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The award-winning historical drama Gladiator tells the story of a Roman general named Maximus who was wronged by Commodus, the son of the emperor. His family is murdered, and he is sold into slavery. But little does Commodus know that he picked a fight with a man who will do whatever it takes to exact his revenge.
Gladiator's intriguing premise is just one of the reasons it performed so well in theaters around the world. The performances of the leads, Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix, are unquestionably the highlights of the movie. Both made the audience feel something. However, only one elicited sympathy, and the other elicited fury.
Much to the delight of fans, director Ridley Scott revealed a few years ago that there were plans for a sequel. However, there is still a long wait ahead because Gladiator 2 is scheduled to release next year, more specifically on November 22, 2024.
Lesser-known facts about Gladiator that all ardent fans should know about
1) It all started with a 19th-century painting
Now that the world has seen what Ridley Scott can do with the story, it is hard to imagine anyone else taking his spot. This is why it is interesting to note that none of it would have come to fruition if Scott hadn't become enamored with a 19th-century painting by the name of Pollice Verso by Jean-Léon Gérôme.
It was producer Walter Parkes who showed him the painting. At the time, Scott was in the middle of other projects but the moment his eyes landed on the artwork, he knew that he was already invested in the idea.
2) Maximus and Commodus became friends off-camera
On-screen, Maximus (Crowe) and Commondus (Phoenix) were always at each other's throats. Commodus wanted Maximus out of his way, and the latter wanted to make him pay for what he had done. But in reality, when the two were off-screen, the actors actually got along really well.
Even after the film was over, they remained friends whenever they crossed paths, no matter how briefly. During a chance meeting, Crowe recalled in an interview, they cleared their schedules and talked and caught up for around seven hours.
3) The real Proximo
Oliver Reed is a highly skilled actor, and fans of Gladiator cannot think of anyone else playing the role of Proximo. He was not the most compassionate character on screen, but he was wise. He also helped Maximus understand that the most important thing to do in the arena was to win the favor of the crowd.
Unfortunately, the actor passed away unexpectedly while shooting for Gladiator was still going on. The producers realized that it would take a lot of funds to reshoot all the scenes with Proximo, so they had to devise a solution that would not overshoot the budget. They ended up digitally adding Reed's head where required from old filmed scenes. Amazingly, it did work, and it isn't very easy to tell the real thing from the digital version.
4) The Colosseum replica
There is no doubt that some of the best scenes in Gladiator are from the Colosseum. Although it looks very much like the real Colosseum, it isn't. But fans who thought it was aren't completely off track because it is a replica that Scott built specifically for the movie.
It might have been only a replica, but it was still 52 feet tall and cost around $1 million to make. That just goes to show how paying attention to detail helped Scott create a cinematic gem.
5) Product endorsements
It is surprising to learn that in an early version of the script, there were mentions of gladiators endorsing products. While it may sound totally absurd, it was actually something that did happen for real back in the day. There were gladiators, the popular ones in particular, who used to get paid to plug products.
The team quickly took that bit out of Gladiator's final script because they felt it would be hard to convince people that endorsements did happen even way back then.
Gladiator is an iconic movie that people still talk about, and fans will be hoping that the sequel can surpass or at least match the charm of the first installment.
