Edwin Pereyra

Yes, I agree with Walter as far as some of the films he listed that are better than Gladiator. But the problem is, none of those films hit a chord with the *majority* of the general public as much as Gladiator did.

~Edwin

DVD Unwind: Paradise Now (Coming) • King Kong - - • Keane • The Squid And The Whale • A History Of Violence • Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire • The Best Of Youth (Italy) • Good Night And Good Luck • Howl\'s Moving Castle • Walk The Line - - • Zathura • North Country - -


= Standouts
= Recommended
- - = Indifferent


Quality matters more than quantity.

Film Lists: 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002 • Best Films of 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001 • Foreign & Independent Films: 2005, 2004, 2003

Geoffrey_A

Here's the thing about 'hitting chords' with the majority of the general public. Such movies are not neccesarily good, because they often pander to the lowest common denominator. Look at any hugely successfull action film. Gladiator succeeded because it made that denominator feel more sophisticated without ever actually being so. Gladiator looks classy, Gladiator sounds classy, but Gladiator is not a great movie. The substance isn't their, only the pretense of substance. In my estimation, Gladiator is a fair film and nothing more. Of course, these are merely my own meager opinions on the matter, I do not think to presume to tell anyone else how they should feel about the film.

Geoffrey Adams

Apply Kung-Fu liberally as needed.

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Steve Christou

It was the academy members who voted Gladiator best movie of 2000, people who work in the movie industry, so it's not as if only the man in the street liked the picture.

It was a two horse race between Traffic and Gladiator for the top spot, Traffic got the Best Director nod, while Gladiator had to make do with Best Picture of the year, and Best Actor of the year, I have no problems with that, but it would have been nice if Ridley Scott had got an Oscar too.

I agree with one member who remarked that the more popular a film becomes the less liked it is by the snooty film snob elite, spot on.

Edwin Pereyra

Agree. Even Memento is now getting a backlash.

~Edwin

DVD Unwind: Paradise Now (Coming) • King Kong - - • Keane • The Squid And The Whale • A History Of Violence • Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire • The Best Of Youth (Italy) • Good Night And Good Luck • Howl\'s Moving Castle • Walk The Line - - • Zathura • North Country - -


= Standouts
= Recommended
- - = Indifferent


Quality matters more than quantity.

Film Lists: 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002 • Best Films of 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001 • Foreign & Independent Films: 2005, 2004, 2003

Steve_Tk

Oh my god. I could spend a lot of time with this, but I will not. I think I love Gladiator, but obviously I'm mistaken, it's not even a good movie!



This couldn't be more true. It's like these guys that lived next door to me in college. 100,000 people would go to the football games every weekend, but they hated football. Why? Simply because they hated how everyone else liked it. They would hate anything that mass audiences liked because, and they would admit this, that they were smarter than them and wouldn't associate with what the peons do.

Dome Vongvises

First person to scientifically define that relationship gets to have the process named after them.

I'm hard-pressed to find a large quantity of evidence that is contrary to that statement. You'll always find exceptions, but in small cases though.

Edwin Pereyra

Wow. One couldn't get any more condescending than that.

~Edwin

DVD Unwind: Paradise Now (Coming) • King Kong - - • Keane • The Squid And The Whale • A History Of Violence • Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire • The Best Of Youth (Italy) • Good Night And Good Luck • Howl\'s Moving Castle • Walk The Line - - • Zathura • North Country - -


= Standouts
= Recommended
- - = Indifferent


Quality matters more than quantity.

Film Lists: 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002 • Best Films of 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001 • Foreign & Independent Films: 2005, 2004, 2003

Geoffrey_A

Oh sure I could, but condescention isn't the point. I went into Gladiator really excited. I had been waiting for Galdiator for a long time, I wanted to love it. I sat through it, and came out feeling completely indifferent to the entire experience. What *I* saw (and I'm stressing the I here) was a film that was doing it's best too look and sound a lot more epic and important than it really was. The plot was simplistic and plodding, the acting was for the most part monotone and uninspired save for a few notable exceptions. The film had the potential to be so much more than it was.


I will refer you to the end of my post, where I explicitly state that these are purely my opinions on the film and I do not presume to tell anyone else how they should feel about the film. If you love Gladiator, that's great. I'm glad the film worked for you and that you got something out of it. It didn't work for me, and I'm merely trying to articulate my personal opinion on the film.


Certainly, you see it all the time. However, that doesn't mean that someone who doesn't like a popular film isn't justified in their dislike. I don't dislike Gladiator because it was popular, I dislike it because I thought it was a poor film that could have been so much more. My dislike is compounded by the fact that I truly wanted it to be great, and the fact that it wasn't was a huge blow.

Anyway, keep in mind, these are purely *my* opinions, try not to take personal offence, I'm not trying to take away anyone's right to like this film, just stating the reason why I dislike the film.

Geoffrey Adams

Apply Kung-Fu liberally as needed.

Visit my Web Comic!

Walter Kittel