Gladiator (2000 film)

Gladiator is a 2000 BritishAmerican epic historical drama film directed by Ridley Scott, and starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Ralf Mller, Oliver Reed in his final film role before his death, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, John Shrapnel, and Richard Harris. Crowe portrays the fictional character, loyal Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius, who is betrayed when Commodus, the ambitious son of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, murders his father and seizes the throne. Reduced to slavery, Maximus rises through the ranks of the gladiatorial arena to avenge the murders of his family and his emperor.

In AD 180, SpanishRoman General Maximus Decimus Meridius leads the Roman army to a decisive victory against the Germanic tribes near Vindobona, ending a long war on the Roman frontier and winning the favor of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Maximus, weary of battle, decides to retire at his Spanish farm estate at the Emperors behest, but the Emperor tells him that his son and heir to the throne, Commodus, is unfit to rule and so appoints Maximus as regent to help save Rome from corruption. Before Maximus makes his decision, Commodus is confronted by his father who tells him that he will not be emperor. Burdened by grief and believing he was never valued by his father, Commodus murders him.After mourning Marcus Aurelius death, the new Emperor asks Maximus for his loyalty, but the general suspects foul play and refuses. Soon after, Maximus is arrested and is scheduled to be executed at dawn. Maximus manages to escape and makes the long journey to his farm on horseback, but arrives to find it burnt and his family dead, under orders of Commodus. He buries them and collapses in despair. He is then captured by slavers who take him to Zucchabar, a North African province. He is sold to a man named Proximo, who trains him as a gladiator. There he befriends two of Proximos gladiators, a Numidian named Juba and a German named Hagen. ........

Source: Wikipedia