Dr David Gwynn - Gladiator: Great Film, Bad History!
When people today imagine the world of ancient Rome, they often find themselves beginning from the film Gladiator, which hit cinema screens back in 2000. Director Ridley Scott and his cast, led by Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix, did a superb job bringing ancient Rome to life, culminating in the magnificent recreation of the Roman Colosseum. Yet the film also features a number of historical errors, both in terms of detail and in how the Romans thought and acted (enter "Gladiator historical accuracy" into any Internet search engine and you will find numerous websites devoted to these errors). Gladiator is great entertainment, but as an introduction to the ancient Romans it must be watched with care.
Questions:
- How does the film depict life in ancient Rome? What principles motivate the different leading characters?
- What historical inaccuracies can you identify in Gladiator? Do those errors affect your enjoyment of the film?
- What challenges do film-makers face in bringing historical events to life? What compromises must they make between dramatic fiction and historical accuracy, and do you feel that Gladiator succeeds in finding the right balance between the two?
