Gladiator (2 Disc Set) (UK)

Brilliant Film
Brilliant Extras

Awsome DTS sound track. One major thing noticed was how great the picture looked when viewing the `The making of Gladiator` section. In fact I still maintain the picture quality was far better in the extra Disk than the actual film it self.

Colours seem more alive, the contrast so much better.

I think really the image really needs to cover the WHOLE of a widescreen TV and not just, what seems like, half of it.

Damn fine movie, great effects shots, seamless scenery. Good action sequences-why oh why couldn`t it be transferred so that it filled a typical widescreen tv??

I didn`t fancy the film at all whilst it was in the Cinema.

Recently rented the title and realised what I missed.
A true classic, excitment, sentiment the works!!!!!

Miss it at your peril.

Very Good, I have to say the time went very quick watching the film. Superb performance from Russell Crowe and with a great script the film had to work. Good video and sound and a nice 2nd disc with some good extras worth looking at, good documentary on Roman Gladiators and behind the scenes + plenty of photos,etc,etc. All in all worth buying and indeed I think I`ll have to play it again soon!

Ridley Scott at his best - which is just short of brilliant.

Excellent picture (CGI), sound (DTS) and features (deleted scenes). Display quality but shame about that widescreen.

As for the movie, the fight scenes rock and the politics suck (so does the ending). But that`s what the `next scene` button is for.

"What we do in life, echoes in eternity."

Oh, how much I waited for this movie to appear on DVD.
Finally, when it was here, all I could think to myself was "boy, am I glad I have not pre-ordered it and only rented it for a couple of days".
Yeah, I know, I`m probably one of very few people who do not think this movie is as great as most people think it is.
Don`t get me wrong - it`s spectacular, visually stunning, but, alas, not as griping as I was hoping for.
The video transfer is excellent. Ancient Rome never looked so real (well, maybe back then, but I was not around to see it then). All the scenes are rendered with great colors, flesh tones are very good and, as can be expected, the transfer is flawless, technically. There are no compression marks at all and the dark scenes are very well transferred.
The DTS and DD 5.1 soundtracks are both very good. There is a good usage of the surrounds and the sub is constantly active. The fight scenes are a good example of just how important a good surround mix is. Try down-mixing the audio during the fight scenes to plain mono (or even stereo) and you`ll definitely know what I mean.
The menus are all animated with some nice tunes.
The extras are generally good. They include a commentary (rather good, but I did not survive a second viewing of the movie), some behind the scenes look with a lot of historical material, a production journal and some deleted scenes. I was very disappointed, however, that there was not enough material about the special effects. A 10-15 minutes featurette about the CGI would`ve been so nice.
Bottom line - well, I personally think this movie was overrated a bit, mainly due to its magnitude. It`s visually stunning, but I found it boring at times, and most importantly - the characters did not seem real enough and at some points I could not care less if they lived or if they died.

Miss it the Cinema but it`s brilliant on DVD. Lots and lots of extras, the Pietro`s Treasure Chest (deleted scenes with music) is my favourite extra. I like the chant from the film Zulu at the beginning of the film. Great video and audio.

One of the best movies of year 2000 and also one of the best movies of Ridley Scott, who really knows how to make legends.Transfer is great, lots of extras, just awesome Dvd.
I recommend this to all...

Gladiators I Salute YOU !

A stong cast of Actors known and unknown , bring to you the most Memorable Movie I have seen in a Long time .

You know what the Movie is about , you all have seen it at the Cinema ( unless you`ve been on Mars ) it is just so well put together , the Story , the Acting is Perfect and it is all put together as a package by Ridley Scott .

What a Film . An all time Classic for now and for the Future !!

This kind of Movie has not been put our way for a long time , it just blows you away the First time you watch it and you will love just watching it again and again .

A MUST HAVE DVD .

When I`d seen the trailers months before the original release I had decided it was a film which probably wouldn`t have been to my taste.

I was wrong.

This film is brilliant, and one of the most stunning pieces of film-making that I have witnessed. Okay, the dialogue can be cheesey, but we are in the day and age when action takes the main stage in films like this. Don`t expect another Braveheart, because the films are very different, with only the first battle and the fact that both male leads in the films are Austrialian, bearing any similarity.

Russell Crowe is excellently cast as Maximus, and shows us their is hope for movie action hero`s, now Stallone and Schwarzenegger seemed to have had their day. In the scene after when he`s taken as a slave and forced to take on five gladiators on his own - for the first time in years at the cinema it made you want to stand up and cheer!

Perhaps too much can be read into it by people who were expecting some arty depiction of gladiatorial combat, but it`s not that sort of movie at all, and never pretends to be. Although the film is long, scenes never seem to be overstretched, and the arena fights move at an MTV video pace. You can`t tear your eyes away!

The sound is superb, the picture is crystal, and the features are packed. It all leads up to probably the best Region 2 DVD available at the minute.

Three cheers for the Gladiator - "Buy it! Buy it! Buy it!"

As many others here have said, when this was in the cinema it didnt really strike me as a movie I would enjoy so thus didnt go to see it (even after a number of pals recommended it). However when I got a DVD player at x-mas it came with a free copy.

I watched it and realesed what an excllent movie I had missed out on. Great story,effects and acting. This must surely be the best movie realesed since Matrix and the features on the second disc just make this DVD even better

The best film of 2000 on one of the best DVD`s to date.
A brilliantly told story, great action sequences and beautiful cgi make this one of my favourite films.
The picture quality is near perfect and the movie has a very good soundtrack.

Not much intelligence really but good action scenes, Risdley Scott, doesn`t seem to be the director he used to be.

An absolutley brilliant film, a real epic and a must buy.
Good special features to boot as well.

I have to admit, this is one of my fave DVDs so far. I don`t agree with those who say the film lacks substance and is boring when there is no fighting going on. This film really delivers on a dramatic level as well as a visceral one. The main characters are well drawn, the plot is compelling, Scott is a master film maker on top form. He excels at creating new worlds (Blade Runner, Alien), and at taking the audience away to a different place. I found this film utterly convincing, as long as you apply the necessary suspension of disbelief. In a lesser directors hands (Michael Bay, anyone?) this would have been a load of cheesy old sandals, but instead Scott has delivered a genuinely moving and involving old school epic.

As for the presentation on this disc, the film looks and sounds fantastic. The picture is superb, the colours are rich and the dingy scenes in the last part of the film are clear. Soundwise I can only comment on the DD 5.1 mix (DTS is included also). Suffice to say this is fantastic, in the opening battle scene arrows fly over your head, horses thunder through your living room large men shout a lot. LFE is not as prominent as some discs, mainly because gunpowder and rockets hadn`t been invented in the 2nd century, but it does kick in nicely when the chariots go flying. Hans Zimmers excellent score (his best so far without a doubt) is presented well also.

With loads of extras on the second disc, this is a must have DVD, to be sure.

THE FILM: First of all, I must say that Gladiator has had very mixed reviews. Most have been positive, but a few said that Gladiator was overrated, not living up to it`s `epic` expectations. I agree with the former; Gladiator is a masterpiece of modernfilmaking by excellent British director, Ridley Scott. That said, Gladiator isn`t without its faults... some of the dialogue scenes could do with being trimmed, the character of Commodus is like an evil comic book villian and there are a lot of plot holes and continuity errors. However, I really am nitpicking here; the film as a whole is very impressive, sporting a standout leading man (Russell Crowe, like you didn`t already know) and some truly amazing battle sequences, not to mention a mindblowing score and cinematography. Overall, Gladiator is a winner, being possibly 2000`s best film. Look out for short but sweet performances by veteran actors Richard Harris and Oliver Reed, too.
PICTURE QUALITY: Anamorphic 2.35:1.
Very very good. The print is in pristine quality, allowing the DVD to show off great levels of detail in the varying filming locations. Checkout the gritty, yet sharp and inspiring opening battle in Germania and the vibrant, desert-like Roman arenas in the second half of the movie.
SOUND QUALITY: DTS 5.1 ES, Dolby Digital 5.1.
Both sound formats offer the very best quality, and represent the original theatrical experience extremely well. The DTS does seem to have a couple more highlights though, such as louder music cues and noisier battle sequences. Whichever soundtrack you choose, you will not be disappointed as both are reference quality.
EXTRAS: Excellent 25 min doc about making of Gladiator, informative 50 min doc about Gladiator games, the usual theatrical teasers and trailers, a 21 min look at the composition of Hans Zimmer`s award winning score and many others. The extras are well presented and in good supply, but don`t quite raise the bar higher than T2:UE, my all time favourite DVD.
FINAL THOUGHTS... Gladiator is a modern classic with a very comprehensive set of extra features. Another title for Universal to be proud of!

I was against this movie the moment the oscar for best actor was announced, I refused to watch it and, until now, I didnt. Now I have I can safely say I hate this movie. It`s a not too bad version of an outdated concept staring an over-rated actor who did not deserve an oscar, esspecially when he`s up against Hanks in his fantastic Cast Away performance.

I also don`t see why the director got an oscar nomination coz this movie is all special effects and no plot.

It bored me, I`m sure the features would have been great if I`d enjoyed the movie but I didnt.

Forget this movie and go buy Cast Away or Sparticus instead....

Gladiator is a film that is unfairly criticized in my opinion. People either complain about lack of depth, unoriginality or predictability. I say boo hoo to them. Who cares? Gladiator is an epic, a grand scale of film making that is a rarity for films nowadays. Unoriginal? Yes. But it does it far better than most films before it. I would have not hesitation to say this is the best of the Roman epics. Although there are some great 50's and 60's Roman epic films, you can see the Styrofoam in the sets. In term of filmmaking, Gladiator rips them apart with a finely tuned sword. And in these days of MTV popcorn movies, its great to have an "Entertainment" film that doesn't pander to the least intellectual members of the audience and one that concentrates on characters as well as delivering brilliant, thrilling action.

Video: Ridley Scott is a genius, at least in terms of cinematics. There is no question how well Gladiator looks. The cinematography is brilliant and shows the fantastic set-design off vibrantly. The fight scenes are well choreographed and filmed though I wish they employed that quick edit technique less. The DVD does a superb job of presenting this film. Oh well, this is art. Simply of the most striking films ever. Colours and sharpness are fantastic. There are small amount of defects and grain but nothing distracting. Only edge enhancements become intrusive. Its annoying seeing stairs that look like escalators.

Audio: Wow. This is showoff material. Fantastic use of all speakers and the subs. Action scenes are liable to scare your neighbours. Depth and direction are excellent. Listen to the opening battle when the archers shoot their arrows. They go from the back, over your head and into the distance into the foreground. VERY well done. "The Battle of Cartridge" is one of my demo scenes. The dialogue is always audible even in the most dense action scenes. And Hans Zimmer's superb score is nicely presented.

Extras: A nice audio commentary from Scott and two other guys. Scott is as informative and animate as ever and the two other guys basically kiss his ass for the 2 hours.

On Disc 2: A 25-minute making of is basically an extended promo, some info but not a lot. A 50-minute documentary on Gladiators is interesting but REALLY, REALLY cheap. The 30 minutes of deleted scenes (optional Scott commentary) are great and probably would have won Scott the Oscar had he left them in! Spencer's diary isn't as cringe inducing as I thought; it's actually pretty interesting. A look at Zimmer's music is a nice addition. Storyboards, trailers, bios and production notes make up the rest of the material. Quantity not necessarily quality. Only Scott's commentary and the deleted scenes are truly essential viewings.

Overall: The first great EPIC of the 20th century. This was an early 2-Disc and proved immensely popular. There's quite a bit of material, but compared to today's DVDs, it feels incomplete and somewhat lacking, especially compared to other Scott 2-Disc. However the presentation is top-notch reference stuff. And for the people who didn't like it simply because of the above reasons. Please, leave your pretentious at the door!

A very good movie. The DVD is a two disc set and is loaded with extra features. 10/10