a5c7b9f00b A semi-documentary about the life of Verus, a captive from the Rome&#39;s Balkan province of Moesia, who is pressed into the harsh life of a slave in Italian rock quarry. He sees no long term future there, so when the owner of a gladiatorial school comes there to recruit prospective fighters for his school, he purposely picks a fight with another slave to attract attention. Both he and Priscus, the Celtic slave, join the school, become friends, and build careersrenowned gladiators, adored by the crowds in the arena and desired by women of the aristocratic class. The Emporer Titus completes his father Vespasian&#39;s pet project, the Colosseum, and wants the inaugural games worthy of his memory, so he specifically selects Verus to fight in them. Verus, a slave captured in the Balkans, sees a gladiatorial career in the arenaa preferable alternative to life in a rock quarry. The way documentary and drama are mixed is excellent. The data on which the documentary parts are based are up to date and well-researched, and the dramatic parts are credible and give a good impression of life in Rome in the Flavian era. The voice-overs switch between first-person (Verus) and narrator; towards the finale, the narrator follows the texts of the Roman poet Martial. A very good counterweight against implausible fiction like Gladiator and The Arena. (By the way, the actor playing Verus&#39; friend and colleague Priscus played a gladiator in Gladiatorwell.) I was charmed especially by the Latin dialogue between the characters themselves. Well done! This drama documentary was includeda DVD extra on Pompeii: The Last Day (2003) TV. I started watching it with little expectations and actually ended up liking it better than the main movie on the DVD.<br/><br/>One of the main reasons I enjoyed Coloseum: A Gladiator&#39;s Story is that the spoken dialog was in Latin. I studied Latin in High School, but have never heard it spoken on screen before. I think the movie would be understandable to someone who did not study Latin,the narration is in English.<br/><br/>I liked the references to Martial (who I have not read) and Seutoneus (who I am just starting to read).<br/><br/>This story was not just about Gladiators, but about the political climate of the time and the reasons for building the Flavian Amphitheatre (known todaythe Colosseum).
thiavisarne Admin replied
364 weeks ago