lucie
05-08-00, 07:53 AM
Some of you must have seen this over the weekend. I loved it, but at 2 hrs 30 mins, I need to see it again to absorb it. Not flawless, although I wonder if some of that was not due more to studio required cuts for time than any flaw of Ridley Scott's. I have always preferred the director's cuts of his films to the theatrically distributed versions.
The visions of Imperial Rome were truly spectacular. Except for the Colliseum, the shots of Rome had a dreamlike, almost Maxfield Parrish look that was very consistant with the a statement made by Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) early on in the film. In contrast, other place had a hard, brutal reality, particularly the arena in (I think) North Africa where Maximus (Russell Crowe) is sold to Proxima (Oliver Reed in a performance that ought to win him a posthumus Oscar or there is no justice at all in Hollywood).
The story is fairly simple, but with a few surprises, and Scott provides a proper ending. I have it on good authority that the costumes, armour, and weapons are all excellent, and the warfare is very classic Roman. If you're a scholar, however, don't look for accuracy in regards to the character of Commodus.
My one complaint would be in regards to the character of Lucilla. Either someone had no idea what to do with her or some important character development ended up on the cutting room floor. Her early scenes imply one sort of person, but nothing is ever done with that, and she inexplicably flip-flops halfway though the film. She also gets the most thankless dialogue in the film, although the actress handles it as well as anyone could. Hopefully, some of this will be resolved in the DVD, which I understand will have nearly an hour restored.
I tried to write some of this without giving away too much for those who have not seen it yet. BTW, if you thought to avoid it because you heard it was pretty gory, don't worry. There is plenty of violence, but none of it is gratuitous and Scott does not (with one exception) dwell on the bloody results. Also, there is a lot of good character development scenes in addition to the action. The women in the audience seemed to be as engrossed as the men, and it looked like many people thought it was a very good date movie.
I'll have to see it again before giving a fully thought-out opinion on Russell Crowe. My initial reaction is that he did not have the necessary charisma for the part, being rendered easily invisible on screen whenever he was in a scene with almost any of the other principle actors. It would be difficult for anyone to hold thier own in a room with Oliver Reed, Derek Jacobi (woefully underused), or Richard Harris. However, I found myself more drawn to almost everyone else as well, including some of the other featured actors. It's not that he did not do a good job, there was just something missing. I liked him, and felt for his pain, but he didn't seem to be the sort to command the kind of instant trust and devotion the movie implied. Nothing in the animal brain sat up and responded.
But I am going back to see it again, and maybe I will have a different take on it. Good score, although not one of Zimmer's best. The riffs from Holst's "The Planets" were used a few too many times.
The visions of Imperial Rome were truly spectacular. Except for the Colliseum, the shots of Rome had a dreamlike, almost Maxfield Parrish look that was very consistant with the a statement made by Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) early on in the film. In contrast, other place had a hard, brutal reality, particularly the arena in (I think) North Africa where Maximus (Russell Crowe) is sold to Proxima (Oliver Reed in a performance that ought to win him a posthumus Oscar or there is no justice at all in Hollywood).
The story is fairly simple, but with a few surprises, and Scott provides a proper ending. I have it on good authority that the costumes, armour, and weapons are all excellent, and the warfare is very classic Roman. If you're a scholar, however, don't look for accuracy in regards to the character of Commodus.
My one complaint would be in regards to the character of Lucilla. Either someone had no idea what to do with her or some important character development ended up on the cutting room floor. Her early scenes imply one sort of person, but nothing is ever done with that, and she inexplicably flip-flops halfway though the film. She also gets the most thankless dialogue in the film, although the actress handles it as well as anyone could. Hopefully, some of this will be resolved in the DVD, which I understand will have nearly an hour restored.
I tried to write some of this without giving away too much for those who have not seen it yet. BTW, if you thought to avoid it because you heard it was pretty gory, don't worry. There is plenty of violence, but none of it is gratuitous and Scott does not (with one exception) dwell on the bloody results. Also, there is a lot of good character development scenes in addition to the action. The women in the audience seemed to be as engrossed as the men, and it looked like many people thought it was a very good date movie.
I'll have to see it again before giving a fully thought-out opinion on Russell Crowe. My initial reaction is that he did not have the necessary charisma for the part, being rendered easily invisible on screen whenever he was in a scene with almost any of the other principle actors. It would be difficult for anyone to hold thier own in a room with Oliver Reed, Derek Jacobi (woefully underused), or Richard Harris. However, I found myself more drawn to almost everyone else as well, including some of the other featured actors. It's not that he did not do a good job, there was just something missing. I liked him, and felt for his pain, but he didn't seem to be the sort to command the kind of instant trust and devotion the movie implied. Nothing in the animal brain sat up and responded.
But I am going back to see it again, and maybe I will have a different take on it. Good score, although not one of Zimmer's best. The riffs from Holst's "The Planets" were used a few too many times.