Gladiator (2000) - full transcript

(DISTANT LAUGHTER)

Sir.

General.

Sir.

Lean and hungry.

- Still nothing?
- Not a sign.

- How long has he been gone?
- Nearly two hours.

Will they fight, sir?

We shall know soon enough.

Soldier, I ordered you to
move those catapults forward.

- They're out of range.
- Range is good.



- The danger to the cavalry...
- Is acceptable. Agreed?

(MAN SHOUTING IN GERMAN)

They say no.

(SHOUTING IN LOCAL LANGUAGE)

People should know when
they're conquered.

(ALL CHEERING)

Would you, Quintus?

Would I?

- Strength and honor.
- Strength and honor.

At my signal, unleash hell.

Load the catapults.

Infantry form up for advance.

- Archers ready.
- Archers!

- Nock!
- Nock!



(ALL YELLING)

Fratres!

- Maximus!
- Maximus!

Three weeks from now, I will
be harvesting my crops.

Imagine where you will
be, and it will be so.

Hold the line! Stay with me!

If you find yourself alone,

riding in green fields
with the sun on your face,

do not be troubled.

For you are in Elysium,
and you're already dead!

(ALL LAUGHING)

Brothers,

what we do in life

echoes in eternity.

(ALL YELLING)

Pull!

SOLDIER:
Cohorts ready, sir!

Archers, ignite!

- Ignite!
- Ignite!

CENTURION:
Archers, draw!

Loose!

(GRUNTING)

(SCREAMING)

CENTURION:
All right, men, ready!

MAXIMUS:
Hold the line!

SOLDIER 1:
Loose!

SOLDIER 2:
Reload!

MAXIMUS:
Hold the line!

- Draw!
- Loose!

MAXIMUS:
Stay with me!

Stay with me!

Roma Victor!

(ALL CHEERING)

Do you think he's really dying?

He's been dying for 10 years.

If he weren't really dying,
he wouldn't have sent for us.

Maybe he just misses us.

And the senators? He wouldn't
have summoned them if...

Peace, Commodus.

After two weeks on the road,

your incessant scheming
is hurting my head.

He's made his decision.
He's going to announce it.

He will name me.

The first thing I
shall do when...

Is honor him with games
worthy of His Majesty.

For now, the first thing I
shall do is have a hot bath.

(KNOCKING AT DOOR)

SOLDIER 1:
Your Highness?

SOLDIER 2: We seem to
be almost there, sir.

- Sire.
- Where's the Emperor?

He's at the front, sire.
They've been gone for 19 days.

The wounded are still coming in.

My horse.

SOLDIER 3:
My lord.

Kiss?

You have proved your valor
yet again, Maximus.

Let us hope, for the last time.

There's no one left
to fight, sire.

There is always someone
left to fight.

How can I reward Rome's
greatest general?

Let me go home.

Ah!

Home.

(ALL CHEERING)

They honor you, Caesar.

It's for you, Maximus.
They honor you.

Have I missed it? Have
I missed the battle?

You have missed the war.

Father, congratulations.

I shall sacrifice 100 bulls
to honor your triumph.

Save the bulls.

Honor Maximus. He
won the battle.

- COMMODUS: General.
- Highness.

Rome salutes you, and I
embrace you as a brother.

It has been too long,
my old friend.

Highness.

Here, Father. Take my arm.

I think it is time
for me to leave.

So much for the glory of Rome.

(MAN COUGHING)

(GROANING)

(GRUNTING IN PAIN)

(MEN LAUGHING)

Magnificent battle.

General. Still alive?

Still alive.

The gods must have
a sense of humor.

- QUINTUS: The gods must love you.
- Valerius.

Back to barracks, General?
Or to Rome?

Home. My wife, my
son, the harvest.

Maximus the farmer. I still
have difficulty imagining that.

You know, dirt cleans off a lot
easier than blood, Quintus.

- Here he is.
- Highness.

COMMODUS: Senator
Gaius, Senator Falco.

Beware of Gaius. He'll pour a
honeyed potion in your ear,

and you'll wake up one day and all you'll
say is, "Republic, republic, republic."

Well, why not? Rome was
founded as a republic.

Yes, and in a republic the
senate has the power.

But Senator Gaius isn't
influenced by that, of course.

Where do you stand, General?
Emperor or Senate?

A soldier has the advantage

of being able to look his
enemy in the eye, Senator.

Well, with an army behind you, you
could be extremely political.

I warned you. Now I shall save you.
Senators.

Maximus.

I'm going to need
good men like you.

How may I be of
service, Highness?

You're a man who knows
what it is to command.

You give your orders, the orders
are obeyed, and the battle is won.

But these senators scheme,
squabble and flatter and deceive.

Maximus, we must save Rome from
the politicians, my friend.

Can I count on you
when the time comes?

Highness, when your father releases
me, I intend to return home.

Home? Well, no one's
earned it more.

Don't get too comfortable.
I may call on you before long.

Lucilia's here. Did you know?

She's not forgotten you.

And now, you're the great man.

If only you had been born a man,

what a Caesar you
would have made.

Father.

You would have been strong.

I wonder, would you
have been just?

I would have been what
you taught me to be.

How was your journey?

Long. Uncomfortable.
Why have I come?

I need your help.
With your brother.

(CHUCKLING)
Of course.

He loves you. He always has.

And

he will need you
now, more than ever.

Enough of politics.

Let us pretend that you
are a loving daughter,

and I am a good father.

This is a pleasant
fiction, isn't it?

MAN 1:
Good morning to you.

MAN 2:
I need three more horses.

One! Two! Three!

Four!

One! Two!

MAXIMUS:
You sent for me, Caesar?

- Caesar?
- Tell me again, Maximus.

Why are we here?

For the glory of
the empire, sire.

Yes.

(SIGHING)
Yes, I remember.

Do you see that map, Maximus?

That is the world
which I created.

For 25 years,

I have conquered, spilt
blood, expanded the empire.

Since I became Caesar, I've
known four years without war.

Four years of peace in 20.

And for what?

I brought the sword.
Nothing more.

Caesar, your life...

Please. Please don't
call me that.

Come. Please.

Come sit.

Let us talk together now,

very simply, as men.

Well, Maximus,

talk.

Five thousand of my men are out
there in the freezing mud.

Three thousand of them are
bloodied and cleaved.

Two thousand will never
leave this place.

I will not believe that they
fought and died for nothing.

And what would you believe?

They fought for
you and for Rome.

And what is Rome, Maximus?

I've seen much of the
rest of the world.

It is brutal and cruel and dark.
Rome is the light.

Yet you have never been there.

You have not seen
what it has become.

I am dying, Maximus.

When a man sees his end,

he wants to know there was
some purpose to his life.

How will the world speak
my name in years to come?

Will I be known as
the philosopher?

The warrior?

The tyrant?

Or will I be the Emperor who
gave Rome back her true self?

There was once a
dream that was Rome.

You could only whisper it.

Anything more than a whisper
and it would vanish,

it was so fragile.

And I fear that it will
not survive the winter.

Maximus,

let us whisper now,

together, you and I.

You have a son.

Tell me about your home.

My house is in the
hills above Trujillo.

A very simple place.

Pink stones that
warm in the sun.

A kitchen garden that
smells of herbs in the day,

Jasmine in the evening.

Through the gate
is a giant poplar.

Figs, apples, pears.

The soil, Marcus, black.
Black like my wife's hair.

(CHUCKLING)

Grapes on the south slopes,
olives on the north.

Wild ponies play near my house.
They tease my son.

He wants to be one of them.

When was the last
time you were home?

Two years, 264 days
and this morning.

I envy you, Maximus.
It's a good home.

Worth fighting for.

There is one more duty

that I ask of you
before you go home.

What would you have
me do, Caesar?

I want you to become the
protector of Rome after I die.

I will empower you
to one end alone,

to give power back to
the people of Rome,

and end the corruption
that has crippled it.

Will you accept this great
honor that I have offered you?

With all my heart, no.

Maximus,

that is why it must be you.

But surely a prefect, a senator,

somebody who knows the city,
who understands her politics.

But you have not been
corrupted by her politics.

- And Commodus?
- Commodus is not a moral man.

You have known that
since you were young.

Commodus cannot rule.

He must not rule.

You are the son that
I should have had.

Commodus will
accept my decision.

He knows that you command
the loyalty of the army.

I need some time, sire.

Yes.

By sunset, I hope you
will have agreed.

Now embrace me as my son.

And bring an old man
another blanket.

- My father favors you now.
- My lady.

- It was not always so.
- Many things change.

Many things. Not everything.

Maximus, stop.

Let me see your face.

- You seem upset.
- I lost many men.

What did my father
want with you?

To wish me well before
I leave for home.

You're lying.

I could always tell when you were lying,
because you were never any good at it.

I never acquired your
comfort with it.

True.

But then you never had to.

Life is more simple
for a soldier.

Or do you think me heartless?

I think you have a
talent for survival.

(LAUGHING)

Maximus, stop.

Is it really so terrible
seeing me again?

No. I'm tired from battle.

It hurts you to see
my father so fragile.

Commodus expects that my father will
announce his succession within days.

Will you serve my brother
as you served his father?

I will always serve Rome.

Do you know,

I still remember
you in my prayers.

Oh, yes. I pray.

I was sad to hear of your husband's death.
I mourned him.

- Thank you.
- And I hear you have a son.

Yes. Lucius.

He'll be nearly eight years old.

My son is also nearly eight.

I thank you for your prayers.

Ancestors, I ask
for your guidance.

Blessed Mother, come to me with
the gods' desire for my future.

Blessed Father, watch over my
wife and son with a ready sword.

Whisper to them, I live
only to hold them again.

Ancestors, I honor you,

and will try to live with the
dignity you have taught me.

Cicero.

Sir.

Do you ever find it
hard to do your duty?

Sometimes I do
what I want to do.

The rest of the time,
I do what I have to.

We may not be able to
go home, after all.

MARCUS AURELIUS: Are you ready
to do your duty for Rome?

Yes, Father.

You will not be emperor.

Which wiser, older man
is to take my place?

My powers will pass to Maximus,

to hold in trust,

until the Senate is ready
to rule once more.

Rome is to be a republic again.

- Maximus.
- Yes.

My decision disappoints you?

You wrote to me once,

listing the four chief virtues.

Wisdom,

Justice,

fortitude,

and Temperance.

As I read the list, I
knew I had none of them.

But I have other
virtues, Father.

Ambition.

That can be a virtue when
it drives us to excel.

Resourcefulness, courage.

Perhaps not on the battlefield, but
there are many forms of courage.

Devotion to my family,

to you.

But none of my virtues
were on your list.

Even then it was as if you
didn't want me for your son.

Commodus,

you go too far.

I searched the faces of the gods

for ways to please you,
to make you proud.

One kind word,

one full hug,

where you pressed me to your
chest and held me tight,

would have been like the sun
on my heart for 1,000 years.

What is it in me
you hate so much?

Shh... Commodus.

All I've ever wanted

was to live up to you, Caesar.

- Father.
- Commodus,

your faults as a son

is my failure as a father.

Come.

(SOBBING)
Father.

I would butcher the whole world,

if you would only have loved me!

(CRYING)

Maximus, the Emperor needs you.
It's urgent.

Lament with me, brother.

Our great father is dead.

MAXIMUS:
How did he die?

COMMODUS: The surgeons
say there was no pain.

His breath gave out as he slept.

MAXIMUS:
Father.

Your emperor asks for
your loyalty, Maximus.

Take my hand.

I only offer it once.

MAXIMUS:
Quintus.

Hail, Caesar.

I must talk to the senators.
I need their counsel.

- Wake Gaius and Falco.
- Gaius and Falco.

- Sword.
- Sword.

Maximus, please be careful.
That was not prudent.

Prudent? The Emperor
has been slain.

The emperor died
of natural causes.

- Why are you armed, Quintus?
- QUINTUS: Guards!

Please don't fight, Maximus.

I'm sorry. Caesar has spoken.

Ride until dawn,

and then execute him.

Quintus, look at me. Look at me!

Promise me that you will
look after my family.

Your family will meet
you in the afterlife.

SOLDIER:
Kneel.

MAXIMUS: Blessed Father,
watch over my wife and son.

Whisper to them that I live
only to hold them again.

At least give me a clean death.

A soldier's death.

The frost, sometimes it
makes the blade stick.

Praetorian!

MARCUS AURELIUS: When was the
last time you were home?

MAXIMUS: Two years, 264
days and this morning.

Blessed Father, watch over my
wife and son with a ready sword.

I will try to live with the
dignity you have taught me.

Whisper to them, I live
only to hold them again.

With a ready sword, for
all else is dust and air.

Whisper to them, I live
only to hold them again.

For all else is dust and air.

(SPEAKING ITALIAN)

Papa!

(HORSE NEIGHING)

(BELLS TINKLING)

(MEN SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

(CHILD LAUGHING)

MAN:
Don't die.

(SNARLING)

JUBA:
You'll meet them again.

Not yet.

(MONKEY GIBBERING)

No. They will clean it.
Wait and see.

(LION SNARLING)

Don't die.

They'll feed you to the lions.

They are worth more than we are.

Better now?

Clean. You see?

SLAVE TRADER: Proximo!
My old friend.

Every day is a great
day when you are here,

but today is your
most fortunate day.

Those giraffes you sold
me, they won't mate.

They just walk around
eating and not mating.

You sold me queer giraffes.

- I want my money back.
- Not a chance.

(GRUNTS IN PAIN)

- I do special price for you.
- On what?

Have you seen my new stock?
Come and see them.

PROXIMO: Do any of them fight?
I've got a match coming up.

Some are good for fighting,
others for dying.

You need both, I think.

Get up.

PROXIMO:
What's your trade?

I was a Hunter.

No, I bought him from a
salt mine in Carthage.

Sit down.

PROXIMO:
Mark of the legion.

Deserter.

SLAVE TRADER:
Maybe so, but who cares?

He's a Spaniard.

I'll take six. For 1,000.

1,000? The Numidian
alone is worth 2,000.

PROXIMO:
These slaves are rotten.

It all adds to the flavor.
No, no, no, wait! Wait!

I can negotiate.

I'll give you 2,000, and
4,000 for the beasts.

That's 5,000 for an old friend.

Come on! How long does it take
to get into my own house?

I am Proximo.

I shall be closer to you
for the next few days,

which will be the last
of your miserable lives,

than that bitch of a mother that
brought you screaming into this world.

I did not pay good money
for you for your company.

I paid it so that I could
profit from your death.

And as your mother was
there at your beginning,

so I shall be there at your end.

And when you die,
and die you shall,

your transition shall
be to the sound of...

(CLAPPING)

Gladiators,

I salute you.

MAN:
Red.

Yellow.

(EXCLAIMING)

PROXIMO:
Good.

- Red.
- MAN: Red.

Spaniard.

(GRUNTING)

PROXIMO: That's enough
for the moment!

His time will come.

Next.

Spaniard,

why don't you fight?

We all have to fight.

Well, I don't fight.

I shouldn't be here, I'm a
scribe, I write down words,

and speak seven languages.

Good.

Tomorrow, you can scream
in seven languages.

(LAUGHING)

HAGEN: Perhaps the scribe will
be the one who wins his freedom.

Freedom?

What do I have to do?

You go in the arena
and you kill me.

And him,

and the Numidian,

and the deserter.

And 100 more.

And when there's no more
to fight, you're free.

I can't do that.

No?

But I can.

Is that the sign of your gods?

Will that not anger them?

(PEOPLE CLAMORING)

The gods favor you.

Red is the gods' color.

You will need their help today.

(GROWLING)

Proximo!

Still leading with the German?

PROXIMO: The crowd
love a barbarian.

Besides that, he's
making me rich.

Has that Numidian fought before?

No, first time.

MAN: And that one,
laborer, soldier?

He's a Spaniard.

He might as well be a eunuch for
what he brings to the ring.

500 sestertii, the Numidian and
Spaniard team makes it through.

And 1,000, that the Numidian
makes it through alone.

Are you asking me to bet
against my own man?

It's unethical.

What if I make it 2,000?

(CROWD CHEERING)

Some of you are thinking
you won't fight,

some that you can't fight.

They all say that until
they're out there.

Listen.

- Kill! Kill! Kill!
- Kill! Kill! Kill!

Thrust this into
another man's flesh,

and they will applaud
and love you for that.

And you,

you may begin to love them

for that.

Ultimately, we're all dead men.

Sadly, we cannot choose how,

but we can decide how
we meet that end,

in order that we are remembered

as men.

MAN 1:
Come on!

(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

MAN 2: On the left,
draw your shields!

On the right, draw your swords!

- Kill! Kill! Kill!
- Kill! Kill! Kill!

MAN 2: Pair them up,
red with yellow.

Next!

Move!

(SCREAMING)

(CROWD CHEERING)

(SCREAMING)

(CROWD CHEERING LOUDER)

MAN:
Usurper!

(CROWD SHOUTING)

- Go away!
- MAN: You'll never rule us, Commodus!

He enters Rome like a conquering hero.
But what has he conquered?

Give him time, Gracchus.
He's young.

I think he could do very well.

GRACCHUS:
For Rome, or for you?

Go to your mother, Lucius.
It's what she'd like.

- LUCILLA: Lucius!
- Mother!

Hail, Caesar.

Senators.

Rome greets her new emperor.

Your loyal subjects bid
you welcome, Highness.

Thank you, Falco.

And for the loyal subjects, I
trust they weren't too expensive.

- Caesar.
- Gracchus.

All Rome rejoices in
your return, Caesar.

But there are many matters
that require your attention.

GRACCHUS: To order, please.
To order.

For your guidance, Caesar,

the Senate has prepared
a series of protocols

to begin addressing the
many problems in the city,

beginning with basic sanitation
for the Greek Quarter,

to combat the plague which is
already springing up there.

So, if Caesar...

(SHUSHES)

Don't you see, Gracchus?

That's the very
problem, isn't it?

My father spent all
his time at study,

at books of learning
and philosophy.

He spent his twilight hours
reading scrolls from the Senate.

And all the while, the
people were forgotten.

But the senate is
the people, sire,

chosen from among the people
to speak for the people.

I doubt many of the people eat
so well as you do, Gracchus.

Or have such splendid
mistresses, Gaius.

I think I understand
my own people.

Then perhaps Caesar will
be so good as to teach us,

out of his own
extensive experience.

(ALL CHUCKLING)

I call it love.

I am their father. The
people are my children.

And I shall hold them to my
bosom and embrace them tightly.

Have you ever embraced someone
dying of plague, sire?

No, but if you
interrupt me again,

I assure you that you shall.

Senator, my brother
is very tired.

Leave your list with me. Caesar
shall do all that Rome requires.

My lady, as always, your lightest
touch commands obedience.

Who are they to lecture me?

Commodus, the Senate
has its uses.

What uses? All they do is talk.

It should be just you
and me and Rome.

Don't even think it. There's
always been a Senate.

Rome has changed.

It takes an emperor
to rule an empire.

Of course, but leave
the people their...

illusions?

Traditions.

My father's war against
the barbarians.

He said it himself, it achieved nothing.
But the people loved him.

The people always
love victories.

Why? They didn't
see the battles.

What do they care
about Germania?

They care about the
greatness of Rome.

"The greatness of Rome."

Well, what is that?

It's an idea. Greatness.

- Greatness is a vision.
- Exactly. A vision.

Do you not see, Lucilia?

I will give the people a vision of
Rome, and they'll love me for it.

And they'll soon forget the tedious
sermonizing of a few dry old men.

I will give the people the
greatest vision of their lives.

(CROWD CHEERING)

MAN: White and red wine for
your drinking pleasure!

Games.

One hundred and fifty
days of games.

He's cleverer than I thought.

Clever. The whole of Rome
would be laughing at him,

if they weren't so afraid
of his Praetorians.

Fear and wonder.
A powerful combination.

You really think the people are
going to be seduced by that?

I think he knows what Rome is.
Rome is the mob.

Conjure magic for them, and
they'll be distracted.

Take away their freedom,
and still they'll roar.

The beating heart of Rome is
not the marble of the Senate.

It's the sand of the Colosseum.

He'll bring them death,

and they will love him for it.

(CROWD CHANTING)

All you do is kill, kill, kill.

The crowd don't want a
butcher, they want a hero.

We want them to
keep coming back.

So don't just hack them to pieces,
remember you are an entertainer.

Spaniard.

So entertain!

(CROWD CHEERING)

(CROWD EXCLAIMS)

Are you not entertained?
Are you not entertained?

Is this not why you're here?

CROWD: (CHANTING)
Spaniard! Spaniard! Spaniard!

- Spaniard! Spaniard! Spaniard!
- Spaniard! Spaniard! Spaniard!

What do you want?

Girl?

Boy?

- You sent for me.
- Yes, I did.

You're good, Spaniard, but
you're not that good.

You could be magnificent.

I'm required to kill, so I kill.
That is enough.

That's enough for the
provinces, but not for Rome.

The young emperor has arranged
a series of spectacles

to commemorate his
father, Marcus Aurelius.

I find that amusing,

since it was Marcus
Aurelius, the wise,

the all-knowing Marcus
Aurelius, that closed us down.

So finally, after five years
of scratching a living

in flea-infested villages,

we're finally going back
to where we belong.

The Colosseum.

(INHALING DEEPLY)

You should see the
Colosseum, Spaniard.

Fifty thousand Romans,

watching every movement
of your sword,

willing you to make
that killer blow.

The silence before you strike
and the noise afterwards.

It rises. It rises up,

like a storm.

As if you were the
thunder god himself.

- You were a gladiator?
- Yes, I was.

You won your freedom?

A long time ago, the Emperor

presented me with a rudius.

It's just a wooden sword.

The symbol of your freedom.

He touched me on the
shoulder, and I was free.

(LAUGHING)

You knew Marcus Aurelius?

I did not say I knew him. I said he
touched me on the shoulder once.

You asked me what I want.

I, too, want to stand in
front of the Emperor,

as you did.

Then listen to me.
Learn from me.

I wasn't the best because
I killed quickly.

I was the best because
the crowd loved me.

Win the crowd, and
you'll win your freedom.

I will win the crowd.

I will give them something
they've never seen before.

So, Spaniard, we shall
go to Rome together

and have bloody adventures.

And the great whore
will suckle us

until we are fat and happy
and can suckle no more.

And then,

when enough men have died,

perhaps you will
have your freedom.

Here. Use this.

It's somewhere out
there, my country.

My home.

My wife is preparing food.

My daughters carry
water from the river.

Will I ever see them again?

I think, no.

Do you believe you'll see
them again when you die?

I think so.

But then, I will die soon.

They will not die
for many years.

I'll have to wait.

But you would? Wait?

Of course.

You see,

my wife and my son

are already waiting for me.

You'll meet them again.
But not yet.

Not yet.

- Unless...
- Not yet.

Not yet.

(THUNDER CRACKING)

CHILD:
There he is.

(CROWD CHATTERING)

MAN:
Out.

Move, go, out!

Good to see you
again, old friend.

Bring me fortune.

Have you ever seen
anything like that before?

I didn't know men could
build such things.

Win the crowd.

MAN:
Get inside. Move.

Inside.

He sleeps so well
because he's loved.

Come, brother. It's late.

COMMODUS: I will make Rome
the wonder of the ages.

That is what Gracchus and his
friends don't understand.

All my desires are splitting
my head to pieces.

Commodus, drink this tonic.

I think the time
is almost right.

I could announce the
dissolution of the Senate

at the celebration
to honor our father.

Do you think I should?

Are the people ready?

I think you need your rest now.

Will you stay with me?

Still afraid of the
dark, brother?

Still.

Always.

- Stay with me tonight.
- You know I won't.

Then kiss me.

Sleep, brother.

(KNOCKING AT DOOR)

Having servants who
are deaf and mute

at least ensures I
live a little longer.

LUCILLA: They're
arresting scholars now.

Anyone who dare speak out. Even
satirists and chroniclers.

And mathematicians.

And all to feed the arena.

The Senate did not
approve martial law.

This reign of terror is
entirely the Praetorians.

I'm afraid to go out after dark.

You should be more afraid of
your activities during the day.

The Senate is full of his spies,
led by that whore master, Falco.

But what is in his mind? That's
what I trouble myself with.

He spends all his days
singularly obsessed,

planning the festival
to honor your father.

He neglects even the most
fundamental task of government.

So just what is he planning?

GAIUS:
And what pays for it?

These daily games are costing a
fortune, yet we have no new taxes.

The future.

The future pays for it.

He's started selling
the grain reserves.

GAIUS:
This can't be true.

LUCILLA: He's selling
Rome's reserves of grain.

The people will be
starving in two years.

I hope they're
enjoying the games,

because soon enough they'll
be dead because of them.

- Rome must know this.
- And how?

He's going to
dissolve the Senate.

And who will tell them before
it's too late? You, Gracchus?

You, Gaius.

Will you make a speech on
the floor of the Senate,

denouncing my brother?

And then see your family
in the Colosseum?

Who'd dare?

I have been living in a
prison of fear every day,

because my son is
heir to the throne.

He must die.

GAIUS: Quintus and
the Praetorians

would simply seize
control for themselves.

No. Cut off the head and
the snake cannot strike.

GRACCHUS: Lucilia,
Gaius is right.

Until we can neutralize the
Praetorians, we can achieve nothing.

So we do nothing?

GRACCHUS: No, child.
We keep our counsel.

We prepare.

As long as the people support
him, we are voices without steel.

We are air.

But with every day that
passes, he makes enemies.

One day, he'll have more
enemies than friends.

And on that day, we will act.

Then we will strike.

But until then,

we are docile.

We are obedient.

And we are treacherous.

MAN:
Come on!

All right, that's enough.

(ALL CLAMORING)

PROXIMO: The Emperor
wants battles,

and I don't want to
sacrifice my best fighters.

The crowd wants battles, so the
Emperor gives them battles.

- You get the battle of Carthage.
- Massacre of Carthage.

(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

Well, why don't you go
down to the prison,

round up all the
beggars and thieves?

We've done that.

If you want to give away
the best gladiators

in the whole of the empire,

then I want double the rates.

You'll get your contract rates, or
you'll get your contract canceled.

You don't like it?

Then you can crawl back down that
shit hole that you came from.

MAN: Cassius, please.
You can free us.

Gladiator, are you the one
they call the Spaniard?

Yes.

They said you were a giant.

They said you could crush a
man's skull with one hand.

A man's? No.

A boy's.

- Do they have good horses in Spain?
- Some of the best.

This is Argento and
this is Scarto.

They were my horses.

They were taken from me.

I like you, Spaniard.
I shall cheer for you.

- They let you watch the games?
- My uncle says it makes me strong.

- And what does your father say?
- My father is dead.

Master Lucius, it is time.

I have to go.

Your name is Lucius?

Lucius Verus, after my father.

MAN:
Lower!

- MAN 1: Claudius!
- CLAUDIUS: Yes?

- MAN 1: More shields!
- CLAUDIUS: All right.

MAN 2: When the Emperor enters,
raise your weapons, salute him,

and then speak together.

Face the Emperor and don't
turn your back on him.

Go, and die with honor.

(ALL CHEERING)

(CROWD CHEERING)

(PLAYING FANFARE)

MAN:
Hail, mighty Caesar!

CROWD: (CHANTING)
Caesar! Caesar! Caesar! Caesar!

Caesar! Caesar! Caesar! Caesar!

- We who are about to die salute you!
- We who are about to die salute you!

CASSIUS:
On this day

we reach back to
hallowed antiquity

to bring you a re-creation
of the second fall

of mighty Carthage!

(CROWD CHEERING)

On the barren plain of Zama

there stood the
invincible armies

of the barbarian Hannibal.

Ferocious mercenaries
and warriors

from all brute nations,

bent on merciless destruction,

conquest.

Your emperor is
pleased to give you

the barbarian horde!

(CROWD CHEERING)

Anyone here been in the army?

HAGEN: Yes. I served
with you at Vindobona.

You can help me.

Whatever comes out
of these gates,

we've got a better chance of
survival if we work together.

Do you understand?

If we stay together, we survive.

The Emperor is pleased to
bring you the legionnaires

of Scipio Africanus!

To the death!

- Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!
- Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!

MAXIMUS:
Stay close.

Come together!

Stay close. Staggered columns!

MAN:
You don't have a chance.

MAXIMUS: Lock your shields.
Stay as one.

Hold!

Hold! As one!

Well done.

Hold. Down low!

Yes!

Hagen!

This column to the chariot!
This column stay with me!

Quickly!

- Get out there.
- Hurry!

Maximus!

Single column! Single column!

(CROWD CHEERING)

We win!

My history's a little
hazy, Cassius,

but shouldn't the barbarians
lose the battle of Carthage?

Yes, sire.

Forgive me, sire.

COMMODUS: No, I rather
enjoy surprises.

Who is he?

They call him the
Spaniard, sire.

I think I'll meet him.

Yes, sire.

Hail to the barbarians!

MAN:
Forward! Arms at ready!

Drop your weapons.

Gladiator, the Emperor
has asked for you.

I am at the Emperor's service.

(CROWD CHEERING)

Rise. Rise.

Your fame is well
deserved, Spaniard.

I don't think there's ever
been a gladiator to match you.

As for this young man, he
insists you are Hector reborn.

Or was it Hercules?

Why doesn't the hero reveal himself
and tell us all your real name?

You do have a name.

My name is Gladiator.

How dare you show your back to me?
Slave!

You will remove your helmet
and tell me your name.

My name is Maximus
Decimus Meridius,

commander of the
armies of the north,

general of the Felix Legions,

loyal servant to the true
emperor, Marcus Aurelius,

father to a murdered son,

husband to a murdered wife,

and I will have my vengeance,
in this life or the next.

Arms!

(CROWD PROTESTING)

(CROWD BOOING)

MAN:
Live! Live! Live! Live!

- Live! Live! Live! Live!
- Live! Live! Live! Live!

(CROWD APPLAUDING)

SOLDIER:
Arms, at rest!

- Maximus! Maximus! Maximus!
- Maximus! Maximus! Maximus!

Father.

(SOBBING)

Why is he still alive?

I don't know.

He shouldn't be alive.

It vexes me.

I'm terribly vexed.

I did what I had to do.

If Father had had his way, the
empire would have been torn apart.

You do see that.

Yes.

What did you feel
when you saw him?

I felt nothing.

He wounded you
deeply, didn't he?

No more than I wounded him.

They lied to me in Germania.

They told me he was dead.

If they lie to me,
they don't respect me.

If they don't respect me,
how can they ever love me?

Then you must let
the legions know

their treachery will
not go unpunished.

Poor sister.

I wouldn't want
to be your enemy.

What will you do?

This way.

Rich matrons pay well to be
pleasured by the bravest champions.

I knew your brother
would send assassins.

I didn't realize he
would send his best.

(CHAINS CLANKING)

Maximus, he doesn't know.

My family was burnt and crucified
while they were still alive.

- I knew nothing...
- Don't lie to me!

I wept for them.

As you wept for your father?
As you wept for your father?

I have been living in a prison
of fear since that day.

To be unable to mourn your
father for fear of your brother.

To live in terror every
moment of every day,

because your son is
heir to the throne.

I have wept.

My son was innocent.

So is mine.

Must my son die, too,
before you'll trust me?

What does it matter if
I trust you or not?

The gods have spared you.
Don't you understand?

Today I saw a slave become more
powerful than the emperor of Rome.

The gods have spared me?

I am at their mercy, with the
power only to amuse a mob.

That is power.

The mob is Rome.

And while Commodus controls
them, he controls everything.

Listen to me.

My brother has enemies,
most of all in the Senate.

But while the people follow him,

no one would dare stand
up to him until you.

They oppose him, yet
they do nothing.

There are some politicians who have
dedicated their lives to Rome.

One man above all.

If I can arrange it,
will you meet him?

Do you not understand?

I may die in this cell tonight, or
in the arena tomorrow. I am a slave!

What possible
difference can I make?

This man wants what you want.

Then have him kill Commodus!

I knew a man once,

a noble man.

A man of principle
who loved my father,

and my father loved him.

This man served Rome well.

That man is gone.

Your brother did his work well.

Let me help you.

Yes, you can help me.

Forget you ever knew me,
never come here again.

Guard! The lady is
finished with me.

(DOOR OPENING)

What's your name?

Julian Crassus.

Name?

Marcus, sire.

COMMODUS:
My father's name.

They must have known
of Maximus' escape,

when they found the
bodies of the four men.

They thought it was
a barbarian raid.

These are good men, sire.
Loyal to the Emperor.

SOLDIER:
Load your arrows!

(DRUM BEATING)

Prepare to fire!

Then perhaps it
was you who knew,

and never told me.

- I didn't know.
- You didn't know?

But a general is
always in control.

Always in command, isn't he?

Yes, Caesar.

Then give the command. Say it.

Fire.

(SNAKE HISSING)

HAGEN:
Maximus.

You commanded legions?
You had many victories?

- Yes.
- In Germania?

In many countries.

MAN:
General.

(CHOKING)

(LAUGHING)

You have a great name.

He must kill your name
before he kills you.

Yes, at the far end.

- Senator Gaius.
- Hello.

Senator Gracchus.

Don't often see you enjoying the
pleasures of the vulgar crowd.

I don't pretend to be a man
of the people, Senator,

but I do try to be a
man for the people.

(ALL CHEERING)

CROWD: (CHANTING)
Caesar! Caesar! Caesar! Caesar!

Caesar! Caesar! Caesar! Caesar!

CASSIUS:
People of Rome!

On the fourth day of Antioch,

we can celebrate the
64th day of the games.

And in his majestic Charity,

the Emperor has deigned this day
to favor the people of Rome

with an historical final match.

Returning to the Colosseum today,
after five years in retirement,

Caesar is pleased to bring you

the only undefeated champion

in Roman history,

the legendary Tigris of Gaul!

He knows too well how
to manipulate the mob.

Marcus Aurelius had a dream
that was Rome, Proximo.

This is not it. This is not it!

Marcus Aurelius
is dead, Maximus.

We mortals are but
shadows and dust.

Shadows and dust, Maximus!

CASSIUS: Representing the training
lyceum of Antonius Proximo,

Caesar is proud to give you.

Aelius Maximus!

(CROWD CHEERING)

They embrace him like
he's one of their own.

The mob is fickle, brother.
He'll be forgotten in a month.

No, much sooner than that.

It's been arranged.

We who are about
to die salute you.

MAN 1:
We're with you, Maximus!

(TIGER GROWLING)

MAN 2:
Fight on, finish it!

Pull, pull!

Loose! Loose!

- Gut him!
- Kill!

- Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!
- Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!

- Kill!
- Kill!

(CROWD CHANTING)

(CROWD CHEERING)

(CHEERING STOPS)

MAN:
Maximus the Merciful!

(CROWD CHEERING)

CROWD: (CHANTING)
Maximus! Maximus! Maximus!

Maximus! Maximus! Maximus!

SOLDIER:
Forward, arms at ready!

What am I going to do with you?

You simply won't die.

Are we so different, you and I?

You take life when you
have to, as I do.

I have only one more life to take.
Then it is done.

Then take it now.

They tell me your son

squealed like a girl when
they nailed him to the cross.

And your wife

moaned like a whore

when they ravaged
her again and again

and again.

The time for honoring yourself
will soon be at an end,

Highness.

CROWD: (CHANTING)
Maximus! Maximus! Maximus!

General! General!

- General!
- Cicero!

- General!
- Where are you camped?

Ostia.

- We love you, Maximus!
- Praise the Victor!

Tell the men their general lives.
Find me.

- Move along!
- Find me!

JUBA:
Can they hear you?

- Who?
- Your family, in the afterlife.

- Yes.
- What do you say to them?

To my boy,

I tell him I will
see him again soon,

and to keep his heels down
when he's riding his horse.

To my wife,

that is not your business.

(LAUGHING)

And now they love
Maximus for his mercy.

So I can't just kill him, or it
makes me even more unmerciful.

The whole thing is like
some great nightmare.

FALCO:
He is defying you.

His every victory is
an act of defiance.

The mob sees this, and
so do the Senate.

Every day he lives,
they grow bolder.

- Kill him.
- No.

I will not make a martyr of him.

When I went to the Senate today,

I purposefully told them about using the
grain reserves to pay for the games.

And did you note what happened?

- Nothing.
- Exactly. Nothing.

Not a single word of protest.

Even the insolent Senator
Gracchus was silent as a mouse.

Why?

I have been told of
a certain sea snake

which has a very unusual
method of attracting its prey.

It will lie at the bottom
of the ocean as if wounded.

Then its enemies will approach,

and yet it will lie quite still.

And then its enemies will
take little bites of it,

and yet it remains still.

So,

we will lie still,

and let our enemies
come to us and nibble.

Have every senator followed.

Cicero, my old friend.

I thought perhaps I'd seen
you for the last time.

- I thought you were dead.
- Close.

How long have the
men been in Ostia?

All winter.

- And how do they look?
- Fat and bored.

- Who's in command?
- Some fool from Rome.

How soon do you think they
could be ready to fight?

For you, tomorrow.

I need you to do
something for me.

MAN:
Come, see, witness.

If you haven't been in the arena,
you can see the show here.

Giant Maximus is defeating
our emperor, Commodus.

What are we to do? He's
just defying everyone,

by doing this to him, they do...

My goodness!

(CROWD LAUGHING)

- MAN: He got him, he's defeated.
- SOLDIER: Give way!

My lady? I served your
father at Vindobona.

- SOLDIER: Back.
- CICERO: My lady.

CICERO: I served your
father at Vindobona.

Back!

And I served General Maximus.
I serve him still.

Stop. Stop.

SOLDIER:
Stop!

LUCILLA:
Stand back.

The general sends word, he
will meet your politician.

- For your loyalty, soldier.
- Thank you, my lady.

LUCILLA:
Leave us.

Senator Gracchus.

General.

I hope my coming here
today is evidence enough

that you can trust me.

- The Senate is with you?
- The Senate?

Yes. I can speak for them.

You can buy my freedom and
smuggle me out of Rome?

GRACCHUS:
To what end?

Get me outside the city walls.

Have fresh horses ready to take me
to Ostia. My army is encamped there.

By nightfall of the second day, I shall
return at the head of 5,000 men.

But the legions all
have new commanders,

loyal to Commodus.

Let my men see me alive, and you
shall see where their loyalties lie.

This is madness.

No Roman army has entered
the capital in 100 years.

I will not trade one
dictatorship for another!

The time for half measures
and talk is over, Senator.

And after your glorious
coup, what then?

You'll take your 5,000
warriors and leave?

I will leave.

The soldiers will stay
for your protection,

under the command of the Senate.

So,

once all of Rome is yours, you'll
just give it back to the people?

Tell me why.

Because that was the last
wish of a dying man.

I will kill Commodus.

The fate of Rome I leave to you.

Marcus Aurelius trusted you.

His daughter trusts you.

I will trust you.

But we have little time.

Give me two days,

and I will buy your freedom.

And you,

you stay alive,

or I'll be dead.

Now we must go.

PROXIMO: He'll be waiting for you.
Stand at the foot of the colossus.

He'll find you.

It won't work.

The Emperor knows too much.

And as for me,

it's becoming dangerous.

You'll be paid on my return.

I give you my word.

Your word? What if
you don't return?

Do you remember what it was
to have trust, Proximo?

Trust?

Who am I to trust?

- I will kill Commodus.
- Why would I want that?

He makes me rich.

I know that you are a man
of your word, General.

I know that you would
die for honor.

You would die for Rome.

You would die for the
memory of your ancestors.

But I, on the other hand,

I'm an entertainer.

Guard!

He killed the man
who set you free.

Praetorians, master.

Halt!

(MAN LAUGHING)

(MEN WHISPERING)

(LAUGHING)

COMMODUS:
Where have you been?

I sent for you.

Please, brother.

What's troubling you?

Does Gracchus have a new lover?

I don't know.

I thought you'd seen him.

He infects everyone
like a putrid fever.

For the health of Rome,
the Senate must be bled.

And he will bleed, too.

Very soon.

But not tonight.

Do you remember what
our father said once?

"It's a dream,"

"a frightful dream,"

"life is."

Do you think that's true?

I don't know.

I think it is.

And I have only you
to share it with.

Open your mouth.

You know I love you.

And I love you.

(DOOR OPENING)

Out. Get out!

Move!

Congratulations, General.

You've got very
persuasive friends.

My brother has had
Gracchus arrested.

We daren't wait any longer.
We must leave tonight.

Proximo will come at midnight
and take you to the gate.

Your servant, Cicero, will be
waiting there with horses.

- You have done all this?
- Yes.

You risk too much.

I have much to pay for.

You have nothing to pay for.

You love your son.
You're strong for him.

I am tired of being strong.

My brother hates all the
world, and you most of all.

- Because your father chose me.
- No.

Because my father loved you.

And because I loved you.

A long time ago.

Was I very different then?

You laughed more.

I have felt alone all my life,

except with you.

I must go.

Yes.

LUCIUS:
There.

And I got you.

Isn't it late to be
playing legionnaire?

I'm not a legionnaire.

- Not a legionnaire?
- I'm a gladiator.

A gladiator?

Gladiators only
fight in the games.

Wouldn't you rather be a great
Roman warrior like Julius Caesar?

I'm Maximus, the savior of Rome!

The savior of Rome?

And who said that?

Where's Lucius?

He's with the Emperor, my lady.

- LUCIUS: She couldn't.
- COMMODUS: Yes, she did.

She took it from a basket,

and pressed it to her breast,
right here above her heart.

- LUCIUS: It bit her in the breast?
- Yes.

You see, Lucius,
sometimes royal ladies

behave very strangely and do very
odd things in the name of love.

- I think it's silly.
- So do I.

So do I.

Sister, join us.

I've been reading
to dear Lucius.

- LUCIUS: I've been reading, too.
- COMMODUS: Yes.

He's a very clever little boy. He'll
make a grand emperor one day.

We've been reading about
the great Mark Antony,

and his adventures in Egypt.

And the queen killed
herself with a snake.

And just wait until you hear
what happened to our ancestors.

If you're very good,

tomorrow night, I'll tell you
the story of Emperor Claudius.

He was betrayed

by those closest to him.

By his own blood.

They whispered in dark corners

and went out late at night,

and conspired, and conspired.

But the Emperor Claudius knew
that they were up to something.

He knew they were
busy little bees.

And one night he sat
down with one of them,

and he looked at her,

and he said,

"Tell me what
you've been doing,"

"busy little bee."

"Or I shall strike down
those dearest to you."

"You shall watch as I
bathe in their blood."

And the Emperor was heartbroken.

The little bee had
wounded him more deeply

than anyone else could
ever have done.

What do you think
happened then, Lucius?

I don't know, Uncle.

The little bee told
him everything.

SOLDIER: Open, in the
name of the Emperor!

Proximo!

Open the gates, in the
name of the Emperor!

Proximo!

Open the gates!

Open the gates, Proximo.

Do you want to die, old man?

Here.

Everything is prepared.

It seems you have
won your freedom.

Proximo, are you in danger
of becoming a good man?

- Juba.
- All enemies of the Emperor die!

Open the gates!

Pull!

Move! Form a column on the left!

I only need moments, so do not
be careless with your lives.

If you don't want any part of
this, go back to your cells.

We'll wait here
for you, Maximus.

- Strength and honor.
- Strength and honor.

HAGEN: Go.

Strength and honor.

SOLDIER:
Aim. Arch your bows!

Shadows and dust.

(GROANING)

(IMITATES BIRD CALL)

Maximus!

I'm sorry.

It's done.

And what of my nephew?

And what of his mother?

Should they share
her lover's fate?

Or should I be merciful?

Commodus the Merciful.

Lucius will stay with me now.

And if his mother

so much as looks at me

in a manner that displeases me,

he will die.

If she decides to be noble,

and takes her own life,

he will die.

And as for you,

you will love me,

as I have loved you.

You will provide me with
an heir of pure blood,

so that Commodus

and his progeny will
rule for 1,000 years.

Am I not merciful?

Am I not merciful!

- Maximus! Maximus! Maximus!
- Maximus! Maximus! Maximus!

I'm a soldier. I obey.

Nothing happens to anyone that he
is not fitted by nature to bear.

Maximus.

They call for you.

The general who became a slave.

The slave who
became a gladiator.

The gladiator who
defied an emperor.

A striking story.

Now the people want to
know how the story ends.

Only a famous death will do.

And what could be more glorious

than to challenge the Emperor
himself in the great arena?

- You would fight me?
- Why not?

Do you think I'm afraid?

I think you have been
afraid all your life.

Unlike Maximus the invincible,
who knows no fear?

I knew a man who once said,
"Death smiles at us all."

"All a man can do
is smile back."

I wonder,

did your friend smile
at his own death?

You must know.

He was your father.

You loved my father, I know,

but so did I.

That makes us
brothers, doesn't it?

Smile for me now, brother.

Strap on his armor.
Conceal the wound.

(CROWD CHANTING)

SOLDIER:
Ring formation!

(CROWD CHEERING)

COMMODUS:
Quintus, sword.

Give me your sword.

Sword! Give me a sword!

Sheathe your swords.
Sheathe your swords!

(CROWD EXCLAIMING)

QUINTUS:
Maximus.

Maximus.

Quintus.

Free my men.

Senator Gracchus is
to be reinstated.

There was a dream that was Rome.

It shall be realized.

These are the wishes
of Marcus Aurelius.

Free the prisoners. Go!

Maximus.

Lucius is safe.

Go to them.

You're home.

Is Rome worth one
good man's life?

We believed it once.

Make us believe it again.

He was a soldier of Rome.

Honor him.

Who will help me carry him?

Now we are free.

I will see you again.

But not yet.

Not yet.