Gladiator: 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review
The Movie:
The emperor’s son is enraged when he is passed over as heir in favour of his father’s favourite general. He kills his father and arranges the murder of the general’s family, and the general is sold into slavery to be trained as a gladiator – but his subsequent popularity in the arena threatens the throne.
What’s to say that hasn’t been said a million times before about this film? This film is practically perfect in every filmmaking and storytelling aspect. There’s a story that is told unlike anything I’ve ever seen even still to this day. It’s a story of tragedy, triumph, revenge and redemption and Crowe completely dominates in this role. He’s done so much more in his acting career but it’s this character that really defined him as an actor. Joaquin Phoenix is superb as well and he REALLY made me hate his character which if an actor can get a response from me like that then you know they are doing their job. Ridley Scott has created a masterpiece that has raised the bar for period pieces since its release and I don’t see that being surpassed any time soon. If you’ve never had the chance to experience the epic film that is Gladiator then I urge you to pick this up as soon as you can and take it all in. 10/10
4K Presentation:
There are times that 4K transfers are “hit or miss” and at sometimes it’s a big bummer when you have a great film with a bad transfer but this one isn’t the case. There is such a fantastic amount of clarity but it still manages to keep the cinematic feel to the film. For the most part the colors in the film directly interpret or dictate various seasons or emotions. Each of those colors provides a great deal of vibrancy and depth to already classic film. In the moments that there is darkness the black levels definitely regulate what you are able to see in those moments. There are small details that are hidden in the backgrounds that you wouldn’t be able to see otherwise. This is one of the best 4K transfers out there and hopefully this trend will continue.
Special Features:
Strength and Honor: Creating the World of Gladiator – A superb documentary on the making of the film. A lot of great and informative content if you’re a fan of BTS stuff.
The Scrolls of Knowledge – An interactive piece that plays more like a “in movie supplemental” kind of piece.
Image and Design – A fantastic 5 part feature that looks at the production design aspect of the film and also includes what goes into storyboarding a film like this.
Abandoned Sequences & Deleted Scenes – A few scenes here that are a pretty interesting and a good watch.
The Aurellian Archives – Another great multi-part feature that has SO much content to enjoy if you’re a fan of the film.
Commentary with Ridley Scott, Pietro Scalia, and John Mathieson (Theatrical)
Commentary with Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe (Extended)
