WEBVTT - Gladiator Rewatch 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:04.160 Warning. Today's episode contains spoilers for the twenty five year 0:00:04.200 --> 0:00:09.200 old movie Gladiator of I Ridly Scott. Well Gladier two 0:00:09.480 --> 0:00:13.560 in theater soon. Be warned if you have out watched Gladiator, 0:00:13.800 --> 0:00:17.880 then watch it before listening to this before seeing Gladiator 0:00:17.880 --> 0:00:37.240 too and aply connected guys. Hello, my name is Jason 0:00:37.280 --> 0:00:40.320 Casepsiote co host to a pod and I will have 0:00:40.400 --> 0:00:43.080 my revenge in this life of the next. 0:00:43.320 --> 0:00:46.280 I weesday night. Are you not entertained? 0:00:46.560 --> 0:00:48.320 And welcome back to x me vision of the podcast 0:00:48.320 --> 0:00:50.520 where we dive deep. It's your favorite shows, movies, comics 0:00:50.520 --> 0:00:52.919 and pop culture coming from My Heart podcast where we 0:00:53.000 --> 0:00:56.280 bring you between two and three and sometimes war episodes 0:00:56.320 --> 0:00:59.560 every week Tuesday Thursday, with extra episodes on Wednesday. 0:01:00.120 --> 0:01:03.440 In today's episode, in the air Lock, we are revisiting 0:01:03.480 --> 0:01:07.479 the five time Oscar winning film Gladiator by Ridley Scott 0:01:07.560 --> 0:01:11.000 starring Russell Crowe, and in the omnibus, we are going 0:01:11.040 --> 0:01:13.839 to dig into some of the history, both real life 0:01:13.840 --> 0:01:16.600 and production wise, that gave us Gladiator and we'll lead 0:01:16.680 --> 0:01:19.920 us in to the eagerly awaited Gladiator two. 0:01:20.240 --> 0:01:26.920 Dun dundun all right. Gladiator the year two thousand, directed 0:01:26.920 --> 0:01:30.200 by Ridley Scott, Gosh, what a film. I saw it 0:01:30.200 --> 0:01:32.680 in the theaters. This is when I was working in 0:01:32.720 --> 0:01:38.080 movie theaters, saw every movie and my reaction was, Wow, 0:01:38.160 --> 0:01:41.000 what an insanely violent and good movie that. 0:01:41.240 --> 0:01:44.840 Was so violent, like when I rewatched it for the pod. 0:01:45.600 --> 0:01:47.440 So let me set this up. When I was a kid, 0:01:47.480 --> 0:01:50.160 I saw this movie on VHS at my dad's house 0:01:50.640 --> 0:01:53.240 and I was so upset when one of the guys 0:01:53.480 --> 0:01:57.560 walks out to fight in the gladiatorial ring and just 0:01:57.600 --> 0:02:00.080 before he goes out, he pisses himself, and I I 0:02:00.200 --> 0:02:02.800 was so upset for how scared that guy was. I 0:02:02.800 --> 0:02:05.040 think I just disassociated for the rest of the movie. 0:02:05.080 --> 0:02:07.960 I've watched it since, but on this watch, I was 0:02:08.000 --> 0:02:10.720 just blown away by the violence and also like, as 0:02:10.760 --> 0:02:13.919 a horror fan, how inventive it is, Like Ridley Scott's like, really, 0:02:14.200 --> 0:02:17.720 what are the craziest ways that people could die in 0:02:18.160 --> 0:02:22.200 the Roman Empire? We're gonna do tiger fight shooting like 0:02:22.440 --> 0:02:26.440 huge steaks into people's chests from shields. Yeah, Like I'm 0:02:26.440 --> 0:02:30.600 gonna catapult a glass ball full of fire like a 0:02:30.680 --> 0:02:35.840 hyper Molotov cocktail. Like there's so much invention in this movie. 0:02:35.840 --> 0:02:38.720 When it comes to that and it is my little crew. 0:02:38.720 --> 0:02:41.000 We always talk about like a dude's rock movie, and 0:02:41.040 --> 0:02:43.239 this is definitely in that vein. Oh, this is a 0:02:43.360 --> 0:02:44.519 dude's a rockin. 0:02:44.440 --> 0:02:47.920 This is a dude's being dudes hanging out with dudes 0:02:48.639 --> 0:02:51.480 type movie where their dudes come together as a team 0:02:51.600 --> 0:02:54.560 to accomplish the goal of reforming. 0:02:54.040 --> 0:02:57.560 Their rob That shit hit me really really hard when 0:02:57.560 --> 0:02:59.600 I was rewatching it this morning. One because I love 0:02:59.720 --> 0:03:03.320 Gime Hansu, who's so fantastic love. But also I have 0:03:03.400 --> 0:03:05.440 to say, for such a violent movie that seems to 0:03:05.480 --> 0:03:08.959 have a pretty simple premise, it actually does a really 0:03:09.200 --> 0:03:13.560 interesting job of crafting those male friendships, those male connections, 0:03:13.639 --> 0:03:16.120 the way that these men come together against the face 0:03:16.160 --> 0:03:22.239 of this evil, maniacal sociopath leader of Rome. This movie 0:03:22.320 --> 0:03:23.959 hit a lot harder for me this time. I'm really 0:03:24.000 --> 0:03:25.120 glad that we're talking about it. 0:03:25.639 --> 0:03:28.760 It has a what I consider to be an iconic 0:03:28.800 --> 0:03:32.880 soundtrack by Hans zimmer Yes that I still listen to, 0:03:33.040 --> 0:03:35.920 particularly when I'm on a walk or running or trying. 0:03:36.080 --> 0:03:39.480 Is really good walking music, main character musicastic. 0:03:40.440 --> 0:03:43.880 This is the breakout role for Russell Crowe, who got 0:03:43.880 --> 0:03:47.600 the role off The Power of his performance in La Confidential, 0:03:47.600 --> 0:03:53.080 where he plays a extremely angry cop, and looking back 0:03:53.120 --> 0:03:56.960 at this movie after my now billion three watch, the 0:03:57.000 --> 0:03:59.240 thing I like about Russell Crowe in this movie is 0:03:59.280 --> 0:04:02.600 he looks like obviously he looks quite fit and big, 0:04:02.800 --> 0:04:05.160 but he's also it's not the eighties and nineties where 0:04:05.200 --> 0:04:07.880 guys were like no Sylvester Stallone Schwartz in it. 0:04:07.960 --> 0:04:10.440 And it's not like the MCU where you've got do 0:04:10.600 --> 0:04:11.080 the diet. 0:04:11.240 --> 0:04:13.200 Like yeah, he looks like just a guy. 0:04:13.360 --> 0:04:15.120 He looks like a guy who could probably win in 0:04:15.160 --> 0:04:15.440 a fight. 0:04:15.720 --> 0:04:18.359 And I love that about this people. So Russell Crowe 0:04:18.360 --> 0:04:23.120 plays Maximus Decimus Meridius, a general the Roman Army currently 0:04:23.160 --> 0:04:26.159 on campaign in Germania. It is one eighty a d 0:04:26.480 --> 0:04:30.400 in the Emperor Marcus Aurelius's reign is coming to an end. 0:04:30.400 --> 0:04:34.120 He's quite old, and his campaign against the Germans is 0:04:34.160 --> 0:04:37.080 also coming to an end. With this victory at Vinda Bona, 0:04:37.160 --> 0:04:41.200 it appears that the Roman Empire's northern border will be solidified. 0:04:41.839 --> 0:04:46.920 Marcus Aurelius is so taken by maximus goodness, his loyalty, 0:04:47.080 --> 0:04:51.280 his dedication, his low family, his love of family, his 0:04:51.440 --> 0:04:53.839 rejection of power. He really just wants to like get 0:04:53.880 --> 0:04:55.960 this war done with and go home. He doesn't want 0:04:55.960 --> 0:04:57.920 a politic in Rome. He doesn't want to do any 0:04:57.960 --> 0:05:00.479 of that kind of stuff. And Mark this is so 0:05:00.560 --> 0:05:03.800 impressed by this that he decides to overstep his own son, 0:05:04.080 --> 0:05:10.200 the extremely immoral Commonists, and raise up Maximists in his stead. 0:05:10.240 --> 0:05:13.279 But unfortunately he makes the grave mistake. 0:05:13.400 --> 0:05:14.560 Rosie, why does he do that? 0:05:14.680 --> 0:05:14.960 Grave? 0:05:15.120 --> 0:05:16.040 Why does he do that? 0:05:16.120 --> 0:05:16.440 Grave? 0:05:16.680 --> 0:05:19.560 Your son is evil, bro Like, don't do that. 0:05:19.800 --> 0:05:23.279 Of telling his son alone. Don't, of course tell him, 0:05:23.279 --> 0:05:26.080 but you gotta tell him in this take your door, yeah, 0:05:26.240 --> 0:05:28.880 in the presence of your daughter and your guards and 0:05:28.960 --> 0:05:32.839 probably Maximus, and just say, hey, Commonist, here's what's up. 0:05:33.120 --> 0:05:36.880 You're not gonna be emperor. It's gonna be Maximus. Does 0:05:36.920 --> 0:05:37.560 everybody see this? 0:05:37.640 --> 0:05:39.520 And guess what though, You're still gonna be living the 0:05:39.640 --> 0:05:42.280 life of luxury. Yes, nothing bad's gonna happen to you. 0:05:42.279 --> 0:05:43.679 You just don't have to be in control. 0:05:44.240 --> 0:05:51.640 Commonists played with wonderful beta energy from Jaque Phoenix break. 0:05:51.360 --> 0:05:56.799 Out role really here for Joaquin in this terrifying, terrify, terrifying. 0:05:57.000 --> 0:05:59.839 It's kind of like, well, if Caligula was an Inceel 0:06:00.320 --> 0:06:04.640 it's this really specific enjoyment of violence and cruelty. Yeah, 0:06:04.720 --> 0:06:08.039 but he's got this sniveling there's a weakness, hatred and 0:06:08.200 --> 0:06:11.960 resentment and weakness. Yea. The ironically is just of his 0:06:12.040 --> 0:06:12.919 own making. 0:06:12.880 --> 0:06:14.880 And it makes him so effective as a villain. This 0:06:14.920 --> 0:06:17.080 is a conversation I was having with my Coast of 0:06:17.120 --> 0:06:20.480 Six Trophies, Chase Rano. I think that there are basically 0:06:20.520 --> 0:06:23.039 three ways to do a great villain. I say two 0:06:23.040 --> 0:06:25.000 ways on that pod, but having thought about it, I 0:06:25.040 --> 0:06:25.760 think there's three ways. 0:06:25.920 --> 0:06:27.839 Tell me what you think exclusive third way? 0:06:28.040 --> 0:06:30.560 Right? I think that the first way is even match 0:06:31.640 --> 0:06:35.280 Batman and the Joker. They're evenly matched in different ways, 0:06:35.360 --> 0:06:38.359 and it's a twelve round about the whole way through 0:06:38.400 --> 0:06:43.960 who's gonna win? Second way is overpowering villain Darth Vader. Right, 0:06:44.320 --> 0:06:49.880 he's so powerful and so scary Michael Myers, Sadie always 0:06:49.920 --> 0:06:53.600 come back. You just don't understand how the hero could 0:06:53.640 --> 0:06:56.440 possibly beat this person. How could they do it? This 0:06:56.720 --> 0:06:58.920 villain is so scary. And then the third way, which 0:06:58.960 --> 0:07:04.080 they do here is weak villain who has all the 0:07:04.200 --> 0:07:07.680 cards in his favor. He's the leader of Rome, he's 0:07:07.720 --> 0:07:11.120 got the army in his disposal. He's got any number 0:07:11.480 --> 0:07:14.280 of minions that will do his will. But at the 0:07:14.320 --> 0:07:17.120 same time, if you go one on one versus the hero, 0:07:17.280 --> 0:07:19.400 there's no way this guy wins. Yeah, because he's such 0:07:19.400 --> 0:07:22.800 a coward. He's weak. And I think that is so 0:07:23.000 --> 0:07:26.080 effective in this movie, because you just are like, God, 0:07:26.280 --> 0:07:28.120 let Maximus get this guy one on one. 0:07:28.200 --> 0:07:30.880 Yeah, I know, right, And every time something I think 0:07:30.960 --> 0:07:35.400 Ridley Scott does incredibly well narratively. Here he sets up 0:07:35.600 --> 0:07:38.480 multiple moments where you think he will be able to 0:07:38.560 --> 0:07:42.840 do it, but then something happens. A child attends, there's gods, 0:07:42.880 --> 0:07:46.560 there's he misses the moment, commodist stands up, and they 0:07:46.600 --> 0:07:48.920 really have you like chomping at the bit, like just 0:07:48.960 --> 0:07:50.960 fucking get this guy. But I think you're right. I 0:07:50.960 --> 0:07:53.760 think that's a really great read on those three and 0:07:54.040 --> 0:07:55.800 I bet you and Shae could do a great little 0:07:56.120 --> 0:07:58.920 mini book about that, like how to make a great villain. 0:07:59.200 --> 0:08:01.800 But also as well, I think for me, this is 0:08:01.840 --> 0:08:04.280 the scariest type of villain, and I think because it 0:08:04.360 --> 0:08:07.760 is relatable, I agree to real life. It's also a 0:08:07.880 --> 0:08:11.400 nightmare scenario where like the guy who bullied you at 0:08:11.440 --> 0:08:14.640 school is the guy in charge gets all the power 0:08:14.800 --> 0:08:17.040 in the world and is in charge, but never changes, 0:08:17.200 --> 0:08:20.720 never grows, never learns anything, and instead is just so 0:08:21.720 --> 0:08:24.680 furious and resentful that all they can do is just 0:08:24.720 --> 0:08:26.280 create more cruelty. 0:08:27.040 --> 0:08:31.920 Maximus refuses to serve Commonists, who he suspects of killing Marcus, 0:08:32.760 --> 0:08:36.240 and so Commonists basically says, well, this guy's gonna die. 0:08:36.280 --> 0:08:41.040 He orders Maximus's execution, and he orders the execution of 0:08:41.080 --> 0:08:44.240 his entire family. But Maximus escapes. Oh and he rides 0:08:44.280 --> 0:08:48.920 his horse from Germania to Spain, which I will talk 0:08:48.920 --> 0:08:51.680 about later. How long that probably took. 0:08:51.920 --> 0:08:54.800 Yes, let's put like an asterisk like that, because we 0:08:54.840 --> 0:08:57.120 are definitely going to be doing some extra vision of footnotes, 0:08:57.120 --> 0:08:59.680 because that's a really good point. Is he Also something 0:08:59.679 --> 0:09:03.839 that I've found really profound about this segment of the movie, 0:09:03.960 --> 0:09:08.040 especially as it moves on, is you see Marcus's second 0:09:08.040 --> 0:09:11.280 in command, Brutus, who's been there, who's been his ally, 0:09:11.600 --> 0:09:13.640 who's been on the war with him, he just turns 0:09:13.640 --> 0:09:15.520 on him and he's like, chopped this motherfucker's head off. 0:09:15.520 --> 0:09:17.439 Immediately is like I can see which way the wind 0:09:17.559 --> 0:09:18.640 is blowing, I'm going that way. 0:09:18.880 --> 0:09:22.920 And that lack of loyalty is becomes so profound when 0:09:22.960 --> 0:09:27.360 he then finds this community in the gladiatorial realms of fighting, 0:09:27.679 --> 0:09:29.800 and I just thought that hits so hard. And also 0:09:30.200 --> 0:09:32.920 this is one of my favorite parts where they're walking 0:09:33.000 --> 0:09:36.480 him and he's gonna escape and it's cold, it's really cold, 0:09:36.960 --> 0:09:39.680 and the guy tries to pull out the sword to 0:09:39.800 --> 0:09:42.840 kill him and it gets stuck in Maximus goues sometimes 0:09:42.840 --> 0:09:44.920 they get stuck in the cold and then just kills 0:09:44.920 --> 0:09:49.280 them all because he has the moment. And that's when 0:09:49.280 --> 0:09:53.000 you realize that this has almost like a proto John 0:09:53.040 --> 0:09:55.680 Wick element to it, where it's like Maximus is like 0:09:55.679 --> 0:09:58.559 a very good fighter, he's a killing machine and also 0:09:59.120 --> 0:10:02.320 crazy in of deaths. In this moment as well, like 0:10:02.440 --> 0:10:04.440 you already see what this man can do, just and 0:10:04.679 --> 0:10:06.199 throwing swords. 0:10:05.679 --> 0:10:06.880 On the like on the movie. 0:10:07.240 --> 0:10:09.360 He throws the sword at him and hits him in 0:10:09.440 --> 0:10:11.960 the chest. I was like screaming. I was like, put 0:10:12.000 --> 0:10:14.320 this back in the fit as guys the modern cinema 0:10:14.360 --> 0:10:17.120 audience would be like yelling and yelling. 0:10:17.880 --> 0:10:22.480 After his epic ride, he is exhausted and he finds 0:10:22.559 --> 0:10:26.280 that his wife and child have been executed and his 0:10:26.360 --> 0:10:30.000 farm is burned and now exhausted by his journey, he 0:10:30.080 --> 0:10:34.360 collapses where he's found by slave traders who take him 0:10:34.400 --> 0:10:38.000 to North Africa. He wakes up there. He's also was 0:10:38.080 --> 0:10:41.280 injured when he escaped the Praetorian guards. He's got this 0:10:41.440 --> 0:10:46.320 nasty injury, and when he comes to he realizes that 0:10:46.440 --> 0:10:50.520 he is at a gladiatorial school, basically where they take 0:10:50.559 --> 0:10:52.840 these enslaved folks and then make them fight for the 0:10:52.960 --> 0:10:55.760 entrainment of people out here in the provinces of North Africa. 0:10:56.520 --> 0:10:59.520 Guess what Maximus is good at. That he's really good. 0:10:59.679 --> 0:11:02.840 At and also because he has history as a soldier 0:11:03.320 --> 0:11:05.680 and as a lieutenant and stuff. Sorry if I got 0:11:05.720 --> 0:11:07.680 the wrong name wrong, but basically as a leader, right, 0:11:08.040 --> 0:11:13.880 he trains his fellow gladiators in how to protect themselves 0:11:13.920 --> 0:11:17.120 and how to fight together and win against these ever 0:11:17.240 --> 0:11:19.920 growing threats that they throw into the ring. I have 0:11:19.960 --> 0:11:22.679 to say, I just thought this was like an exceptionally 0:11:22.840 --> 0:11:26.400 cool and interesting take. You know, we're recording this on Wednesday, 0:11:26.440 --> 0:11:28.760 November six, so I think I was moved by some 0:11:28.800 --> 0:11:32.120 of the moments of solidarity and community that they find. 0:11:32.160 --> 0:11:35.520 And also I just thought it's unexpected when you think 0:11:35.559 --> 0:11:39.000 about movies about men and the idea of lone wolf heroes. 0:11:39.640 --> 0:11:43.880 But Maximus actually saves himself by helping other people and 0:11:43.920 --> 0:11:45.880 teaching them how to save themselves, and I thought that 0:11:45.960 --> 0:11:48.520 was It's really interesting and cool. And in one of 0:11:48.559 --> 0:11:51.360 the earliest fights, we get what is maybe my favorite 0:11:51.360 --> 0:11:54.600 fight in the movie, which is when Maximus and the 0:11:54.679 --> 0:11:58.160 character played by jam and Hansuba Juba they're chained together 0:11:58.960 --> 0:12:02.280 and they have to fight, and it's so amazing to 0:12:02.360 --> 0:12:05.280 see the way that they learn each other's moves on 0:12:05.320 --> 0:12:07.600 the go. It's you and you are just rooting for 0:12:07.679 --> 0:12:10.320 them instantly. It's really really cool. And also I have 0:12:10.400 --> 0:12:12.840 to I almost texted you this days, but I was like, 0:12:13.120 --> 0:12:14.840 this is going to be so out of context if 0:12:14.840 --> 0:12:16.960 I just randomly text you this. I was watching this 0:12:17.040 --> 0:12:19.200 movie and I was like, man, I love Oliver Reed 0:12:20.280 --> 0:12:22.720 in this. I fucking love Oliver Reed. Oliver Reed Proximo 0:12:22.840 --> 0:12:26.440 the leader of the kind of gladiator. 0:12:25.640 --> 0:12:28.079 Guys during the movie, and they have to do some 0:12:28.160 --> 0:12:31.559 CG stuff yea allow him to finish out his scenes. 0:12:31.320 --> 0:12:33.120 And that was one of the first times I think 0:12:33.120 --> 0:12:33.720 they really did. 0:12:33.800 --> 0:12:35.440 One of the first times that was done, and it 0:12:35.480 --> 0:12:38.640 was done quite seamlessly for the day. Even now watching 0:12:38.679 --> 0:12:42.880 that scene, it works, It doesn't bump at all, and 0:12:42.960 --> 0:12:44.960 he is just chewing the scenery. 0:12:45.080 --> 0:12:48.520 I love his energy. I feel like you need something 0:12:48.960 --> 0:12:50.599 like that in one of these movies because if you 0:12:50.679 --> 0:12:53.240 think back to the movies that this hearkens back to, right, 0:12:53.400 --> 0:12:58.640 like Spartacus, those Sword and Sandals esque era movies, even 0:12:58.679 --> 0:13:02.360 like Lawrence of Arabier Eve, like just movies that old 0:13:02.440 --> 0:13:04.959 Hollywood epic scale. You're going to have at least one 0:13:05.000 --> 0:13:08.640 scene Chua and I feel like Oliver Reed is delivering 0:13:08.840 --> 0:13:11.600 in this role and it's kind of amazing to see 0:13:11.600 --> 0:13:15.480 that against Jaimon and Russell, who are just doing these 0:13:15.559 --> 0:13:20.200 really like straight down the line serious performances where you 0:13:20.240 --> 0:13:21.600 really believe they have to survive. 0:13:22.400 --> 0:13:26.079 Maximus and the team, because of their success out here 0:13:26.120 --> 0:13:29.040 in North Africa get taken by Proximo to Rome. They 0:13:29.160 --> 0:13:31.959 called up to the big leagues, and there takes place 0:13:32.040 --> 0:13:35.280 my favorite fight, Rosie, which is the fight in which 0:13:35.559 --> 0:13:39.079 they are cast as the barbarian, these Hannibal's barbarians that 0:13:39.120 --> 0:13:44.040 are supposed to lose the climactic battle between Rome and Carthage, 0:13:44.080 --> 0:13:47.760 I think the Third Punic War or whatever, and instead 0:13:47.840 --> 0:13:51.640 they turn the table. I love this because it gets 0:13:51.640 --> 0:13:53.160 them all to work as a team. He's like, has 0:13:53.200 --> 0:13:55.000 anybody been here in the army? One guy's like, I 0:13:55.040 --> 0:13:57.400 fought with you, and he says, Okay, here's how we're 0:13:57.400 --> 0:13:57.960 going to do it. 0:13:58.000 --> 0:14:01.240 And he understands the Battle of Carthage and what happens, 0:14:01.240 --> 0:14:04.800 so he can basically use his knowledge to defeat. Yeah, 0:14:04.840 --> 0:14:06.679 that is one of the coolest moments. I also love 0:14:06.800 --> 0:14:08.800 how this is one of the moments I think Ridley 0:14:08.840 --> 0:14:11.120 Scott does so well in this movie that often we 0:14:11.160 --> 0:14:14.320 don't get nowadays in like a historical epic, the moment 0:14:14.559 --> 0:14:18.680 when everyone in the audience is like cheering for them 0:14:19.280 --> 0:14:22.120 and the gladiators start to realize that they won, and 0:14:22.160 --> 0:14:25.040 you get these looks on the face of like pure joy. 0:14:25.360 --> 0:14:27.280 And actually when they first go to Rome, there's this 0:14:27.520 --> 0:14:30.000 really great, slightly dated but in a way that I 0:14:30.040 --> 0:14:33.400 really love bit that Ridley Scott does where he overlays 0:14:33.440 --> 0:14:36.840 all different people like cheering and talking and it feels 0:14:37.040 --> 0:14:40.120 very very nineties, but it just fits so well. Like 0:14:40.520 --> 0:14:42.760 it's ironic because there is a lot of violence in 0:14:42.800 --> 0:14:48.800 this movie, but it's classical Hollywood energy. Does give me 0:14:48.880 --> 0:14:51.800 like a kind of nostalgic feel. If this comes on TV, 0:14:51.880 --> 0:14:53.080 I will always just put it on. 0:14:53.560 --> 0:14:56.080 There's a great moment in this fight where Hagen, who 0:14:56.120 --> 0:14:59.960 is the big german guy, yeah, who doesn't immediately warm 0:15:00.120 --> 0:15:03.000 to Maximus. Certainly during the time that they were at 0:15:03.000 --> 0:15:06.280 the gladiator school, he's always been like, Hagen's a huge, 0:15:06.880 --> 0:15:10.000 muscly guy, and I think he in some way looks 0:15:10.000 --> 0:15:12.720 at Maximus and is like I could do what you're doing, 0:15:12.840 --> 0:15:13.680 Like whatever. 0:15:13.560 --> 0:15:14.160 What can you do? 0:15:14.280 --> 0:15:16.160 And so he goes off on his own to try 0:15:16.200 --> 0:15:20.040 and fight, separate from the group, and Maximus risks his 0:15:20.080 --> 0:15:22.800 life to save him after he's injured, brings him back. 0:15:22.920 --> 0:15:23.160 Yeah. 0:15:23.200 --> 0:15:27.920 And it's that moment that seals Hagen's loyalty to Maximus 0:15:28.640 --> 0:15:31.240 and shows the value of everybody working to so they 0:15:31.320 --> 0:15:35.120 win this exactly. They win this massive fight. Commonists comes down, 0:15:35.400 --> 0:15:38.000 everybody's cheering, and Communist loves to be popular, so he 0:15:38.040 --> 0:15:39.400 comes down to meet the gladiators. 0:15:39.400 --> 0:15:41.320 He's like, these guys seem cool. I should get them 0:15:41.360 --> 0:15:43.720 on my side. That definitely couldn't be any weird connection 0:15:44.080 --> 0:15:44.640 between us. 0:15:44.720 --> 0:15:49.160 Yeah, And it's there that Maximus reveals his identity, which 0:15:49.360 --> 0:15:51.520 how many people could you think could actually hear it 0:15:51.600 --> 0:15:54.400 in the arena, Like, definitely the people right on the ground, 0:15:54.400 --> 0:15:56.120 but I don't think that. 0:15:56.280 --> 0:15:58.360 But otherwise, no one else, no one else, You're just 0:15:58.400 --> 0:16:03.280 hearing cheering, scream people taking bets. I also love this 0:16:03.320 --> 0:16:06.720 because this is another great moment in the woaquin Phoenix 0:16:06.800 --> 0:16:10.080 kind of weak villain. He gets himself into this problem 0:16:10.320 --> 0:16:13.160 because Maximus is happy to not reveal his identity, right, 0:16:13.200 --> 0:16:16.320 He's got his little MF Doom mask on, he's hiding, and. 0:16:16.440 --> 0:16:19.520 He makes him do it. He's like, hey, he makes him. 0:16:19.400 --> 0:16:21.840 Do it, and then it's like, okay, bro, okay, you're 0:16:21.880 --> 0:16:24.840 setting yourself up for a very big issue here, especially 0:16:25.320 --> 0:16:28.720 because obviously your sister Lucilla played by Connie Nielsen the Legend, 0:16:29.000 --> 0:16:32.440 she is a fan of Maximus and she thinks he's dead, 0:16:33.080 --> 0:16:36.240 and nobody else is gonna be on your side if 0:16:36.240 --> 0:16:37.760 you want to get rid of this man who knows 0:16:37.760 --> 0:16:39.240 what you did, and obviously he does. 0:16:42.080 --> 0:16:53.480 Yeah. 0:16:54.280 --> 0:16:58.720 Commonist then really really wants to order the execution of 0:16:58.760 --> 0:17:03.000 all of these gladiators, including uh Maximus who spurred him. 0:17:03.000 --> 0:17:04.760 He's trying to do the thumbs down kill us. 0:17:04.840 --> 0:17:08.320 But again, he loves being popular and everybody, and he 0:17:08.359 --> 0:17:11.280 can tell the crowd would immediately be really upset if 0:17:11.320 --> 0:17:15.159 they did that, so he very begrudgingly goes thumbs up. 0:17:15.280 --> 0:17:17.639 Yeah, that must have been the hardest thumbs up that 0:17:17.680 --> 0:17:20.520 man had ever done in his life. He was resembling. 0:17:20.640 --> 0:17:23.600 He was very resentabul This leads to one of the 0:17:23.600 --> 0:17:25.639 funniest scenes I think in the entire movie, where they 0:17:25.680 --> 0:17:31.480 immediately smashed cut commonist. It is palous and he's just like, oh, 0:17:32.760 --> 0:17:37.280 oh my goodness, him, what are we gonna do? This 0:17:37.800 --> 0:17:40.280 is so sad about crying. 0:17:40.640 --> 0:17:42.840 And you know what's really interesting is, like I think 0:17:42.840 --> 0:17:46.280 it's a very interesting performance by Waki and who really 0:17:46.280 --> 0:17:49.200 goes very hard on the villainy of it all. Because 0:17:49.240 --> 0:17:52.960 actually this scene which is hilarious and I was cracking up, 0:17:53.240 --> 0:17:55.640 But like, if you read this scene a different way, 0:17:55.720 --> 0:17:57.600 or you had a different act to portray it, this 0:17:57.640 --> 0:17:59.639 could be a scene that would give you empathy towards 0:17:59.640 --> 0:18:02.199 this Carria who, no matter what he does, he's never 0:18:02.240 --> 0:18:04.080 good enough for his dad, he's never good enough for 0:18:04.119 --> 0:18:06.920 his people. Everyone else always comes above him. There's a 0:18:07.000 --> 0:18:09.320 version of this character who that at least a certain 0:18:09.359 --> 0:18:13.080 part of the audience would find relatability in but Joaquin 0:18:13.160 --> 0:18:15.280 allows none of that. He is like, I'm going to 0:18:15.359 --> 0:18:19.840 make this the most vile, hateful, loser character. And he 0:18:19.880 --> 0:18:22.600 does a great job, honestly, and you just won't hand. 0:18:23.000 --> 0:18:26.440 You're like, everybody conspire to get this motherfucker out because 0:18:26.440 --> 0:18:28.600 he is not the one so communist. 0:18:28.640 --> 0:18:32.199 Then sets up a rigged fight that Maximus has to 0:18:32.240 --> 0:18:36.399 take part in against the retired greatest gladiator ever and 0:18:36.480 --> 0:18:39.919 there's tigers that are waiting to attack him in the 0:18:39.960 --> 0:18:47.240 moment he steps outside of the squared circle, but hears anyway. 0:18:45.520 --> 0:18:47.120 This is that stuff where I think when you think 0:18:47.119 --> 0:18:49.959 about Gladiator, where when they're having this kind of climactic 0:18:50.200 --> 0:18:53.840 fight and the rose petals are falling. Yeah, that's the 0:18:53.880 --> 0:18:55.880 kind of stuff that Ridley Scott does well. I mean, 0:18:56.200 --> 0:18:59.840 I'm very excited for Gladiator too, because I've seen some 0:19:00.080 --> 0:19:03.160 hilarious Ridley Scott quotes. Because in the trailer they teased 0:19:03.440 --> 0:19:07.400 that they flood the Colosseum and then the historians, since 0:19:08.280 --> 0:19:10.720 historians were like, this wouldn't happen, and then this is 0:19:10.760 --> 0:19:12.920 what Ridley Scott said. He said, if they can build 0:19:12.920 --> 0:19:15.119 the Colosseum, they can flood it, and find a couple 0:19:15.119 --> 0:19:17.520 of sharks. That's what he said, and I was like, yes, 0:19:17.640 --> 0:19:20.359 Ridley Scott, I want to see Prescal punching a shark. 0:19:20.480 --> 0:19:22.000 I really do that cinema to me. 0:19:22.520 --> 0:19:29.640 As Maximus's popularity grows, a cadre of disgruntled senators who 0:19:29.680 --> 0:19:31.919 want to return Rome back to the Republic that it 0:19:31.960 --> 0:19:36.200 once was, basically conspire with Maximus to try and elevate 0:19:36.240 --> 0:19:38.439 him and bring back the Republic. Before any of that 0:19:38.480 --> 0:19:42.280 can happen, Communist sets up the big fight between him 0:19:42.480 --> 0:19:44.640 personally and Maximus. 0:19:44.680 --> 0:19:46.760 Absolutely unbelievable gumption. 0:19:47.400 --> 0:19:47.919 What told you? 0:19:47.960 --> 0:19:50.200 How did you ever think this was gonna work? Bro? 0:19:50.720 --> 0:19:54.439 Of all the terrible plans in Hollywood movies, this is 0:19:54.480 --> 0:19:57.480 probably the worst plan. I get it, you want to 0:19:57.480 --> 0:20:00.560 look like you're stronger than him, But to me, I'm like, 0:20:01.000 --> 0:20:03.639 my guy, just get some more gladia as somebody can 0:20:03.720 --> 0:20:05.520 kill him, like someone can do it. 0:20:05.560 --> 0:20:07.760 Yes, somebody will eventually, and then. 0:20:07.640 --> 0:20:09.200 You can go down and chop off his head or 0:20:09.200 --> 0:20:12.000 whatever you want to do. But this was a terrible plan, Commodist. 0:20:12.160 --> 0:20:13.440 It was always going to end badly for you. 0:20:14.160 --> 0:20:17.119 Before the fight, you know, he's got Maximus chained up 0:20:17.160 --> 0:20:18.879 and he's telling him we're gonna fight, but then he 0:20:19.000 --> 0:20:22.480 like stabs him in the armpit a wound, like a 0:20:22.680 --> 0:20:28.960 steadily bleeding wound from which and obviously disabled slowly die. Yeah. 0:20:29.040 --> 0:20:31.960 They go into the ring and there's Maximus. He's wounded, 0:20:32.040 --> 0:20:35.960 but he manages to fucking beat commedists. Yeah, and he 0:20:36.119 --> 0:20:39.040 dies on the floor of the arena with his old 0:20:39.200 --> 0:20:43.560 lieutenant and Connie Nielsen and the body of the Emperor 0:20:43.600 --> 0:20:46.480 next to him and all these other people watching, and. 0:20:46.880 --> 0:20:50.160 He can see the afterlife and he's thinking about his family. 0:20:50.200 --> 0:20:51.600 He's walking back in to. 0:20:51.680 --> 0:20:56.280 The afterlife and that actually you mentioned it, the fwalling petals. 0:20:56.320 --> 0:20:58.919 There's all these moments. This is why Ridley Scott is 0:20:59.440 --> 0:21:04.440 Realley Scott. There's all these poetic moments that enhance the vibe, 0:21:04.640 --> 0:21:07.320 oh yeah, the charm and the themes of the movie. 0:21:07.359 --> 0:21:10.639 And one of those is this scene that was actually 0:21:10.720 --> 0:21:13.359 filmed by Russell Crows stunt double, the scene of like 0:21:13.560 --> 0:21:14.479 touching the wee. 0:21:14.600 --> 0:21:15.320