The 2000 epic historical drama directed by Ridley Scott that stars Russell Crowe as a Roman general is Gladiator. Crowe plays Maximus Decimus Meridius, a loyal commander betrayed after Emperor Marcus Aurelius is murdered by his son Commodus. Forced into slavery, Maximus becomes a gladiator and seeks revenge in Rome’s arena.
The film combines fictional drama with elements drawn from Roman history. Its story was inspired in part by Daniel P. Mannix’s 1958 novel Those About to Die, while the historical Commodus really was a Roman emperor who participated in gladiatorial spectacles. Maximus, however, is a fictional character rather than a documented Roman general.
Gladiator was filmed in 1999 and released in the United States on May 5, 2000. It became a major international success and won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Crowe. Viewers sometimes treat the movie as a literal historical account, but its costumes, politics, chronology, and arena details include substantial inventions and anachronisms.