Page 174 - Western Civilization A Brief History, Volume I To 1715 9th - Jackson J. Spielvogel

FILM HISTORY
Gladiator (2000)
THE FILM GLADIATOR, directed by Ridley Scott, is a fictional story set in the Roman Empire near the end of the second century C.E. In the movie, Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) informs his son Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) that he intends to turn over imperial power to his successful and respected general, Maximus (Russell Crowe), in the hope that this decent and honest man can restore the Roman senate and revive the republic. Commodus reacts by killing his father, assuming the position of emperor, and ordering the deaths of Maximus, his wife, and son. Maximus escapes but returns to Spain too late to save his wife and child. He is captured and then sold into slavery to Proximo (Oliver Reed), who trains him to be a gladiator. Maximus is eventually sent to Rome, where he becomes a superhero in the gladiatorial games in the Roman Colosseum, all the while awaiting an opportunity to avenge the deaths of his wife and son by killing Commodus. Maximus becomes involved in a plot with Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), the emperor’s sister, and Gracchus (Derek Jacobi), a Roman senator, to rejoin his army, march on Rome, and overthrow the emperor. When Commodus discovers the plot, he challenges the captured Maximus to a duel in the Colosseum but stabs him first to ensure his own success. Despite his injury, Maximus kills the emperor in combat.
Gladiator is a relatively exciting story, but how much of it is based on historical facts? With the exception of Marcus Aurelius, Commodus, and Lucilla, all of the characters are fictional. Marcus Aurelius was a kind emperor with a love of philosophy and died in 180 C.E., probably of plague, and certainly not by his son’s hands, as depicted in the film. Commodus ruled from 180 to 192, although he was only eighteen when he became emperor, not in his late twenties as in the movie; and he had blond hair, not dark hair. Commodus was an unstable and cruel young man who was strongly attracted to gladiatorial contests. He was obsessed with performing in the arena, especially with slaughtering animals. He was not killed in the Colosseum, however, but was strangled by his wrestling partner on the last day of 192.
Contrary to the movie, Marcus Aurelius had no intention of restoring the republic; by 180, most Romans had become well accustomed to the empire. In fact, Marcus Aurelius had already made his son Commodus a
136 Chapter 6 The Roman Empire
Maximus (Russell Crowe) triumphs in the Roman Colosseum.
joint ruler in 177. Nor had Marcus Aurelius banned gladiatorial games, as the movie claims. And although Commodus’s sister Lucilla did enter into a plot with some senators to assassinate her brother in 182, the plot failed, and the conspirators, including Lucilla, were executed.
Although Gladiator shows little concern for historical facts, the movie did demonstrate that many people are still interested in ancient history. It became one of the highest-earning films of 2000 and won numerous awards, including Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor for Russell Crowe. Moreover, the film helped to renew interest in Roman history—sales of biographies of historical Roman figures and Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations increased noticeably in the years after the movie was released.
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a DreamWorks/Courtesy The Everett Collection, Inc.