Gladiator (5 Stars)

Dancer's Top Films #70

This is a film made out of time. It could have been made in the 1950's, when big budget historical films were popular. It has the same style to it as "Ben Hur" and "Spartacus". The film's generic title pays homage to those films. It could be argued that it has greater poignancy than "Spartacus". Spartacus was a slave who became a rebel leader. He started out with nothing before rising in importance. The gladiator Maximus in "Gladiator" moves in the opposite direction. He begins as a general, a trusted friend of the Roman emperor, and then he's reduced to a slave who has to fight in the arena.

There's no doubt that Russell Crowe puts on an incredible performance, but for me the real star of the film is Joaquin Phoenix as Emperor Commodus, the man who becomes Rome's emperor by strangling his father. He's such a complicated character, and Joaquin Phoenix portrays this perfectly. He loves his father, but he kills him because he doesn't feel loved in return. He tries to kill Maximus, because he knows that his father loves him more. He loves his sister and hopes to marry her to produce a pure blooded heir. In so many ways Commodus is a despicable creature, but the way he's played makes us want to weep with him.

I don't think Joaquin Phoenix has found his signature role yet, but this is the closest he's got to it so far.

This is one of only four films I saw in the cinema while I lived in America. The other three were "Jurassic Park: Lost World", "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery" and "Titanic". Four films in three years is a poor showing. I wasn't such a big film fan back them. Since 2014 I've been going to the cinema on average twice a week, or at least I used to, before the Coronavirus closed the cinemas. The German government promised that cinemas can reopen on March 22nd (tomorrow), as long as the Inzidenzzahl remains below 50. That's the number of new Coronavirus infections per 100,000 people in a seven-day period. Unfortunately, the Inzidenzzahl has shot up from 46.2 to 81.1 over the last three weeks. Things are getting worse, not better.

Success Rate:  + 2.5

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Here's a summary of the films in my top 100 countdown so far. You don't have to tell me there's a hole in the list. I know. I've been watching some films out of order, for various reasons.

71. Enter the Dragon (1973)
72. Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982)
73. The Legend of 1900 (1998)
74. Young Frankenstein (1974)
75. The Virgin Psychics (2015)
76. The Man who would be King (1975)
77. John Rabe (2009)
78. The Paperboy (1994)
79. The Walk (2015)
80. Perfume (2006)
81. The Green Mile (1999)
82. Little Nicky (2000)
83. Monster (2003)
84. Gloomy Sunday (1999)
85. We are the night (2010)
86. Dark Water (2002)
87. What to do in case of fire (2001)
88. The Shining (1980)
89. Azumi (2003/2005)
90. The Mummy (1999)
91. Wie Feuer und Flamme (2001)
92. Attack of the 50 Foot Centerfold (1995)
94. Titanic (1997)
95. Mad City (1997)
96. Leon (1994)
97. Iron Rose (1973)
98. Kick-Ass (2010)
99. Rush Hour (1998)
100. Bella Martha (2001)