TheDenizen wrote:I have very questionable taste.
Ah, we arrive at the nut of the problem.
And Oliver Reed was excellent as well. "He sold me queer giraffes. I want my moneyback!"
Crowe's portrayal of a natural leader was why he deserved the Oscar--nevermind that it was probably as a reward for his previous years performance in The Insider, which I didn't think was that special btw, it being a political hit piece. And he should have gotten another one for Master and Commander, and yes, 3:10 to Yuma was indeed excellent too.
What was wrong with the CGI ....or the writing?
Commodus: The general who became a slave. The slave who became a gladiator. The gladiator who defied an emperor. Striking story! But now, the people want to know how the story ends. Only a famous death will do. And what could be more glorious than to challenge the Emperor himself in the great arena?
Maximus: You would fight me?
Commodus: Why not? Do you think I am afraid?
Maximus: I think you've been afraid all your life.... I knew a man once who said, "Death smiles at us all. All a man can do is smile back."
Commodus: I wonder, did your friend smile at his own death?
Maximus: You must know. He was your father.
Commodus: You loved my father, I know. But so did I. That makes us brothers, doesn't it? Smile for me now, brother.[stabs him]
Maximus: I am required to kill, so I kill. That is enough.
Proximo: That's enough for the provinces, but not enough for Rome.
Gracchus: Fear and wonder, a powerful combination.
Falco: You really think people are going to be seduced by that?
Gracchus: I think he knows what Rome is. Rome is the mob. Conjure magic for them and they'll be distracted. Take away their freedom and still they'll roar. The beating heart of Rome is not the marble of the senate, it's the sand of the coliseum. He'll bring them death - and they will love him for it. (It was ever thus, and never more than now.)
Commodus: Have I missed it? Have I missed the battle?
Marcus Aurelius: You have missed the war.
Commodus: Father, congratulations. I shall sacrifice a hundred bulls to honor your triumph.
Marcus Aurelius: Save the bulls. Honor Maximus. He won the battle.
Proximo: Listen to me. Learn from me. I was not the best because I killed quickly. I was the best because the crowd loved me. Win the crowd and you will win your freedom.
Commidus: They embrace him as one of their own.
Lucilla: The mob is fickle brother, they will have forgotten him in a month.
(The scene showing bread being thrown to the crowd/mob in the circus is worth a thousand words.)
Maximus: What we do in life echoes in eternity. (A fitting epitaph for the good, the evil, and the quivering, IOW, everyone. It will be on my tombstone.)
I could go on. It's hard to stop, but I could have stopped with the giraffes.
Were you not entertained?
nauru wrote:Hollywood needs a lot more big-budget sword and sandal flicks. Roman Republic/Empire sword and sandal flicks. Instead they seem to focusing on some kind of resurgence of westerns which is a grave disappointment for me to say the least.
While I applaud your enthusiasm for Roman epics, I haven't noticed much of a resurgence in westerns. I trust you're not including Django which is really more of a southern than a western.
