Anyway, about the movie, 4 words-

YOU MUST SEE IT!!!

I went because Hauptmann really wanted to see it, but I brought a book because I thought I'd last 20 minutes in the film and need something to read while I waited in the lobby.

Boy was I wrong!

I was rivited from the very opening scenes, and remained so throughout. Russell Crowe was brilliant (if mel Gibson-esque) as the general-turned-gladiator Maximus. Jauquin Pheonix was a smarmy and pathetic Emperor Commodus. Oliver Reed was wonderful in his last role.

A compelling,coherent story, well told. Lots of blood but not nearly as much and not nearly as graphic as a US production would have been, and not so much that I couldn't just cover my eyes until it was over. More character development than I could have hoped for. Wonderfully evocative, even if all the details were not perfect.

I give it an emphatic "two thumbs up!", and plan to see it again.

By the way, bring tissues for the end....

I want to see this movie so badly, but with moving and finding a babysitter, I feel like I'll never be able to go :P

Woeg

Jeff was breathing hard all through the opening battle scenes and my heart was pounding. What an amazing film.

FYI- take it for itelf. Many reviewers are condemning it because they are comparing it to "Spartacus" and "Braveheart". I think this film deserves to stand on its own merit.

I thought Braveheart was a riot, but as far as accuracy, I left reality checked at the door. Take each film for itself.

One of our company members saw it with his wife and they both loved it. I am hearing this from other people as well. It definitely sounds like one of those "MUST SEE ON THE BIG SCREEN" movies.

The only glaring mistakes I saw were 1) some riders were using stirrups, 2) the tactics used by the legions were all wrong, 3) they obeyed the first rule of stage combat and ignored the first rule of armoured combat in having the stars fight w/o helmets so you could always see their pretty faces. These aren't really that bad; you want bad, wait until they release the Schawzenegger "Crusades" in a year or so.

"KEEL DEE HAIRATEEKS!!"

Hehehehehehe.......

Woeg

well, we all have our buttons, eh?

But I concur, an outstanding film with great cinematography, great staging, good acting, good special effects (who says a period piece cant use a gillion bucks worth of ILM? )

thanks for recommending it! we picked that film tonight based on your guyses recommendation....

The corset thing was pretty hideous though- down to the boned corset hook/eye deal closing it in the front. Oh well, I supose there's only so much you can do with "drapery".

Remember, it's a movie, not a research piece and they still have to sell it to the prols...

Gwen

The only thing that was a bit troublesome was that I went to see it with my fiance', and she has this maniac disgust for anything at all that even remotely hints at any sort of violence towards children. So, those of you that have seen it know exactly how far into the movie we got before she was ready to leave. Fortunately for me I convinced her to stay and by and by she got over it and actually enjoyed the rest of the film.

The rest of the evening was filled with this sort of discussion:

Her: "I still don't understand why they had to do that"

Me: "It was a plot device, if they hadn't done something like that _______ wouldn't have been evil, he just would've been a powerhungry $#!*head."

Her: "I still don't think they had to do that"

Note: Name omitted for those who haven't seen it yet.

You know when he rubs his hands in the dirt, he is about to get ROMAN on them.

If you haven't seen it...SEE IT!

Anyway, the move's got a grim, humorless tone which seems appropriate for SPQR.

The ILM flyover of the Eternal City was nice, but I would've loved a down and dirty street scene in Rome. A better film for that (for all its faults) is A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum.

I'm ready for a filmic retelling of the battle of Adrianople! Maybe with Arnold as a Goth and Stallone as a centurion! Yeah, right.

Yeah, me too. Even when I think I'm not paying attention I find myself thinking "THAT"S NOT RIGHT".

Thankfully, I don't know enough about Roman to interfere with enjoying this movie as pure entertainment. Well, everything but her corsets, and the kid's SCA tunic....