Dana and Tom with 10x guests, Robb Conlon (Founder of Westport Studios and Host of B2B Business Class) and Kieran B. (Host and Creator of the Best Picture Cast; @bestpicturecast on X, IG, Letterboxd - BPC, Letterboxd - Personal) discuss the Best Picture Winner of 2000, Gladiator: directed by Ridley Scott, written by John Logan, David Franzione, William Nicholson, cinematography by John Mathieson, music by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard, starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Richard Harris, and Djimon Hounsou.

Plot Summary: In Gladiator, Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe) leads his army to victory in a decisive battle under Emperor Marcus Aurelius. The emperor, disillusioned with his son Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), wishes to pass power to Maximus to restore the Roman Republic. Before this plan can be enacted, Commodus murders his father and seizes the throne.

Refusing to serve the new emperor, Maximus is sentenced to death. He escapes execution but returns home to find his wife and son brutally murdered by Commodus’s men. Captured and sold into slavery, Maximus becomes a gladiator under the training of Proximo (Oliver Reed), a former gladiator himself. Maximus ultimately works his way to Rome, igniting a battle not just for revenge but for the soul of Rome.

As the story builds to a final confrontation, Maximus must fight one last time—against a corrupt emperor and the cruelty of the empire—to restore honor and justice and to fulfill a dying emperor’s last hope.

Guests:

Robb Conlon

• Founder of Westport Studios and Host of B2B Business Class
• LinkedIn: Robb / Westport Studios
• Previously On: Alien (1979), Aliens (1986), Die Hard (1988), The Godfather (1972), John Wick (2014), The Dark Knight (2008), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Man on Fire (2004), The Incredibles (2004)

Kieran B (10x Member Club)

• Host and Creator of the Best Picture Cast; @bestpicturecast on X, IG, Letterboxd - BPC, Letterboxd - Personal
• Previous Episodes: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1957), Lost in Translation (2003), Gran Torino (2008), Stalag 17 (1953), Shane (1953), A Fistful of Dollars (1964), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) Revisit, 12 Angry Men (1957) Revisit, The Shawshank Redemption (1994) Revisit, Saw (2004), Up in the Air (2009), Bad Day at Black Rock (1955), The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction and Welcome Back Robb and Kieran

04:14 Cast and Background for Gladiator

09:20 Relationships with Gladiator

16:29 What is Gladiator About?

20:21 Broadly Popular Best Picture Winners: Ever Coming Back?

29:28 Plot Summary for Gladiator

30:51 Did You Know?

32:40 First Break

33:23 What's Up with Robb and Kieran

40:13 Bone to Pick with BPC

45:09 Did Dana Like Gladiator?

46:09 Best Performance(s)

01:03:07 Best/Favorite/Indelible Scene(s)

01:15:04 Second Break

01:17:23 In Memoriam

01:19:19 Best/Funniest Lines

01:25:09 The Stanley Rubric - Legacy

01:40:54 The Stanley Rubric - Impact/Significance

01:49:34 The Stanley Rubric - Novelty

02:01:19 The Stanley Rubric - Classicness

02:10:11 The Stanley Rubric - Rewatchability

02:12:38 The Stanley Rubric - Audience Score and Final Total

02:15:10 Remaining Questions for Gladiator

02:18:21 A Thank You to Robb and Kieran / Final Thoughts

02:21:51 Credits

You can also find this episode in full video on YouTube.

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For more on the episode, go to: https://www.ronnyduncanstudios.com/post/gladiator-2000-ft-robb-conlon-and-kieran-b

For the entire rankings list so far, go to: https://www.ronnyduncanstudios.com/post/greatest-movie-of-all-time-list

Keywords:

Gladiator, movie analysis, film discussion, best picture, Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Ridley Scott, film history, podcast, cinema, character development, battle scenes, iconic moments, legacy, originality, classicness, rewatchability, Oliver Reed, Richard Harris, Connie Nielsen, Derek Jacobi, Hans Zimmer, John Mathieson

Ronny Duncan Studios