Gladiator; I, Claudius; Rome: Power & Glory

Behind all of the cutting edge cinematography, eye-popping digital effects, and gory mano y mano battles in Ridley Scott's $185 million grossing epic Gladiator lies a central question also explored in I, Claudius and Rome: Power & Glory: namely, should power primarily reside in the hands of the Emperor or the Senate? On the outskirts of the Roman Empire at the end of the Pax Romana salad days (180 A.D.), Gladiator's victorious General Maximus (Russell Crowe) finds himself in a position to assume the mantle of absolute power with the assured blessing of the people. Citing pressing familial responsibilities and agricultural duties back on the farm, Maximus graciously declines the offer to turn imperial Rome back into a Republic, but not before the Emperor Aurelius' (Richard Harris) son Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) gets a whiff of the plan. Before you can say "Spartacus," Maximus' kin and homestead are wiped out and he is thrown into slavery, where he's forced to entertain ancient couch potatoes in the gladiatorial arena while awaiting an auspicious moment to take his revenge on the despotic new emperor. While astute political speculation is never allowed to take precedence over bloody spectacle, Gladiator at least dabbles in ancient Roman political philosophy, particularly in the form of Derek Jacobi's plotting Senator, while offering fine entertainment. Recommended. Aud: P.Actually Gladiator's Jacobi is no stranger to Rome, having traveled her roads a quarter of a century earlier as the titular star of the acclaimed Masterpiece Theatre miniseries I, Claudius. Newly released on DVD, this nearly 12 hour epic, based on the novels by Robert Graves, plays today like a rather cleverly written soap opera treatment of history's first truly dysfunctional family. Told in flashback by the limping, stuttering, twitching Claudius (10 B.C.-54 A.D.), who survived his grandmother Livia's (Sian Phillips) poison spree only because he was dismissed as a fool, the story offers up a veritable treasure trove of bad behavior: murder, intrigue, orgies (with--for 1976--scandalous nudity), incest and, of course, gladiator fights. Like Gladiator, what we remember most is not so much the stirring speeches about the joys (or horrors) of Republicanism, as the wonderfully wicked breaches of social conduct (such as when John Hurt as Caligula not only gives his septuagenarian grandmother Livia a goodnight kiss--on the mouth--but also simultaneously cops a feel of her breast). Both VHS and DVD versions include the documentary The Epic That Never Was, chronicling the failed 1937 attempt to bring I, Claudius to the big screen. Recommended. Aud: C, P.Still, in order to truly appreciate the backstory in Gladiator and I, Claudius, it helps to have more than a layperson's knowledge of the little burg (founded by a couple of wolf-suckled combating brothers named Romulus and Remus) on the banks of the Tiber that became the Roman empire. Narrated by Peter Coyote, Rome: Power & Glory, which details Rome's history from her origins up until the 5th century when she was reduced to no-cash-just-carry booty for land pirates who went by the distinctly non-mellifluous name of Visigoths, provides a semi-exhaustive (though occasionally repetitive) overview of Rome's past. The award-winning DVD, in addition to adding pristine picture and sound (at half the price), also includes virtual reconstructions of key Roman architecture and a guide to the Caesars. Recommended. Aud: J, H, C, P. (R. Pitman)[DVD Review—Sept. 6, 2005—DreamWorks, 3 discs, 271 min., R, $39.99—Making its third appearance on DVD, 2000’s Gladiator: Extended Edition features a beautiful transfer and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound. DVD extras on this three-disc set include both the theatrical version and the 17-minute longer extended version, audio commentary by director Ridley Scott and star Russell Crowe, an intro to the extended edition by Scott, an “Are You Not Entertained?” trivia track on the first disc. The second disc features the exhaustive 200-minute, seven-part documentary “Strength and Honor: Creating the World of Gladiator.” The third disc offers “behind-the-scenes” supplements, including a “Visual Effects Exploration” of Germania and Rome (24 min.), an “Image & Design” section with storyboard demonstrations, comparison sequences, and galleries (14 min.), a segment on production design (10 min.), and “Abandoned Sequences & Deleted Scenes”—including an alternate title design with a “making-of” explanation segment (10 min.), a “Rhino Fight” sequence involving a CG rhino (4 min.), and more. Finally, the disc includes costume design and cast portrait photo galleries, as well as trailers. Bottom line: an excellent showcase of the Oscar-winning film, this is highly recommended.]