Gladiator - Limited Edition Digibook [Blu-ray] [2000]

This review is of the 4K Blu-ray versionAs a movie, Gladiator is truly magnificent.I have read that many find the hdr to be very dark in this movieI would suggest that this movie needs a very powerful tv to get the best from its hdr. It’s going to need a tv that can do around 1000 nits hdr.My tv can do this and the picture is truly marvellous and much better than the Blu-ray version. Colours and deep and accurate and true. You won’t find a better example of hdr being used properly in any movie.I highly recommend the 4K Blu-ray of gladiator but with the warning that unless you have a very powerful tv correctly calibrated then you just may be disappointedThis is a 4K Blu-ray where caveat emptor applies.Few movies, if any are this demanding on your tv, but it’s just about the best picture you will ever see.If.Gladiator 4k blu ray came with three months free access to Amazon Music unlimited. Unfortunately i never received this nor did i get any promised emails from amazon to activate the agreed offer. When i contacted Amazon regarding this, via their chat system, i was given garbled and convoluted instructions on how to activate the offer which required me to pay up front for the free offer!When i asked the amazon representative for an email transcript of the chat, he sent a message saying id get the transcript after i had paid for the subscription that was supposed to be free. Then he cut me straight off.I am knocking two stars off my review as ive not received the complete package that comes with gladiator 4k.I found the amazon representative to be, ultimately rude and unprofessional. It seems the purchase comes with a free offer that you have to pay for.Why bother offering it?

Debuting a month of great cinematic classics on the 4k market, Gladiator in the UHD format is a sight to behold..filmed in 35 mm the transfer can look a bot soft by moments but the hdr is the true star here..the WCG is incredible here and all the scenes shine through giving it a true advantage over the blu ray which fills dull when compared to his 4k counterpart.. details are incredible and the DTS X track unleashed hell in glorious mayhem ..This 4k edition comes with all the previous features on a separate blu ray disc (it’s the same blu ray as the previous release ) and in its form earns my highest recommendation.. A must buy for every fan of this cinematic achievement

The main disc contains both the cinema and uncut versions, plus an additional disc of extras. Why the director chose to cut certain scenes for distribution, I don't know. The uncut version is better for the inclusions, and they do not add unduly to the running time. The main film disc in the first set I received would not play at all; in fact, it locked up every blu-ray player I tried it in. The extras disc, in which I have no interest at all, worked perfectly! Full credit to Amazon, they arranged to have it collected immediately, and just as rapidly replaced it with a good one.This set is good value for including the uncut version.

Far from historically accurate but an entertaining tale of Roman conquest and treachery after the good emperor Marcus Aurelius is murdered by his ambitious son Commodus. General Maximus, the legal heir to the deceased emperor, is seized by troops loyal to Commodus and led into the forest to be executed but he survives, gravely wounded, but able to return home to see the bodies of his murdered family and slaves. He is rescued by a travelling slave-trader and sold to the owner of a gladiator school, eventually returning to Rome where he will face the emperor for a final time. Well written and acted, filmed and directed. The combat scenes are especially bloody bringing the Romans' bread and circuses into your living room (you supply the bread!). If you haven't seen this already, the BD is a bargain!

Seldom is a truly superb film produced. However, this is one of them. No needless glorification of degeneracy. Special effects are used only when needed, rather than for the bedazzlement of the senses. As for the plot: Just because there are real historical names here, don't be fooled into thinking that this is in any way historical: it just isn't. But, this is a tale of honour, grit, and determination, where one becomes incredibly invested in the hero, and truly hateful of the antagonist. Russell Crowe's acting is rightly lauded, and Joaquin Phoenix is truly excellent as Emperor Commodus. The only minor negative for me is the Hans Zimmer soundtrack. Personal opinion: I just find his work tries too hard to be a motion picture soundtrack, and I find it very "samey".

As far as 'Swords and Sandals' go, this has to be right up there with Spartacus, Ben Hur and The Fall of the Roman Empire. Beautifully realised and photographed, with few of the cliches common to the genre. No lounging around eating grapes here, this is a grittier imagining of the last days of Pax Romana, and although some liberties are taken, historically speaking, it is after all an entertainment and not a documentary.Notable for being the great Oliver Reed's final film, it is worth watching just for him. RIP.