300 - the movie

There is an ol' ass version called 300 Spartans from 1962.  I don't know if you guys want watch that...I saw it on TBS when I was a kid I think.

Anyway...I liked 300 well enough, but I would have been anymore impressed if I saw it in the theater...*shrug*  I watched a making of special and I think they said the fighting still was as authentic in the film as it was previously and historically documented...don't catch me trying to prove that...I don't wanna spend the time looking it up :D  

The other thing...how are we defining the comparison?  Is it just dudes with swords?  Either way, I think you could toss in Conan... Those Conan movies weren't too bad...  If you could redue the Conan movies with the green screen tech nowadays you could have something...

I did like 300 because there was supposed to be some historical reference.  Was there any in gladiator?

 
There is an ol' ass version called 300 Spartans from 1962.  I don't know if you guys want watch that...I saw it on TBS when I was a kid I think.Anyway...I liked 300 well enough, but I would have been anymore impressed if I saw it in the theater...*shrug*  I watched a making of special and I think they said the fighting still was as authentic in the film as it was previously and historically documented...don't catch me trying to prove that...I don't wanna spend the time looking it up :D  
The other thing...how are we defining the comparison?  Is it just dudes with swords?  Either way, I think you could toss in Conan... Those Conan movies weren't too bad...  If you could redue the Conan movies with the green screen tech nowadays you could have something...

I did like 300 because there was supposed to be some historical reference.  Was there any in gladiator?
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Yes it does have historical reference:The Roman emperors portrayed in the movie are Marcus Aurelius (played by Richard Harris), who ruled AD 161?180, and his son, the deranged Commodus, who ruled between 180?192, and scandalized Roman society by appearing in the Colosseum as a gladiator, and spent most, if not all, of his time as Emperor in staging gladiatorial combats, seemingly obsessed with the sport. The film's characterization attempts to reflect Marcus Aurelius's reputation for wisdom, but does so by placing a modern democratic slant to his actions and beliefs. The representation of Commodus is extremely watered down, as the senatorial sources such as the Augustan History present Commodus as far more deranged and bloodthirsty than he appears in the film. Commodus' murder of his father in the movie is fiction. Commodus was the only Roman Emperor to fight as a gladiator (discounting reports of Caligula having done so?there is no record outside of Suetonius Caligula did this). However, Commodus was killed by a wrestler, not in the arena as the film depicts.

Lucilla was Commodus?s sister and was married to Lucius Verus (mentioned in the film as the dead father of her son Lucius Verus, but not mentioned as co-emperor or seen), her father?s co-emperor until his death in 169. The incest, or attempted incest, between Commodus and Lucilla in the movie is not historically recorded, though Commodus is said to have committed incest with other sisters. Lucilla was in fact implicated in plots with members of the senate to kill her brother. In 182, following an assassination attempt on Commodus, Lucilla was exiled to Capri and subsequently executed on her brother?s orders.

Commodus as portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix

The opening battle is most likely intended to depict the last fight of the Marcomannic wars. In the film, they are said to be fighting in "Germania". However, the war was actually against Germanic tribes in the province of Pannonia. Of course Germania is more familiar to viewers and works better geographically with Maximus' home in Spain. Nearing the end of the battle, Maximus raises the cry 'Roma Victor,' meaning 'Rome, the Conqueror'?although it should actually be 'Roma Victrix' (Greco-Roman culture often anthropomorphized aspects of civilization and nature in order to depict them as gods/goddesses to be recognized.) The battle opens accurately, with the Romans bombarding their opponent with arrows, ballista and catapult fire, and then sending the legionaries in tight formations to engage in close battle (with cavalry attacking the enemy from the sides) and using Testudo formation to protect themselves from enemy arrows. However, while marching towards the barbarian hoard, the entire army is shown in a line formation?which offered no tacticial benefits?and are shown using their pila, or javelins, as stabbing spears. Commonly, a Roman army would be separated into multiple groups of 500 men known as cohorts. The sequence depicting the heat of battle is not historically accurate, as legionaries abandon formation in favor of a more Hollywood-friendly action scene, engaging the Germanic Marcomannii in one-on-one battles, in which the barbarians would have excelled. In reality, the Romans favored close-knit formations, and legionaries would not break formation unless ordered to retreat (hastily) or broken under the strain. In the latter case they would almost certainly be wiped out, unless able to reform or reach friendly lines.

The city of Rome is seen and the Colosseum (then actually called the Flavian Amphitheatre) is accurately seen as the stadium for the Roman people, though the topography, views and ground plan of ancient city-centre Rome around it are fictionalized.

The character of Maximus is entirely fictional, though he is similar in some respects to the historical figures of Narcissus (the character's name in the first draft of the screenplay and the real killer of Commodus)[15], Spartacus (who led a significant slave revolt), and Cincinnatus (the savior of Rome who wished nothing more than to return to his farm).[16][17]

In the film, Gaius asserts that "Rome was founded as a Republic". Rome became a republic once it asserted its independence from the Etruscans, and the king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus was deposed in 510 B.C.

After Commodus' death, the general Pertinax became emperor. However, he is not mentioned in the film.

 
Rented this last night.  It was a good movie don't get me wrong but I didn't think it was as great as people made it out to be.  This genre is def my favorite type of movie but give me Gladiator any day over this one.  7/10
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But you could easily say it was worth renting couldn't you???  What impressed me most about 300 was the sounds....you have to watch that movie with the giant surround sound speakers that the movie theatre offers...

 
Rented this last night.  It was a good movie don't get me wrong but I didn't think it was as great as people made it out to be.  This genre is def my favorite type of movie but give me Gladiator any day over this one.  7/10
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But you could easily say it was worth renting couldn't you???  What impressed me most about 300 was the sounds....you have to watch that movie with the giant surround sound speakers that the movie theatre offers...
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Yeah it was def worth renting and I would agree with you about the theater aspect.

 
I finally saw this last week on Showtime.  It did have historical value, however it made no  mention of the battle at sea which was every bit as important, and perhaps as impressive as the land battle. 

As others mentioned it was good, but did not meet expectations.  6.5/10

 
I still have this on blu-ray unopened.
 
I really would have no interest in watching it again.
 
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