History Buffs: Gladiator

hello and welcome history buffs my name is Nick Hodges and today we'll be taking a look at gladiator now just a heads up I would like you to know that I do indeed love this movie but when it comes to history it's about as accurate as an episode from Game of Thrones I will hurt you for this anyway in the story of gladiator the Roman general Maximus is portrayed by the evil Emperor Commodus his family is murdered and he becomes a slave and then sold off to become a gladiator it's a great story of revenge but the character of Maximus is entirely made up although he's very well written Maximus is more of a plot device to allow the audience to experience the greatest aspects of Roman life its army and Senators system of slavery and of course it's very epicenter of Roman culture the Colosseum this is gladiator the year is 188 D and Rome is at the very peak of its golden age it governs the lives of over a quarter of the world's population and its mighty empire stretches from the forests of northern England to the deserts and great cities of Egypt in the Middle East for the most part there is peace and prosperity throughout the empire but it's one that will not last Rome is at the extent of its power and influence it has been 63 years since the Empire's last territorial expansion its armies now focus solely on protecting its borders against barbarian invasions the Emperor Marcus Aurelius has been fighting a series of bloody wars against the Germanic tribes along the river Danube much beloved by his people he is generally considered today as one of the last great emperors of rome and his leadership was definitely tested during these conflicts this is because these weren't the same barbarians Rome had successfully defeated in the past they had learned a thing or two from their roman oppresses into the time of Augustus by now they were highly organized and equally ferocious uh why does that chant sound so familiar however marcus aurelius was able to rise up to the challenge of protecting Rome's frontier during the marker manic wars aside from being a great general he was also a philosopher and extremely intelligent using his cunning he was able to isolate and destroy each tribe individually before moving on to the next this took him over ten years of his life but it was ultimately successful and richard harris generally does a good job at betray marcus aurelius we get the sense of a man weathered by decades of war highly intelligent yes but magnanimous in his humility you see that map Maximus that is the world which I create wait what for 25 years I have conquered spilt blood expanded the Empire oh really that that map you conquered all of that Wow the ego on this guy don't you think you're laying it on a bit thick mate expanded the Empire you expanded jack-shit the last emperor to expand the Empire was Trajan and I really doubt that he would take credit for the rest of it as well this is a pleasant fiction isn't it anyway the movie begins on what was the final battle of these long Wars at the Battle of lager Ezio in modern-day Slovakia the film does a great job at authentically portraying how the Roman war machine worked in open battle Roman armies were unstoppable using the latest technology of ballistas and non Agurs as well as years of training they were able to crush any opponent in the field it was through these very tactics that allow the Romans to emerge victorious time and time again people no in their Concord when the battle is over Marcus Aurelius summons his son Commodus to the front and this is where the rest of the movie how can I say this um detours away from actual history are you ready to do your duty for Rome you will not be Emperor which was the old man is to take my place my PA's went past two Maximus to hold in trust until the Senate is ready to rule once more Rome is to be a republic again although this is an important scene and provides the necessary catalyst for the rest of the movie in reality there was never any question as to whether Commodus would become emperor in fact it was Marcus Aurelius who reinstated the succession by male heir policy that all his predecessors had abandoned to prepare Commodus Marcus Aurelius brought him on his campaigns against the barbarians at a very young age to school him on the lessons of war and ruling the people for much of his childhood at the age of just 15 Commodus became joint emperor with his father so knowing all of that this scene takes a total turn when Marcus Aurelius says my decision disappoints you [ __ ] yeah it disappoints him you made him spend his whole childhood preparing for this only to take it away the last possible second you're the coolest parents imaginable no wonder he [ __ ] hates you so much you're a crook you're a saint in a swindler that's what you are how could you do a thing like this build up a little boy's hopes and then smash all his dreams to pieces you're an inhuman monster so when the real Marcus Aurelius finally died in 180 ad Commodus became sole Emperor at the age of 19 despite everything his father had prepared him for Commodus had no interest in pursuing his father's vision for Rome in that same year he brought the campaigns along the Danube to an abrupt halt and negotiated a weak peace treaty with the barbarian tribes he returned to Rome and organized a triumph in his own personal honor his primary concern from that moment on was to enjoy himself as much as possible and leave the running of the governments to more interested people as to why he did it well think about it if you spent your whole childhood being dragged off to campaigns by your dad and then at the age of 19 you become the most powerful man on earth well you only need to look at examples of rich trusts on brats today inheriting their daddy's millions time start by a thousand and you get a good idea of what Commodus is rain was like the gladiatorial games were the most popular form of entertainment in the Roman world they're probably the perfect representation of Roman values the courage to face mortal combat that contempt for death and the courage it takes to meet it honorably in the end if a gladiator lost and was sentenced to die it was up to him to show the crowd how to die like a Roman it can't be stated enough how seriously Romans took these games and the amount of preparation that went into their execution is literally unbelievable the movie Gladiator is one of the few examples where they actually toned down how ridiculous these games who get the Colosseum the largest amphitheatre in the world was able to see 50,000 people host a variety of spectacle such as gladiatorial animal hunts reenactments of famous battles and most incredibly they would flood the arena and have actual sea battles in them sometimes this would all be within the same week although in today's standards this is completely horrific and alien to us you have to understand that back then Romans were exposed to death all the time whether it be through disease public executions or sometimes even war so it's not really surprising that they had such a fascination with death and the Coliseum was the perfect way in which to see it and since gladiators were favored amongst all other forms of entertainment they were also prepared for that same level professionalism in the movie the gladiators are randomly picked slaves with no real purpose other than to die in the arena and with very little care provided in their training at selection I don't you fight we'll have to fight well I don't find it shouldn't be here I'm a scribe I write down words and speak seven languages good tomorrow you can scream in seven languages the games themselves are completely chaotic we're gladiators are literally thrown into the arena and the fight simply becomes a free-for-all in reality the Romans would have viewed the games in the movie is very unsportsmanlike if that makes sense slaves who were chosen to become gladiators were always in perfect physical condition they would then undergo months of rigorous training to herd their fighting skills and when they weren't training they would be well fed and be pampered by Roman baths and massages it's quite weird to say this but a good comparison of how a gladiator was handpicked and cared for is with the same way racehorses are treated today a lot of money went into these games so the Romans wanted to put on the best possible show in the film each gladiators seemed to wear randomly selected armor and they all look completely different than the other there's one that looks like a troll one that looks like a pig and one gladiator that's wearing a Bulls head for some reason I don't know what the point in that is in reality the armor was chosen specifically to fit a gladiators type and unique fighting style like modern sports fans today Romans would have their favorite types and love to see how their gladiators fared against another in or gladiator bouts they were usually pits someone who is agile and quick against someone who is heavy and strong there were physical displays of speed against brute force and Romans loved a debate over which attribute was more important and argue over the tiniest of details but of all Romans there was no one more obsessed with the games than Emperor Commodus in gladiator Commodus is performed perfectly by the act of Joaquin Phoenix who is definitely my favorite character in the entire movie even though it's clear that the Emperor's a villain we see a truly tragic figure with deep ties to a lack of relationship with his father it's clear that Marcus Aurelius has been preparing calmness to become Emperor that probably his whole life has been spent being constantly criticized by his father without an ounce of affection unable to meet his father's high expectations it comes as no surprise when he feels bitterness towards Maximus he recognizes the love that Marcus Aurelius shows Maximus despite never having received any of it himself when Marcus Aurelius finally declares that communists will not be Emperor that is not the thing that pushes him over the edge it is this which wiser older man is to take my place by Parrs we pass to Maximus I really doubt that Marcus Aurelius would have been killed in the movie if he had passed his powers over to senator grakkus but the fact that he chose Maximus someone who most likely grew up with communists when they were children after all Commodus constantly refers to Maximus as his brother and then with my brother our great father's dead and perhaps throughout the years noticed his father pay less and less attention to him and begin to treat Maximus as more of a son than Commodus ever was so when marcus aurelius declares maximus to be the protector of rome it is not only a betrayal to calmness but admitted to the entire known world that Marcus Aurelius doesn't value or even love his son it is these high expectations and constant berate meant by an absent father that resulted with a monster after murdering Marcus Aurelius Commodus prepares a series of highly expensive gladiatorial games in his father's honor in appearance at least according to his enemies they serve only to secure his popularity with the mob that is power the mob is Rome but these games actually serve a deeper purpose than that part of a sick and twisted grand design that has two functions the first is to get the love and respect he so desperately craves from Rome itself if they lie to me they don't respect me they don't respect me how can they have a lovely do you not see the Scylla I'll give the people the vision of room with no lovely for it you'll bring them Dell and they will love him for it the second function is that by throwing these games to secure love and popularity with the mob they also serve a sinister purpose I'm what pays for it these daily games are costing a fortune yet we have no new taxes the future the future pace room is done at selling the grain reserves this can't be cruel he's selling Rome's reserves of grain the people would be starving in two years I hope they're enjoying the games because soon enough they'll be dead because of them in a sick way these games are and his father's honor the only thing Marcus Aurelius truly loved unconditionally was Rome itself and communists wish to see its destruction most of all but regardless of how evil he was the audience could sympathize and feel sorry for this great tragic character however the real Commodus little [ __ ] that he was was not sympathetic at all the great games he hosted served no purpose other than to serve his own indulgences he couldn't care less about anything else including ruling the Empire he was so obsessed with gladiators that he actually wanted to be one and went into the arena to fight them just like in the movie these fights would be rigged of course he'll be outfitted with the best weapons and armor money could buy and the poor sod he faced would be a handy captain armed with a dull blade aside from the fact that the emperor of Rome is playing a role commonly associated with slaves the fact that these fights have rigged insulted Roman values of Honor and so caused decliners popularity with the Roman people when Commodus wasn't playing gladiator or throwing epic parties he also had countless people assassinated whether it be to seize their property or for political reasons there was no end to it and mostly it just happened at random even to people closer to him eventually he met his demise because [ __ ] genius that he was left a list of people he was going to have kill just lying around in his villa his mistress Marcia who founded and saw her name at the top of the list Marcia showed it to the other people also on it and together they hatched a plot to kill Commodus now in the movie communist dies in a pretty dignified way and I actually preferred because in real life his death was really embarrassing now what really happened was that Marcia and the conspirators convinced common toises gladiatorial trainer narcissus to strangle Commodus in his bath so bear that in mind could you imagine if they recreated that scene in gladiator with Russell Crowe choking out and naked Joaquin Phoenix I doubt even Hans Zimmer can make that scene look epic ultimately I think we can all agree that this was a necessary change to the movie however it's ending does not truly reflect the consequences of Commodus rule when Maximus dies we get a general feeling that evil has been defeated and Rome can be saved it's rum worth one good man's life we believe that once make us believe it again it was a solider of Rome honor him but in reality the damage had already been done following almost immediately upon Commodus his death Rome would be hit by years of civil war by pretenders fighting for the imperial throne in the long run Commodus reign ended Rome's Golden Age and his death marked the beginning of the end of Rome itself from this point forward the Empire focused in on itself and after centuries of mismanagement inner fighting and quite frankly growing soft would leave the Empire open to uncontested barbarian invasions before it finally disappeared forever now despite of all these historical inaccuracies gladiator is a great film normally when a movie is this inconsistent with history it tends to piss me off a little bit however with gladiator it seems to be the exception rather than the rule although it fails as a true representation of Roman antiquity it makes up for it with its great writing in depth characters epic score and high production values Oh I mean it truly seems like the stars aligned when this film was made so much so that Ridley Scott has been trying ever since to recreate the same impact gladiator had 15 years ago from Kingdom of Heaven to Robin Hood and most recently with Exodus gods and Kings all of their trailers and posters constantly remind us of one thing [ __ ] obsessed with gladiator that's right so as if we would forget because not only is gladiator a great film it's probably the biggest reason for Hollywood's revival of historical epics today and reawakening the general public's fascination with history for that reason alone I know we can all be thankful for gladiator well that about wraps it up my name is Nick Hodges and thanks for watching history buffs and remember if you like the show help the channel grow don't forget to hit that like and subscribe button and tell me what did you think about gladiator and of course or historical film should I review next until then I'll see you next time Oh

Channel: undefined

Views: 3,843,320

Rating: 4.8792582 out of 5

Keywords: Gladiator (Profession), film review, movie review, history buffs, historical accuracies, historical inaccuracies, Marcus Aurelius (Monarch), Commodus (Monarch), Review (Media Genre), History (TV Genre), roman history

Id: DVAxzf1HdH4

Length: 22min 9sec (1329 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 18 2015

Reddit Comments

[u/neverendingfractals]

Enjoyed it. Intro is too long. I know blah blah blah who wants to pander to the lowest common denominator... but at a minute long, it's longer even than any TV show intro I've ever seen.

Good stuff, though :D