The Praetorian Guard were the personal bodyguards of the Roman Emperor. They were created by Augustus (the first Emperor). They eventually became so powerful that they began to kill Emperors and declare the next man to be "Caesar", often just on the spot.

This is one of the greatest movies ever made, and I really like it. My favorite scene is when he turns his back and then turns around and takes his helmet off and shows the emperor who he is, it gives me goose bumps every time.

I like how the gladiators surround Maximus in protection mode after he reveals himself to Commodus. A true leader earning the respect of the men.

Joaquin Phoenix's portrayal of Commodus is epic. In my top 5 movie villains of all time.

That ending, "Who will help me carry him?", gets me every time. 😥

“Caesar” was just a family surname until the rule of Gaius Julius Caesar, who began the tradition of giving the Roman dictator or emperor the title of “Caesar”. Julius was assassinated in 44 BCE. The tradition still became very strong, as the descendants of Julius and future Roman emperors took the title. The title of “Caesar” existed for many centuries with the German (Kaiser) and Russian empires (Tsar, Czar).

Marian with tears in his eyes, it's a great film for good fathers

The big guy is Ralph Möller a German bodybuilder and one of Arnold Schwarzenegger's best friends

23:14 “Bread and circuses”….a very well-known idiom, which is still used today in the USA. Keep the mob happy and content. Keep them fed and entertained, and they won’t care when you’re scamming them.

My favorite reactors. Marian, you were one of the only reactors who figured out that he needed two horses to try to get home so he could ride them in turn, to keep going. It won't work for long, because both of them are running. The only difference is the weight of the rider. One is carrying him, one isn't. But they'll run themselves out eventually. I live in Texas, grew up on a working ranch. Older men would talk about killing a horse to get somewhere fast. Unless they're bred for endurance, and work on long distance runs a lot, they can't go too awful long at a gallop. Thanks for another great reaction to a great movie! God bless you both, and your family!

One of my favourite movies. The guy at the begining with no head on a horse, always reminds me of what my dad looks like, trying to ride a horse.😂

This is actually a true story based on my life. No bullshit. I am 1,722 years old. I didn't really die at the end I was just sleepy.

He took 2 horses so he could ride the 2nd one when the 1st one got tired of carrying him.

100% this guy played Rome Total War.

Maximus insulted Commodus when he bowed and called him "Highness". The proper address, once Commodus became Caesar, was "Imperial Majesty."

Probably someone has mentioned that Marcus Aurelius, although he was a Roman emperor, was one of the most famous & important of the Stoic philosophers. His book (apparently originally intended as a personal journal) is wonderful to read, and can actually change your life. ♥

The guy who got his freedom from the emperor when Maximus laughed, that actor died during filming. They CGI'ed him into other scenes and it worked amazingly.

Great reaction.. great movie. All time, great

Guys, this is probably the only movie I still shed a tear here and there 23 years later after I watched it on VHS, haha. I was 10, now 34 and it just getting better with age. Pure cinematic experience on all levels! Greetings from neighbourly Bulgaria :P

Marion's Roman knowledge is great. I love it.

they killed is bloodline so no one can seek revenge. That is how it was done during that time

The opening battle scene was filmed at Bourne Woods in Surrey in England. The forestry Commission is had slated the area for deforestation. When Ridley Scott found out, he said he would do the job for them, if he could film there.

Imagine having an entire forest to burn down just to film the scenes to the best quality. And that is the opening of this movie. I didnt know this when i came out because i was a teen but learning a few years later made it that much better

The colosseum was an amazing design, it allowed water to be contained so that they could stage naval battle reenactments with ships. I would have loved to have seen that. You've already done a few Ridley flicks... The Martian, Prometheus, Alien... I hope you try his 2nd outing with Russell, A Good Year (2006), it's fun if you want something to watch on your own time.

When the film came out I thought: omg, a historical sandal film (German term for such films)... After a year my sister asked me: have you seen Gladiator?.. I said NO. SHE: It's your own fault. Then I had to watch it on DVD... and I just thought: I'm an idiot, why didn't I watch this awesome film in the cinema. I love this movie. And btw... your reaction too

I really hope Ancient Rome set epics make a comeback. There's Gladiator 2, of course, and hopefully Denis Villianvue will do his Cleopatra one day, too. You guys should check out the original Cleopatra, Spartacus, The Fall of the Roman Empire, Quo Vidas, The Robe, and Ben Hur.

"Give them bread and circuses, and they will never revolt" -- Juvenal (1st century Roman satirical poet)

Yes, Ceasar is a title, coming from the surname of Gaius Iiulius Ceasar. That title was adopted also from the Byzantine and Ottoman empires to call their emperors.

A historic event that relates to this is the story of Spartacus, the gladiator who led an uprising against Rome.

One of my fav films of all time. I was 22 years old in College and watched this in the theaters. Went right back the next day and watched it again in theaters. Watched it again a week later.

One of the greatest villains ever a really good hero. The 3 friends are awesome. Lucilla is a very interesting character who has to play a little bit of everything and Proximo is one of the better gray characters with good leanings i've ever seen.

This one is epic. The camaraderie Maximus develops with his fellow Gladiators and they for him is a highlight while Joaquin Phoenix delivered with his terrifying performance that's both hammy and predatory. The bloody sword and shield combat makes it.

Crowe, Nielsen, Phoenix, well done. Hounsou and Muller are good too.

When they went for his family, they burn and crucified (nailed them up) as a sign of dishonor. The reason for doing this was a quite common practice and was to prevent exactly what the Gladiator did, avenge his (almost) death. Yes, the term Caesar, was coined after the original Julius Caesar, appointed himself as Emperor. After he was killed, the name became the title associate with all emperors that followed. In this movie Emperor Marcus Aurelius wanted to return Rome to be a republic instead of a dictatorship. So yes, Emperor Marcus Aurelius WAS Caesar, supposedly the last of The Five Good Emperors" (Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus Pius were the previous four) and did put the needs of hi people before his own. In reality, after his death, Rome "quickly descended into civil war".

11:45 “Mr. East… middle eastern” 🤣🤣🤣

The lady that played Maximus's wife is Ridley Scott's wife. She also had a small role in "kingdom of heaven" as Saladin's sister.

My daughter and I watched this movie when it came out in the Theater. It was a memorable movie 🎥. I cried for him but he did go home to his family. The one legendary actor passed away during the filming. Excellent Choice. I love your commentary after the end.

He's not their general, the ones who try to kill him at first are praetorians (the emperor's guard, in the movie loyal to Commodus), his men simply think (will think) that he's dead (this is Commodus and Quintus' plan), otherwise the legionnaires would obey to Maximus.

can't believe hubby hasn't seen this one before it's one of the best films of the 21st century so far and a lot more believable than a bunch of guys in bikinis fighting octopuses⚛😀

Don't underestimate Antiquity's engineers abilities into making such a stadium perfectly made for acoustics. It must have been better in theatres, of course but a big theatre like Epidora has such good acoustics that from the back rows you can hear very clearly someone dropping a coin in the center as if you were beside them... So there is a chance that the crowd heard him alright. After Julius Caesar, Caesar became a title. It gave the terms Csar in Russian and Kaiser in German.

Need T shirt, BOOM . . . GAME OVER

I have seen so many reactions to this movie. I ❤ how you guys catch on to EVERYTHING, as it’s happening. You get all the nuances and subtleties. The thoughts and motivations of the characters. And from what it sounds like, English isn’t even your native language!! But you pick up more than any other reactors I’ve watched. Well done, will be subscribing. 😊 Edit: And you’re both adorable and funny. Bonus!

Oliver Reed, was one of my favourite actors of the 70s,

In this movie people always ASK or Claim WHY DID THEY KILL MAXIMUS' SON ??? Who would always have more reason for Vengeance of a death ? The Son of the Man who is killed so throughout history and to this day in most countries if you associate a man it is best to kill off his offspring as well so they can not grow up and revenge their fathers death. And MAXIMUS was NOT poisened by the Commodus but Maximus was STABBED through the Lung ( through the side between the ribs into the lung ) so Maximus was already dying before he went out to the arena as his lung was filling up with blood Maximus was basically drowning in his own blood.

I watched this in the cinema, when I was 15. It was such powerful movie experience and it's still one my absolute favourites! Thanks for doing this one. I'm going in...

"What we do in life echoes in eternity" This is one of my all time favorite movies and all time favorite movie soundtracks! The acting and cinematography is spectacular. Gladiator 2 comes out this year sometime, maybe August!? Returning will be Lucilla, Juba, Senator Graccus and a grown up Lucius. Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington and Paul Mescal star. Ridley Scott returns as director. I can't wait!!!!

You are a wise man Sir, you got every beat of the film. Your wife has a good heart was a fun watch, terrific reaction

I am from Rome, love your reactions! Marian impressed me, he knows about praetorians, the imperial guard of roman emperors, they were elite chosen soldiers and (as the emperor color was purple) they wore purple clothing over the armor. Curiously the same is for Japan, purple is the color of the Japanese Empire. I remember when this film came out it was a big, big deal for Rome, I was 10, a couple years ago Russell Crowe was appointed ambassador of Rome in the World. People here really speak very highly of him.

This is such a great movie! I really enjoyed rewatching it with you, M&J. Thank you for sharing it with us. 🙂

I watch a lot of reaction videos and you guys are easily the smartest on this platform. Always love your videos, even when i (rarely) disagree with you. Special bonus points for including your interaction with your kids on this video, because that's real life, no? Keep up the great work!

Ah, my favorite couple on KZfaq ^^. Great reaction. Marian, speaking of SPARTACUS, he was a THRACIAN! So maybe one of your Romanian or Bulgarian ancestors! Loves from France.

This was pre-Christian Rome. There large numbers of Christians that were put in brutal contests in the Coliseum. Fed to lions and such. None of them survived the coliseum. Some tried to keep their faith secret. Others formed resistance factions. Caesar is Marcus Aurelius. His writings are legendary and readily available.

When Maximus tells the calvary not to be if they find themselves in green fields with the sun in your face, do not be troubled for you are already in Elysium (heaven) and already dead. What we do in life echoes in eternity. This was (Proximo) Oliver Reed's last film he died before filming was completed. Some of his dialogue needed to be don't in.

Historically, Julius Caesar wasn't an emperor. The first emperor was his successor Augustus. Caesar's name was used out of respect. Marcus Aurelius was the last of the emperors known as the Five Good Emperors.

Nice reaction guys 👍👍

Another great review 👏

Ooh girl I love your Sakura t-shirt!! 🤗

Commodus was actually the root of the word commode being used for toilet. 🤣

Regarding Commodus killing Maximus' family, after Ieyasu Tokugawa overthrew the Toyotomi clan and seized power, the Toyotomi made concession after concession to Tokugawa and even married their heir to Tokugawa's granddaughter hoping that if they cooperated and submitted to him, he would allow them to survive. However, Tokugawa realized that, even if the Toyotomi clan itself didn't turn against him, people could invoke their name as a rallying cry to start a rebellion against him, so he destroyed the clan and had reminders of them like Osaka Castle with its famous blue tile roof demolished.

No, in the Coliseum you can hear everything that's said from the center. It has perfect acoustics.

Are you not entertained? Sadly the excellent actor who played Proximo, Oliver Reed, like his character died before the movie was finished, one of his scenes, when Maximus asks if he’s in danger of becoming a good person, had to be done with CG. The plot for *Gladiator* is a mix of the storylines from *Spartacus* (1960) and *The Fall Of The Roman Empire* (1964) Actor *Richard Harris,* Emperor Marcus Aurelius, is also *Professor Dumbledore* from the first 2 Harry Potter movies and *English Bob* from *Unforgiven* starring *Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman* and *Morgan Freeman*

In reality gladiators would have been difficult for a soldier to beat. Gladiators were trained specifically for one on one combat, some trained for years. I like to think Maximus just happened to be a general who was also a gifted individual fighter

In real life, the Costa-Rican actress who portrayed Maximus' ill-fated wife married director Ridley Scott in 2015.

Caesar is a TITLE in Roman hierarchy not a name...from that title you get Kaiser in German hierarchy and later Tsar .

Russell Crowe won his Oscar for this. Also this movie won Best Picture

A modern epic; fantastic storyline/script, excellent casting & what a score. In my opinion, Commodus & Percy from the “Green Mile” are the most evil characters on screen…credit to the acting ability to bring out that emotion. The multiple side stories covering the human condition makes this film so much better. Really enjoy your thoughts Marian, you have a great way of diving into a deeper meaning. Joy points out many things that most people completely miss. Love your commentary! [say, if you’d like more “epics”, I have a few suggestions: “Dr. Zhivago”, “Lawrence of Arabia”, “Cleopatra” & “Ben Hur”.]

You didn’t cry at the end of that!? You two are cyborgs! 😂🤦🏽‍♂️

Most slaves were made from warfare. Soldiers and civilians from the losing side were sold into slavery. It made alot of people rich.

Gladiator II is out late this year - nice timing :-)

Burial was fairly rare for Romans of the Republic or Empire. Bodies were usually cremated.

I cannot wait until your reaction to Ben Hur! 👍👍

The thrust of Commodus's dagger is fatal woung, as Maximus bleeds out.

Very much enjoyed your reactions and commentary. Caesar was the title of the emperor of Rome, much like Kaiser was for the emperor of Germany and Czar (Tsar) was for the emperor of Russia

“Who will help me carry him?” 😭😭😭😭

Joy, Emperors often killed off enemies and their family so they could confiscate their property and sell it or give it away to someone else

Maximus wasn't poisoned. He was suffering from blood loss and a punctured and collapsed lung. And he still won!

Allow me to preface what I’m about to say with the fact that I freakin LOVE this movie. But this movie gives people a completely distorted view of a gladiator’s life. In reality, gladiators almost never died. Who were gladiators? They were slaves. Owned by slave owners. Does anyone actually think that these slave owners would throw their property to death all willy-nilly? Why? So they constantly had to spend more money to buy slaves? Slaves were not easy to acquire, not to mention that not every slave was worthy of the expense of being housed, fed and trained as a gladiator. Occasionally accidents occurred and a fighter was maimed or killed in the arena, but that was not the norm. Now here’s the mind blowing part. Most of them knew each other and most often even trained together. They had almost no interest in hurting one another. They were in one town this weekend and in another town next weekend. They were entertainers. They were the ancient equivalent of…. WWE wrestlers. It was a show and dance. Smoke and misdirection.

Did anybody ever notice the music for this sounds similar to Pirates of the Caribbean? Well, the great Hans Zimmer did both.

Russel Crowe is a beast, one of the best actors of all time, and he’s been doing this for timeeeee🙏🇬🇧

The origin of Caesar is correct…Julius C. was the original emperor. The second, C. Augustus was related to Julius and was given the name Caesar. Nero was the twelfth and last Caesar. Russian czar and German kaiser were derivative of Roman Caesar.

Ah finalmente!

Couple goals ❤❤❤❤❤

38:38 there is no spoon 🥄 😏

15:30 bread 🍞 and circus 🎪 . They watch them. You watch them both. I watch all three. And the gubbermint watches me. 👀

6:10 the corruption that crippled it, debt based economics. Just like today.

SuperB 👊🏻

06:48 absolutely hilarious

Luv you guys!!

Russell Crowe he played jor-El Superman's father in Man of Steel too.

There was talk of the studio had planned to do a prequel. But that was like four years ago. I guess about the main characters here when they were all young.

"Strength and honour" "Scotch and soda" 😉

38:25 so cute😂

Mister East 😂

If you want to see an even better gladiator/roman movie watch Spartacus (1957). An actual true story (fairly accurate, minus a big addition in the middle and the ending sortoff) and in my eyes one of the biggest historical events with effects for the future )of the roman empire).

Please also consider reacting to Lonesome Dove. One of the greatest Westerns of all time. Both Tommy Lee Jones and Robert Duval consider it their best work as actors. 4 part mini series. The novel it is based on won it’s author Larry McMurty a Pulitzer award for best novel. Another reactor, Madison Thames, watched it and absolutely loved it. Thanks so much for considering this and for producing such great content and enjoyment.

Good People hate injustice 💪

Your next movie choice should break from what other KZfaqrs are watching. I suggest, Presumed Innocent, with Harrison Ford and Bonnie Bedelia, Raúl Julia, among other great actors. Trivia: Bonnie Bedelia is the aunt of Macauly Culkin.

My Germanic ancestors were unfriendly to my father-in-law's Italian ancestors ;-(

I figured he took the horse so he wouldn't return to camp. Having an empty horse arrive at camp would alert everybody. My guess anyway

Cold Mountain please. Nicole Kidman, Jude Law, Cillian Murphy, Renee Zellweger, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Natalie Portman and MORE! Please