Dir. Ridley Scott 2000 155 mins (15)
Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielson, Oliver Reed, Richard Harris

On this day in 2000 Ridley Scott’s epic historical film Gladiator was released.

The film is based loosely on events that took place in the late 2nd century AD and was credited with reviving interest the historical epic genre.

During filming Oliver Reed suffered a heart attack and died before all of his scenes had been filmed. In order to complete the film, the post production team to created a digital body double for the actor in order to complete his scenes.

The film was a box office success and won five Academy Awards:

• Best Picture – Douglas Wick, David Franzoni, Branko Lustig.
• Best Actor – Russell Crowe
• Best Costume Design – Janty Yates
• Best Sound – Bob Beemer, Scott Millan, Ken Weston
• Best Visual Effects – Tim Burke, Neil Corbould, Rob Harvey, John Nelson

And was nominated for a further seven nominations:

• Best Director – Ridley Scott
• Best Supporting Actor – Joaquin Phoenix
• Best Original Screenplay – David Franzoni, John Logan, William Nicholson
• Best Art Direction – Arthur Max, Crispian Sallis
• Best Cinematography – John Mathieson
• Best Editing – Pietro Scalia
• Best Original Score – Hans Zimmer

Read more at The Internet Movie Database

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