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The first Colosseum battle, ending with Maximus revealing himself

The opening Germania battle is nominated and praised for realism, physical scale, and immediate character building.

Bill Simmons: Marcus Aurelius asking Maximus to rule is nominated for establishing their bond and a generational passing of the torch.

The film

Gladiator (2000)

Directed by Ridley Scott · Action

155 minutes

Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Russell Crowe Maximus Decimus Meridius
Joaquin Phoenix Commodus
Connie Nielsen Lucilla
Oliver Reed Antonius Proximo
Derek Jacobi Senator Gracchus
Richard Harris Marcus Aurelius
David Hemmings Cassius
David Schofield Senator Falco
John Shrapnel Senator Gaius

Everything from the episode

In the order the hosts got to it. Open a row for the discussion.

Sources

The episode

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Conversation notes

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Movie facts

Release year, director, runtime and selected cast credits are gathered separately from the discussion. Genre tags are editorial browsing labels.

Mentions across The Rewatchables

Recorded movie reference

Rocky II

The Rewatchables · aired December 2, 2025

Gladiator is listed in the sourced research for this episode. The precise discussion has not been linked yet.