I remember the canister in the back of the chariot.
Posted on 05/02/2020 3:27:03 PM PDT by Rummyfan
Our star movie columnist, Kathy Shaidle, is off this weekend, so her fill-in guy is obliged to step in. I can't quite believe it's twenty years since this film was released, but nevertheless it is: May 5th 2000. So in honor of its first two decades, and in memory of a ridiculously distinguished cast too prematurely departed (Richard Harris, David Hemmings, Oliver Reed), we salute a film that has the courage of its own ridiculousness and features a splendid turn by Russell Crowe, although his turn as Javert in Les Miz came close, and so did his performance at the Riskie Awards. The historical research by Ridley Scott speaks for itself, so just to set the scene:
Germania, 180 AD. Rome is at war with the, er, Germaniacs, who stand around in the Black Forest grunting like Brits on the piss who've nutted themselves in one pub fight too many. You need a cool head to take on the Roman Army, and the only one the barbarians have belongs to Caesar's emissary, whom they thoughtfully decapitated before sending back. They wave the old noggin around like a treasured footie ball, grunting, "Ug Eugh Blug" or, translated from the original gibberish, "Over 'ere, mate." It's a scene that rings oddly contemporary in the age of Isis, although when I first saw it, a year before 9/11, it gave me the giggles. But then barbarians always seem funny from a distance, don't they? Here they scratch their pelts and grunt some more, seemingly unconcerned by the fact that the Roman legions are lighting up their blazing arrows and fireballs, the smart bombs of the day. The ensuing battle, whose outcome would seem never to be in doubt, is apparently the final bloody act in a twelve-year war.
(Excerpt) Read more at steynonline.com ...
No, I haven’t seen Open Range but I’ll check it out.
Any fans out there of the book DUNE who are also fans of this movie?
In DUNE there are two duels: one with Feyd Rautha and a gladiator. And another with Feyd and Paul Atreides. It seems to me that there are some similarities between these two duels and the one between Commodus and Maximus. Am I mistaken?
“Hah! There! I have you, Stephen! You are thoroughly dished! Don’t you know, old boy...”
Recently tried to watch Cruise’s ‘The Mummy’.
Crowe STOLE the whole movie. His role of Jeckyll and Hyde was brilliant. Crowe could have carried a spin off movie all by himself.
We have fine actors. The screenwriters, though....
How the heck does comment number 1 get removed?
The days of honoring yourself are over, Sire.
Great Steyn article - thanks for posting.
I remember the canister in the back of the chariot.
It's slow-paced but beautifully photographed. And one fantastic gunfight at the end.
I think the image I posted was copyright. Sorry.
Any Crowe fan must see Romper Stomper.
According to Wikipedia (i.e., 'the font of all knowledge' ;^):
"[Reed] drank eight pints of German lager, a dozen shots of rum, half a bottle of whiskey and a few shots of Hennessy cognac, in a drinking match against a group of sailors on shore leave from HMS Cumberland at a local pub."
Since it was probably ingested over a period of several hours, I doubt it would actually kill most serious drinkers...
;^)
Perhaps it's a pagan idol, that just happens to look like a cylinder of compressed gas...
;^)
There is a fifteen year old series called Rome, which has three years of episodes for free. If you have Amazon Prime. Also look at Anthony Everett’s books and Tom Holland’s as well. There has been so many books on Roman history in the last 30 years it is great.
That’s it. The canister. The car is in a different movie. Sorry
Well, maybe it didn’t kill him... but how was he still on his feet?!
There was a car in The Fellowship of the Ring.
The car is in Braveheart.
“The car is in Braveheart.”
Yup - that’s the one!
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