Before Prometheus: 6 Essential Ridley Scott Films

5. Gladiator (2000)

Gladiator (2000)

If Alien was Scott€™s Rear Window and Thelma and Louise was his North by Northwest, then Gladiator is his Psycho. These links are not made for thematic purposes; they are made to illustrate the defining quality they had on Scott€™s filmography. Gladiator is by far his highest grossing film to date, almost reaching the 500 million mark. When Gladiator was released, it almost felt like it came from nowhere, as if Scott himself was a first time director. Like a phoenix from the ashes, the director shot out of a 3-year hiatus to deliver what many consider to be his magnum opus. Everything we know and love about Scott is evident within Gladiator; the stunning aesthetics of his experimental days, the character studies of his developing years, the action backbone from his recent catalogue, a trend setting score, central protagonists (one of whom is a strong female) that become disenfranchised with and buck against government and corporate rule, and of course the ever present need to re-invent a genre. Gladiator was the perfect blend of artistic credibility and sheer entertainment. It was that rare but beautiful creation which is now synonymous with Scott €“ proper filmmaking. When he set out to make Gladiator, Scott had no real idea just how impactful the film would become; €you could never hope to duplicate Spartacus, or any great film for that matter. I saw Gladiator as a historical epic that was character-driven.€ The core of Gladiator is most definitely the heart wrenching tragedy and rousing impact of Maximus€™ life. In Russell Crowe, Scott discovered a kindred spirit, and so began a working relationship that has thus far lasted for 5 films and has been compared to that of Scorsese/DeNiro, Ford/Wayne and Burton/Depp. Like the potent base notes of a fine wine, Scott hit his stride with Gladiator and has not looked back since. The blood stained sands of Rome€™s foundations became the formula by which Scott marked his evolution from respected filmmaker to cinematic icon. Gladiator has no doubt opened up countless opportunities for him, and given the director a skeleton key to that rare elite clubhouse where a small few get make pretty much whatever film they want. If Scott was a ballsy go-getter before, then this was the point where he became absolutely fearless. Original Critical Responses: €œWith its conspicuous display of prefascist trappings, it says more about our time than about Rome.€ -Jay Carr (Boston Globe) €œHuge in scope and endlessly exciting, "Gladiator" is the new word in blockbuster. All the players are excellent, with a central performance by Crowe that reaches new levels of magnetism.€ -Ben Falk (BBC Film) Supplement Your Viewing With: Kingdom of Heaven (2005) Robin Hood (2010)