Gladiator: Extended Edition DVD Set Review

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Title: Gladiator: Extended Edition

Region: One

Genre: Sword & Sandal Epic Drama

Stars: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nelson, Oliver Reed, Richard Harris, and Djimon Hounsou

Writers: David Franzoni, John Logan, and William Nicholson

Director: Ridley Scott

Theatrical Edition Feature length: 155 minutes

Extended Edition Feature length: 172 minutes

Extras: Introduction To The Extended Edition By Director Ridley Scott, Audio Commentary With Director Ridley Scott And Actor Russell Crowe, “Are You Entertained” Text Trivia Track, “Strength And Honor: Creating The World Of Gladiator” Seven-Part Documentary, Production Design Featurette And Galleries, Storyboard Demonstrations, Comparisons, And Galleries, Ridleygrams: Ridley Scott’s Own Sketches Of “Maximus’ Journey”, Costume Design Galleries, Cast Portrait Photo Galleries, Visual Effects Explorations: Germania And Rome, Abandoned Sequences, Including Alternate Opening Titles, Blood Vision, Rhino Fight, And A Newly Discovered Deleted Scene, Trailers, TV Spots, and Previews

Languages: English and French Language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

Subtitles: English Captions and English, French, and Spanish Language Subtitles

Packaging: Three-Disc Digipack Gatefold Within A Cardboard Slipcase

Chapter Stops: 28

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

Year of Theatrical Release: 2000/DVD Release: 2005

Theatrical Distributor: DreamWorks Pictures

Home Video Distributor: DreamWorks Home Entertainment

MPAA Rating: R

Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera

It is hard to believe that five years have already past since DreamWorks released “Gladiator” theatrically and then subsequently as a “Signature Selection” DVD set. Back in 2000 DreamWorks Home Entertainment produced some of the best quality DVDs available. The studios only real competitor at that time in terms of artistically matching content and quality on the same level was New Line Home Entertainment. DVD was just beginning to be embraced by the general public as the home video format of choice and many films that we take for granted now on DVD were not yet released. Now in 2005 DVD is the dominant home video format. VHS after nearly thirty years of being available to consumers is all but dead. Many studios are starting to stop supporting the VHS format with a few of this fall’s upcoming home video releases only being distributed on DVD. It is almost impossible to buy a stand-alone VHS recorder and DVD recorders are now cheap and common enough that you can go into a 99-cent store in New York City and in the area where the blank tapes used to be piled, we now have blank DVD-R discs packaged and sealed in jewel cases.

When a home video product becomes a mass media standard, sometimes the little things the studio distributors included in the beginning become scarce. Most DVD releases stopped including an insert with scene selection information even for their deluxe releases and even fewer include any sort of liner notes about the films being sold. A few studios and independently distributed companies still include a scene selection insert and maybe some liner notes, especially in the case of cult film distributors, but more than likely if you buy a DVD today, the insert will probably be an advertisement for something else if anything at all. The exclusive nature of celebrating film in the best possible home video format available at the time of this writing has inevitably given in to the realities of mass-market sales. Part of me still misses the days when DVD was still a relatively new home video format, but I’d rather be able to go into just about any kind of retailer and be able to buy a film on DVD or some blank discs to record some TV shows I watch than have to trek out into Manhattan every time I need something off the beaten path.

While the futures of next generation high definition successor formats are still uncertain, I think most people will agree that they are all quite happy with their favorite standard definition DVDs and the format in general. Now DreamWorks Home Entertainment has revisited “Gladiator” with this exhaustive three-disc set that reminds me of the excitement I would feel whenever I received a new DreamWorks film on DVD. This is not to say that the product DreamWorks is releasing is bad in any way because it is isn’t bad at all and there is nothing DreamWorks Home Entertainment does with the titles that are distributed that most of the other distributors do not already follow. However as I spent four days going through the set’s many features I was reminded of a time when I actually used to separate DreamWorks DVD titles in my website’s DVD review archives as “showcase” videos because each one seemed special. “Gladiator: Extended Edition” for me is a return to that special excitement I would feel whenever I got a DreamWorks DVD title and arguably it is the studio’s best DVD release I’ve seen in years.

There may be a knee-jerk reaction by some to complain that DreamWorks is “double-dipping” a title to entice movie fans into buying the same thing twice, but in my opinion nothing could be further from the truth. DreamWorks Home Entertainment’s “Gladiator Extended Edition” is not intended to be an upgrade or replacement to the “Gladiator: Signature Selection” released back in 2000. It is as the text commentary notes in the closing credits of the film a companion to the “Signature Selection.” In fact the when combined together the “Gladiator: Signature Selection” and “Gladiator: Extended Edition” are meant to form one five-disc “Ultimate Edition.” Nearly all of the extra value material included on the “Extended Edition” is exclusive to it. So very much like New Line’s “Lord Of The Rings Trilogy” sets, the theatrical two-disc sets and the four-disc extended editions are meant to complement each other, giving the viewer a full immersion into the world of the films and how they were created. The same can be said for Fox’s original “Alien Legacy” box set released in 1999 and the “Alien Quadrilogy” box set released in 2003 or for the individual “Matrix Trilogy” DVD releases and “The Ultimate Matrix Collection” released by Warner Home Video in 2004. Titles from these three franchise releases along with the original “Gladiator: Signature Selection” arguably are what helped to make DVD the dominant home video format that it is at the time of my writing this review because they convinced consumers to buy DVD players so they could see these amazing discs. So in my opinion “Gladiator: Extended Edition” is not an upgrade or replacement to “Gladiator: Signature Selection.” It is a companion that as a whole makes both releases better and individually I think DreamWorks Home Entertainment’s “Gladiator: Extended Edition” is one of the best DVD sets I have had the pleasure to review so far this year.

Within the three-disc Digipack gatefold there is a ten-page insert with beautiful photographs from the film accompanied by some brief notes by Director Ridley Scott entitled “How It All Started.” Disc one contains both the original theatrical cut of “Gladiator” and an extended edition with a brief video introduction by Director Ridley Scott where he explains that this is not a “Director’s Cut.” The Director’s Cut is the theatrical version of the film that won the Oscar® for Best Picture of 2000. This version, which is 17-minutes longer than the theatrical edition contains scenes that were previously only available within the deleted scenes index of the previous DVD release and these scenes are meant to flesh out and enhance the characters. Having watched this extended edition I have to admit it does just that. I cannot say it makes the film an even better film than it was before, but it certainly does nothing to harm it. The newly added scenes fit in seamlessly with the rest of the film and the fact that the theatrical cut is still provided means for those who never purchased “Gladiator” before, they are getting more for their money. Once the user makes a choice regarding which version of the film they wish to watch, they are entitled to some exclusive extra features. Both theatrical and extended edition feature an excellent text commentary that covers anecdotes and trivia related to the film, the history that inspired it, and even the DVD releases. Exclusive to the extended edition is an excellent new feature length audio commentary with Director Ridley Scott and Actor Russell Crowe complete with English Subtitles for those who might have a bit of trouble with the accents or want to make sure in general they are not missing a word being said. Exclusive to the theatrical version is the ability to watch the 13 deleted scenes added into the film individually. The text commentary makes a distinction whenever a newly added scene appears in the extended edition by creating a read background behind the text while the normal background for the text commentary is otherwise brown. The scene selections are also marked for the extended edition DVD so that viewers can see which chapters contain added footage. It is important to note that not all of the deleted scenes found on the “Signature Selection” DVD release are present on the Extended Edition and the audio commentary with Director Ridley Scott that was recorded for both the feature presentation and deleted scenes on the “Signature Selection” DVD release are not carried over to this DVD set, hence reaffirming that this is meant to be a companion to the original release and not a replacement.

The picture quality for the original release was excellent as was the soundtrack, which included a DTS-ES soundtrack option. The text commentary notes that to preserve the quality of having both film’s presented in the best possible manner on DVD, the DTS-ES soundtrack had to be dropped since the requirements would have hindered the video presentation of having the film on one disc otherwise. As far as I’m concerned the picture quality on this new release is terrific just like the original is and since I already have the Signature Selection release from 2000, I don’t mind the exclusion of a DTS track on the Extended Edition. I think recent releases of “Gladiator” on DVD prior to this three-disc set are now dubbed “Awards Edition” and if you do not already have the original “Signature Selection” and cannot find it anywhere, I suggest checking the “Awards Edition” out to see if it includes the DTS track. The English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack is amazingly atmospheric and at times quite aggressive with a true three-dimensional quality to the sound field created. A French Language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack is also included on this DVD release along with English Captions for the hearing impaired and English, French, and Spanish Language Subtitles as options. Please note that if you enable the “Are You Entertained” trivia and text commentary track for either presentation of the film on DVD, the ability to switch between captions and subtitles with your remote control while watching the film is disabled so one must go back into the interactive menus in order to disable the feature or reactivate it thereafter in order to access captions and subtitles.

Disc two feature the authoritative seven-part documentary “Strength And Honor: Creating The World Of Gladiator” (196:30), which can viewed by using a “Play All” feature or individually with the parts detailed as “Tale Of The Scribes: Story Development”, “The Tools Of War: Weapons”, “Attire Of The Realm: Costume Design”, “The Heat Of Battle: Production Journals”, “The Glory Of Rome: Visual Effects”, “Shadows And Dust: Resurrecting Proximo”, and “Echoes In Eternity: Release And Impact.” Produced and Directed by Charles de Lauzirika, watching the documentary as a whole despite it’s three hours plus length, just flies by because it is extremely entertaining as well as interesting with various interview clips from the production and newly recorded interview clips exclusive to the documentary also.

The remainder of the extra value features are on disc three and they include under the heading “Image & Design” a production design featurette with Arthur Max (9:33) and individual galleries that can be viewed in succession too. These galleries cover “Germania”, “Zucchabar”, “Rome”, “Proximo’s Compound”, “The Royal Palace”, “Gladiatorial Compound”, and “Coliseum.” Storyboard demonstrations with optional commentary by Conceptual Artist Sylvain Despretz feature multi angle storyboard to completed film scene comparisons for the Germania Battlefront, Chain Fight, and The Battle of Carthage sequences. In addition Ridley Scott’s own drawings called “Ridleygrams” are provided and give the Director’s own pre-production take on the Germania Battle, Zucchabar and Chain Fight, The Battle of Carthage, as well as sequences that include a Tiger Fight, Zebra Fight, and the Rhino Fight among others. Costume Design Galleries for the principle characters as well as behind-the-scenes and promotional portrait galleries conclude this segment on disc three.

Within the Supplemental Archive are an alternate title sequence featurette with the final title sequence featuring optional commentary by the designer Nick Livesay (9:16), storyboards and outtakes with optional commentary by Ridley Scott (2:14), the Rhino Fight storyboards and CGI test with optional commentary by Sylvain Despretz (4:14) and a newly discovered deleted scene that previously was only seen in part of a montage on the original Signature Selection DVD release (: 48). A visual effects exploration of Germania and Rome (23:49) is perhaps the only point where I found myself growing bored, but after viewing hours of bonus materials it may just have been “Gladiator Overload” and not necessarily any fault of the person doing the demonstration or the folks that created the featurette.

The theatrical teaser (1:15), trailer (1:35), 20 TV spots (9:35), and DreamWorks DVD previews for “The Ring Two” (: 39) and “Saving Private Ryan” (: 24) wrap up the bonus features in this three DVD set and these advertisements can also be viewed collectively using a “Play All” feature (12:24). The interactive menus are well rendered and easy to navigate.

“Gladiator Extended Edition” is available at retailers on and offline now courtesy of DreamWorks Home Entertainment.

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