One of the greatest action masterpieces of all time with three legendary mistakes

We published this article as a VOD tip in a similar form on May 2nd, 2022.

Gladiator is not only considered one of the best films ever by sword and sandals fans. The revenge epic about the gladiator and ex-legionnaire Maximus (Russell Crowe) is captivatingly played and staged in a megalomaniac way. It contains more iconic moments than roads lead to Rome. But also three absolutely hair-raising film mistakes. The masterpiece is on TV today.

Gladiator Mistake 1: Action battle with crew member in blue jeans

Some movie mistakes are common. So-called continuity errors, for example, with which a sword after a cut suddenly disappears. Gladiator doesn’t even afford such gimmicks.

Here is immediately padding. Right in the battle scene at the beginning of the movie a crew member wanders around in front of the camera. Maximus can only dream of his top fashion jeans.

Gladiator Mistake 2: Russell Crowe’s viewers include the cameraman

It goes on amazingly striking. The newly crowned gladiator Maximus proves his fighting skills in various arenas before he reaches Rome. In one scene, not only bloodthirsty spectators can be seen in the stands, but also an entire camera team.

Gladiator Mistake 3: Legendary mishap in the big action massacre

Such blunders are unusual. Usually, scenes with the crew walking or equipment visible are canceled and reshot. That makes the next mistake all the more hair-raising. It is now part of every film error top 5 like The Godfather in the leaderboards.

In Rome, Crowe’s character must prove himself to Emperor Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix). He also competes against a squad of chariots. When someone falls over on his side, an air bottle reveals itself clearly visible on the tread.

This is stunt equipment. The air pressure is used to make the car fall over. Especially in the Blu-ray version of the film, the device is wonderfully clearly visible. It is only about 2000 years too early.

Even though the Gladiator mistakes are absolutely spectacular compared to other films, this doesn’t detract from the quality of the film. Possibly exceptional director Ridley Scott was under great time pressure and therefore had to use faulty scenes. At the end above all, they give character to his masterpiece.

When will the historical action Gladiator be on TV?

Gladiator runs tonight at 8:15 p.m. on ZDFneo. In addition to Crowe and Phoenix, the acting legends Richard Harris and Oliver Reed can also be seen in front of the screen.

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Before the streaming year ends, we bring you another 10 upcoming titles we’re most excited about in 2022.

In this installment of the Moviepilot podcast Stream Gefluer we talk about Guillermo del Toro’s dark new version of Pinocchio, the Will Smith comeback Emancipation, the Knives Out sequel Glass Onion with Daniel Craig and the horror hype Barbarian, among others.

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What do you think of Gladiator?