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List Price: $19.99 | | Label: Dreamworks Video
Salesrank: 881
Released: August 19, 2003 |
| Our Price: $9.95 |
| Used Price: $3.72 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
SET IN ROMAN TIMES A BANISHED ROMAN GENERAL FIGHTS HIS WAY BACK AS A GLADIATOR. THE ONLY POWER STRONGER THAN THE EMPEROR IS THE GREATEST HERO IN ALL THE EMPIRE.
Description of Gladiator (Widescreen Edition):
A big-budget summer epic with money to burn and a scale worthy of its golden Hollywood predecessors, Ridley Scott's Gladiator is a rousing, grisly, action-packed epic that takes moviemaking back to the Roman Empire via computer-generated visual effects. While not as fluid as the computer work done for, say, Titanic, it's an impressive achievement that will leave you marveling at the glory that was Rome, when you're not marveling at the glory that is Russell Crowe. Starring as the heroic general Maximus, Crowe firmly cements his star status both in terms of screen presence and acting chops, carrying the film on his decidedly non-computer-generated shoulders as he goes from brave general to wounded fugitive to stoic slave to gladiator hero. Gladiator's plot is a whirlwind of faux-Shakespearean machinations of death, betrayal, power plays, and secret identities (with lots of faux-Shakespearean dialogue ladled on to keep the proceedings appropriately "classical"), but it's all briskly shot, edited, and paced with a contemporary sensibility. Even the action scenes, somewhat muted but graphic in terms of implied violence and liberal bloodletting, are shot with a veracity that brings to mind--believe it or not--Saving Private Ryan, even if everyone is wearing a toga. As Crowe's nemesis, the evil emperor Commodus, Joaquin Phoenix chews scenery with authority, whether he's damning Maximus's popularity with the Roman mobs or lusting after his sister Lucilla (beautiful but distant Connie Nielsen); Oliver Reed, in his last role, hits the perfect notes of camp and gravitas as the slave owner who rescues Maximus from death and turns him into a coliseum star. Director Scott's visual flair is abundantly in evidence, with breathtaking shots and beautiful (albeit digital) landscapes, but it's Crowe's star power that will keep you in thrall--he's a true gladiator, worthy of his legendary status. Hail the conquering hero! --Mark Englehart
Gladiator (Widescreen Edition) Reviews:
Seriously, it's Great on Blu-Ray 
2009-12-15 - Now I'm not saying the image quality is perfect. There are halos around the characters and little strands of hair in some scenes. Image enhancement has obvisouly been used. Is it as horrible and distracting as some people make it out to be? Far from it in my case.
I was blown away by the level of clarity showcased in this movie. Every fine detail in a characters face, in the architecture of the sets and city shots, every little rock in the dirt, every bit of detail I want to see pop out on the screen is gloriously there, something sadly missing from most Blu-Ray's released.
Those who claim it looks no better than a DVD are simply fooling themselves. The difference was almost Night and Day for me, especially after comparing the two formats, even upconverted.
If it hadn't been that I happen to work at a video store and could take the Blu-Ray home to see for myself, I wouldn't have bothered buying it going by what the people on here and other sites have said. Well, I did end up buying it and it's one of my favorites in my collection.
Stimulus not storytelling 
2009-12-14 - [I wrote this review some years ago under an anonymous account. I'm resubmitting it so that it will show up under My Reviews, as it sums up what I think about a lot of modern movie-making.]
I strongly believe that the tremendous success of this movie at the box office and the awards is tragic testimony to how the art of film-making has declined from story-telling to mere sensory stimulation. Consider: music that never lets up; reverb added to every voice, even when characters are talking out in the open; constant use of quick camera cuts to ensure that you never have a chance to study or reflect on anything; every scene keyed to the same pitch of intensity, so that there is little to distinguish a fight in a small provincial amphitheatre from the climax in the Colosseum. It's all just a barrage of noise and light calculated to keep your reptile brain stimulated while your intellect shuts down.
Compare this film to Spartacus, a movie that could probably never be made in this era because the younger generation, overstimulated by movies like Gladiator, would consider it boring. Despite the lack of computer FX, the action scenes in the earlier movie are so much more successful because (a) they stand out against the background of long, slow, quiet plot and character development and (b) they are coherent, unlike the muddled battles and fights of Gladiator, where you don't get much of an idea of what is going on besides general mayhem.
It's really sad that manipulation of the senses has become so confused with artistry. Sad because more movies like this will be made, while we get to see fewer and fewer that offer any stimulation for the higher parts of the brain.
Gladiator..Blue Ray
2009-12-13 - If you know and love this movie you will love this Blue Ray version. I bought it for when the Roman army is told to "unleash hell" by Maximus at the beginning of the movie. Those clay pots, filled with Greek fire, blazing through the air and finally smashing into a a tree with spot on audio of what a clay pot sounds like breaking into a hundered pieces. Worth every penny in my estimation.Gladiator (Sapphire Series) [Blu-ray]
ABSOLUTELY ATROCIOUS TRANSFER RUINED THIS RELEASE
2009-12-03 - Yep, I bit the bullet and bought this blu ray even after reading the reviews, knowing full well it would be bad. Why? Because amazon had it on sale for $10 dollars, AND the Blu ray comes with a coupon so that if you own the original DVD release, you get $10 dollars back (so basically I got it for free, so why not?). The transfer is absolutely atrocious. Yes, people who don't know any better won't notice it, but if you have a system properly calibrated and have seen a better transfer, the comparisons are ridiculous. It is impossible to watch this blu ray and not be distracted by the lack of resolution and all the haloes around every single strand of hair, every spear, every building. Why call this a "Sapphire" series? Let's hope Joe six pack (most of those who think this looks acceptable) buys as many copies as possible to watch between Nascar races, so a better version can be released ASAP. Even free this is not worth it.
Gladiator in HD!
2009-12-01 - Gladiator is one of my top 10 movies, so I had to buy it on Blu-Ray. I admit Gladiator is not the best Blu-Ray transfer I have seen, but with a movie this good, who cares if the quality is a little lower? It is still several notches about the up-converted DVD.
