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A few glimpses of Ridley Scott's GLADIATOR
Hey folks, Harry here with a ton of images that came by way of Mario from Spain. Ol Mario and I go waaaaay back... If I remember correctly to some gorgeous Disney work back before the Burnt Orange when the news was against a greyish ID4 white house blowing up background. Well, he's still with us, and this time he sent in quite a fun selection of images from GLADIATOR, Ridley Scott's big Dreamworks film. A film I am so hoping is as cool as the script.
The film centers around a Roman General that is reduced to Gladiator (today we call that down-sizing) after a change in rulers.
The script reads as a pure epic. Not so much on the scale of EL CID, where you have gigantic armies... But rather... Imagine if in BEN HUR, if the movie was about Heston's adventures in the Circus (and I ain't talking about Clowns and Tightropes and feather dressed ladies folks!).
I have no lack of confidence in Russell Crowe at all. In fact I believe this to be the film that if all the other elements work as well as he should come across... This'll make him a MAJOR star.
I just wish he'd been chosen to play Wolverine.
I'm hoping for this to be the second punch in the 1, 2 that THE MESSENGER should kick off. Then perhaps some of the ball-less studios out there will actually hop on and make CRUSADE
Until then we'll just have to hope and pray that Ridley and Besson don't screw these epics of theirs up. If you want to read more on GLADIATOR, Just click here, that should lead you to all the stories we've written about GLADIATOR here at AICN!
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This guy has been in a ton of stuff and really has yet to see an accolades for his performances (all solid). Hopefully, with his appearance in this movie (and Michael Mann's The Insider), that will change. I'm looking forward to both. http://www.almostcool.org
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I'm glad Harry adheres to the assessment I made months ago when my Gladiator script review was online: that Crowe will become a major star after this. He's kinda like a cross between Steve McQueen and Richard Burton, if you can imagine that for a moment. And please stop the whining about him not being Wolverine! It's NOT that he wasn't chosen -- it's that HE turned the offer down. End of case. Thank/blame Crowe for that and not Singer or Dougray, folks. I understand that David Franzoni's remarkable script has since been rewritten by the immensely talented John Logan (RKO 281) and by William Harrison (WOLF), if the IMDB is accurate. Some of these pics of GLADIATOR posted here have been online for quite awhile, like the one of him battling the tiger. Check out the Maximum Russell Crowe page for more cool pics from this film (No, it is not my site). There's a link to that site on my page, FlixBurg, under my Gladiator script review (which I adored):
http://members.xoom.com/FlixBurg/flixburg001.htm -
I adored the Gladiator script not necessarily my own beaming review of it! Sorry. :)
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It's back .. for a little while anyway until the next bandwagoon comes along. Personally I'm pretty pleased about this being a fan of a number of these - El Cid, Ben Hur (both versions), Braveheart, The Four Feathers (Korda version) to name but a few. Just hope the standard of Gladiator is up to scratch. Gladiator is going to be compared with Spartacus if only because of the subject matter. Saw Spartacus few weeks ago on the big screen at the National Film Theatre (had only seen it on TV before), and Gladiator has got to be pretty good not to get snidey comparisons from the crits. I too would like to see Crusade - but ditch Schwartzanegger, get an actor instead. Bring on The Messenger, Gladiator and Lord of the Rings!
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if there is any man to make a bad-ass roman empire movie it would be Ridley. Or maybe his younger brother Tony, who is also the balls. This movie has some serious potential. I am still hoping for Crusade to get made- I still think that Walon Green's script is one of the best scripts I have ever read.
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A) Russell Crowe would look ridiculous as Wolverine. I remember that doctored photo!
I suspect they are going to greatly water down the Roman arena action. Lets see...they use to pit children against children, blind men against women,..then there was the beast hunts and the beastiality exhibitions.
The tiger in the final pic. Hmmm. I heard that recent evidence suggests that the big cats in the arena were usually too terrified to attack anyone(think about it--20 000 screaming spectators, much different from the local jungle you were born in)--and they would have to throw christians and war prisoners at them to get any action out of them. Most were also starving or sickly due to long periods in cages...Barnum and Bailey's had a good role model for their own exploitation--whoops, I mean their family entertainment.
:)
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I've been hearing about this movie FOREVER. When is it going to come out? At first it was supposed to come out "in late 1999" in time for Oscar consideration, but that's probably not possible now. When when when? Looks absolutely terrific.
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What about that big fireball explosion? Do the Gauls have bazookas, or just napalm? What the heck in ancient Rome was explosive? The Chinese had that stuff going on, but it certainly wasn't in Rome!
Dreamworks: "Mr. Scott, we're going to have to find a way to introduce some explosions into this movie; they sell tickets you know. Perhaps our hero runs across a cache of modern weapons left by careless time travellers" -
My thoughts exactly. When I saw L.A. Confidential I thought, hey that could have been Steve McQueen. And why on earth Crowe wasn't nominated for an Academy Award goes beyond my imagination.
He has actually won some awards in the past. And if you people haven't seen "Romper Stomper" yet, then go get it right now !
Crowe won both the Australian Academy Award and the best actor award at the Seattle Film Festival for that performance as a neo nazi dude.
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The Next few months are going to rock! I love Medieval, Roman History, and I love fantasy. But the only movies that have come out in recent history dealing with these subjects have been Braveheart, and the rather poor Dragonheart and 13th Warrior. I mean the only point of watching Dragonheart was the kick ass dragon, and the only thing that made me stand 13th warrior was the fact that it had vikings and a authentic feel to it. Now, we have Gladiotar, The Messenger, LOTR, and if it isn't too cheesy, Dungeons and Dragons. TV has picked up on the fact that their is a demand for these epics, just look at Merlin, The Oddssey, Joan of Arc, and Cleopatra. It's about time moviemakers picked up on it
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I realize the inherent irony here, but I'd like to make a request: I can already feel a whole bunch of us getting irritated at Sarin Doofus, but let's do ourselves a favor and just ignore him. He's wasting our time with comments like that which are obviously geared at baiting fellow talkbackers, so he can have an excuse to spew forth his idiotic ravings that he thinks for some silly reason are intelligent. So let's save us from this agony, and let this be the only post in response to him.
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This is his last movie, lets hope he steals the show.Hes bound to, of course
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I'd like to point out that there may not have been explosives in Roman times, they certainly had weapons that would create fireballs, two examples are greek fire, which was a form of napalm that was used by the Greeks (duh), that occured naturally when petroleum mixed with seaweed (if I remember my history). A nice sized ball of pitch would also look like a fireball. Both of these weapons were common siege weapons, very much in use at the time. I'm sure the film will have many anachronisms (anybody ever notice watches on the wrists of soldiers in Spartacus?), but fireballs ain't one of 'em.
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Thank you! I've always tried to pin down who Russell Crowe reminded me of and y'all nailed it on the head...he's definitely a mix of Burton and McQueen. Though, after seeing L.A. Confidential, I would have to say there's a bit of Bogey in him, too.
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Yeah, Russel would've been the shit as Wolverine. It's a damn shame. Gladiator looks like it could be Scott's first good movie in quite a while. He's always done best when thinking big. I am still shedding a tear for the demise of I Am Legend, though. And weren't The Quick and the Dead, Virtuosity, and LA Confidential all supposed to make a household name out of Crowe? I think he's probably doomed to hover eternally on the cusp of stardom.
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Is there really a place for realistic savagery (or ism?) in Gladiator? It's like saying Excalibur isn't a historically accurate portrayal of Arthurian legend. Who cares? These are movies that glorify heroes, they are legends, folklore. Granted, missiles and robots don't belong, but you can't go into too much effort describing what it was really like-- you'll destory the image you're trying to create.
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I do believe that we need more epics. I never thought "Braveheart" was that good, it was but didn't exactly have the touch of those classic epics like "Ben Hur". I feel like "Gladiator" will be something like "Spartacus", I just hope Russel Crowe doesn't turn out to be such a bad lead in it as Kirk Douglas was. Anyone interested in visiting "Gon's Movie Database" type http://go.to/gmdb -Gon.
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Honestly, I agree with Darth Sarin. I'm not tring to "bait" anyone. I have faith that none of you are trout. At least in my own addled mind, Alien and Bladerunner ARE both overrated. It is like the hard SF fans of the day were so starved for something cool that the grabbed ahold of these two so so efforts and still won't let go. People do it today too. Look at the Matrix. A fun movie, but so many folks heralded it as some kind of second coming (a little pun for those playing at home) despite the fact that soem fo the concepts and dialogue were attrocious and that the W. Bros. despite all the high quality work that they did in superficial areas (such as effects) fell down repeatedly when it came to simple storytelling. (if you want examples let me know) The point is...let homeboy express his opinion. If he doesn't do a good job explaining it, then call him on it. He is under no obligation to you though, so you pretty much have to offer up some counter logic if you want your post to be more appropriate or weighty than the one you are deriding (as opposed to answering). I don't like the idea that some talkbackers think that this area is only for them and they way that they coose to express themselves. This is a free arena boys and girls with all the beauty and ugliness that comes with it. So I say, let the man speak. And somebody, get Lane Myers on the phone. I miss that magnificent bastard.
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I have no problem with people voicing their opinions here. I do, however, have problems with people being deliberatley offensive simply for the sake of creating controversy. Many of us have seen time and time again, those like Rufus spouting out a verbal offensive simply to bait people into getting upset and thus getting their jollies out of insulting the opinions of others. A perfect example is Rufus' posting on the Haunted House Hill (or whatever) article. No constructive criticism, simply yelling because he wants attention. I in no way meant to say that people shouldn't voice their opinions, simply (IMHO) that they should do so in an effective manner with respect to the fellow posters. That's all. I, for one, love Ridley Scott - He sets a slower pace, but does so for the sake of atmosphere. Alien gets criticized as being slow and dull, when in fact I think it it the perfect mood for the classic "tin can" movie idea. It doesn't have to be constant shoot-em-up to be engaging. Same thing goes for Blade Runner - it's kind of a thinker's action movie. Light on action, heavy on atmosphere. But hey, that's just my opinion. Peace, MadBoy.
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After all it did give Cuba Gooding Jr. a follow up project after Boysz in the Hood and it skyrocketed the career of Twin Peaks star James Marshall (better known as the one who gets it on with Lara Flynn Boyle). And it featured one of the most unbelievably contrived final fights in movie history when Marshall steps in the ring to take on sleazy fight promoter, and body builder extraordinare, Brian Dennehy. I'm sure this Gladiator will be the better of the two movies, though it won't reach the level of Herrington's other masterpiece - the ill-fated Patrick Swayze vehicle Roadhouse, which offered the most realistic portrayal yet of a bouncer with a PHD in philosphy (Didn't that make the AFI's top 20?)Let's not forget, though, the tattered, gritty brilliance of the original Gladiator, one for the books.
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Now *that* was fine film. I mean, it was so believeable. And Brian "I'm secretly in every movie you've ever seen" was at his finest. Boy o boy did that suck. I suppose fight club will redeem it. I have high hopes for this, real, Gladiator. Go Crowe!
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I can't believe im agreeing with you but i too think that Balde runner and Alien are WAY overrated. I don't get the big fuss and I usually dig anything that my boy Harrison stars in. But Alien's finest moment was no doubt Ripley walking around in her undies the final few moments of the film, it made me quite hot! But G.I.Jane? I admit I loved that film , it's an actual great performance by Demi Moore. And it had me enthralled the entire film.
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c'mon, kids, you know 'gladiator' kicked ass! yes, it was very very predictable and cliched, but i fully grooved on the scenes in the ring, even beefy brian dennehy (wearing what appeared to be wrestling tights) facing off against half-pint james marshall in the climactic bout to knock the other guy out. (whatever happened to marshall, BTW? i always thought he could have a keanu-style career if he played his cards right.) the herrington touch also added juice to a straight-to-video james spader serial killer thriller called 'jack's back' which is actually pretty good. IMHO, this new 'gladiator' would be lucky to have rowdy at the helm! (uh, maybe not.) five-tone off to watch 'road house' and wish he was patrick swyaze as dalton.
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To all those who feel Alien and Blade Runner are overrated: the reason why those two movies receive ongoing praise is not just because of their relentless storytelling and characterization but for the fact that they are the most influential sci-fi films of the past 20 years. PERIOD. END OF STORY. I'm not a huge Ridley Scott fan but I know his place in recent film history. Sounds like you idiots need to brush up a little bit on your film theory. To slam two movies that have completely altered the sci-fi genre and continue to influence movies to this day is just plain moronic (not to mention damaging to your credibility). Now, back to Gladiator. Read the shooting script. Excellent. Proven director + great cast + excellent script = a film I can't wait to see.
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Since when is saying that , in my opinion Blade Runner and Alien are overrated bashing them for being horrible films? I'm just simply saying As FILMS they are not as good as people say. And not all the hype over these two films are because of the geat Sci-fi influence they have given. It's because people think they are terrific films. I know my film theory, do you?
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Sep 21, 1999 6:20:08 PM CDT
Alien/Blade - Copied so much they lose a bit of impact?
by wesley snipes
Perhaps Alien & Blade Runner have been imitated so much here and there (not just movies, but commercials, music videos, comics, etc) for the past 20+ years that looking at them now, their impact is greatly diminished. I don't think you can say, "well, visuals aren't the movie and besides the visuals, the movie sucks." The visuals are so intrinsically tied to these 2 movies. If you consider what else was even remotely comparable at that time (NOT A DAMN THING), you realize just want monumental achievements the films were. Not just the physical designs mind you, but the way everything is shot and conceptualized. Ground-breaking. Consider it for a moment and you'll realize what a feat of imagination it all was. Without that frame of reference then they simply become cool atmospheric flicks, nothing more. But you must include that frame of reference otherwise you won't see how much Scott has actually contributed. That's my two cents.
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Soylent Green? Logan's Run? They had many of the same visual elements, of course BladeRunner used Matte paintings to perfection, and Alien was REALLY a clausterphobic experience, but I'm not sure that they were *quite* as revolutionary as you seem to suggest. BTW I just caught the *other* Gladiator... Gives me a whole new appreciation for the quirky "Diggstown".
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It looks more like a raging fire, but who knows. Man! Oh, man! There's been so little news about this lately at AICN that I'd almost forgotten about it. Looks like I should diversify. Anyhow, I look forward to it along with all the other movie morsels coming our way. ...Oh, and again, what about that LotR casting? Shouldn't they have that done by now -- I mean, shooting starts this October and that's not far off!
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All it takes for a film to be "overrated" is for one person to not like it as much as others have. By that standard, every classic film is "overrated" because there's always someone out there who doesn't recognize why a particular movie is such an incredible piece of work. There's always some dope who's either genuinely dense or just looking for attention who feels obliged to share their thoughts on why everything from 2001 to Alien is not all that great - proving that there's one steadfast rule in this world: either you get it or you don't.
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I merely said I thought it was overrated, does that mean I didn't understand the impact of it or Blade Runner? I do, but it is not the be all and end all like it is referred to alot on this site. In closing, I understand the great impact these two films had on the sci-fi genre, but I don't see why Blade Runner , in particular is a huge cult classic.
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Yeah and these guys were the one who pointed out the Celts as 'wood demons',goning intyo battles nekkid.We get horror stories of human scrifice and scalping customs.The Romans certainly forgot to mention the 'colleges' of the bards,the druid led governiiments,the trade routes and the wealth of the Celts,the widely acclaimed even in Asia Minor of the handiworkof the Celts(chainmails and smithying were later copied by the Romans!!)
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Alien and Blade Runner is cool.Ridley took the noir and put it into the future.The theme in Blade is humanity.Check out the directors cut where the Unicorn dream was included to see another side of Dekard's 'humanity'.The typical theme of Dickson is also present.Alien is the gothic set in space,it doesn't have anything to dow ith the sf except maybe in the psychlogy dept.The theme would be inthe title itself.fear of the unknown;one of the three basic fears of man.of course given the Giger inspried designs then we have the fear of oral rape(facehuggers),the foreign tisues deposited in you(chest buster)general rape(us rooting for scantily clad Ripley against the penile headed monster) and other Geiger obssessions!Now I wouldn't sayhtey're religion but these movies certanily strikes a chord deep within us!Eye candy like SFX either good or bad shouldn't serve to detract us ;they're just an extension of the ideas in the movies!
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When you compare the visual aspects of Soylent Green/Logan's Run vs. Blade Runner/Alien, think about how well the images stand up today. The latter two seem, for the most part, like true visions of the future, while the former two are laughably dated. They look like the 70's on crack--horrible. Of course there are classic sci-fi movies that are severely dated in appearance, but it doesn't matter because the stories are still great, like Forbidden Planet. SG and LR aren't in the same class. Man, when I think of that opening shot from Blade Runner, combined with Vangelis' music... And Sean Young, coolly smoking a cigarette during the Voight-Kampff test. I think it is one of the most unforgettable images of the cinema.
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Sep 22, 1999 4:28:50 AM CDT
I hear ya Madboy...in fact I TBed on THoHH articel myself, befor
by dash riprock
I hear ya on the D. Sarin issue. And he is probably enjoying all this talkback attention. I'm just makin' a case for free expression and all that. Sometimes those blatant instigators dwar out interesting commentary from the rest of the TBers. But I pretty much agree with your feelings on the matter. I f you realize someone is being a fooker, just to be one...you might as well not take the bait.
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I can't agree with the comments made about Bladerunner and Alien. Although I realise everyone has their opinions these are 2 of the coolest sci fi flicks of all time - Blade Runner is one of my all time favourite movies. I do accept though that many of ridley's over films lack substance. I haven't seen white squall or gi jane but they are pretty much slated movies. I have a gut feeling that Ridley will have returned to form with Gladiator though - let's hope so!
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If there's onr thing I can't stand it's when people try to find the hidden meaning in films (i.e morpheus' posting). The comments made about Alien, were these the intentions of the director/writer or are these suppositions made by
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To continue there is nothing more frustrating than people who analyse more from a film than was originally intended. Most films are escapism, some are meant to provoke thought but anyone who has to analyse a film to such a degree has too much time on there hands. I haven't heard crap of that quality since someone said Star Wars was about white supremacy.
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On the whole kermit your right but in the case of Alien, the rape under currents and sexual inuendo was intentional and ment to be apparent as it is with so much of Giger's work the Alien head was ment to resemble a penis also the underside of the face hugger shaped like a vagina. these arent just my opinons its in giger biogarphy.
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re Romper Stomper - Crowe as neo nazi "dude" suggests some kind of approval - the film is "ain't it evil," not, "ain't he cool."
Anyway, we await Connie Nielsen to be launched on an unsuspecting ancient (and modern) world in Gladiator with some relish ... -
down here in the wonderful land of Oz, russel crowe is a recognized celebrity. havent had an ancient epic that wasnt animated in while. lookin good! baff
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I have been a fan of Russell Crowe for awhile now, and, I am looking forward to all three films that are coming soon. I hope that moviegoers will soon realize that one of the finest actors in Hollywood comes from a farm in Australia. He is fabulous, and, is only getting better.
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to smite his enemies
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