12/19/2023 0 Comments Joaquin phoenix commodusTranslated from latin, Argento means Silver, and Scarto means Trigger. They’re engraved on Maximus’ armour breastplate and he tells us that they’re called Argento and Scarto. Ridley Scott heard about it and offered them the studios services to burn the place to the ground, as long as they could film it.īy the end of the first act, we’ve found out that Maximus has two horses back home. The sequence was filmed in Bourne Woods, Surrey, in England, and the Royal Forestry Commission had slated the area for deforestation. It’s a huge battle sequence with hundreds of extras, explosions and fire, and Ridley Scott actually found a bit of luck here. The film starts in northern Europe in 180 AD, where the Roman Empire go into battle with Germanian tribes. For the opening sequence, Scott burned a forest down The following 25 interesting, fun facts tell the behind the scenes story of Scott’s ancient epic with 25 facts about Gladiator.ġ. The story of a betrayed Roman general-turned-slave, it was a smash hit at the box office, left its mark on popular culture, and made a superstar of its lead, Russell Crowe. Commodus’s imperial authority is a sham, and Maximus calling him on it in the most public possible literal arena is deeply emotionally satisfying.ĭo you think this a great scene? Let us know in the comments below.Ridley Scott’s Gladiator was released in 2000 and revitalised the sword-and-sandals epic. Again, it ultimately doesn’t really mean anything, Lucius moves aside as the confrontation escalates, but it adds suspense.īoth in the micro details of the individual scene’s execution and in where it falls in the overarching narrative, this scene has tremendous power. Similarly, Commodus has young Lucius with him, and holds him in front of him at the start of the scene, essentially using him as a human shield. But it functions as an unexploded bomb, narratively. The arrowhead, for example, amounts to nothing in the sequence. The scene is only a few minutes long, but it’s packed with clever construction. He has become the titular gladiator and “defeated’ the emperor in a standoff. The crowd, whom Maximus has killed many people for, has saved his life. Commodus can’t simply kill Maximus or he will lose the crowd.Ĭommodus allows Maximus to live and retreats out of the arena. Commodus has Roman soldiers with him, but the crowd wants Maximus to live. The audience must have the catharsis of some resolution to the injustice created by Commodus. We, as the audience, are completely on Maximus’ side.īy putting Maximus through hell, the script has generated a need for catharsis. The whole movie has been building to this, to the reckoning guaranteed by Commodus’ treachery. Maximus’ wife and son were horribly murdered. Marcus was the “true” emperor, until Joaquin’s Commodus killed him. Marcus Aurelius respected him more than his own son. The reason the speech is so powerful is because we as the audience understand everything it represents. “My name is Maximus Decimus Meridias, commander of the armies of the north, general of the Felix legions, loyal servant to the true emperor Marcus Aurelius, father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife, and I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.” It’s arguably one of the high points of the entire movie. Maximus removes his helmet and tells Commodus his name. Maximus says his name is Gladiator and turns his back on Commodus.Ĭommodus, offended, addresses Maximus as “slave” and demands he take off his helmet and tell him his name. Commodus praises Maximus and asks him his name. Commodus confronts Maximus in the Colosseum. The scene starts with Maximus stashing an arrowhead in his hand. The scene is when Russell Crowe’s Maximus reveals himself to Joaquin Phoenix’s Commodus (here’s a link to the scene as a refresher: ). In this series of articles, we’re going to do a deep-dive on one knockout scene from a great movie.
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