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How could a civilization as enlightened as the Romans support gladiator games full of barbaric fighting where death could easily occur? We might as well ask how America could support boxing, football or any other contact sport where violence is part of the entertainment. America has become the Roman Empire of the 21st Century so it’s ironic that Ridley Scott’s new “Extended Cut” (notice the word “Director’s Cut” is NOT used) of “Gladiator” should arrive while we are still involved in the war in Iraq, Surely the parallels between Rome and Washington were not accidental. Even if it was, out of accidents are born the best metaphors and analogies. Those looking for a history lesson had best look elsewhere. The play’s the thing here—while there are some historical touchpoints the film is about as historical accurate as “The Robe” or even “Ben-Hur”. What works well in “Gladiator” is the character at the center of it all; Maximus (Crowe) is a military man of principle and after his surge into Germany conquering barbarians for the Roman Empire and Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris), he wants to just go home to his wife and son. When the emperor selects Marcus as his successor to introduce democracy back into the Roman Empire, the emperor’s son Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) murders his father and then accuses Marcus of being a traitor to the empire. Commodus/st1:Sn> commands that Marcus be executed. When he escapes, Marcus flees to his wife and son knowing that Commodus will kill them as well only to arrive too late. Badly wounded when escaping, Marcus passes out and is taken by a slave trader thus beginning his journey to anonymity as a Gladiator in the games. When his owner Proximo (Oliver Reed) recognizes the talent that Marcus has as a gladiator he urges him to develop it. Marcus has his own end in mind; he wants to compete in Rome so that he has the opportunity to assassinate Commodus. ***

Although Ridley Scott’s film suffers from major historical inaccuracies, “Gladiator” recalls “Ben Hur” in its epic grandeur. Scott’s film successfully captures the feeling of those epic films from Hollywood’s past while staying true to a contemporary audience’s expectations. Featuring a number of stunning performances, “Gladiator” finally gets the deluxe edition accorded other Scott films such as “Alien”, “Black Hawk Down” and “Legend”. It’s probably Scott’s most popular and successful film with audiences and with such a strong cast, one of his best acted as well. Since Scott’s “extended cut” isn’t really a “Director’s Cut” (Scott explains in the introduction that the theatrical version was his final vision for the film), the value of this extended cut will be debated among fans of the film. While the extended cut adds a number of sequences and extends others that adds depth and character development for Maximus and Commodus, much of this was implied in the original version as well. ---

With two discs of extras, you’ll find quite a bit of your time is spent delving into the documentary and featurettes included. Disc one focuses on the film along with an introduction by Ridley Scott. Disc two features a three hour and twenty minute documentary on the film that begins with the initial story that co-producer/co-writer David Franzoni pitched through the involvement of two other writers (one of them Academy Award Nominee John Logan who wrote “The Aviator” and “Star Trek: Nemesis”). We travel throughout the entire production and post-production process in the documentary which is both exhaustive and exhausting. ***

Disc three has the supplements including featuettes on production design, storyboard comparisons, galleries, “Ridleygrams” featuring Scott’s own sketches for the film. There’s also costume design galleries, cast portrait photo galleries, and section on the visual effects including the battle at the beginning of the film set in Germania. The featurette has the visual effects supervisor illustrating how the effects were created on computer. We see the original background plates shot for the journey to Rome and the digitally enhanced version. Surprisingly, the city was created using traditional matte painting techniques and then composited. Photo montages were used as well with actual photographs shot in Malta. ***

We also get abandoned sequences including a sequence involving a Rhino in the arena. Using storyboards and an early CG Rhino designed by Tippet studios, we get an idea as to what the sequence might have looked like. Evidently the Rhino was originally going to be killed but someone at Dreamworks (perhaps Spielberg) felt that the sequence wasn’t appropriate. There’s also a sequence called “Blood Vision” which is presented in storyboard again as well as footage shot on location. Referring to premonition the “Blood Vision” sequence should have featured CG blood. We also get the original theatrical trailers and TV spots as well as costume design galleries, cast portrait photo galleries and other extras on the third disc. The storyboard comparisons between final footage and storyboards with both presented in the same frame. Also, we get to see the original title sequence in a featurette tht discusses the creation of this unusual sequence. Sadly, it had to be abandoned for time reasons. ---