10. It Revived A Dead Genre
Nowadays, film studios seem almost exclusively invested in either young adult fantasy franchises or comic book properties. This may seem like a decidedly modern tendency. But back in the 1950's, the studios succumbed to trends as well. And one of the biggest, trendiest and most successful genres was the sword-and-sandals film: an historical epic often set in ancient Greece or Rome, or other ancient cultures. Only a select few of these films stood the test of time and remain beloved and relevant today - films such as Ben-Hur, and Spartacus. But in the period between 1955-1965, the studios produced
hundreds of sword-and-sandal films, many of which cannot even be found today. As with the musical, the sword-and-sandals genre crumbled along with the Studio system in the mid to late 1960's, when the New Hollywood generation of filmmakers began to take over. Ridley Scott and Dreamworks took a huge risk trying to revive a genre that hadn't produced a notable film since the 60's. But the gamble paid off in spades, and Gladiator ended up joining the ranks of Unforgiven and Moulin Rouge!, both of which successfully revived genres that died in the 60's at the end of the Studio era as well. And what better sign of a successful genre revival other than inspiring subsequent films attempting to cash in...