Dana and Tom with 10x guests, Robb Conlon (Founder of Westport Studios and Host of B2B Business Class) and Kieran B. (Host and Creator of the Best Picture Cast; @bestpicturecast on X, IG, Letterboxd - BPC, Letterboxd - Personal) discuss the Best Picture Winner of 2000, Gladiator: directed by Ridley Scott, written by John Logan, David Franzione, William Nicholson, cinematography by John Mathieson, music by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard, starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Richard Harris, and Djimon Hounsou.
Plot Summary: In Gladiator, Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe) leads his army to victory in a decisive battle under Emperor Marcus Aurelius. The emperor, disillusioned with his son Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), wishes to pass power to Maximus to restore the Roman Republic. Before this plan can be enacted, Commodus murders his father and seizes the throne.
Refusing to serve the new emperor, Maximus is sentenced to death. He escapes execution but returns home to find his wife and son brutally murdered by Commodus’s men. Captured and sold into slavery, Maximus becomes a gladiator under the training of Proximo (Oliver Reed), a former gladiator himself. Maximus ultimately works his way to Rome, igniting a battle not just for revenge but for the soul of Rome.
As the story builds to a final confrontation, Maximus must fight one last time—against a corrupt emperor and the cruelty of the empire—to restore honor and justice and to fulfill a dying emperor’s last hope.
Guests:
Robb Conlon
Kieran B (10x Member Club)
- Host and Creator of the Best Picture Cast; @bestpicturecast on X, IG, Letterboxd - BPC, Letterboxd - Personal
- Previous Episodes: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1957), Lost in Translation (2003), Gran Torino (2008), Stalag 17 (1953), Shane (1953), A Fistful of Dollars (1964), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) Revisit, 12 Angry Men (1957) Revisit, The Shawshank Redemption (1994) Revisit, Saw (2004), Up in the Air (2009), Bad Day at Black Rock (1955), The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction and Welcome Back Robb and Kieran
04:14 Cast and Background for Gladiator
09:20 Relationships with Gladiator
16:29 What is Gladiator About?
20:21 Broadly Popular Best Picture Winners: Ever Coming Back?
29:28 Plot Summary for Gladiator
30:51 Did You Know?
32:40 First Break
33:23 What's Up with Robb and Kieran
40:13 Bone to Pick with BPC
45:09 Did Dana Like Gladiator?
46:09 Best Performance(s)
01:03:07 Best/Favorite/Indelible Scene(s)
01:15:04 Second Break
01:17:23 In Memoriam
01:19:19 Best/Funniest Lines
01:25:09 The Stanley Rubric - Legacy
01:40:54 The Stanley Rubric - Impact/Significance
01:49:34 The Stanley Rubric - Novelty
02:01:19 The Stanley Rubric - Classicness
02:10:11 The Stanley Rubric - Rewatchability
02:12:38 The Stanley Rubric - Audience Score and Final Total
02:15:10 Remaining Questions for Gladiator
02:18:21 A Thank You to Robb and Kieran / Final Thoughts
02:21:51 Credits
You can also find this episode in full video on YouTube.
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For more on the episode, go to: https://www.ronnyduncanstudios.com/post/gladiator-2000-ft-robb-conlon-and-kieran-b
For the entire rankings list so far, go to: https://www.ronnyduncanstudios.com/post/greatest-movie-of-all-time-list
Keywords:
Gladiator, movie analysis, film discussion, best picture, Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Ridley Scott, film history, podcast, cinema, character development, battle scenes, iconic moments, legacy, originality, classicness, rewatchability, Oliver Reed, Richard Harris, Connie Nielsen, Derek Jacobi, Hans Zimmer, John Mathieson
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