23 Interesting Facts From 'Gladiator'

With rumors of a Gladiator sequel floating around, now is the ideal time for some facts from the film. I honestly have no idea how they'd make that work, considering every main character is by the end. But I guess Hollywood has gone for some stranger sequel scripts before. 

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  • 01
    Kilt - Over the.course of the gladiatorial scenes, Russell Crowe broke bones in his foot and his hip, and injured both bicep tendons.
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  • 02
    Text - 55 Russell Crowe's depiction of Maximus has been commemorated in Australia on an official stamp AUSTRALIA 2009 Gladiator 2000 RUSSELLCROWE Australian Legends
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  • 03
    Facial expression - While looking at the dailies, Ridley Scott noticed that Joaquin Phoenix was gaining weight, Scott spoke to the line producer about it, who then went to Phoenix and told him, "Ridley says youfre fat. The next day, Phoenix, in full armour, came to Scott and said, " hear look likea little fat hamster thought it was the right thing to do. I'm the emperor of Rome, why wouldI not look a little more debauched?" Phoenix then didn't eat for weeks.
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  • 04
    Photo caption - It is a common misconception that a Roman emperor put his thumb upwards to signity that a gladiator was to be spared, whereas thumb down meant that there would be no mercy for a downedgladiator. In reality, this gesturing was the other way around thumbs up symbolized a sword action (and thus death), and thumbs down a sheathed sword (mercy). The crew was aware of this while making the film, but since thumbs up is considered to be a good sign nowadays, they decided not to unnecessa
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  • 05
    Forehead - The wounds on Russell Crowe's face after the opening battle scene are real, caused when his horse startled and backed him into tree branches. The stitches in his cheek are clearly visible when he is telling Commodus he intends to return home.
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  • 06
    People - Originally, Maximus was supposed to fight Proximo in the Colliseum after being captured, probably as a penultimate blow from Commodus.Oliver Reed's death forced a rewrite.
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  • 07
    Text - FELIX I Costume designer Janty Yates and her team created more than 10,000 costumes for the cast and extras. Over 20,000 arrows were created for the opening battle in Germania. Over a three-month period, 27,500 component pieces of armour were made.
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  • 08
    Movie - Joaguin Phoenix ad-libbed his scream of "Am I not merciful?", and Connie Nielsen's reaction of frightfully pulling away from him was genuine, since she wasniexpecting it.)
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  • 09
    Photo caption - Oliver Reed's main motivation for taking the part of Proximo was because he fancied a "free trip to London to see a couple of shows"
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  • 10
    Fur - Russell Crowe began shooting for Gladiator a few months after The Insider (1999) wrapped. He had gained upwards of 40 pounds for his Oscar- nominated role in The Insider and yet lost it all before Gladiator began. He claims he did nothing special other than normal work on his farm in Australia.
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  • 11
    Sport venue - A replica of about one third of Rome's Collosseum was built in Malta to a height of 52 feet, mostly from plaster and plywood. The remainder of the building was added in digitally. It took several months to build at a reputed cost of $1 million.
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  • 12
    Mode of transport - In the Colosseum scenes, only the bottom two decks are actually filled with people The other thousands of people are computer-animated.
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  • 13
    Facial expression - As Oliver Reed died with three weeks of principal photography remaining and as he was considered a key character, aclause in the insurance coverage on the movie would have allowed the film-makers to shoot all of Reed's scenes with another actor, with the insurers footing the cost (estimated at $25million). However, most of the actors and crew were exhausted from the punishing schedule and Ridley Scott did not want to lose Reed from the movie, so the script was rewritten and C
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  • 14
    Movie - Historically speaking, the real Commodus himself did fight in the arena. Unbeknownst to him, the soldiers preparing the gladiator to fight, would stab the opponent in the back to weaken him in the same way that Commodus himself does to Maximus in this film.
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  • 15
    Event - The prop snow in the opening battle scene and aftermath was created by using little pieces of rolled up paper.
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  • 16
    Adaptation - The opening battle scene was filmed in Bourne Woods, in the English county of Surrey. The Royal Forestry Commission had originally slated the area for deforestation so Ridley Scott eagerly offered them his facilities to burn the woods to the ground. The Commission happily accepted.
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  • 17
    Bengal tiger - Tigers can be difficult to train, but remarkably, the production found that several days into filming with them, the tigers got used to being in the midst of a film crew and weren't unduly bothered by all the activity going on- around them. In fact, one of the bigger challenges was goading them into action when it came time for them to perform.
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  • 18
    Bengal tiger - Many of the animals featured were loaned to the production from the zoo in Rabat, the capital city of Morocco, as a way of getting round the country's strict animal importation rules
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  • 19
    Dog - Maximus's companion is his pet wolf, played in the film by a female Tervuren Belgian Shepherd named Kyte. The production was unable to use real wolves because England's strict anti- rabies laws prevented them from importing any of the animals.
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  • 20
    Human - A study by the Medical University of Vienna and the University of Bern examined gladiator bones and found out that gladiators were mostly vegetarian. Yet in the film they are shown eating meat.
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  • 21
    Bengal tiger - 5 tigers were brought in for the sequence in the arena where Maximus fights Tigris the Gaul. A veterinarian armed with tranquilizer darts was in attendance for the entire length of shooting. For safety's sake, Russell Crowe was kept at least 15 feet away from the tigers.
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  • 22
    Text - Maximus description of his home (specifically how the kitchen is arranged and smells in the morning and at night) was ad-libbed it's a description of Russell Crowe's own home in Australia
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  • 23
    Love - Joaquin Phoenix got so involved in the scene where Commodus murders his father that he actually fainted afterward.
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