiences would think it anachronistic.[35]
At least one historical advisor resigned due to these changes. Another asked not to be mentioned in the credits (though it was stated in the director's commentary that he constantly asked, "where is the proof that certain things were exactly like they say?"). Historian Allen Ward of the University of Connecticut believed that historical accuracy would not have made Gladiator less interesting or exciting because "creative artists need to be granted some poetic license, but that should not be a permit for the wholesale disregard of facts in historical fiction".[36][37]
Fictionalization[edit]
Marcus Aurelius died at Vindobona (a Roman camp on the site of modern-day Vienna in Austria) in 180 AD; he was not murdered by his son Commodus following the final battle of the Marcomannic Wars. In reality Marcus Aurelius gave succession to his immoral son. In doing so the great philosopher emperor ended the beneficent tradition of previous Adoptive Emperors.
The character of Maximus is fictional, although in some respects he resembles the historical figures Narcissus (Commodus's real-life murderer and the character's name in the first draft of the screenplay),[38] Spartacus (who led a significant slave revolt), Cincinnatus (a farmer who became dictator, saved Rome from invasion, then resigned his six-month appointment after 15 days),[39][40] and Marcus Nonius Macrinus (a trusted general, Consul in 154 AD, and friend of Marcus Aurelius).[41][42][43] Although Commodus engaged in show combat in the Colosseum he was not killed in the arena, he was strangled in his bath by the wrestler Narcissus. Commodus reigned for over twelve years unlike the shorter period portrayed in the film.[44][45]
The character of Maximus had a similar career (and personality traits as documented by Herodian) to Claudius Pompeianus (a Syrian) who married Marcus Aurelius' daughter Lucilla following the death of Lucius Verus. It is believed Aurelius may have wanted Pompeianus to succeed him as Caesar in preference to Commodus but was turned down. Pompeianus had no part in any of the many plots against Commodus. He was not depicted in the film.[36]
In the film the character Antonius Proximo claims "the wise" Marcus Aurelius banned gladiatorial games in Rome forcing him to move to the Mauretania colonies in North Africa. The real Marcus did ban the games but only in Antioch as punishment for the city's support of the rebel Avidius Cassius. No games were ever banned in Rome. However when the Emperor started conscripting gladiators into the legions, the resulting shortage in fighters allowed Lanistas such as Proximo to make "windfall" profits through increased charges for their services.[46]
Anachronisms[edit]
Costumes within the film are almost never completely historically correct. Some of the soldiers wear fantasy helmets. The bands wrapped around their lower arms were rarely ever worn. Their appearance is the product of historical movies always depicting peoples of antiquity wearing such bands. Although the film is set within the 2nd century AD, the Imperial Gallic armor and the helmets worn by the legionaries is from 75 AD, a century earlier. This was superseded by new designs in 100 AD. Likewise the Legions' standard bearers (Aquilifer), centurions, mounted forces, and auxiliaries would have worn scale armour: Lorica squamata.[47][not in citation given] The Germanic tribes are dressed in clothes from the stone-age period.[48]
The Roman cavalry are shown attacking using stirrups. This is anachronistic as the horse-mounted forces of the Roman army used a two-horned saddle. Stirrups were only employed for safety reasons because of the additional training and skill required to ride with a Roman saddle.[46][49] Catapults and ballistae would not have been used in a forest. They were reserved primarily for sieges and were rarely used in open battles.[46]
In the bird's eye view of Rome when the city is introduced for the first time there are several buildings that did not exist at the time of Gladiator. For example, the Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine is quite prominent; however, it was not completed until 312 AD.
Influences[edit]
The film's plot was influenced by two 1960s Hollywood films of the sword-and-sandal genre, The Fall of the Roman Empire and Spartacus,[50] and shares several plot points with The Fall of the Roman Empire, which tells the story of Livius, who, like Maximus in Gladiator, is Marcus Aurelius's intended successor. Livius is in love with Lucilla and seeks to marry her while Maximus, who is happily married, was formerly in love with her. Both films portray the death of Marcus Aurelius as an assassination. In Fall of the Roman Empire a group of conspirators independent of Commodus, hoping to profit from Commodus's accession, arrange for Marcus Aurelius to be poisoned; in Gladiator Commodus himself murders his father by smothering him. In the course of Fall of the Roman Empire Commodus unsuccessfully seeks to win Livius over to his vision of empire in contrast to that of his father, but continues to employ him notwithstanding; in Gladiator, when Commodus fails to secure Maximus's allegiance, he executes Maximus's wife and son and tries unsuccessfully to execute him. Livius in Fall of the Roman Empire and Maximus in Gladiator kill Commodus in single combat, Livius to save Lucilla and Maximus to avenge the murder of his wife and son, and both do it for the greater good of Rome.
Scott attributed Spartacus and Ben-Hur as influences on the film: "These movies were part of my cinema-going youth. But at the dawn of the new millennium, I thought this might be the ideal time to revisit what may have been the most important period of the last two thousand years – if not all recorded history – the apex and beginning of the decline of the greatest military and political power the world has ever known."[51]
Spartacus provides the film's gladiatorial motif, as well as the character of Senator Gracchus, a fictitious senator (bearing the name of a pair of revolutionary Tribunes from the 2nd century BC) who in both films is an elder statesman of ancient Rome attempting to preserve the ancient rights of the Roman Senate in the face of an ambitious autocrat –Marcus Licinius Crassus in Spartacus and Commodus in Gladiator. Both actors who played Gracchus (in Spartacus and Gladiator), played Claudius in previous films – Charles Laughton of Spartacus played Claudius in the unfinished 1937 film I, Claudius and Sir Derek Jacobi of Gladiator, played Claudius in the 1976 BBC adaptation. Both films also share a specific set piece, wherein a gladiator (Maximus here, Woody Strode's Draba in Spartacus) throws his weapon into a spectator box at the end of a match, as well as at least one line of dialogue: "Rome is the mob", said here by Gracchus and by Julius Caesar (John Gavin) in Spartacus.
The film's depiction of Commodus's entry into Rome borrows imagery from Leni Riefenstahl's Nazi propaganda film Triumph of the Will (1935), although Scott has pointed out that the iconography of Nazi rallies was itself inspired by the Roman Empire. Gladiator reflects back on the film by duplicating similar events that occurred in Adolf Hitler's procession. The Nazi film opens with an aerial view of Hitler arriving in a plane, while Scott shows an aerial view of Rome, quickly followed by a shot of the large crowd of people watching Commodus pass them in a procession with his chariot.[52] The first thing to appear in Triumph of the Will is a Nazi eagle, which is alluded to when a statue of an eagle sits atop one of the arches (and then is shortly followed by several more decorative eagles throughout the rest of the scene) leading up to the procession of Commodus. At one point in the Nazi film, a little girl gives flowers to Hitler, while Commodus is met by several girls who all give him bundles of flowers.[53]
Music[edit]
Main article: Gladiator (soundtrack)




Gladiator – "Battle"







A clip from the score of the 2000 film Gladiator.

Problems playing this file? See media help.




Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard – "Now We Are Free"







listen to a clip from the score of Gladiator.

Problems playing this file? See media help.
The Oscar-nominated score was composed by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard, and conducted by Gavin Greenaway. Zimmer was originally planning to use Israeli vocalist Ofra Haza for the score, after his work with her in The Prince of Egypt. However, Ofra died in her early 40s in late February 2000, before she was able to record, and so Gerrard was chosen instead. Lisa Gerrard's vocals are similar to her own work on The Insider score.[54] The music for many of the battle scenes has been noted as similar to Gustav Holst's "Mars: The Bringer of War", and in June 2006, the Holst Foundation sued Hans Zimmer for allegedly copying the late Holst's work.[55][56] Another close musical resemblance occurs in the scene of Commodus's triumphal entry into Rome, accompanied by music clearly evocative of two sections – the Prelude to Das Rheingold and Siegfried's Funeral March from Götterdämmerung – from Wagner's Ring of the Nibelungs. On February 27, 2001, nearly a year after the first soundtrack's release, Decca produced Gladiator: More Music From the Motion Picture. Then, on September 5, 2005, Decca produced Gladiator: Special Anniversary Edition, a two-CD pack containing both the above-mentioned releases. Some of the music from the film was featured in the NFL playoffs in January 2003 before commercial breaks and before and after half-time.[57] In 2003, Luciano Pavarotti released a recording of himself singing a song from the film and said he regretted turning down an offer to perform on the soundtrack.[58] The soundtrack is one of the best selling film scores of all time[citation needed].
Reception[edit]
Gladiator received mostly positive reviews, with 76% of the critics polled by Rotten Tomatoes giving it favorable reviews, with an averaged score of 7 out of 10.[59] At the website Metacritic, which employs a normalized rating system, the film earned a favorable rating of 64/100 based on 37 reviews by mainstream critics.[60] The Battle of Germania was cited by CNN as one of their "favorite on-screen battle scenes",[61] while Entertainment Weekly named Maximus as their sixth favorite action hero, because of "Crowe's steely, soulful performance",[62] and named it as their third favorite revenge film.[63] In December 2000, Gladiator was named the best film of the year by viewers of Film 2000, taking 40% of the votes.[64] In 2002, a Channel 4 (UK TV) poll named it as the sixth greatest film of all time.[65] Entertainment Weekly put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "Are you not entertained?".[66]
It was not without its deriders. Roger Ebert gave the film 2 out of 4 stars, and criticized the look of the film as "muddy, fuzzy, and indistinct." He also derided the writing, claiming it "employs depression as a substitute for personality, and believes that if characters are bitter and morose enough, we won't notice how dull they are."[67] Camille Paglia called the film "boring, badly shot and suffused with sentimental p.c. rubbish."[68]
The film earned US$34.83 million on its opening weekend at 2,938 U.S. theaters.[69] Within two weeks, the film's box office gross surpassed its US $103 million budget.[6] The film continued on to become one of the highest earning films of 2000 and made a worldwide box office gross of US$457,640,427, with over US$187 million in American theaters and more than the equivalent of US$269 million in non-US markets.[70]
Accolades[edit]
Main article: List of accolades received by Gladiator
Gladiator was nominated in 36 individual ceremonies, including the 73rd Academy Awards, the BAFTA Awards, and the Golden Globe Awards. Of 119 award nominations, the film won 48 prizes.[71]
The film won five Academy Awards and was nominated for an additional seven, including Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor for Joaquin Phoenix and Best Director for Ridley Scott. It was the first movie to win Best Picture without winning either a directing or screenwriting award since All the King's Men at the 22nd Academy Awards in 1950. In 2003, Chicago became another Best Picture winner which didn't win an Academy Award in either of these two major categories. There was controversy[citation needed] over the film's nomination for Best Music, Original Score. The award was officially nominated only to Hans Zimmer, and not to Lisa Gerrard due to Academy rules, at the time. However, the pair did win the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score as co-composers.
73rd Academy Awards[72] Best Picture
Best Actor in a Leading Role (Russell Crowe)
Best Visual Effects
Best Costume Design
Best Sound Mixing (Bob Beemer, Scott Millan and Ken Weston)
BAFTA Awards Best Cinematography
Best Editing
Best Film
Best Production Design
58th Golden Globe Awards Best Motion Picture – Drama
Best Original Score – Motion Picture
American Film Institute ListsAFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains: General Maximus Decimus Meridius – #50 Hero[73]
AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes: "Father to a murdered son. Husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next." – Nominated[74]
AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores – Nominated[75]
AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – Nominated[76]
AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – Nominated[77]
AFI's 10 Top 10 – Nominated Epic Film[78]
Impact[edit]
The film's mainstream success is responsible for an increased interest in Roman and classical history in the United States. According to The New York Times, this has been dubbed the "Gladiator Effect".

It's called the 'Gladiator' effect by writers and publishers. The snob in us likes to believe that it is always books that spin off movies. Yet in this case, it's the movies – most recently Gladiator two years ago – that have created the interest in the ancients. And not for more Roman screen colossals, but for writing that is serious or fun or both."[79]
The Cicero biography Cicero: The Life and Times of Rome's Greatest Politician and Gregory Hays's translation of Marcus Aurelius's Meditations received large spikes in sales after the release of the film.[79] The film also began a revival of the historical epic genre with films such as Troy, The Alamo, King Arthur, Alexander, 300, Kingdom of Heaven and Robin Hood (the last two were also directed by Scott).[80] The character of Maximus was placed 12th in the Total Film list of 50 best movie heroes and villains[81] and 35th in the Empire's 100 Greatest Movie Characters.[82] Maximus is also featured on 55c "Australian Legends" postage stamp series.[83] Russell Crowe attended a ceremony to mark the creation of the stamps.[83]
Home media[edit]
The film was first released on DVD on November 20, 2000, and has since been released in several different extended and special edition versions. Special features for the Blu-ray Disc and DVDs include deleted scenes, trailers, documentaries, commentaries, storyboards, image galleries, Easter eggs, and cast auditions. The film was released on Blu-ray in September 2009, in a 2-disc edition containing both the theatrical and extended cuts of the film, as part of Paramount's "Sapphire Series" (Paramount bought the DreamWorks library in 2006).[84] Initial reviews of the Blu-ray Disc release criticized poor image quality, leading many to call for it to be remastered, as Sony did with The Fifth Element in 2007.[85] A remastered version was later released in 2010.
The DVD editions that have been released since the original two-disc version, include a film only single-disc edition as well as a three-disc "extended edition" DVD which was released in August 2005. The extended edition DVD features approximately fifteen minutes of additional scenes, most of which appear in the previous release as deleted scenes. The original cut, which Scott still calls his director's cut, is also select-able via seamless branching (which is not included on the UK edition). The DVD is also notable for having a new commentary track featuring director Scott and star Crowe. The film is on the first disc, the second one has a three-hour documentary into the making of the film by DVD producer Charles de Lauzirika, and the third disc contains supplements. Discs one and two of the three-disc extended edition were also repackaged and sold as a two-disc "special edition" in the EU in 2005.
Cancelled sequel[edit]
In June 2001, Douglas Wick said a Gladiator prequel was in development.[86] The following year, Wick, Walter Parkes, David Franzoni, and John Logan switched direction to a sequel set fifteen years later;[87] the Praetorian Guards rule Rome and an older Lucius is trying to learn who his real father was. However, Russell Crowe was interested in resurrecting Maximus, and further researched Roman beliefs about the afterlife to accomplish this.[88] Scott expressed interest, although he admitted the project would have to be retitled as it had little to do with gladiators.[89] An easter egg contained on disc 2 of the extended edition / special edition DVD releases includes a discussion of possible scenarios for a follow-up. This includes a suggestion by Walter F. Parkes that, in order to enable Russell Crowe to return to play Maximus, who dies at the end of the original movie, a sequel could involve a "multi-generational drama about Maximus and the Aureleans and this chapter of Rome", similar in concept to The Godfather Part II.
In 2006, Scott stated he and Crowe approached Nick Cave to rewrite the film, but their ideas conflicted with DreamWorks's idea of a spin-off involving Lucius, whom Scott revealed would turn out to be Maximus's son with Lucilla. Scott noted that a tale of corruption in Rome was too complex, whereas Gladiator worked due to its simple drive.[citation needed] In 2009, details of Cave's ultimately-rejected script surfaced on the internet: the script having Maximus being reincarnated by the Roman gods and returned to Rome to defend Christians against persecution; then transported to other important periods in history, including World War II, the Vietnam War, and finally being a general in the modern-day Pentagon. This script for a sequel, however, was rejected as being too far-fetched, and not in keeping with the spirit and theme of the original film.[90][91]
See also[edit]

Portal icon Film portal
List of films set in ancient Rome
List of historical drama films
List of films featuring slavery
Notes[edit]
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18.Jump up ^ Landau 2000, p. 61
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21.Jump up ^ Landau 2000, p. 68
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28.Jump up ^ Winkler, p.130
29.^ Jump up to: a b c Bath, Matthew (October 25, 2004), The Mill, Digit Magazine, retrieved February 27, 2009
30.Jump up ^ Landau, Diana; Walter Parkes, John Logan, & Ridley Scott (2000), Gladiator: The Making of the Ridley Scott Epic, Newmarket Press, p. 89, ISBN 1-55704-428-7
31.Jump up ^ Landau 2000, p. 122
32.^ Jump up to: a b Landau 2000, p. 123
33.Jump up ^ Oliver Reed Resurrected On Screen, Internet Movie Database, April 12, 2000, retrieved February 27, 2009
34.Jump up ^ Schwartz, p.142
35.Jump up ^ Not Such a Wonderful Life: A Look at History in Gladiator IGN movies February 10, 2000
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37.Jump up ^ Winkler, Martin (2004), Gladiator Film and History, Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, p. 6, ISBN 1-4051-1042-2
38.Jump up ^ Gladiator: The Real Story, retrieved February 27, 2009
39.Jump up ^ Livy. Cincinnatus Leaves His Plow. Taken from The Western World ISBN 0-536-99373-4
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45.Jump up ^ "Commodus". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
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52.Jump up ^ Winkler, p.114
53.Jump up ^ Winkler, p.115
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57.Jump up ^ Winkler, p.141
58.Jump up ^ Anastasia Tsioulcas (October 26, 2003), For Pavarotti, Time To Go 'Pop', Yahoo! Music, retrieved February 27, 2009
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60.Jump up ^ Gladiator, Metacritic, retrieved February 27, 2009
61.Jump up ^ The best – and worst – movie battle scenes, CNN, April 2, 2007, retrieved February 27, 2009
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66.Jump up ^ Geier, Thom; Jensen, Jeff; Jordan, Tina; Lyons, Margaret; Markovitz, Adam; Nashawaty, Chris; Pastorek, Whitney; Rice, Lynette; Rottenberg, Josh; Schwartz, Missy; Slezak, Michael; Snierson, Dan; Stack, Tim; Stroup, Kate; Tucker, Ken; Vary, Adam B.; Vozick-Levinson, Simon; Ward, Kate (December 11, 2009), "The 100 Greatest Movies, TV shows, Albums, Books, Characters, Scenes, Episodes, Songs, Dresses, Music vidos, and Trends that entertained us over the past". Entertainment Weekly. (1079/1080):74-84
67.Jump up ^ Ebert, Roger, 5, 2000 Gladiator Review, Chicago Sun-Times, retrieved February 21, 2013
68.Jump up ^ "Our unimpressive president". salon.com. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
69.Jump up ^ Schwartz, p.141
70.Jump up ^ Gladiator total gross, Box Office Mojo, retrieved February 27, 2009
71.Jump up ^ Gladiator awards tally, Internet Movie Database, retrieved February 27, 2009
72.Jump up ^ "The 73rd Academy Awards (2001) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 2011-11-19.
73.Jump up ^ AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains
74.Jump up ^ AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes Nominees
75.Jump up ^ AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores Nominees
76.Jump up ^ AFI's 100 Years ...100 Cheers Nominees
77.Jump up ^ AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) Ballot
78.Jump up ^ "AFI" (PDF). afi.com. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
79.^ Jump up to: a b Martin, Arnold (July 11, 2002), Making Books; Book Parties With Togas, The New York Times, archived from the original on January 17, 2008, retrieved February 27, 2009
80.Jump up ^ The 15 Most Influential Films of Our Lifetime, Empire, June 2004, p. 115
81.Jump up ^ "The 50 greatest movie heroes and baddies of all time revealed". Thaindian.com. 2007-11-27. Retrieved 2011-06-10.
82.Jump up ^ The 100 Greatest Movie Characters Empire
83.^ Jump up to: a b "Oscar winning Aussies go postal". BBC News. 2009-02-03. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
84.Jump up ^ Gladiator, Blu-ray.com, retrieved 2009-05-16
85.Jump up ^ Initial "Gladiator" Blu-ray Reviews Report Picture Quality Issues, Netflix, retrieved 2009-09-11
86.Jump up ^ Stax (June 16, 2001), "IGN FilmForce Exclusive: David Franzoni in Negotiations for Another Gladiator!", IGN, retrieved February 27, 2009
87.Jump up ^ Brian Linder (September 24, 2002), "A Hero Will Rise... Again", IGN, retrieved February 27, 2009
88.Jump up ^ Stax (December 17, 2002), "A Hero Will Rise – From the Dead!", IGN, retrieved February 27, 2009
89.Jump up ^ Stax (September 11, 2003), "Ridley Talks Gladiator 2", IGN, retrieved February 27, 2009
90.Jump up ^ Michaels, Sean (May 6, 2009). "Nick Cave's rejected Gladiator 2 script uncovered!". The Guardian (London). Retrieved May 3, 2010.
91.Jump up ^ Cave, Nick, Gladiator 2 Draft, retrieved 16 May 2010
References[edit]
Landau, Diana; Walter Parkes, John Logan, and Ridley Scott (2000), Gladiator: The Making of the Ridley Scott Epic, Newmarket Press, ISBN 1-55704-428-7
Further reading[edit]
Reynolds, Mike (July 2000), "Ridley Scott: From Blade Runner to Blade Stunner", DGA Monthly Magazine (Directors Guild of America)
Schwartz, Richard (2001). The Films of Ridley Scott. Westport, CT: Praeger. ISBN 0-275-96976-2
Stephens, William (2001), "The Rebirth of Stoicism?", Creighton Magazine, retrieved 2010-01-04
Stephens, William (2012). "Appendix: Marcus, Maximus, and Stoicism in Gladiator (2000)", in Marcus Aurelius: A Guide for the Perplexed. London: Continuum. ISBN 978-1-4411-0810-4
Ward, Allen (2001), "The Movie 'Gladiator' in Historical Perspective", Classics Technology Center (AbleMedia), retrieved 2007-01-26
Winkler, Martin (2004). Gladiator Film and History. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 1-4051-1042-2
External links[edit]
 Wikiquote has quotations related to: Gladiator (2000 film)
Gladiator at the American Film Institute Catalog
Gladiator at the Internet Movie Database
Gladiator at AllMovie
Gladiator at Box Office Mojo
Gladiator at Metacritic
Gladiator at Rotten Tomatoes
David Franzoni (1998-04-04), Gladiator: First Draft Revised, archived from the original on 2008-03-16
David Franzoni and John Logan (1998-10-22), Gladiator: Second Draft Revised, archived from the original on 2008-03-12


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Gladiator (2000 film)

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Gladiator
A man standing at the center of the image is wearing armor and is holding a sword in his right hand. In the background is the top of the Colosseum with a barely visible crowd standing in it. The poster includes the film's title, cast credits and release date.
Theatrical release poster

Directed by
Ridley Scott
Produced by
Douglas Wick
David Franzoni
Branko Lustig
Screenplay by
David Franzoni
John Logan
William Nicholson
Story by
David Franzoni
Starring
Russell Crowe
Joaquin Phoenix
Connie Nielsen
Oliver Reed
Derek Jacobi
Djimon Hounsou
Richard Harris
Music by
Hans Zimmer
Lisa Gerrard
Cinematography
John Mathieson
Edited by
Pietro Scalia

Production
 company

Scott Free Productions
Red Wagon Entertainment[1]

Distributed by
DreamWorks Pictures (North America)
Universal Pictures (International)

Release dates

May 1, 2000 (Los Angeles)
May 5, 2000 (United States)
May 12, 2000 (United Kingdom)


Running time
 155 minutes[2] (Theatrical cut)
 164 minutes[3] (Director's cut)
Country
United States[4]
 United Kingdom[5]
Language
English
Budget
$103 million[6][7]
Box office
$457.6 million[8]
Gladiator is a 2000 American-British epic historical drama film directed by Ridley Scott, starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Ralf Möller, Oliver Reed (in his final film role), Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, John Shrapnel, and Richard Harris. Crowe portrays the fictional character, loyal Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius, who is betrayed when Commodus, the ambitious son of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, murders his father and seizes the throne. Reduced to slavery, Maximus rises through the ranks of the gladiatorial arena to avenge the murders of his family and his emperor.
Released in the United States on May 5, 2000, Gladiator was a box office success, received generally positive reviews, and was credited with rekindling interest in the historical epic. The film won multiple awards, notably five Academy Awards in the 73rd Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Actor for Crowe.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Production 3.1 Screenplay
3.2 Pre-production
3.3 Filming
3.4 Post-production
4 Historical authenticity 4.1 Development
4.2 Fictionalization
4.3 Anachronisms
5 Influences
6 Music
7 Reception 7.1 Accolades
8 Impact
9 Home media
10 Cancelled sequel
11 See also
12 Notes
13 References
14 Further reading
15 External links

Plot[edit]
In AD 180, Spanish-Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius leads the Roman army to a decisive victory against the Germanic tribes near Vindobona, ending a long war on the Roman frontier and winning the favor of Emperor Marcus Aurelius. The emperor is already old and dying, and although he has a son, Commodus, he asks Maximus to succeed him as a regent and turn Rome back into a republic. The emperor speaks with Commodus afterwards and attempts to explain his decision. A weeping Commodus retorts that Marcus Aurelius never valued his son, and he kills the emperor.
Maximus is confronted by Commodus, who asks for Maximus' loyalty, but the general suspects his plot and refuses. General Quintus, a subordinate and old friend to Maximus, chooses to follow Commodus' orders and sends men to the Roman province of Spain to kill Maximus' wife and son on their farm estate. Maximus manages to escape his own execution and makes the long journey to his farm on horseback, but finds his family already dead and their bodies crucified. He buries them and collapses in despair. A passing slave caravan captures Maximus, assuming he is a deserter. Maximus is taken to Zucchabar, in the North African province of Mauretania. He is sold to a man named Proximo, who uses him as a gladiator.
Although reluctant to fight at first, Maximus is forced to fight in local tournaments and wins every match because of his military skills and traumatized indifference to death. He befriends Proximo's other gladiators, including a Numidian named Juba and a German named Hagen. Maximus' successes allow Proximo to bring the team to the Roman Colosseum, where now-Emperor Commodus has organized 150 days of games to honor his late father. Proximo explains to Maximus that he was himself a gladiator who fought well enough in the Colosseum to win his freedom, granted to him by Marcus Aurelius himself. Maximus realizes that if he fights well enough in the Colosseum he may have a chance to personally meet the Emperor, providing a chance to kill Commodus.
Having arrived at the Colosseum, Proximo's team is put in a match meant to reenact the Battle of Zama. Maximus and his teammates are on foot, armed with spears and shields, against a cohesive and well-equipped force of mounted fighters and archers in chariots. Through Maximus' leadership, however, the team is able to destroy their opponents, despite having to play the role of the defeated in the reenactment. Commodus comes into the arena to personally congratulate "the Spaniard" (Maximus) on his victory. Maximus braces himself to kill Commodus, but at the last moment decides against it because of the presence of Commodus' young nephew Lucius Verus. At this point, Maximus removes his helmet and reveals himself to the startled Commodus, and promises to exact vengeance against him. While a stunned Commodus longs to execute the former general on the spot, he cannot as the vast arena crowd chants "Live!" repeatedly, demonstrating their support for Maximus.
Commodus tries to have Maximus killed by paying Tigris of Gaul, a former gladiator who earned his freedom by never being defeated, to come back and fight Maximus. During the match, Colosseum staff approach Maximus from behind, holding tigers by the leash, in order to put Maximus at a disadvantage. Against all expectations, Maximus wins, but spares Tigris' life despite the crowd and Commodus urging he kill his opponent. He is then declared by the crowd to be "Maximus the Merciful", further angering Commodus. Face to face, the emperor taunts Maximus with harrowing details of how his family died. Maximus responds by turning his back on Commodus and walking away.
As Maximus is being escorted back to the gladiator's quarters, his former orderly Cicero approaches him and says that Maximus still has the loyalty of the Legion, encamped near Rome. Commodus' sister Lucilla and the senator Gracchus secure a meeting with Maximus, and Maximus obtains their promise to help him escape Rome, rejoin his soldiers, topple Commodus by force, and hand over power to the Senate. Commodus, however, suspects a plot and forces Lucilla to confess it by threatening to kill her son Lucius. Praetorians close in upon the gladiator quarters before Maximus can leave. Proximo refuses to open the gate, enabling Maximus to escape. When the Praetorians break through, Proximo's gladiators assault them in order to give Maximus more time. The Praetorians kill Hagen and execute Proximo. Maximus reaches the rendezvous but more Praetorians are waiting. Cicero is killed and Maximus is captured.
Desperate to kill Maximus and to restore his own standing, Commodus arranges a public duel between them. Before the fight begins, Commodus stabs the chained Maximus in the side, leaving him severely weakened, but also admits obliquely to killing his own father, in Quintus' presence. During the fight, Maximus manages to evade Commodus' blows and disarm him. Commodus asks the Praetorians to give him a sword, but Quintus orders the guards to sheathe their weapons. Commodus produces a hidden stiletto, but Maximus turns the blade back into Commodus' throat, killing him.
Maximus succumbs to the stab wound, asking with his last words that reforms be made, his gladiator allies freed, and that Senator Gracchus be reinstated. As he dies, he has a vision of walking through a gate into a field of grain and of being finally reunited with his wife and son in the afterlife. At the behest of Lucilla, the gladiators, Lucius, Quintus, and Gracchus carry out Maximus' body for an honorable funeral as a "soldier of Rome", leaving Commodus behind in the dirt. Some time later, Juba revisits the Colosseum at night, and he buries Maximus' small figurines of his wife and son at the spot where he died. Juba promises that he will see Maximus again, "but not yet".
Cast[edit]
Russell Crowe as Maximus Decimus Meridius: a Hispano-Roman legatus forced into becoming a slave who seeks revenge against Commodus. He has earned the favor of Marcus Aurelius, and the love and admiration of Lucilla prior to the events of the film. His home is near Trujillo[9] in today's Province of Cáceres, Spain. After the murder of his family he vows vengeance. Maximus is a fictional character partly inspired by Marcus Nonius Macrinus, Narcissus, Cincinnatus, and Maximus of Hispania. Mel Gibson was first offered the role, but declined as he felt he was too old to play the character. Antonio Banderas and Hugh Jackman were also considered.[citation needed]
Joaquin Phoenix as Commodus: The corrupted, twisted and immoral son of Marcus Aurelius, he murders his father when he learns that Maximus will hold the emperor's powers in trust until a new republic can be formed.
Connie Nielsen as Lucilla: Maximus's former lover and the older child of Marcus Aurelius. Lucilla has been recently widowed. She resists her brother's incestuous advances for she hates him, while also having to be careful to protect her son, Lucius, from her brother's corruption and wrath.
Oliver Reed as Antonius Proximo: An old, gruff gladiator trainer who buys Maximus in North Africa. A former gladiator himself, he was freed by Marcus Aurelius, and gives Maximus his own armor and eventually a chance at freedom. This was Reed's final film; he died during filming. In the original script, Proximo was supposed to live.
Derek Jacobi as Senator Gracchus: A member of the Roman Senate who opposes Commodus's rule and an ally of Lucilla and Maximus.
Djimon Hounsou as Juba: A Numidian tribesman who was taken from his home and family by slave traders. He becomes Maximus's closest ally and friend.
David Schofield as Senator Falco: A Patrician, a senator opposed to Gracchus. He helps Commodus to consolidate his power.
John Shrapnel as Senator Gaius: Another Roman senator allied with Gracchus, Lucilla, and Maximus against Commodus.
Tomas Arana as General Quintus: another Roman legatus, who served under and was a friend to Maximus. Made commander of the Praetorian Guard by Commodus, after betraying Maximus. In the extended version, Quintus sees the mad side of the Emperor when he is forced to execute two innocent men. Quintus later redeems himself by refusing to allow Commodus a sword during his duel with Maximus.
Ralf Möller as Hagen: A Germanic warrior and Proximo's chief gladiator who later befriends Maximus and Juba during their battles in Rome.
Spencer Treat Clark as Lucius Verus: The young son of Lucilla. He is named after his father Lucius Verus. He is also the grandson of Marcus Aurelius.
David Hemmings as Cassius: the master of ceremonies for the gladiatorial games in the Colosseum.
Tommy Flanagan as Cicero: Maximus's loyal servant who provides liaison between the enslaved Maximus, his former legion based at Ostia, and Lucilla. He is used as bait for the escaping Maximus and eventually killed by the Praetorian Guard.
Sven-Ole Thorsen as Tigris of Gaul: An undefeated champion gladiator who is called out of retirement by Commodus to kill Maximus but is defeated, yet not killed, by Maximus. Dolph Lundgren was initially considered for the role.
Richard Harris as Marcus Aurelius: The old and wise emperor of Rome who appoints Maximus, whom he loves as a son, with the ultimate aim of returning Rome to a republican form of government. He is murdered by his son Commodus before his wish can be fulfilled.
Omid Djalili as a slave trader.
Giannina Facio as Maximus's wife.
Giorgio Cantarini as Maximus's son who is the same age as Lucilla's son Lucius.
Production[edit]
Screenplay[edit]
Gladiator was based on an original pitch by David Franzoni, who wrote the first draft.[10] Franzoni was given a three-picture deal with DreamWorks as writer and co-producer on the strength of his previous work, Steven Spielberg's Amistad, which helped establish the reputation of DreamWorks. Not a classical scholar, Franzoni was inspired by Daniel P. Mannix’s 1958 novel Those About to Die, and he chose to base his story on Commodus after reading the Augustan History. In Franzoni's first draft, dated April 4, 1998, he named his protagonist Narcissus, a wrestler who, according to the ancient sources Herodian and Cassius Dio, strangled Emperor Commodus to death.[11]

Several dead men and various scattered weapons are located in a large arena. Near the center of the image is a man wearing armor standing in the middle of an arena looking up at a large crowd. The man has his right foot on the throat of an injured man who is reaching towards the crowd. Members of the crowd are indicating a "thumbs down" gesture. The arena is adorned with marble, columns, flags, and statues.

Pollice Verso (Thumbs Down) by Jean-Léon Gérôme, the 19th-century painting that inspired Ridley Scott to tackle the project.
Ridley Scott was approached by producers Walter F. Parkes and Douglas Wick. They showed him a copy of Jean-Léon Gérôme's 1872 painting entitled Pollice Verso (Thumbs Down).[12] Scott was enticed by filming the world of Ancient Rome. However, Scott felt Franzoni's dialogue was too "on the nose" (lacking subtlety) and hired John Logan to rewrite the script to his liking. Logan rewrote much of the first act, and made the decision to kill off Maximus's family to increase the character's motivation.[13]
Russell Crowe describes being eager for the role as pitched by Walter F. Parkes, in his interview for Inside the Actors Studio: "They said, 'It's a 100-million-dollar film. You're being directed by Ridley Scott. You play a Roman General.' I've always been a big fan of Ridley's."[14]
With two weeks to go before filming, the actors complained of problems with the script. William Nicholson was brought to Shepperton Studios to make Maximus a more sensitive character, reworking his friendship with Juba and developed the afterlife thread in the film, saying "he did not want to see a film about a man who wanted to kill somebody."[13]
The screenplay faced many rewrites and revisions. Crowe allegedly questioned every aspect of the evolving script and strode off the set when he did not get answers. According to a DreamWorks executive, "(Russell Crowe) tried to rewrite the entire script on the spot. You know the big line in the trailer, 'In this life or the next, I will have my vengeance'? At first he absolutely refused to say it."[15] Nicholson, the third and final screenwriter, says Crowe told him, "Your lines are garbage but I'm the greatest actor in the world, and I can make even garbage sound good." Nicholson goes on to say that "probably my lines were garbage, so he was just talking straight."[16]
Russell Crowe described the script situation: "I read the script and it was substantially underdone. Even the character didn't exist on the pages. And that set about a long process, that's probably the first time that I've been in a situation where the script wasn't a complete done deal. We actually started shooting with about 32 pages and went through them in the first couple of weeks."[14]
Of the writing/filming process, Crowe added, "Possibly, a lot of the stuff that I have to deal with now in terms of my quote unquote volatility has to do with that experience. Here was a situation where we got to Morocco with a crew of 200 and a cast of a 100 or whatever, and I didn't have anything to learn. I actually didn't know what the scenes were gonna be. We had, I think, one American writer working on it, one English writer working on it, and of course a group of producers who were also adding their ideas, and then Ridley himself; and then, on the occasion where Ridley would say, 'Look, this is the structure for it -- what are you gonna say in that?' So then I'd be doing my own stuff, as well. And this is how things like, 'Strength and honor,' came up. This is how things like, 'At my signal, unleash hell,' came up. The name Maximus Decimus Meridius, it just flowed well."[14]
Pre-production[edit]
In preparation for filming, Scott spent several months developing storyboards to develop the framework of the plot.[17] Over six weeks, production members scouted various locations within the extent of the Roman Empire before its collapse, including Italy, France, North Africa, and England.[18] All of the film's props, sets, and costumes were manufactured by crew members due to high costs and unavailability of the items.[19] One hundred suits of steel armour and 550 suits in polyurethane were made by Rod Vass and his company Armordillo. The unique sprayed-polyurethane system was developed by Armordillo and pioneered for this production. Over a three-month period, 27,500 component pieces of armor were made.[citation needed]
Filming[edit]
The film was shot in three main locations between January–May 1999. The opening battle scenes in the forests of Germania were shot in three weeks in the Bourne Woods, near Farnham, Surrey in England.[20] When Scott learned that the Forestry Commission planned to remove the forest, he convinced them to allow the battle scene to be shot there and burn it down.[21] Scott and cinematographer John Mathieson used multiple cameras filming at various frame rates and a 45-degree shutter, creating stop motion effects in the action sequences, similar to techniques used for the battle sequences of Saving Private Ryan (1998).[22] Subsequently, the scenes of slavery, desert travel, and gladiatorial training school were shot in Ouarzazate, Morocco just south of the Atlas Mountains over a further three weeks.[23] To construct the arena where Maximus has his first fights, the crew used basic materials and local building techniques to manufacture the 30,000-seat mud brick arena.[24] Finally, the scenes of Ancient Rome were shot over a period of nineteen weeks in Fort Ricasoli, Malta.[25][26]
In Malta, a replica of about one-third of Rome's Colosseum was built, to a height of 52 feet (15.8 meters), mostly from plaster and plywood (the other two-thirds and remaining height were added digitally).[27] The replica took several months to build and cost an estimated $1 million.[28] The reverse side of the complex supplied a rich assortment of Ancient Roman street furniture, colonnades, gates, statuary, and marketplaces for other filming requirements. The complex was serviced by tented "costume villages" that had changing rooms, storage, armorers, and other facilities.[25] The rest of the Colosseum was created in computer-generated imagery using set-design blueprints and textures referenced from live action, and rendered in three layers to provide lighting flexibility for compositing in Flame and Inferno software.[29]
Post-production[edit]

Men in white robes with the Colosseum in the background.

 Several scenes included extensive use of computer-generated imagery shots for views of Rome.
British post-production company The Mill was responsible for much of the computer-generated imagery effects that were added after filming. The company was responsible for such tricks as compositing real tigers filmed on bluescreen into the fight sequences, and adding smoke trails and extending the flight paths of the opening scene's salvo of flaming arrows to get around regulations on how far they could be shot during filming. They also used 2,000 live actors to create a computer-generated crowd of 35,000 virtual actors that had to look believable and react to fight scenes.[30] The Mill accomplished this by shooting live actors at different angles giving various performances, and then mapping them onto cards, with motion-capture tools used to track their movements for three-dimensional compositing.[29] The Mill created over 90 visual effects shots, comprising approximately nine minutes of the film's running time.[31]
An unexpected post-production job was caused by the death of Oliver Reed of a heart attack during the filming in Malta, before all his scenes had been shot. The Mill created a digital body double for the remaining scenes involving his character Proximo[29][dead link] by photographing a live action body-double in the shadows and by mapping a three-dimensional computer-generated imagery mask of Reed's face to the remaining scenes during production at an estimated cost of $3.2 million for two minutes of additional footage.[32][33] Visual effects supervisor John Nelson reflected on the decision to include the additional footage: "What we did was small compared to our other tasks on the film. What Oliver did was much greater. He gave an inspiring, moving performance. All we did was help him finish it."[32] The film is dedicated to Reed's memory.[34]
Historical authenticity[edit]



 The Numidian king Juba. The Numidians were most likely of Berber origin, instead of Sub-saharan origin.
Development[edit]
The film is loosely based on real events that occurred within the Roman empire in the latter half of the 2nd Century AD. As Ridley Scott wanted to portray Roman culture more accurately than in any previous film, he hired several historians as advisors. Nevertheless some deviations from historical fact were made to increase interest, maintain narrative continuity, and for practical or safety reasons. Scott also stated that due to the influence of previous films affecting the public perception of what ancient Rome was like, some historical facts were "too unbelievable" to include. For instance in an early version of the script, gladiators would have been carrying out product endorsements in the arena; while this would have been historically accurate, it was not filmed for fear that audiences would think it anachronistic.[35]
At least one historical advisor resigned due to these changes. Another asked not to be mentioned in the credits (though it was stated in the director's commentary that he constantly asked, "where is the proof that certain things were exactly like they say?"). Historian Allen Ward of the University of Connecticut believed that historical accuracy would not have made Gladiator less interesting or exciting because "creative artists need to be granted some poetic license, but that should not be a permit for the wholesale disregard of facts in historical fiction".[36][37]
Fictionalization[edit]
Marcus Aurelius died at Vindobona (a Roman camp on the site of modern-day Vienna in Austria) in 180 AD; he was not murdered by his son Commodus following the final battle of the Marcomannic Wars. In reality Marcus Aurelius gave succession to his immoral son. In doing so the great philosopher emperor ended the beneficent tradition of previous Adoptive Emperors.
The character of Maximus is fictional, although in some respects he resembles the historical figures Narcissus (Commodus's real-life murderer and the character's name in the first draft of the screenplay),[38] Spartacus (who led a significant slave revolt), Cincinnatus (a farmer who became dictator, saved Rome from invasion, then resigned his six-month appointment after 15 days),[39][40] and Marcus Nonius Macrinus (a trusted general, Consul in 154 AD, and friend of Marcus Aurelius).[41][42][43] Although Commodus engaged in show combat in the Colosseum he was not killed in the arena, he was strangled in his bath by the wrestler Narcissus. Commodus reigned for over twelve years unlike the shorter period portrayed in the film.[44][45]
The character of Maximus had a similar career (and personality traits as documented by Herodian) to Claudius Pompeianus (a Syrian) who married Marcus Aurelius' daughter Lucilla following the death of Lucius Verus. It is believed Aurelius may have wanted Pompeianus to succeed him as Caesar in preference to Commodus but was turned down. Pompeianus had no part in any of the many plots against Commodus. He was not depicted in the film.[36]
In the film the character Antonius Proximo claims "the wise" Marcus Aurelius banned gladiatorial games in Rome forcing him to move to the Mauretania colonies in North Africa. The real Marcus did ban the games but only in Antioch as punishment for the city's support of the rebel Avidius Cassius. No games were ever banned in Rome. However when the Emperor started conscripting gladiators into the legions, the resulting shortage in fighters allowed Lanistas such as Proximo to make "windfall" profits through increased charges for their services.[46]
Anachronisms[edit]
Costumes within the film are almost never completely historically correct. Some of the soldiers wear fantasy helmets. The bands wrapped around their lower arms were rarely ever worn. Their appearance is the product of historical movies always depicting peoples of antiquity wearing such bands. Although the film is set within the 2nd century AD, the Imperial Gallic armor and the helmets worn by the legionaries is from 75 AD, a century earlier. This was superseded by new designs in 100 AD. Likewise the Legions' standard bearers (Aquilifer), centurions, mounted forces, and auxiliaries would have worn scale armour: Lorica squamata.[47][not in citation given] The Germanic tribes are dressed in clothes from the stone-age period.[48]
The Roman cavalry are shown attacking using stirrups. This is anachronistic as the horse-mounted forces of the Roman army used a two-horned saddle. Stirrups were only employed for safety reasons because of the additional training and skill required to ride with a Roman saddle.[46][49] Catapults and ballistae would not have been used in a forest. They were reserved primarily for sieges and were rarely used in open battles.[46]
In the bird's eye view of Rome when the city is introduced for the first time there are several buildings that did not exist at the time of Gladiator. For example, the Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine is quite prominent; however, it was not completed until 312 AD.
Influences[edit]
The film's plot was influenced by two 1960s Hollywood films of the sword-and-sandal genre, The Fall of the Roman Empire and Spartacus,[50] and shares several plot points with The Fall of the Roman Empire, which tells the story of Livius, who, like Maximus in Gladiator, is Marcus Aurelius's intended successor. Livius is in love with Lucilla and seeks to marry her while Maximus, who is happily married, was formerly in love with her. Both films portray the death of Marcus Aurelius as an assassination. In Fall of the Roman Empire a group of conspirators independent of Commodus, hoping to profit from Commodus's accession, arrange for Marcus Aurelius to be poisoned; in Gladiator Commodus himself murders his father by smothering him. In the course of Fall of the Roman Empire Commodus unsuccessfully seeks to win Livius over to his vision of empire in contrast to that of his father, but continues to employ him notwithstanding; in Gladiator, when Commodus fails to secure Maximus's allegiance, he executes Maximus's wife and son and tries unsuccessfully to execute him. Livius in Fall of the Roman Empire and Maximus in Gladiator kill Commodus in single combat, Livius to save Lucilla and Maximus to avenge the murder of his wife and son, and both do it for the greater good of Rome.
Scott attributed Spartacus and Ben-Hur as influences on the film: "These movies were part of my cinema-going youth. But at the dawn of the new millennium, I thought this might be the ideal time to revisit what may have been the most important period of the last two thousand years – if not all recorded history – the apex and beginning of the decline of the greatest military and political power the world has ever known."[51]
Spartacus provides the film's gladiatorial motif, as well as the character of Senator Gracchus, a fictitious senator (bearing the name of a pair of revolutionary Tribunes from the 2nd century BC) who in both films is an elder statesman of ancient Rome attempting to preserve the ancient rights of the Roman Senate in the face of an ambitious autocrat –Marcus Licinius Crassus in Spartacus and Commodus in Gladiator. Both actors who played Gracchus (in Spartacus and Gladiator), played Claudius in previous films – Charles Laughton of Spartacus played Claudius in the unfinished 1937 film I, Claudius and Sir Derek Jacobi of Gladiator, played Claudius in the 1976 BBC adaptation. Both films also share a specific set piece, wherein a gladiator (Maximus here, Woody Strode's Draba in Spartacus) throws his weapon into a spectator box at the end of a match, as well as at least one line of dialogue: "Rome is the mob", said here by Gracchus and by Julius Caesar (John Gavin) in Spartacus.
The film's depiction of Commodus's entry into Rome borrows imagery from Leni Riefenstahl's Nazi propaganda film Triumph of the Will (1935), although Scott has pointed out that the iconography of Nazi rallies was itself inspired by the Roman Empire. Gladiator reflects back on the film by duplicating similar events that occurred in Adolf Hitler's procession. The Nazi film opens with an aerial view of Hitler arriving in a plane, while Scott shows an aerial view of Rome, quickly followed by a shot of the large crowd of people watching Commodus pass them in a procession with his chariot.[52] The first thing to appear in Triumph of the Will is a Nazi eagle, which is alluded to when a statue of an eagle sits atop one of the arches (and then is shortly followed by several more decorative eagles throughout the rest of the scene) leading up to the procession of Commodus. At one point in the Nazi film, a little girl gives flowers to Hitler, while Commodus is met by several girls who all give him bundles of flowers.[53]
Music[edit]
Main article: Gladiator (soundtrack)




Gladiator – "Battle"







A clip from the score of the 2000 film Gladiator.

Problems playing this file? See media help.




Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard – "Now We Are Free"







listen to a clip from the score of Gladiator.

Problems playing this file? See media help.
The Oscar-nominated score was composed by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard, and conducted by Gavin Greenaway. Zimmer was originally planning to use Israeli vocalist Ofra Haza for the score, after his work with her in The Prince of Egypt. However, Ofra died in her early 40s in late February 2000, before she was able to record, and so Gerrard was chosen instead. Lisa Gerrard's vocals are similar to her own work on The Insider score.[54] The music for many of the battle scenes has been noted as similar to Gustav Holst's "Mars: The Bringer of War", and in June 2006, the Holst Foundation sued Hans Zimmer for allegedly copying the late Holst's work.[55][56] Another close musical resemblance occurs in the scene of Commodus's triumphal entry into Rome, accompanied by music clearly evocative of two sections – the Prelude to Das Rheingold and Siegfried's Funeral March from Götterdämmerung – from Wagner's Ring of the Nibelungs. On February 27, 2001, nearly a year after the first soundtrack's release, Decca produced Gladiator: More Music From the Motion Picture. Then, on September 5, 2005, Decca produced Gladiator: Special Anniversary Edition, a two-CD pack containing both the above-mentioned releases. Some of the music from the film was featured in the NFL playoffs in January 2003 before commercial breaks and before and after half-time.[57] In 2003, Luciano Pavarotti released a recording of himself singing a song from the film and said he regretted turning down an offer to perform on the soundtrack.[58] The soundtrack is one of the best selling film scores of all time[citation needed].
Reception[edit]
Gladiator received mostly positive reviews, with 76% of the critics polled by Rotten Tomatoes giving it favorable reviews, with an averaged score of 7 out of 10.[59] At the website Metacritic, which employs a normalized rating system, the film earned a favorable rating of 64/100 based on 37 reviews by mainstream critics.[60] The Battle of Germania was cited by CNN as one of their "favorite on-screen battle scenes",[61] while Entertainment Weekly named Maximus as their sixth favorite action hero, because of "Crowe's steely, soulful performance",[62] and named it as their third favorite revenge film.[63] In December 2000, Gladiator was named the best film of the year by viewers of Film 2000, taking 40% of the votes.[64] In 2002, a Channel 4 (UK TV) poll named it as the sixth greatest film of all time.[65] Entertainment Weekly put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "Are you not entertained?".[66]
It was not without its deriders. Roger Ebert gave the film 2 out of 4 stars, and criticized the look of the film as "muddy, fuzzy, and indistinct." He also derided the writing, claiming it "employs depression as a substitute for personality, and believes that if characters are bitter and morose enough, we won't notice how dull they are."[67] Camille Paglia called the film "boring, badly shot and suffused with sentimental p.c. rubbish."[68]
The film earned US$34.83 million on its opening weekend at 2,938 U.S. theaters.[69] Within two weeks, the film's box office gross surpassed its US $103 million budget.[6] The film continued on to become one of the highest earning films of 2000 and made a worldwide box office gross of US$457,640,427, with over US$187 million in American theaters and more than the equivalent of US$269 million in non-US markets.[70]
Accolades[edit]
Main article: List of accolades received by Gladiator
Gladiator was nominated in 36 individual ceremonies, including the 73rd Academy Awards, the BAFTA Awards, and the Golden Globe Awards. Of 119 award nominations, the film won 48 prizes.[71]
The film won five Academy Awards and was nominated for an additional seven, including Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor for Joaquin Phoenix and Best Director for Ridley Scott. It was the first movie to win Best Picture without winning either a directing or screenwriting award since All the King's Men at the 22nd Academy Awards in 1950. In 2003, Chicago became another Best Picture winner which didn't win an Academy Award in either of these two major categories. There was controversy[citation needed] over the film's nomination for Best Music, Original Score. The award was officially nominated only to Hans Zimmer, and not to Lisa Gerrard due to Academy rules, at the time. However, the pair did win the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score as co-composers.
73rd Academy Awards[72] Best Picture
Best Actor in a Leading Role (Russell Crowe)
Best Visual Effects
Best Costume Design
Best Sound Mixing (Bob Beemer, Scott Millan and Ken Weston)
BAFTA Awards Best Cinematography
Best Editing
Best Film
Best Production Design
58th Golden Globe Awards Best Motion Picture – Drama
Best Original Score – Motion Picture
American Film Institute ListsAFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains: General Maximus Decimus Meridius – #50 Hero[73]
AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes: "Father to a murdered son. Husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next." – Nominated[74]
AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores – Nominated[75]
AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – Nominated[76]
AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – Nominated[77]
AFI's 10 Top 10 – Nominated Epic Film[78]
Impact[edit]
The film's mainstream success is responsible for an increased interest in Roman and classical history in the United States. According to The New York Times, this has been dubbed the "Gladiator Effect".

It's called the 'Gladiator' effect by writers and publishers. The snob in us likes to believe that it is always books that spin off movies. Yet in this case, it's the movies – most recently Gladiator two years ago – that have created the interest in the ancients. And not for more Roman screen colossals, but for writing that is serious or fun or both."[79]
The Cicero biography Cicero: The Life and Times of Rome's Greatest Politician and Gregory Hays's translation of Marcus Aurelius's Meditations received large spikes in sales after the release of the film.[79] The film also began a revival of the historical epic genre with films such as Troy, The Alamo, King Arthur, Alexander, 300, Kingdom of Heaven and Robin Hood (the last two were also directed by Scott).[80] The character of Maximus was placed 12th in the Total Film list of 50 best movie heroes and villains[81] and 35th in the Empire's 100 Greatest Movie Characters.[82] Maximus is also featured on 55c "Australian Legends" postage stamp series.[83] Russell Crowe attended a ceremony to mark the creation of the stamps.[83]
Home media[edit]
The film was first released on DVD on November 20, 2000, and has since been released in several different extended and special edition versions. Special features for the Blu-ray Disc and DVDs include deleted scenes, trailers, documentaries, commentaries, storyboards, image galleries, Easter eggs, and cast auditions. The film was released on Blu-ray in September 2009, in a 2-disc edition containing both the theatrical and extended cuts of the film, as part of Paramount's "Sapphire Series" (Paramount bought the DreamWorks library in 2006).[84] Initial reviews of the Blu-ray Disc release criticized poor image quality, leading many to call for it to be remastered, as Sony did with The Fifth Element in 2007.[85] A remastered version was later released in 2010.
The DVD editions that have been released since the original two-disc version, include a film only single-disc edition as well as a three-disc "extended edition" DVD which was released in August 2005. The extended edition DVD features approximately fifteen minutes of additional scenes, most of which appear in the previous release as deleted scenes. The original cut, which Scott still calls his director's cut, is also select-able via seamless branching (which is not included on the UK edition). The DVD is also notable for having a new commentary track featuring director Scott and star Crowe. The film is on the first disc, the second one has a three-hour documentary into the making of the film by DVD producer Charles de Lauzirika, and the third disc contains supplements. Discs one and two of the three-disc extended edition were also repackaged and sold as a two-disc "special edition" in the EU in 2005.
Cancelled sequel[edit]
In June 2001, Douglas Wick said a Gladiator prequel was in development.[86] The following year, Wick, Walter Parkes, David Franzoni, and John Logan switched direction to a sequel set fifteen years later;[87] the Praetorian Guards rule Rome and an older Lucius is trying to learn who his real father was. However, Russell Crowe was interested in resurrecting Maximus, and further researched Roman beliefs about the afterlife to accomplish this.[88] Scott expressed interest, although he admitted the project would have to be retitled as it had little to do with gladiators.[89] An easter egg contained on disc 2 of the extended edition / special edition DVD releases includes a discussion of possible scenarios for a follow-up. This includes a suggestion by Walter F. Parkes that, in order to enable Russell Crowe to return to play Maximus, who dies at the end of the original movie, a sequel could involve a "multi-generational drama about Maximus and the Aureleans and this chapter of Rome", similar in concept to The Godfather Part II.
In 2006, Scott stated he and Crowe approached Nick Cave to rewrite the film, but their ideas conflicted with DreamWorks's idea of a spin-off involving Lucius, whom Scott revealed would turn out to be Maximus's son with Lucilla. Scott noted that a tale of corruption in Rome was too complex, whereas Gladiator worked due to its simple drive.[citation needed] In 2009, details of Cave's ultimately-rejected script surfaced on the internet: the script having Maximus being reincarnated by the Roman gods and returned to Rome to defend Christians against persecution; then transported to other important periods in history, including World War II, the Vietnam War, and finally being a general in the modern-day Pentagon. This script for a sequel, however, was rejected as being too far-fetched, and not in keeping with the spirit and theme of the original film.[90][91]
See also[edit]

Portal icon Film portal
List of films set in ancient Rome
List of historical drama films
List of films featuring slavery
Notes[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "Company Information". movies.nytimes.com. Retrieved July 30, 2010.
2.Jump up ^ "GLADIATOR (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 2000-04-19. Retrieved 2013-06-02.
3.Jump up ^ "GLADIATOR [Director's cut] (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 2005-08-05. Retrieved 2013-06-02.
4.Jump up ^ "Gladiator". AFI. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
5.Jump up ^ "Gladiator". BFI. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
6.^ Jump up to: a b Sale, Martha Lair; Paula Diane Parker (2005), Losing Like Forrest Gump: Winners and Losers in the Film Industry (PDF), retrieved 2007-02-19
7.Jump up ^ Schwartz, Richard (2002), The Films of Ridley Scott, Westport, CT: Praeger, p. 141, ISBN 0-275-96976-2
8.Jump up ^ "Gladiator (2000) - Box Office". boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
9.Jump up ^ Script of the movie
10.Jump up ^ Stax (April 4, 2002), The Stax Report's Five Scribes Edition, IGN, retrieved February 27, 2009
11.Jump up ^ Jon Solomon (April 1, 2004), "Gladiator from Screenplay to Screen", in Martin M. Winkler, Gladiator: Film and History, Blackwell Publishing, p. 3
12.Jump up ^ Landau 2000, p. 22
13.^ Jump up to: a b Tales of the Scribes: Story Development (DVD). Universal. 2005.
14.^ Jump up to: a b c "Inside The Actors Studio - Transcript". kaspinet.com. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
15.Jump up ^ Corliss, Richard; Jeffrey Ressner (May 8, 2000), The Empire Strikes Back, Time, retrieved February 27, 2009
16.Jump up ^ Bill Nicholson’s Speech at the launch of the International Screenwriters' Festival, January 30, 2006, archived from the original on May 17, 2008, retrieved February 27, 2009
17.Jump up ^ Landau 2000, p. 34
18.Jump up ^ Landau 2000, p. 61
19.Jump up ^ Landau 2000, p. 66
20.Jump up ^ Landau 2000, p. 62
21.Jump up ^ Landau 2000, p. 68
22.Jump up ^ Bankston, Douglas (May 2000), "Death or Glory", American Cinematographer (American Society of Cinematographers)
23.Jump up ^ Landau 2000, p. 63
24.Jump up ^ Landau 2000, p. 73
25.^ Jump up to: a b Gory glory in the Colosseum, Kodak: In Camera, July 2000, archived from the original on 2005-02-09, retrieved February 27, 2009
26.Jump up ^ Malta Film Commission – Backlots, Malta Film Commission, retrieved 28 August 2009
27.Jump up ^ Landau 2000, p. 89
28.Jump up ^ Winkler, p.130
29.^ Jump up to: a b c Bath, Matthew (October 25, 2004), The Mill, Digit Magazine, retrieved February 27, 2009
30.Jump up ^ Landau, Diana; Walter Parkes, John Logan, & Ridley Scott (2000), Gladiator: The Making of the Ridley Scott Epic, Newmarket Press, p. 89, ISBN 1-55704-428-7
31.Jump up ^ Landau 2000, p. 122
32.^ Jump up to: a b Landau 2000, p. 123
33.Jump up ^ Oliver Reed Resurrected On Screen, Internet Movie Database, April 12, 2000, retrieved February 27, 2009
34.Jump up ^ Schwartz, p.142
35.Jump up ^ Not Such a Wonderful Life: A Look at History in Gladiator IGN movies February 10, 2000
36.^ Jump up to: a b Ward, Allen (May 2001). "The Movie "Gladiator" in Historical Perspective". University of Connecticut. Retrieved December 8, 2010.
37.Jump up ^ Winkler, Martin (2004), Gladiator Film and History, Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, p. 6, ISBN 1-4051-1042-2
38.Jump up ^ Gladiator: The Real Story, retrieved February 27, 2009
39.Jump up ^ Livy. Cincinnatus Leaves His Plow. Taken from The Western World ISBN 0-536-99373-4
40.Jump up ^ Andrew Rawnsley (June 23, 2002), He wants to go on and on; they all do, London: Guardian Unlimited, retrieved February 27, 2009
41.Jump up ^ Peter Popham (October 16, 2008), Found: Tomb of the general who inspired 'Gladiator', London: The Independent, retrieved February 27, 2009
42.Jump up ^ 'Gladiator' Tomb is Found in Rome, BBC News, October 17, 2008, retrieved February 27, 2009
43.Jump up ^ Tomb of Roman general who inspired Gladiator reburied, PreHist.org, December 6, 2012, retrieved December 6, 2012
44.Jump up ^ "GLADIATOR: THE REAL STORY". Retrieved 2008-06-17.
45.Jump up ^ "Commodus". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
46.^ Jump up to: a b c Winkler, Martin M. (2004). Gladiator: film and history. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 1-4051-1042-2.
47.Jump up ^ DeVries, Kelly & Robert Douglas Smith (2007). Medieval Weapons: An Illustrated History of Their Impact. ABC-CLIO. pp. 24-27. ISBN 9781851095261.
48.Jump up ^ Junkelmann, Marcus in Hollywoods Traum von Rom (Hollywood’s Dream of Rome), p. 117, 120 and 195.
49.Jump up ^ "Movie Nitpick: Gladiator". The Nitpickers Site. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
50.Jump up ^ Martin M. Winkler (June 23, 2002), Scholia Reviews ns 14 (2005) 11., retrieved February 27, 2009
51.Jump up ^ Landau 2000, p. 28
52.Jump up ^ Winkler, p.114
53.Jump up ^ Winkler, p.115
54.Jump up ^ Zimmer and Gladiator, Reel.com, archived from the original on February 10, 2008, retrieved February 27, 2009
55.Jump up ^ Priscilla Rodriguez (June 12, 2006), "Gladiator" Composer Accused of Copyright Infringement, KNX 1070 NEWSRADIO, archived from the original on 2008-05-16, retrieved February 27, 2009
56.Jump up ^ Michael Beek (June 2006), Gladiator Vs Mars – Zimmer is sued:, Music from the Movies, archived from the original on 2008-06-18, retrieved February 27, 2009
57.Jump up ^ Winkler, p.141
58.Jump up ^ Anastasia Tsioulcas (October 26, 2003), For Pavarotti, Time To Go 'Pop', Yahoo! Music, retrieved February 27, 2009
59.Jump up ^ Gladiator, Rotten Tomatoes, retrieved February 27, 2009
60.Jump up ^ Gladiator, Metacritic, retrieved February 27, 2009
61.Jump up ^ The best – and worst – movie battle scenes, CNN, April 2, 2007, retrieved February 27, 2009
62.Jump up ^ Marc Bernadin (October 23, 2007), 25 Awesome Action Heroes, Entertainment Weekly, retrieved February 27, 2009
63.Jump up ^ Gary Susman (December 12, 2007), 20 Best Revenge Movies, Entertainment Weekly, retrieved February 27, 2009
64.Jump up ^ "Gladiator triumphs in Film 2000 poll". London: BBC News. 2000-12-22. Archived from the original on 2003-02-03. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
65.Jump up ^ 100 Greatest Films, Channel 4, archived from the original on 2008-04-15, retrieved February 27, 2009
66.Jump up ^ Geier, Thom; Jensen, Jeff; Jordan, Tina; Lyons, Margaret; Markovitz, Adam; Nashawaty, Chris; Pastorek, Whitney; Rice, Lynette; Rottenberg, Josh; Schwartz, Missy; Slezak, Michael; Snierson, Dan; Stack, Tim; Stroup, Kate; Tucker, Ken; Vary, Adam B.; Vozick-Levinson, Simon; Ward, Kate (December 11, 2009), "The 100 Greatest Movies, TV shows, Albums, Books, Characters, Scenes, Episodes, Songs, Dresses, Music vidos, and Trends that entertained us over the past". Entertainment Weekly. (1079/1080):74-84
67.Jump up ^ Ebert, Roger, 5, 2000 Gladiator Review, Chicago Sun-Times, retrieved February 21, 2013
68.Jump up ^ "Our unimpressive president". salon.com. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
69.Jump up ^ Schwartz, p.141
70.Jump up ^ Gladiator total gross, Box Office Mojo, retrieved February 27, 2009
71.Jump up ^ Gladiator awards tally, Internet Movie Database, retrieved February 27, 2009
72.Jump up ^ "The 73rd Academy Awards (2001) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 2011-11-19.
73.Jump up ^ AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains
74.Jump up ^ AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes Nominees
75.Jump up ^ AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores Nominees
76.Jump up ^ AFI's 100 Years ...100 Cheers Nominees
77.Jump up ^ AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) Ballot
78.Jump up ^ "AFI" (PDF). afi.com. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
79.^ Jump up to: a b Martin, Arnold (July 11, 2002), Making Books; Book Parties With Togas, The New York Times, archived from the original on January 17, 2008, retrieved February 27, 2009
80.Jump up ^ The 15 Most Influential Films of Our Lifetime, Empire, June 2004, p. 115
81.Jump up ^ "The 50 greatest movie heroes and baddies of all time revealed". Thaindian.com. 2007-11-27. Retrieved 2011-06-10.
82.Jump up ^ The 100 Greatest Movie Characters Empire
83.^ Jump up to: a b "Oscar winning Aussies go postal". BBC News. 2009-02-03. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
84.Jump up ^ Gladiator, Blu-ray.com, retrieved 2009-05-16
85.Jump up ^ Initial "Gladiator" Blu-ray Reviews Report Picture Quality Issues, Netflix, retrieved 2009-09-11
86.Jump up ^ Stax (June 16, 2001), "IGN FilmForce Exclusive: David Franzoni in Negotiations for Another Gladiator!", IGN, retrieved February 27, 2009
87.Jump up ^ Brian Linder (September 24, 2002), "A Hero Will Rise... Again", IGN, retrieved February 27, 2009
88.Jump up ^ Stax (December 17, 2002), "A Hero Will Rise – From the Dead!", IGN, retrieved February 27, 2009
89.Jump up ^ Stax (September 11, 2003), "Ridley Talks Gladiator 2", IGN, retrieved February 27, 2009
90.Jump up ^ Michaels, Sean (May 6, 2009). "Nick Cave's rejected Gladiator 2 script uncovered!". The Guardian (London). Retrieved May 3, 2010.
91.Jump up ^ Cave, Nick, Gladiator 2 Draft, retrieved 16 May 2010
References[edit]
Landau, Diana; Walter Parkes, John Logan, and Ridley Scott (2000), Gladiator: The Making of the Ridley Scott Epic, Newmarket Press, ISBN 1-55704-428-7
Further reading[edit]
Reynolds, Mike (July 2000), "Ridley Scott: From Blade Runner to Blade Stunner", DGA Monthly Magazine (Directors Guild of America)
Schwartz, Richard (2001). The Films of Ridley Scott. Westport, CT: Praeger. ISBN 0-275-96976-2
Stephens, William (2001), "The Rebirth of Stoicism?", Creighton Magazine, retrieved 2010-01-04
Stephens, William (2012). "Appendix: Marcus, Maximus, and Stoicism in Gladiator (2000)", in Marcus Aurelius: A Guide for the Perplexed. London: Continuum. ISBN 978-1-4411-0810-4
Ward, Allen (2001), "The Movie 'Gladiator' in Historical Perspective", Classics Technology Center (AbleMedia), retrieved 2007-01-26
Winkler, Martin (2004). Gladiator Film and History. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 1-4051-1042-2
External links[edit]
 Wikiquote has quotations related to: Gladiator (2000 film)
Gladiator at the American Film Institute Catalog
Gladiator at the Internet Movie Database
Gladiator at AllMovie
Gladiator at Box Office Mojo
Gladiator at Metacritic
Gladiator at Rotten Tomatoes
David Franzoni (1998-04-04), Gladiator: First Draft Revised, archived from the original on 2008-03-16
David Franzoni and John Logan (1998-10-22), Gladiator: Second Draft Revised, archived from the original on 2008-03-12


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Spartacus (Fast novel)

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Spartacus
Spartacus by Howard Fast.jpg
Cover of the first US hardcover edition

Author
Howard Fast
Country
United States
Language
English
Genre
Historical novel
Publisher
Howard Fast / Blue Heron Press

Publication date
 1951
Media type
Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages
363 pp
OCLC
144801069
Spartacus is a 1951 historical novel written by Howard Fast. It is about the historic slave revolt led by Spartacus around 71 BCE. The book inspired the 1960 film directed by Stanley Kubrick and the 2004 TV adaptation by Robert Dornhelm.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Narrative structure
3 Theme
4 Publication
5 Differences between the novel and subsequent film
6 See also

Plot[edit]
"Spartacus" begins with three young Roman patricians - Caius, his sister Helena and her friend Claudia beginning a journey from Rome to Capua along the Via Appia a few weeks after the final suppression of the slave revolt. The road is lined by "tokens of punishment" - slaves crucified in the immediate aftermath of the revolt. During the first day of their travel the party encounter several representative individuals; a minor politician, a prosperous businessman of the equestrian class, an eastern trader and a young officer of the legions; all of whom give their respective perspectives on the rising. On arrival at a palatial country villa where they are to spend the night, Caius, Helena and Claudia meet with other guests, both historical and fictional, who either played key roles in the events just finished or who have sufficient perception to analyze the significance of slavery as an institution within the Roman Republic.
From the encounters at the Villa Salaria, the focus of the novel moves to occasions before and during the actual rising of the slaves. The emphasis is on Spartacus, his life in the mines and as a gladiator; his character, powers of leadership and dreams of a just society where exploitation and cruelty have been eliminated.
Narrative structure[edit]
The novel changes between third-person omniscient past and present tenses. The novel's narrative structure is that several members of the Roman ruling hierarchy (Crassus, Gracchus, Caius, and Cicero) meet, in the past tense, to relate tales of the events in Spartacus's life and uprising. The tales are told in the present tense directly by the narrator, with details going far beyond the Romans' possible knowledge. The novel deviates from and extends known historical facts.
Theme[edit]
The novel's central theme is that man's most basic universal values are freedom, love, hope, and finally life. Oppression and slavery strip these away until the oppressed have nothing to lose by uprising. Oppressive systems are held together by political systems. Spartacus stands as an eternal symbol of how man must fight against political systems that oppress man's values:

A time would come when Rome would be torn down--not by the slaves alone, but by slaves and serfs and peasants and by free barbarians who joined with them. And so long as men labored, and other men took and used the fruit of those who labored, the name of Spartacus would be remembered, whispered sometimes and shouted loud and clear at other times.
Publication[edit]
Howard Fast self-published the novel in the United States during the McCarthy era in 1951. He began writing it as a reaction to his imprisonment for charges stemming from his earlier involvement in the Communist Party USA. He had refused to disclose to Congress the names of contributors to a fund for a home for orphans of American veterans of the Spanish Civil War. He was imprisoned for three months in 1950 for contempt of Congress.
The final page of the first edition describes some of his difficulties in publishing:

"Readers who may wonder at the absence of a publisher's imprint are informed that this book was published by the author. This was made necessary when he learned that no commercial publisher, due to the political temper of the times, would undertake the publication or distribution of the book. Its publication was made possible by hundreds of people who believed in the book and bought it in advance of publication, so that the money would be forthcoming to pay for its printing. The author wishes to thank these people with all his heart. He is also most grateful to the many people who helped with the preparation of the manuscript, with the editing of it, and with the design and manufacture of the book. He hopes that for some future edition, at a time when it would not subject them to danger and reprisal, to be able to name these people and extend personal thanks to each in turn."
In the 1991 paperback version (ibooks, distributed by Simon & Schuster; ISBN 0-7434-1282-6), the author has a short introduction, "Spartacus and the Blacklist," which expands on the conditions surrounding the writing and publishing of the work.
Differences between the novel and subsequent film[edit]
While both Howard Fast's novel and Stanley Kubrick's film depicted Spartacus as a Thracian who is born a slave and forced to work in the gold mines of Libya and Egypt, the real Spartacus was, from the historical records, actually born a free man who served as a Thracian auxiliary soldier in the Roman army. The historical sources stated that after Spartacus had deserted from the Roman army, he was captured and sold as a gladiator.
The two characters Varinia and Crixus are represented differently in book and film. In Howard Fast's book, Varinia is described as a young German girl with milky-white skin and golden hair, whereas in the film she is depicted as a black-haired Celtic woman from the northern island of Britannia. The Gaul Crixus, in the novel, has red hair and a red beard, butis shown in the film with black hair.
Five gladiator commanders in Spartacus' army - the Thracian Gannicus, the Roman outcast Castus, the Africans Nordo and Phraxus, and the Jew David - feature in the novel but not in the film. While the Greek slave Antoninus is based on the Jew David, he is never mentioned in Howard Fast's novel.
The death of the Nubian gladiator Draba is depicted differently in the film. During the duel with Spartacus, Draba hurls his spear at the Romans in the guest box and climbs up to the top, only to perforated by a javelin thrown by one of the Roman guards and then stabbed in the back of the neck by Crassus. In the novel, Draba kills a Roman guard who pounds him on the back with a club to get him to kill Spartacus, and then begins climbing up the wall and is killed by four javelins before he even reaches the top.
Marcus Glabrus, one of the Roman commanders who had been sent out against Spartacus, is based on Howard Fast's character Varinius Glabrus, an inexperienced and rather stupid young senator who leads six of Rome's garrison cohorts against the gladiator army.
Spartacus' attack on Glabrus' camp is described differently in the film and the book:
1. In the film, when they learn that Glabrus and his men have neglected to fortify their camp, Spartacus and his army march down a narrow pathway off the mountain and launch a surprise assault on it, razing it to the ground. Only Marcus Glabrus and fourteen out of three thousand men from the cohorts survive. Spartacus then breaks the Roman commander's baton and gives it to Glabrus, telling him to return to Rome and tell the Senate that the garrison of Rome is destroyed.
2. In the novel, Varinius Glabrus and all of his men but one are killed in the surprise night attack by the slaves. The surviving soldier is brought before Spartacus, given Glabrus' ivory baton of command, and told to inform the Senate that the slaves will destroy Rome and bring them to justice. The City Cohorts annihilated are described in detail by Fast as ceremonial "political regiments" of limited military effectiveness and no match for the gladiators and freed slaves.
In Howard Fast's novel, an impatient Crixus deserts Spartacus' army and heads eastward with an army of Gauls and Germans, only to be ambushed and killed by a Roman legion dispatched to stop the rebels. In the film, Crixus is more patient and remains with Spartacus throughout the entire revolt. The film depicts him as fighting alongside Spartacus against the legions of Crassus in the final battle, only to be killed by one of the legionaries.
After a detachment from his forces is defeated at the hands of Spartacus' gladiator army, Crassus has the survivors decimated - a Roman punishment in which one out of every ten men is beaten to death. In the film, Crassus does not punish his troops and also does not yet encounter Spartacus until the final battle.
Before meeting Crassus and his legions in battle, Spartacus orders his horse to be brought to him, whereupon he draws his sword and kills it. He tells his men that if he wins the battle he will have thousands of horses to choose from, but if he loses he will not need one. In the film, Spartacus does not kill his horse but rides it in the final battle.
The final battle between Spartacus' gladiator army and Crassus' legions is depicted differently in the film and novel:
1. The opening stage of the film's battle was praised by Time Magazine as a visually impressive "ballet of the legions", with the powerful Roman army advancing over the hill in its characteristic quincunx formation. Spartacus' men send flaming logs rolling down the hillside to smash into the front ranks of the Romans. Crixus and Antoninus then follow up with the rebel infantry. As the legions of Pompey and Lucullus close in on the battlefield, Spartacus leads a cavalry attack on Crassus' troops, hoping to quickly drive them back and then regroup with his men to launch a fresh attack on the Roman reinforcements. The plan never succeeds, as the legions of Pompey, Lucullus, and Crassus close in on the gladiators from three sides and annihilate the majority of the rebel army.
2. In the novel, Spartacus joins his men on foot and leads his entire army against Crassus' legions. There are no battle tactics in the final battle between Crassus and Spartacus; the two armies collide in two great masses and inflict heavy losses on each other. Towards the end of the battle, Spartacus tries to reach Crassus, but is surrounded by Crassus' soldiers and cut down. Six thousand of the surviving rebels, including the Jew David, are captured and crucified on Crassus' orders, while another 5,000 are killed by the legions of Pompey.
In the film, Spartacus survives the final battle, along with Antoninus and 6,000 rebels, and is captured by Crassus' troops. After the six thousand men are crucified along the Appian way to Rome, Antoninus and Spartacus are forced to fight to the death. Spartacus kills the Greek slave and is crucified on Crassus' orders. In both the novel and the historical record Spartacus was killed in the final battle and his body was never identified by the Romans amongst the piles of dead.
The historic revolt of Spartacus took place in 73 B.C and lasted about three years, not nine months as in the film or four years as in the novel (the novel gives the date of Spartacus' revolt as 71 B.C.).
See also[edit]
Spartacus, 1931 novel by Scottish writer, Lewis Grassic Gibbon
The Gladiators, Arthur Koestler's 1939 novel on Spartacus.


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Categories: 1951 novels
20th-century American novels
American historical novels
Novels about slavery
Novels about Spartacus
Novels set in Ancient Rome
Novels by Howard Fast
American novels adapted into films
Self-published books






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Spartacus (Fast novel)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search


Unbalanced scales.svg
 This article lends undue weight to certain ideas, incidents, or controversies. Please help to create a more balanced presentation. Discuss and resolve this issue before removing this message. (November 2013)
Spartacus
Spartacus by Howard Fast.jpg
Cover of the first US hardcover edition

Author
Howard Fast
Country
United States
Language
English
Genre
Historical novel
Publisher
Howard Fast / Blue Heron Press

Publication date
 1951
Media type
Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages
363 pp
OCLC
144801069
Spartacus is a 1951 historical novel written by Howard Fast. It is about the historic slave revolt led by Spartacus around 71 BCE. The book inspired the 1960 film directed by Stanley Kubrick and the 2004 TV adaptation by Robert Dornhelm.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Narrative structure
3 Theme
4 Publication
5 Differences between the novel and subsequent film
6 See also

Plot[edit]
"Spartacus" begins with three young Roman patricians - Caius, his sister Helena and her friend Claudia beginning a journey from Rome to Capua along the Via Appia a few weeks after the final suppression of the slave revolt. The road is lined by "tokens of punishment" - slaves crucified in the immediate aftermath of the revolt. During the first day of their travel the party encounter several representative individuals; a minor politician, a prosperous businessman of the equestrian class, an eastern trader and a young officer of the legions; all of whom give their respective perspectives on the rising. On arrival at a palatial country villa where they are to spend the night, Caius, Helena and Claudia meet with other guests, both historical and fictional, who either played key roles in the events just finished or who have sufficient perception to analyze the significance of slavery as an institution within the Roman Republic.
From the encounters at the Villa Salaria, the focus of the novel moves to occasions before and during the actual rising of the slaves. The emphasis is on Spartacus, his life in the mines and as a gladiator; his character, powers of leadership and dreams of a just society where exploitation and cruelty have been eliminated.
Narrative structure[edit]
The novel changes between third-person omniscient past and present tenses. The novel's narrative structure is that several members of the Roman ruling hierarchy (Crassus, Gracchus, Caius, and Cicero) meet, in the past tense, to relate tales of the events in Spartacus's life and uprising. The tales are told in the present tense directly by the narrator, with details going far beyond the Romans' possible knowledge. The novel deviates from and extends known historical facts.
Theme[edit]
The novel's central theme is that man's most basic universal values are freedom, love, hope, and finally life. Oppression and slavery strip these away until the oppressed have nothing to lose by uprising. Oppressive systems are held together by political systems. Spartacus stands as an eternal symbol of how man must fight against political systems that oppress man's values:

A time would come when Rome would be torn down--not by the slaves alone, but by slaves and serfs and peasants and by free barbarians who joined with them. And so long as men labored, and other men took and used the fruit of those who labored, the name of Spartacus would be remembered, whispered sometimes and shouted loud and clear at other times.
Publication[edit]
Howard Fast self-published the novel in the United States during the McCarthy era in 1951. He began writing it as a reaction to his imprisonment for charges stemming from his earlier involvement in the Communist Party USA. He had refused to disclose to Congress the names of contributors to a fund for a home for orphans of American veterans of the Spanish Civil War. He was imprisoned for three months in 1950 for contempt of Congress.
The final page of the first edition describes some of his difficulties in publishing:

"Readers who may wonder at the absence of a publisher's imprint are informed that this book was published by the author. This was made necessary when he learned that no commercial publisher, due to the political temper of the times, would undertake the publication or distribution of the book. Its publication was made possible by hundreds of people who believed in the book and bought it in advance of publication, so that the money would be forthcoming to pay for its printing. The author wishes to thank these people with all his heart. He is also most grateful to the many people who helped with the preparation of the manuscript, with the editing of it, and with the design and manufacture of the book. He hopes that for some future edition, at a time when it would not subject them to danger and reprisal, to be able to name these people and extend personal thanks to each in turn."
In the 1991 paperback version (ibooks, distributed by Simon & Schuster; ISBN 0-7434-1282-6), the author has a short introduction, "Spartacus and the Blacklist," which expands on the conditions surrounding the writing and publishing of the work.
Differences between the novel and subsequent film[edit]
While both Howard Fast's novel and Stanley Kubrick's film depicted Spartacus as a Thracian who is born a slave and forced to work in the gold mines of Libya and Egypt, the real Spartacus was, from the historical records, actually born a free man who served as a Thracian auxiliary soldier in the Roman army. The historical sources stated that after Spartacus had deserted from the Roman army, he was captured and sold as a gladiator.
The two characters Varinia and Crixus are represented differently in book and film. In Howard Fast's book, Varinia is described as a young German girl with milky-white skin and golden hair, whereas in the film she is depicted as a black-haired Celtic woman from the northern island of Britannia. The Gaul Crixus, in the novel, has red hair and a red beard, butis shown in the film with black hair.
Five gladiator commanders in Spartacus' army - the Thracian Gannicus, the Roman outcast Castus, the Africans Nordo and Phraxus, and the Jew David - feature in the novel but not in the film. While the Greek slave Antoninus is based on the Jew David, he is never mentioned in Howard Fast's novel.
The death of the Nubian gladiator Draba is depicted differently in the film. During the duel with Spartacus, Draba hurls his spear at the Romans in the guest box and climbs up to the top, only to perforated by a javelin thrown by one of the Roman guards and then stabbed in the back of the neck by Crassus. In the novel, Draba kills a Roman guard who pounds him on the back with a club to get him to kill Spartacus, and then begins climbing up the wall and is killed by four javelins before he even reaches the top.
Marcus Glabrus, one of the Roman commanders who had been sent out against Spartacus, is based on Howard Fast's character Varinius Glabrus, an inexperienced and rather stupid young senator who leads six of Rome's garrison cohorts against the gladiator army.
Spartacus' attack on Glabrus' camp is described differently in the film and the book:
1. In the film, when they learn that Glabrus and his men have neglected to fortify their camp, Spartacus and his army march down a narrow pathway off the mountain and launch a surprise assault on it, razing it to the ground. Only Marcus Glabrus and fourteen out of three thousand men from the cohorts survive. Spartacus then breaks the Roman commander's baton and gives it to Glabrus, telling him to return to Rome and tell the Senate that the garrison of Rome is destroyed.
2. In the novel, Varinius Glabrus and all of his men but one are killed in the surprise night attack by the slaves. The surviving soldier is brought before Spartacus, given Glabrus' ivory baton of command, and told to inform the Senate that the slaves will destroy Rome and bring them to justice. The City Cohorts annihilated are described in detail by Fast as ceremonial "political regiments" of limited military effectiveness and no match for the gladiators and freed slaves.
In Howard Fast's novel, an impatient Crixus deserts Spartacus' army and heads eastward with an army of Gauls and Germans, only to be ambushed and killed by a Roman legion dispatched to stop the rebels. In the film, Crixus is more patient and remains with Spartacus throughout the entire revolt. The film depicts him as fighting alongside Spartacus against the legions of Crassus in the final battle, only to be killed by one of the legionaries.
After a detachment from his forces is defeated at the hands of Spartacus' gladiator army, Crassus has the survivors decimated - a Roman punishment in which one out of every ten men is beaten to death. In the film, Crassus does not punish his troops and also does not yet encounter Spartacus until the final battle.
Before meeting Crassus and his legions in battle, Spartacus orders his horse to be brought to him, whereupon he draws his sword and kills it. He tells his men that if he wins the battle he will have thousands of horses to choose from, but if he loses he will not need one. In the film, Spartacus does not kill his horse but rides it in the final battle.
The final battle between Spartacus' gladiator army and Crassus' legions is depicted differently in the film and novel:
1. The opening stage of the film's battle was praised by Time Magazine as a visually impressive "ballet of the legions", with the powerful Roman army advancing over the hill in its characteristic quincunx formation. Spartacus' men send flaming logs rolling down the hillside to smash into the front ranks of the Romans. Crixus and Antoninus then follow up with the rebel infantry. As the legions of Pompey and Lucullus close in on the battlefield, Spartacus leads a cavalry attack on Crassus' troops, hoping to quickly drive them back and then regroup with his men to launch a fresh attack on the Roman reinforcements. The plan never succeeds, as the legions of Pompey, Lucullus, and Crassus close in on the gladiators from three sides and annihilate the majority of the rebel army.
2. In the novel, Spartacus joins his men on foot and leads his entire army against Crassus' legions. There are no battle tactics in the final battle between Crassus and Spartacus; the two armies collide in two great masses and inflict heavy losses on each other. Towards the end of the battle, Spartacus tries to reach Crassus, but is surrounded by Crassus' soldiers and cut down. Six thousand of the surviving rebels, including the Jew David, are captured and crucified on Crassus' orders, while another 5,000 are killed by the legions of Pompey.
In the film, Spartacus survives the final battle, along with Antoninus and 6,000 rebels, and is captured by Crassus' troops. After the six thousand men are crucified along the Appian way to Rome, Antoninus and Spartacus are forced to fight to the death. Spartacus kills the Greek slave and is crucified on Crassus' orders. In both the novel and the historical record Spartacus was killed in the final battle and his body was never identified by the Romans amongst the piles of dead.
The historic revolt of Spartacus took place in 73 B.C and lasted about three years, not nine months as in the film or four years as in the novel (the novel gives the date of Spartacus' revolt as 71 B.C.).
See also[edit]
Spartacus, 1931 novel by Scottish writer, Lewis Grassic Gibbon
The Gladiators, Arthur Koestler's 1939 novel on Spartacus.


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Spartacus (film)

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Spartacus
Spartacus sheetA.jpg
Theatrical release poster by Reynold Brown

Directed by
Stanley Kubrick
Produced by
Edward Lewis
Screenplay by
Dalton Trumbo
Based on
Spartacus
 by Howard Fast
Starring
Kirk Douglas
Laurence Olivier
Jean Simmons
Charles Laughton
Peter Ustinov
John Gavin
Tony Curtis

Narrated by
Vic Perrin
Music by
Alex North
Cinematography
Russell Metty
Edited by
Robert Lawrence

Production
 company

Bryna Productions

Distributed by
Universal International

Release dates

October 6, 1960 (New York City)
October 7, 1960 (United States)


Running time
 184 minutes
Country
United States
Language
English
Budget
$12 million[1]
Box office
$60 million[1]
Spartacus is a 1960 American epic historical drama film directed by Stanley Kubrick. The screenplay by Dalton Trumbo was based on the novel Spartacus by Howard Fast. It was inspired by the life story of the leader of a slave revolt in antiquity, Spartacus, and the events of the Third Servile War.
The film starred Kirk Douglas as Spartacus, Laurence Olivier as the Roman general and politician Marcus Licinius Crassus, Peter Ustinov, who won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, as slave trader Lentulus Batiatus, John Gavin as Julius Caesar, Jean Simmons as Varinia, Charles Laughton as Sempronius Gracchus and Tony Curtis as Antoninus. The film won four Academy Awards in all.
Douglas, whose Bryna Productions company was producing the film, removed original director Anthony Mann after the first week of shooting. Kubrick, with whom Douglas had worked before, was brought on board to take over direction.[2] It is the only film directed by Kubrick where he did not have complete artistic control.
Screenwriter Dalton Trumbo was blacklisted at the time as one of the Hollywood Ten. Kirk Douglas publicly announced that Trumbo was the screenwriter of Spartacus, and President-elect John F. Kennedy crossed American Legion picket lines to view the film, helping to end blacklisting.[3][4] The author of the novel on which it is based, Howard Fast, was also blacklisted, and originally had to self-publish it.
The film became the biggest moneymaker in Universal Studios' history, until it was surpassed by Airport (1970).[5]


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Production 3.1 Screenplay development
3.2 Filming
3.3 Music
3.4 Political commentary, Christianity, and reception
4 Re-releases and restoration
5 Awards and nominations 5.1 Academy Awards
6 Critical reception
7 "I'm Spartacus!"
8 See also
9 References
10 External links

Plot[edit]
In the 1st century BC, the Roman Republic has slid into corruption, its menial work done by armies of slaves. One of these, a proud and gifted man named Spartacus, is so uncooperative in his servitude that he is sentenced to fight as a gladiator. He is trained at a school run by the unctuous Roman businessman Lentulus Batiatus, who instructs Spartacus's trainer Marcellus to bully the slave mercilessly and break his spirit. Amid the abuse, Spartacus forms a quiet relationship with a serving woman named Varinia, whom he refuses to rape when she is sent to "entertain" him in his cell.
Batiatus receives a visit from the Roman senator Marcus Licinius Crassus, an arch-conservative who aims to become dictator of Rome. Crassus buys Varinia on a whim, and for the amusement of his companions arranges for Spartacus and three others to fight in pairs. When Spartacus is disarmed, his opponent, an African named Draba, spares his life in a burst of compassion and attacks the Roman audience, but is killed by an arena guard and Crassus. The next day, with the school's atmosphere still tense over this episode, Batiatus takes Varinia away to Crassus's house in Rome. Spartacus kills Marcellus, who was taunting him over this, and their fight escalates into a riot. The gladiators overwhelm their guards and escape into the Italian countryside.
Spartacus is elected chief of the fugitives and decides to lead them out of Italy and back to their homes. They plunder Roman country estates as they go, collecting enough money to buy sea transport from Rome's foes, the pirates of Cilicia. Countless other slaves join the group, making it as large as an army. One of the new arrivals is Varinia, who escaped while being delivered to Crassus. Another is a slave entertainer named Antoninus, who also fled Crassus's service after the Roman tried to seduce him. Privately Spartacus feels mentally inadequate because of his lack of education during years of servitude. However, he proves an excellent leader and organizes his diverse followers into a tough and self-sufficient community. Varinia, now his informal wife, becomes pregnant by him, and he also comes to regard the spirited Antoninus as a sort of son.
The Roman Senate becomes increasingly alarmed as Spartacus defeats the multiple armies it sends against him. Crassus's populist opponent Gracchus knows that his rival will try to use the crisis as a justification for seizing control of the Roman army. To try and prevent this, Gracchus channels as much military power as possible into the hands of his own protege, a young senator named Julius Caesar. Although Caesar lacks Crassus's contempt for the lower classes of Rome, he mistakes the man's rigid outlook for nobility. Thus, when Gracchus reveals that he has bribed the Cilicians to get Spartacus out of Italy and rid Rome of the slave army, Caesar regards such tactics as beneath him and goes over to Crassus.
Crassus uses a bribe of his own to make the pirates abandon Spartacus and has the Roman army secretly force the rebels away from the coastline towards Rome. Amid panic that Spartacus means to sack the city, the Senate gives Crassus absolute power. Now surrounded by Romans, Spartacus convinces his men to die fighting. Just by rebelling, and proving themselves human, he says that they have struck a blow against slavery. In the ensuing battle, most of the slave army is massacred by Crassus's forces. Afterward, when the Romans try to locate the rebel leader for special punishment, every surviving man shields him by shouting "I'm Spartacus!" As a result, Crassus has them all sentenced to death by crucifixion along the Via Appia.
Meanwhile, Crassus has found Varinia and Spartacus's newborn son and has taken them prisoner. He is disturbed by the idea that Spartacus can command more love and loyalty than he can and hopes to compensate by making Varinia as devoted to him as she was to her former husband. When she rejects him, he furiously seeks out Spartacus (whom he recognizes from having watched him in the arena) and forces him to fight Antoninus to the death. The survivor is to be crucified, along with all the other men captured after the great battle. Spartacus kills Antoninus to spare him this fate. The incident leaves Crassus worried about Spartacus's potential to live in legend as a martyr. In other matters he is also worried about Caesar, who he senses will someday eclipse him.
Gracchus, having seen Rome fall into tyranny, commits suicide. Before doing so, he bribes his friend Batiatus to rescue Spartacus's family from Crassus and carry them away to freedom. On the way out of Rome, the group pass under Spartacus's cross. Varinia is able to comfort him in his dying moments by showing him his little son, who will grow up without ever having been a slave.
Cast[edit]
Kirk Douglas as Spartacus
Laurence Olivier as Crassus
Jean Simmons as Varinia
Charles Laughton as Gracchus
Peter Ustinov as Batiatus
Tony Curtis as Antoninus
John Gavin as Julius Caesar
John Dall as Marcus Glabrus
Nina Foch as Helena Glabrus
John Ireland as Crixus
Herbert Lom as Tigranes Levantus (pirate envoy)
Charles McGraw as Marcellus
Joanna Barnes as Claudia Marius
Harold J. Stone as David
Woody Strode as Draba
Production[edit]



 Original 1960 theatrical release poster
The development of Spartacus was partly instigated by Kirk Douglas's failure to win the title role in William Wyler's Ben-Hur. Douglas had worked with Wyler before on Detective Story, and was disappointed when Wyler chose Charlton Heston instead. Shortly after, Edward (Eddie) Lewis, a vice president in Douglas's film company, Bryna Productions (named after Douglas's mother), had Douglas read Howard Fast's novel, Spartacus, which had a related theme—an individual who challenges the might of the Roman Empire—and Douglas was impressed enough to purchase an option on the book from Fast with his own financing. Universal Studios eventually agreed to finance the film after Douglas persuaded Olivier, Laughton, and Ustinov to act in it. Lewis became the producer of the film, with Douglas taking executive producer credit. Lewis subsequently produced other films for Douglas.[2]
At the same time Yul Brynner was planning his own Spartacus film for United Artists with Douglas' agent Lew Wasserman suggesting he try having his film produced for Universal Studios. With Dalton Trumbo's screenplay being completed in two weeks, Universal and Douglas won the 'Spartacus' race.[6]
Screenplay development[edit]
Howard Fast was originally hired to adapt his own novel as a screenplay, but he had difficulty working in the format. He was replaced by Dalton Trumbo, who had been blacklisted as one of the Hollywood Ten, and intended to use the pseudonym "Sam Jackson".
Kirk Douglas insisted that Trumbo be given screen credit for his work, which helped to break the blacklist.[7] Trumbo had been jailed for contempt of Congress in 1950, after which he had survived by writing screenplays under assumed names. Douglas' intervention on his behalf was praised as an act of courage.
In his autobiography, Douglas states that this decision was motivated by a meeting that he, Edward Lewis, and Kubrick had regarding whose name(s) to put against the screenplay in the movie credits, given Trumbo's shaky position with Hollywood executives. One idea was to credit Lewis as co-writer or sole writer, but Lewis vetoed both suggestions. Kubrick then suggested that his own name be used. Douglas and Lewis found Kubrick's eagerness to take credit for Trumbo's work revolting, and the next day, Douglas called the gate at Universal saying, "I'd like to leave a pass for Dalton Trumbo." Douglas writes, "For the first time in ten years, [Trumbo] walked on to a studio lot. He said, 'Thanks, Kirk, for giving me back my name.'"[2]
The filming was plagued by the conflicting visions of Kubrick and Trumbo. Kubrick complained that the character of Spartacus had no faults or quirks, and he later distanced himself from the film.[8]
Blacklisting effectively ended in 1960 when it lost credibility. Trumbo was publicly given credit for two major films: Otto Preminger made public that Trumbo wrote the screenplay for the hit, Exodus,[9] and Kirk Douglas publicly announced that Trumbo was the screenwriter of Spartacus.[10] Further, President John F. Kennedy publicly ignored a demonstration organised by the American Legion to see the movie.[3][4]
Filming[edit]



Stanley Kubrick looking through camera with cinematographer Russell Metty (in hat) standing behind.
After David Lean turned down an offer to direct, Spartacus was to be directed by Anthony Mann, then best known for his Westerns such as Winchester '73 and The Naked Spur. Douglas fired Mann at the end of the first week of shooting, in which the opening sequence in the quarry had been filmed. "He seemed scared of the scope of the picture," wrote Douglas in his autobiography; yet a year later Mann would embark on another epic of similar size, El Cid. The dismissal (or resignation) of Mann is mysterious since the opening sequences, filmed at Death Valley, Nevada, set the style for the rest of the movie.
Thirty-year-old Stanley Kubrick was hired to take over. He had already directed four feature films (including Paths of Glory, also starring Douglas). Spartacus was a bigger project by far, with a budget of $12 million (equivalent to approximately $97,082,192 in today's funds[11]) and a cast of 10,500, a daunting project for such a young director. Paths of Glory, his previous film, had only been budgeted at $935,000.
Spartacus was filmed using the 35 mm Super 70 Technirama format[12] and then blown up to 70 mm film. This was a change for Kubrick, who preferred using the standard spherical format. This process allowed him to achieve ultra-high definition and to capture large panoramic scenes, including one with 8,000 trained soldiers from Spain representing the Roman army. Kubrick had wanted to shoot the picture in Rome with cheap extras and resources, but Edward Muhl, president of Universal Pictures, wanted to make an example of the film and prove that a successful epic could be made in Hollywood itself and "stem the flood of 'runaway' producers heading for Europe".[13]
Disputes broke out during the filming. Cinematographer Russell Metty, a veteran with experience working in big pictures such as Orson Welles's The Stranger (1946) and Touch of Evil (1958) and Howard Hawk's Bringing Up Baby (1938),[14] complained about Kubrick's unusually precise and detailed instructions for the film's camerawork and disagreed with Kubrick's use of light. On one occasion he threatened to quit to Ed Muhl, to which Kubrick told him "You can do your job by sitting in your chair and shutting up. I'll be the director of photography".[15] Metty later muted his criticisms after winning the Oscar for Best Cinematography. [16] Kubrick wanted to shoot at a slow pace of two camera set-ups a day, but the studio insisted that he do 32; a compromise of eight had to be made.[13]
Kubrick found working outdoors or in real locations to be distracting and thus preferred to film in the studio. He believed the actors would benefit more from working on a sound stage, where they could fully concentrate. To create the illusion of the large crowds that play such an essential role in the film, Kubrick's crew used three-channel sound equipment to record 76,000 spectators at a Michigan State – Notre Dame college football game shouting "Hail, Crassus!" and "I'm Spartacus!"
The intimate scenes were filmed in Hollywood, but Kubrick insisted that all battle scenes be filmed on a vast plain outside Madrid. Eight thousand trained soldiers from the Spanish infantry were used to double as the Roman army. Kubrick directed the armies from the top of specially constructed towers. However, he eventually had to cut all but one of the gory battle scenes, due to negative audience reactions at preview screenings. So precise was Kubrick, that even in arranging the bodies of the slaughtered slaves he had each "corpse" assigned with a number and instructions.[17]
Despite the film being a huge box office success, gaining four Oscars, and being considered to rank among the very best of historical epics, Kubrick disowned the movie, and did not include it as part of his canon. Although his personal mark is a distinct part of the final picture, his contract did not give him complete control over the filming, the only occasion he did not exercise such control over one of his films.[18]
Music[edit]


 This section possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (November 2009)
The original score for Spartacus was composed and conducted by six-time Academy Award nominee Alex North. It was nominated by the American Film Institute for their list of greatest film scores. It is a textbook example of how modernist compositional styles can be adapted to the Hollywood leitmotif technique. North's score is epic, as befits the scale of the film. After extensive research of music of that period, North gathered a collection of antique instruments that, while not authentically Roman, provided a strong dramatic effect. These instruments included a sarrusophone, Israeli recorder, Chinese oboe, lute, mandolin, Yugoslav flute, kythara, dulcimer, and bagpipes. North's prize instrument was the ondioline, similar to an earlier version of the electronic synthesizer, which had never been used in film before. Much of the music is written without a tonal center, or flirts with tonality in ways that most film composers would not risk. One theme is used to represent both slavery and freedom, but is given different values in different scenes, so that it sounds like different themes. The love theme for Spartacus and Varinia is the most accessible theme in the film, and there is a harsh trumpet figure for Crassus.
The soundtrack album runs less than forty-five minutes and is not very representative of the score. There were plans to re-record a significant amount of the music with North's friend and fellow film composer Jerry Goldsmith, but the project kept getting delayed. Goldsmith died in 2004. Numerous bootleg recordings have been made, but none has good sound quality.
In 2010 the soundtrack was re-released as part of a set, featuring 6 CDs, 1 DVD, and a 168-page booklet. This is a limited edition of 5,000 copies.[19]
Political commentary, Christianity, and reception[edit]
The film parallels 1950s American history, specifically HUAC hearings and the civil rights movement. The hearings, where witnesses were demanded to "name names" of supposed communist sympathizers, closely resembles the climactic scene when the slaves, asked by Crassus to give up their leader by pointing him out from the multitude, each stand up to proclaim, "I am Spartacus". Howard Fast, who wrote the book on which the film was based, "was jailed for his refusal to testify, and wrote the novel Spartacus while in prison".[20] The comment of how slavery was a central part of American history is pointed to in the beginning in the scenes featuring Draba and Spartacus. Draba, who denies the friendship of Spartacus claiming "gladiators can have no friends", sacrifices himself by attacking Crassus rather than kill Spartacus. This scene points to the fact that Americans are indebted to the suffering of African Americans, who played a major role in building the country. The fight to end segregation and to promote the equality of African Americans is seen in the mixing of races within the gladiator school as well as in the army of Spartacus where all fight for freedom.[21] Another instance of the film's allusions to the political climate of the United States is hinted at in the beginning where Rome is described as a republic "that lay fatally stricken with a disease called human slavery", and describing Spartacus as a "proud, rebellious son dreaming of the death of slavery, 2000 years before it finally would die"; thus the ethical and political vision of the film is first introduced as a foreground for the ensuing action.[22]
The voice-over at the beginning of the film also depicts Rome as destined to fail by the rise of Christianity:

In the last century before the birth of the new faith called Christianity which was destined to overthrow the pagan tyranny of Rome and bring about a new society, the Roman Republic stood at the very center of the civilized world… Even at the zenith of her pride and power, the Republic lay fatally stricken with the disease called human slavery. The age of the dictator was at hand, waiting in the shadows for the event to bring forth. In that same century, in the conquered Greek province of Thrace, an illiterate slave woman added to her master's wealth by giving birth to a son whom she names Spartacus. A proud rebellious son, who was sold to living death in the mines of Libya, before his thirteenth birthday. There under whip and chain and sun he lived out his youth and his young manhood, dreaming the death of slavery 2000 years before it finally would die.
Thus Rome is portrayed as the oppressor suffering from its own excesses, where the prospect of Christian salvation is offered as the means to end Roman oppression and slavery.[23]
The film's release occasioned both applause from the mainstream media and protests from anti-communist groups such as the National Legion of Decency, which picketed theaters showcasing the film. To affirm the film's "legitimacy as an expression of national aspirations wasn’t stilled until the newly elected John F. Kennedy crossed a picket line set up by anti-communist organizers to attend the film".[20]
Re-releases and restoration[edit]
The film was re-released in 1967 (in a version 23 minutes shorter than the original release), and again in 1991 with the same 23 minutes restored by Robert A. Harris, plus an additional 14 minutes that had been cut from the film before its original release.
Steven Spielberg gave his backing to the restoration effort, and recommended that Stanley Kubrick be informed of the project. Kubrick, who had disowned the film, had nothing to do with the actual physical restoration of the film, though he gave his approval to the effort, and the producers wanted his final approval of their work. Universal's negative was unusable as it had been cut twice and the colors were badly faded. Kubrick's own print of the film, which was donated to the Museum of Modern Art, could not be used for the restoration as it was considered an archival print. The original studio black and white separation prints, used as a backup in 1960, were used, though the processing lab had to develop a new lens capable of printing the Technirama frame without loss of fidelity. The final cost of the restoration was nearly $1 million.[24][25]
The 1991 restoration includes several violent battle sequences that had been left out due to the negative reaction of preview audiences. It also has a bath scene in which the Roman patrician and general Crassus (Olivier) attempts to seduce his slave Antoninus (Curtis), speaking about the analogy of "eating oysters" and "eating snails" to express his opinion that sexual preference is a matter of taste rather than morality.
When the film was restored (two years after Olivier's death), the original dialogue recording of this scene was missing; it had to be re-dubbed. Tony Curtis, by then 66, was able to re-record his part, but Crassus' voice was an impersonation of Olivier by the actor Anthony Hopkins, who had been suggested by Olivier's widow, Joan Plowright. A talented mimic, he had been a protege of Olivier during his days as the National Theatre's Artistic Director and had previously portrayed Crassus in the Jeff Wayne musical album. Kubrick faxed instructions as to how the scene should be played. The actors separately recorded their dialogue.[24]
Some four minutes of the film are lost, because of Universal's mishandling of its film prints in the 1970s. These scenes relate to the character of Gracchus (Laughton), including a scene where he commits suicide. The audio tracks of these scenes have survived. They are included on the Criterion Collection DVD, alongside production stills of some of the lost footage.
Awards and nominations[edit]
Academy Awards[edit]

Award[4]
Winner(s)
Best Actor in a Supporting Role Peter Ustinov
Best Art Direction–Set Decoration, Color Alexander Golitzen
Eric Orbom
Russell A. Gausman
Julia Heron
Best Cinematography, Color Russell Metty
Best Costume Design, Color Arlington Valles
Bill Thomas
Nominations
Best Film Editing Robert Lawrence
Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture Alex North
Spartacus has been on five different AFI 100 Years... lists including #62 for thrills, #22 for heroes, #44 for cheers and #81 for overall movies.
In June 2008, AFI revealed its "10 Top 10"—the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. Spartacus was acknowledged as the fifth best film in the epic genre.[26][27]
American Film Institute listsAFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – Nominated[28]
AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – #62
AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains: Spartacus – #22 Hero
AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes: "I'm Spartacus! I'm Spartacus!" – Nominated[29]
AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – #81
AFI's 10 Top 10 – #5 Epic film
Critical reception[edit]
The movie received mixed reviews when first released, but over time its reputation has gained in stature. Critics such as Roger Ebert have argued that the film has flaws, though his review is generally positive otherwise.[30] When released, the movie was attacked by both the American Legion and the Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper because of its connection with Trumbo. Hopper stated, "The story was sold to Universal from a book written by a commie and the screen script was written by a commie, so don't go to see it."[2]
Bosley Crowther called it a "spotty, uneven drama."[31] It has a 96% (fresh) rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[32]
"I'm Spartacus!"[edit]
In the climactic scene, recaptured slaves are asked to identify Spartacus in exchange for leniency; instead, each slave proclaims himself to be Spartacus, thus sharing his fate. The documentary Trumbo[7] suggests that this scene was meant to dramatize the solidarity of those accused of being Communist sympathizers during the McCarthy Era who refused to implicate others, and thus were blacklisted.[33]
Regarding this scene, an in-joke is used in Kubrick's next film, Lolita (1962), where Humbert Humbert asks Clare Quilty, "Are you Quilty?" to which he replies, "No, I'm Spartacus. Have you come to free the slaves or something?"[34] Many subsequent films, television shows and advertisements have referenced or parodied the iconic scene. One of these is the film Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979), which reverses the situation by depicting an entire group undergoing crucifixion all claiming to be Brian, who, it has just been announced, is eligible for release ("I'm Brian." "No, I'm Brian." "I'm Brian and so's my wife.")[34] Further examples have been documented[34] in David Hughes' The Complete Kubrick[35] and Jon Solomon's The Ancient World in Cinema.[36]
See also[edit]
1st century BC
List of films set in ancient Rome
List of historical drama films
List of films featuring slavery
List of films based on military books (pre-1775)
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b "Spartacus - Box Office Data, DVD and Blu-ray Sales, Movie News, Cast and Crew Information". The Numbers. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
2.^ Jump up to: a b c d Kirk Douglas. The Ragman's Son (Autobiography). Pocket Books, 1990. Chapter 26: The Wars of Spartacus.
3.^ Jump up to: a b Schwartz, Richard A. "How the Film and Television Blacklists Worked". Florida International University. Retrieved December 15, 2011.
4.^ Jump up to: a b c "Kennedy Attends Movie in Capital". New York Times. 1961-02-04. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
5.Jump up ^ Link, Tom (1991). Universal City-North Hollywood: A Centennial Portrait. Chatsworth, CA: Windsor Publications. p. 87. ISBN 0-89781-393-6.
6.Jump up ^ http://variety.com/2012/film/news/the-spartacus-duel-ua-yul-brynner-and-the-rival-gladiators-1118057737/#
7.^ Jump up to: a b Trumbo (2007) at the Internet Movie Database Retrieved April 25, 2010.
8.Jump up ^ Winkler, Martin M. Spartacus: Film and History, p. 4. Wiley-Blackwell, 2007. ISBN 1-4051-3181-0
9.Jump up ^ Nordheimer, Jon (September 11, 1976). "Dalton Trumbo, Film Writer, Dies; Oscar Winner Had Been Blacklisted". The New York Times. p. 17. Retrieved 2008-08-11. "...it was Otto Preminger, the director, who broke the blacklist months later by publicly announcing that he had hired Mr. Trumbo to do the screenplay"
10.Jump up ^ Harvey, Steve (September 10, 1976). "Dalton Trumbo Dies at 70, One of the 'Hollywood 10'". Los Angeles Times. p. 1. "He recalled how his name returned to the screen in 1960 with the help of Spartacus star Kirk Douglas: 'I had been working on Spartacus for about a year'"
11.Jump up ^ Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–2014. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
12.Jump up ^ Hauerslev, Thomas. "Super Technirama 70". In 70 MM.com. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
13.^ Jump up to: a b Baxter 1997, p. 3.
14.Jump up ^ Baxter 1997, p. 4.
15.Jump up ^ Baxter 1997, p. 6.
16.Jump up ^ Duncan 2003, p. 61.
17.Jump up ^ Duncan 2003, p. 69.
18.Jump up ^ Guthmann, Edward (1999-07-18). "The Ones That (Almost) Got Away: Three films director Stanley Kubrick didn't want viewers to see". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
19.Jump up ^ Varèse Sarabande Records: "Varèse Sarabande Records" 11 October 2010
20.^ Jump up to: a b Burgoyne, Robert. The Hollywood Historical Film, p. 93. Blackwell, 2008. ISBN 1-4051-4603-6.
21.Jump up ^ Burgoyne, Robert. The Hollywood Historical Film, pp. 86–90. Blackwell, 2008. ISBN 1-4051-4603-6.
22.Jump up ^ Burgoyne, Robert. The Hollywood Historical Film, p. 73. Blackwell, 2008. ISBN 1-4051-4603-6.
23.Jump up ^ Theodorakopoulos, Elena. Ancient Rome at the Cinema: Story and Spectacle in Hollywood and Rome, pp. 54–55. Bristol Phoenix, 2010. ISBN 978-1-904675-28-0.
24.^ Jump up to: a b "Restoration of "Spartacus" - "Spartacus" Production Notes". Universal Pictures. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
25.Jump up ^ "Spartacus". Warnrer Bros. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
26.Jump up ^ American Film Institute (2008-06-17). "AFI Crowns Top 10 Films in 10 Classic Genres". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
27.Jump up ^ "Top 10 Epic". American Film Institute. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
28.Jump up ^ AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies Nominees
29.Jump up ^ AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes Nominees
30.Jump up ^ Ebert, Roger (1991-05-03). "Spartacus". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2009-01-08.
31.Jump up ^ Crowther, Bosley (1960-10-07). "'Spartacus' Enters the Arena:3-Hour Production Has Premiere at DeMille". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-01-08.
32.Jump up ^ "Spartacus Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2009-01-08.
33.Jump up ^ Pandolfi, Chris. "Trumbo". Movie Reviews. Gone With the Twins. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
34.^ Jump up to: a b c Winkler, Martin M. Spartacus: Film and History, pp. 6-7, fn. 12. Wiley-Blackwell, 2007. ISBN 1-4051-3181-0
35.Jump up ^ Hughes, David. The Complete Kubrick. London: Virgin, 2000; rpt. 2001, pp. 80-82. ISBN 0-7535-0452-9
36.Jump up ^ Solomon, Jon. The Ancient World in Cinema, 2nd edition. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001, p. 53. ISBN 0-300-08337-8
BibliographyBaxter, John (1997). Stanley Kubrick: A Biography. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-00-638445-8.
Duncan, Paul (2003). Stanley Kubrick: The Complete Films. Taschen GmbH. ISBN 978-3836527750.
External links[edit]
 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Spartacus (film).
Spartacus at the Internet Movie Database
Spartacus at Rotten Tomatoes
Criterion Collection essay by Stephen Farber
Rare, Never-Seen: 'Spartacus' at 50 at LIFE [1]


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Categories: 1960 films
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Spartacus (film)

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Spartacus
Spartacus sheetA.jpg
Theatrical release poster by Reynold Brown

Directed by
Stanley Kubrick
Produced by
Edward Lewis
Screenplay by
Dalton Trumbo
Based on
Spartacus
 by Howard Fast
Starring
Kirk Douglas
Laurence Olivier
Jean Simmons
Charles Laughton
Peter Ustinov
John Gavin
Tony Curtis

Narrated by
Vic Perrin
Music by
Alex North
Cinematography
Russell Metty
Edited by
Robert Lawrence

Production
 company

Bryna Productions

Distributed by
Universal International

Release dates

October 6, 1960 (New York City)
October 7, 1960 (United States)


Running time
 184 minutes
Country
United States
Language
English
Budget
$12 million[1]
Box office
$60 million[1]
Spartacus is a 1960 American epic historical drama film directed by Stanley Kubrick. The screenplay by Dalton Trumbo was based on the novel Spartacus by Howard Fast. It was inspired by the life story of the leader of a slave revolt in antiquity, Spartacus, and the events of the Third Servile War.
The film starred Kirk Douglas as Spartacus, Laurence Olivier as the Roman general and politician Marcus Licinius Crassus, Peter Ustinov, who won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, as slave trader Lentulus Batiatus, John Gavin as Julius Caesar, Jean Simmons as Varinia, Charles Laughton as Sempronius Gracchus and Tony Curtis as Antoninus. The film won four Academy Awards in all.
Douglas, whose Bryna Productions company was producing the film, removed original director Anthony Mann after the first week of shooting. Kubrick, with whom Douglas had worked before, was brought on board to take over direction.[2] It is the only film directed by Kubrick where he did not have complete artistic control.
Screenwriter Dalton Trumbo was blacklisted at the time as one of the Hollywood Ten. Kirk Douglas publicly announced that Trumbo was the screenwriter of Spartacus, and President-elect John F. Kennedy crossed American Legion picket lines to view the film, helping to end blacklisting.[3][4] The author of the novel on which it is based, Howard Fast, was also blacklisted, and originally had to self-publish it.
The film became the biggest moneymaker in Universal Studios' history, until it was surpassed by Airport (1970).[5]


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Production 3.1 Screenplay development
3.2 Filming
3.3 Music
3.4 Political commentary, Christianity, and reception
4 Re-releases and restoration
5 Awards and nominations 5.1 Academy Awards
6 Critical reception
7 "I'm Spartacus!"
8 See also
9 References
10 External links

Plot[edit]
In the 1st century BC, the Roman Republic has slid into corruption, its menial work done by armies of slaves. One of these, a proud and gifted man named Spartacus, is so uncooperative in his servitude that he is sentenced to fight as a gladiator. He is trained at a school run by the unctuous Roman businessman Lentulus Batiatus, who instructs Spartacus's trainer Marcellus to bully the slave mercilessly and break his spirit. Amid the abuse, Spartacus forms a quiet relationship with a serving woman named Varinia, whom he refuses to rape when she is sent to "entertain" him in his cell.
Batiatus receives a visit from the Roman senator Marcus Licinius Crassus, an arch-conservative who aims to become dictator of Rome. Crassus buys Varinia on a whim, and for the amusement of his companions arranges for Spartacus and three others to fight in pairs. When Spartacus is disarmed, his opponent, an African named Draba, spares his life in a burst of compassion and attacks the Roman audience, but is killed by an arena guard and Crassus. The next day, with the school's atmosphere still tense over this episode, Batiatus takes Varinia away to Crassus's house in Rome. Spartacus kills Marcellus, who was taunting him over this, and their fight escalates into a riot. The gladiators overwhelm their guards and escape into the Italian countryside.
Spartacus is elected chief of the fugitives and decides to lead them out of Italy and back to their homes. They plunder Roman country estates as they go, collecting enough money to buy sea transport from Rome's foes, the pirates of Cilicia. Countless other slaves join the group, making it as large as an army. One of the new arrivals is Varinia, who escaped while being delivered to Crassus. Another is a slave entertainer named Antoninus, who also fled Crassus's service after the Roman tried to seduce him. Privately Spartacus feels mentally inadequate because of his lack of education during years of servitude. However, he proves an excellent leader and organizes his diverse followers into a tough and self-sufficient community. Varinia, now his informal wife, becomes pregnant by him, and he also comes to regard the spirited Antoninus as a sort of son.
The Roman Senate becomes increasingly alarmed as Spartacus defeats the multiple armies it sends against him. Crassus's populist opponent Gracchus knows that his rival will try to use the crisis as a justification for seizing control of the Roman army. To try and prevent this, Gracchus channels as much military power as possible into the hands of his own protege, a young senator named Julius Caesar. Although Caesar lacks Crassus's contempt for the lower classes of Rome, he mistakes the man's rigid outlook for nobility. Thus, when Gracchus reveals that he has bribed the Cilicians to get Spartacus out of Italy and rid Rome of the slave army, Caesar regards such tactics as beneath him and goes over to Crassus.
Crassus uses a bribe of his own to make the pirates abandon Spartacus and has the Roman army secretly force the rebels away from the coastline towards Rome. Amid panic that Spartacus means to sack the city, the Senate gives Crassus absolute power. Now surrounded by Romans, Spartacus convinces his men to die fighting. Just by rebelling, and proving themselves human, he says that they have struck a blow against slavery. In the ensuing battle, most of the slave army is massacred by Crassus's forces. Afterward, when the Romans try to locate the rebel leader for special punishment, every surviving man shields him by shouting "I'm Spartacus!" As a result, Crassus has them all sentenced to death by crucifixion along the Via Appia.
Meanwhile, Crassus has found Varinia and Spartacus's newborn son and has taken them prisoner. He is disturbed by the idea that Spartacus can command more love and loyalty than he can and hopes to compensate by making Varinia as devoted to him as she was to her former husband. When she rejects him, he furiously seeks out Spartacus (whom he recognizes from having watched him in the arena) and forces him to fight Antoninus to the death. The survivor is to be crucified, along with all the other men captured after the great battle. Spartacus kills Antoninus to spare him this fate. The incident leaves Crassus worried about Spartacus's potential to live in legend as a martyr. In other matters he is also worried about Caesar, who he senses will someday eclipse him.
Gracchus, having seen Rome fall into tyranny, commits suicide. Before doing so, he bribes his friend Batiatus to rescue Spartacus's family from Crassus and carry them away to freedom. On the way out of Rome, the group pass under Spartacus's cross. Varinia is able to comfort him in his dying moments by showing him his little son, who will grow up without ever having been a slave.
Cast[edit]
Kirk Douglas as Spartacus
Laurence Olivier as Crassus
Jean Simmons as Varinia
Charles Laughton as Gracchus
Peter Ustinov as Batiatus
Tony Curtis as Antoninus
John Gavin as Julius Caesar
John Dall as Marcus Glabrus
Nina Foch as Helena Glabrus
John Ireland as Crixus
Herbert Lom as Tigranes Levantus (pirate envoy)
Charles McGraw as Marcellus
Joanna Barnes as Claudia Marius
Harold J. Stone as David
Woody Strode as Draba
Production[edit]



 Original 1960 theatrical release poster
The development of Spartacus was partly instigated by Kirk Douglas's failure to win the title role in William Wyler's Ben-Hur. Douglas had worked with Wyler before on Detective Story, and was disappointed when Wyler chose Charlton Heston instead. Shortly after, Edward (Eddie) Lewis, a vice president in Douglas's film company, Bryna Productions (named after Douglas's mother), had Douglas read Howard Fast's novel, Spartacus, which had a related theme—an individual who challenges the might of the Roman Empire—and Douglas was impressed enough to purchase an option on the book from Fast with his own financing. Universal Studios eventually agreed to finance the film after Douglas persuaded Olivier, Laughton, and Ustinov to act in it. Lewis became the producer of the film, with Douglas taking executive producer credit. Lewis subsequently produced other films for Douglas.[2]
At the same time Yul Brynner was planning his own Spartacus film for United Artists with Douglas' agent Lew Wasserman suggesting he try having his film produced for Universal Studios. With Dalton Trumbo's screenplay being completed in two weeks, Universal and Douglas won the 'Spartacus' race.[6]
Screenplay development[edit]
Howard Fast was originally hired to adapt his own novel as a screenplay, but he had difficulty working in the format. He was replaced by Dalton Trumbo, who had been blacklisted as one of the Hollywood Ten, and intended to use the pseudonym "Sam Jackson".
Kirk Douglas insisted that Trumbo be given screen credit for his work, which helped to break the blacklist.[7] Trumbo had been jailed for contempt of Congress in 1950, after which he had survived by writing screenplays under assumed names. Douglas' intervention on his behalf was praised as an act of courage.
In his autobiography, Douglas states that this decision was motivated by a meeting that he, Edward Lewis, and Kubrick had regarding whose name(s) to put against the screenplay in the movie credits, given Trumbo's shaky position with Hollywood executives. One idea was to credit Lewis as co-writer or sole writer, but Lewis vetoed both suggestions. Kubrick then suggested that his own name be used. Douglas and Lewis found Kubrick's eagerness to take credit for Trumbo's work revolting, and the next day, Douglas called the gate at Universal saying, "I'd like to leave a pass for Dalton Trumbo." Douglas writes, "For the first time in ten years, [Trumbo] walked on to a studio lot. He said, 'Thanks, Kirk, for giving me back my name.'"[2]
The filming was plagued by the conflicting visions of Kubrick and Trumbo. Kubrick complained that the character of Spartacus had no faults or quirks, and he later distanced himself from the film.[8]
Blacklisting effectively ended in 1960 when it lost credibility. Trumbo was publicly given credit for two major films: Otto Preminger made public that Trumbo wrote the screenplay for the hit, Exodus,[9] and Kirk Douglas publicly announced that Trumbo was the screenwriter of Spartacus.[10] Further, President John F. Kennedy publicly ignored a demonstration organised by the American Legion to see the movie.[3][4]
Filming[edit]



Stanley Kubrick looking through camera with cinematographer Russell Metty (in hat) standing behind.
After David Lean turned down an offer to direct, Spartacus was to be directed by Anthony Mann, then best known for his Westerns such as Winchester '73 and The Naked Spur. Douglas fired Mann at the end of the first week of shooting, in which the opening sequence in the quarry had been filmed. "He seemed scared of the scope of the picture," wrote Douglas in his autobiography; yet a year later Mann would embark on another epic of similar size, El Cid. The dismissal (or resignation) of Mann is mysterious since the opening sequences, filmed at Death Valley, Nevada, set the style for the rest of the movie.
Thirty-year-old Stanley Kubrick was hired to take over. He had already directed four feature films (including Paths of Glory, also starring Douglas). Spartacus was a bigger project by far, with a budget of $12 million (equivalent to approximately $97,082,192 in today's funds[11]) and a cast of 10,500, a daunting project for such a young director. Paths of Glory, his previous film, had only been budgeted at $935,000.
Spartacus was filmed using the 35 mm Super 70 Technirama format[12] and then blown up to 70 mm film. This was a change for Kubrick, who preferred using the standard spherical format. This process allowed him to achieve ultra-high definition and to capture large panoramic scenes, including one with 8,000 trained soldiers from Spain representing the Roman army. Kubrick had wanted to shoot the picture in Rome with cheap extras and resources, but Edward Muhl, president of Universal Pictures, wanted to make an example of the film and prove that a successful epic could be made in Hollywood itself and "stem the flood of 'runaway' producers heading for Europe".[13]
Disputes broke out during the filming. Cinematographer Russell Metty, a veteran with experience working in big pictures such as Orson Welles's The Stranger (1946) and Touch of Evil (1958) and Howard Hawk's Bringing Up Baby (1938),[14] complained about Kubrick's unusually precise and detailed instructions for the film's camerawork and disagreed with Kubrick's use of light. On one occasion he threatened to quit to Ed Muhl, to which Kubrick told him "You can do your job by sitting in your chair and shutting up. I'll be the director of photography".[15] Metty later muted his criticisms after winning the Oscar for Best Cinematography. [16] Kubrick wanted to shoot at a slow pace of two camera set-ups a day, but the studio insisted that he do 32; a compromise of eight had to be made.[13]
Kubrick found working outdoors or in real locations to be distracting and thus preferred to film in the studio. He believed the actors would benefit more from working on a sound stage, where they could fully concentrate. To create the illusion of the large crowds that play such an essential role in the film, Kubrick's crew used three-channel sound equipment to record 76,000 spectators at a Michigan State – Notre Dame college football game shouting "Hail, Crassus!" and "I'm Spartacus!"
The intimate scenes were filmed in Hollywood, but Kubrick insisted that all battle scenes be filmed on a vast plain outside Madrid. Eight thousand trained soldiers from the Spanish infantry were used to double as the Roman army. Kubrick directed the armies from the top of specially constructed towers. However, he eventually had to cut all but one of the gory battle scenes, due to negative audience reactions at preview screenings. So precise was Kubrick, that even in arranging the bodies of the slaughtered slaves he had each "corpse" assigned with a number and instructions.[17]
Despite the film being a huge box office success, gaining four Oscars, and being considered to rank among the very best of historical epics, Kubrick disowned the movie, and did not include it as part of his canon. Although his personal mark is a distinct part of the final picture, his contract did not give him complete control over the filming, the only occasion he did not exercise such control over one of his films.[18]
Music[edit]


 This section possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (November 2009)
The original score for Spartacus was composed and conducted by six-time Academy Award nominee Alex North. It was nominated by the American Film Institute for their list of greatest film scores. It is a textbook example of how modernist compositional styles can be adapted to the Hollywood leitmotif technique. North's score is epic, as befits the scale of the film. After extensive research of music of that period, North gathered a collection of antique instruments that, while not authentically Roman, provided a strong dramatic effect. These instruments included a sarrusophone, Israeli recorder, Chinese oboe, lute, mandolin, Yugoslav flute, kythara, dulcimer, and bagpipes. North's prize instrument was the ondioline, similar to an earlier version of the electronic synthesizer, which had never been used in film before. Much of the music is written without a tonal center, or flirts with tonality in ways that most film composers would not risk. One theme is used to represent both slavery and freedom, but is given different values in different scenes, so that it sounds like different themes. The love theme for Spartacus and Varinia is the most accessible theme in the film, and there is a harsh trumpet figure for Crassus.
The soundtrack album runs less than forty-five minutes and is not very representative of the score. There were plans to re-record a significant amount of the music with North's friend and fellow film composer Jerry Goldsmith, but the project kept getting delayed. Goldsmith died in 2004. Numerous bootleg recordings have been made, but none has good sound quality.
In 2010 the soundtrack was re-released as part of a set, featuring 6 CDs, 1 DVD, and a 168-page booklet. This is a limited edition of 5,000 copies.[19]
Political commentary, Christianity, and reception[edit]
The film parallels 1950s American history, specifically HUAC hearings and the civil rights movement. The hearings, where witnesses were demanded to "name names" of supposed communist sympathizers, closely resembles the climactic scene when the slaves, asked by Crassus to give up their leader by pointing him out from the multitude, each stand up to proclaim, "I am Spartacus". Howard Fast, who wrote the book on which the film was based, "was jailed for his refusal to testify, and wrote the novel Spartacus while in prison".[20] The comment of how slavery was a central part of American history is pointed to in the beginning in the scenes featuring Draba and Spartacus. Draba, who denies the friendship of Spartacus claiming "gladiators can have no friends", sacrifices himself by attacking Crassus rather than kill Spartacus. This scene points to the fact that Americans are indebted to the suffering of African Americans, who played a major role in building the country. The fight to end segregation and to promote the equality of African Americans is seen in the mixing of races within the gladiator school as well as in the army of Spartacus where all fight for freedom.[21] Another instance of the film's allusions to the political climate of the United States is hinted at in the beginning where Rome is described as a republic "that lay fatally stricken with a disease called human slavery", and describing Spartacus as a "proud, rebellious son dreaming of the death of slavery, 2000 years before it finally would die"; thus the ethical and political vision of the film is first introduced as a foreground for the ensuing action.[22]
The voice-over at the beginning of the film also depicts Rome as destined to fail by the rise of Christianity:

In the last century before the birth of the new faith called Christianity which was destined to overthrow the pagan tyranny of Rome and bring about a new society, the Roman Republic stood at the very center of the civilized world… Even at the zenith of her pride and power, the Republic lay fatally stricken with the disease called human slavery. The age of the dictator was at hand, waiting in the shadows for the event to bring forth. In that same century, in the conquered Greek province of Thrace, an illiterate slave woman added to her master's wealth by giving birth to a son whom she names Spartacus. A proud rebellious son, who was sold to living death in the mines of Libya, before his thirteenth birthday. There under whip and chain and sun he lived out his youth and his young manhood, dreaming the death of slavery 2000 years before it finally would die.
Thus Rome is portrayed as the oppressor suffering from its own excesses, where the prospect of Christian salvation is offered as the means to end Roman oppression and slavery.[23]
The film's release occasioned both applause from the mainstream media and protests from anti-communist groups such as the National Legion of Decency, which picketed theaters showcasing the film. To affirm the film's "legitimacy as an expression of national aspirations wasn’t stilled until the newly elected John F. Kennedy crossed a picket line set up by anti-communist organizers to attend the film".[20]
Re-releases and restoration[edit]
The film was re-released in 1967 (in a version 23 minutes shorter than the original release), and again in 1991 with the same 23 minutes restored by Robert A. Harris, plus an additional 14 minutes that had been cut from the film before its original release.
Steven Spielberg gave his backing to the restoration effort, and recommended that Stanley Kubrick be informed of the project. Kubrick, who had disowned the film, had nothing to do with the actual physical restoration of the film, though he gave his approval to the effort, and the producers wanted his final approval of their work. Universal's negative was unusable as it had been cut twice and the colors were badly faded. Kubrick's own print of the film, which was donated to the Museum of Modern Art, could not be used for the restoration as it was considered an archival print. The original studio black and white separation prints, used as a backup in 1960, were used, though the processing lab had to develop a new lens capable of printing the Technirama frame without loss of fidelity. The final cost of the restoration was nearly $1 million.[24][25]
The 1991 restoration includes several violent battle sequences that had been left out due to the negative reaction of preview audiences. It also has a bath scene in which the Roman patrician and general Crassus (Olivier) attempts to seduce his slave Antoninus (Curtis), speaking about the analogy of "eating oysters" and "eating snails" to express his opinion that sexual preference is a matter of taste rather than morality.
When the film was restored (two years after Olivier's death), the original dialogue recording of this scene was missing; it had to be re-dubbed. Tony Curtis, by then 66, was able to re-record his part, but Crassus' voice was an impersonation of Olivier by the actor Anthony Hopkins, who had been suggested by Olivier's widow, Joan Plowright. A talented mimic, he had been a protege of Olivier during his days as the National Theatre's Artistic Director and had previously portrayed Crassus in the Jeff Wayne musical album. Kubrick faxed instructions as to how the scene should be played. The actors separately recorded their dialogue.[24]
Some four minutes of the film are lost, because of Universal's mishandling of its film prints in the 1970s. These scenes relate to the character of Gracchus (Laughton), including a scene where he commits suicide. The audio tracks of these scenes have survived. They are included on the Criterion Collection DVD, alongside production stills of some of the lost footage.
Awards and nominations[edit]
Academy Awards[edit]

Award[4]
Winner(s)
Best Actor in a Supporting Role Peter Ustinov
Best Art Direction–Set Decoration, Color Alexander Golitzen
Eric Orbom
Russell A. Gausman
Julia Heron
Best Cinematography, Color Russell Metty
Best Costume Design, Color Arlington Valles
Bill Thomas
Nominations
Best Film Editing Robert Lawrence
Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture Alex North
Spartacus has been on five different AFI 100 Years... lists including #62 for thrills, #22 for heroes, #44 for cheers and #81 for overall movies.
In June 2008, AFI revealed its "10 Top 10"—the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. Spartacus was acknowledged as the fifth best film in the epic genre.[26][27]
American Film Institute listsAFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – Nominated[28]
AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – #62
AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains: Spartacus – #22 Hero
AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes: "I'm Spartacus! I'm Spartacus!" – Nominated[29]
AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – #81
AFI's 10 Top 10 – #5 Epic film
Critical reception[edit]
The movie received mixed reviews when first released, but over time its reputation has gained in stature. Critics such as Roger Ebert have argued that the film has flaws, though his review is generally positive otherwise.[30] When released, the movie was attacked by both the American Legion and the Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper because of its connection with Trumbo. Hopper stated, "The story was sold to Universal from a book written by a commie and the screen script was written by a commie, so don't go to see it."[2]
Bosley Crowther called it a "spotty, uneven drama."[31] It has a 96% (fresh) rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[32]
"I'm Spartacus!"[edit]
In the climactic scene, recaptured slaves are asked to identify Spartacus in exchange for leniency; instead, each slave proclaims himself to be Spartacus, thus sharing his fate. The documentary Trumbo[7] suggests that this scene was meant to dramatize the solidarity of those accused of being Communist sympathizers during the McCarthy Era who refused to implicate others, and thus were blacklisted.[33]
Regarding this scene, an in-joke is used in Kubrick's next film, Lolita (1962), where Humbert Humbert asks Clare Quilty, "Are you Quilty?" to which he replies, "No, I'm Spartacus. Have you come to free the slaves or something?"[34] Many subsequent films, television shows and advertisements have referenced or parodied the iconic scene. One of these is the film Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979), which reverses the situation by depicting an entire group undergoing crucifixion all claiming to be Brian, who, it has just been announced, is eligible for release ("I'm Brian." "No, I'm Brian." "I'm Brian and so's my wife.")[34] Further examples have been documented[34] in David Hughes' The Complete Kubrick[35] and Jon Solomon's The Ancient World in Cinema.[36]
See also[edit]
1st century BC
List of films set in ancient Rome
List of historical drama films
List of films featuring slavery
List of films based on military books (pre-1775)
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b "Spartacus - Box Office Data, DVD and Blu-ray Sales, Movie News, Cast and Crew Information". The Numbers. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
2.^ Jump up to: a b c d Kirk Douglas. The Ragman's Son (Autobiography). Pocket Books, 1990. Chapter 26: The Wars of Spartacus.
3.^ Jump up to: a b Schwartz, Richard A. "How the Film and Television Blacklists Worked". Florida International University. Retrieved December 15, 2011.
4.^ Jump up to: a b c "Kennedy Attends Movie in Capital". New York Times. 1961-02-04. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
5.Jump up ^ Link, Tom (1991). Universal City-North Hollywood: A Centennial Portrait. Chatsworth, CA: Windsor Publications. p. 87. ISBN 0-89781-393-6.
6.Jump up ^ http://variety.com/2012/film/news/the-spartacus-duel-ua-yul-brynner-and-the-rival-gladiators-1118057737/#
7.^ Jump up to: a b Trumbo (2007) at the Internet Movie Database Retrieved April 25, 2010.
8.Jump up ^ Winkler, Martin M. Spartacus: Film and History, p. 4. Wiley-Blackwell, 2007. ISBN 1-4051-3181-0
9.Jump up ^ Nordheimer, Jon (September 11, 1976). "Dalton Trumbo, Film Writer, Dies; Oscar Winner Had Been Blacklisted". The New York Times. p. 17. Retrieved 2008-08-11. "...it was Otto Preminger, the director, who broke the blacklist months later by publicly announcing that he had hired Mr. Trumbo to do the screenplay"
10.Jump up ^ Harvey, Steve (September 10, 1976). "Dalton Trumbo Dies at 70, One of the 'Hollywood 10'". Los Angeles Times. p. 1. "He recalled how his name returned to the screen in 1960 with the help of Spartacus star Kirk Douglas: 'I had been working on Spartacus for about a year'"
11.Jump up ^ Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–2014. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
12.Jump up ^ Hauerslev, Thomas. "Super Technirama 70". In 70 MM.com. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
13.^ Jump up to: a b Baxter 1997, p. 3.
14.Jump up ^ Baxter 1997, p. 4.
15.Jump up ^ Baxter 1997, p. 6.
16.Jump up ^ Duncan 2003, p. 61.
17.Jump up ^ Duncan 2003, p. 69.
18.Jump up ^ Guthmann, Edward (1999-07-18). "The Ones That (Almost) Got Away: Three films director Stanley Kubrick didn't want viewers to see". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
19.Jump up ^ Varèse Sarabande Records: "Varèse Sarabande Records" 11 October 2010
20.^ Jump up to: a b Burgoyne, Robert. The Hollywood Historical Film, p. 93. Blackwell, 2008. ISBN 1-4051-4603-6.
21.Jump up ^ Burgoyne, Robert. The Hollywood Historical Film, pp. 86–90. Blackwell, 2008. ISBN 1-4051-4603-6.
22.Jump up ^ Burgoyne, Robert. The Hollywood Historical Film, p. 73. Blackwell, 2008. ISBN 1-4051-4603-6.
23.Jump up ^ Theodorakopoulos, Elena. Ancient Rome at the Cinema: Story and Spectacle in Hollywood and Rome, pp. 54–55. Bristol Phoenix, 2010. ISBN 978-1-904675-28-0.
24.^ Jump up to: a b "Restoration of "Spartacus" - "Spartacus" Production Notes". Universal Pictures. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
25.Jump up ^ "Spartacus". Warnrer Bros. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
26.Jump up ^ American Film Institute (2008-06-17). "AFI Crowns Top 10 Films in 10 Classic Genres". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
27.Jump up ^ "Top 10 Epic". American Film Institute. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
28.Jump up ^ AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies Nominees
29.Jump up ^ AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes Nominees
30.Jump up ^ Ebert, Roger (1991-05-03). "Spartacus". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2009-01-08.
31.Jump up ^ Crowther, Bosley (1960-10-07). "'Spartacus' Enters the Arena:3-Hour Production Has Premiere at DeMille". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-01-08.
32.Jump up ^ "Spartacus Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2009-01-08.
33.Jump up ^ Pandolfi, Chris. "Trumbo". Movie Reviews. Gone With the Twins. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
34.^ Jump up to: a b c Winkler, Martin M. Spartacus: Film and History, pp. 6-7, fn. 12. Wiley-Blackwell, 2007. ISBN 1-4051-3181-0
35.Jump up ^ Hughes, David. The Complete Kubrick. London: Virgin, 2000; rpt. 2001, pp. 80-82. ISBN 0-7535-0452-9
36.Jump up ^ Solomon, Jon. The Ancient World in Cinema, 2nd edition. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001, p. 53. ISBN 0-300-08337-8
BibliographyBaxter, John (1997). Stanley Kubrick: A Biography. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-00-638445-8.
Duncan, Paul (2003). Stanley Kubrick: The Complete Films. Taschen GmbH. ISBN 978-3836527750.
External links[edit]
 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Spartacus (film).
Spartacus at the Internet Movie Database
Spartacus at Rotten Tomatoes
Criterion Collection essay by Stephen Farber
Rare, Never-Seen: 'Spartacus' at 50 at LIFE [1]


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Categories: 1960 films
English-language films
1960s drama films
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Films directed by Stanley Kubrick
Screenplays by Dalton Trumbo
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Film scores by Alex North
Films about gladiatorial combat
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Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award winning performance
Films set in the 1st century BC
Films set in ancient Rome
Films set in Capua
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Films whose art director won the Best Art Direction Academy Award
Films whose cinematographer won the Best Cinematography Academy Award
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