The story of the Life of Brian takes place later than the history we have studied so far. The main part of the story is set in 33AD in the eastern parts of the Roman empire. It follows Brian, played by Graham Chapman, tackling the challenges of growing up as a young adult. The movie starts with him being mistaken as the messiah upon his birth with wise men visiting him as the movie depicts similar to the story of Jesus’s birth in Bethlehem. After 33 years when he is a young adult he joins a political activist movement in Judea called “the people’s front of Judea” and as the film will constantly point out is not to be confused with the “Judean people’s front”.

One of the most memorable moments of the film is when Brian is graffiting the walls of Judea with the phrase “Romanes eunt domus” a phrase with the intended meaning of romans go home. However, John Cleese’s character a roman centurion corrects Brian’s grammar of the phrase which should have been “Romani ite domum”. This shows a brief glimpse into the language of latin which although the etymology of many english words can be traced back to latin the grammar system of latin is very different to modern english. 

Another plot line is the attitudes that people have towards Roman occupation of their land. It is mostly painted as negative; however, there are moments in the film where they talk about the engineering projects that the Romans have brought. This is mentioned by the people’s front of Judea with the sanitation systems that the Roman created as well as aqueducts, a technology that still remains in some cities today. This issue was a double edge sword and was constantly mentioned by the people’s front of Judea. Although they wanted significant social reform they also had to grapple with the reality that they benefited heavily from the technology that the Romans brought.

Overall, I found that the film presented a different perspective to what we have focused on in class. This was both in location as well as time-period and arguably what was learnt in class foreshadowed the events that took place during this time. The militaristic nature of the Roman’s was evident throughout the film with soldiers in full dress whenever on screen as well as the opulence that the Roman elite chose to surround themselves with.

Gladiator (2000) tells the story of a deposed Roman general and his journey to reclaim glory and honor. At the start of the movie, Maximus Decimus Meridius is a leading general in the Roman army, serving under the emperor Marcus Aurelius. Aurelius, knowing his death is imminent, offers Maximus the chance to succeed him as emperor, over his son Commodus. Hearing this, Commodus suffocates his father to death, claiming the throne himself. After Maximus refuses to swear loyalty to him, Commodus orders the execution of both him and his family. Though Maximus survives, he isn’t able to save his family, and collapses due to exhaustion.

Maximus is abducted in his sleep, and sold into gladiatorial training. A natural warrior, he rises through the ranks quickly, and begins gaining local fame, eventually travelling to Rome to fight in the Colosseum. When he performs unexpectedly well, Commodus honors him, but is surprised to learn of Maximus’ survival and true identity. As Maximus’ popularity grows, his supporters hatch a plan to break him out of slavery, but the plan is exposed and fails, resulting in his capture. He is forced to fight Commodus in a public, fixed fight, where he is fatally injured beforehand. Despite this, he still manages to overpower Commodus, kill him with his own dagger, and avenge his family, before succumbing to his own wounds.

As I watched Gladiator, I couldn’t help but make comparisons between Maximus and Spartacus, the hero of another Rome-themed film. After all, both had risen from slavery to become something more than mere gladiators, and both brought change to Rome, at the cost of their own lives. However, I noticed a key difference between the two; Spartacus shifted between personas, as he changed the mask he was wearing when he was with his wife and his followers, or his enemies. Maximus, meanwhile, was always focused on his duty to attain vengeance for his family, only slightly wavering towards a brief romantic interest in Lucilla, Commodus’ own sister.

Maximus, having been a Roman general, was undoubtedly more familiar with Roman virtues than Spartacus, a former slave, would’ve been. As such, I believe his portrayal as a more accurate, focused, and vengeful Roman hero fits well, when compared to Spartacus’ portrayal as a man of many masks and personas. Of course, this difference may also result from Spartacus being a real person, and Maximus being a totally fictional character, allowing for more creative liberty.

This fictionalization of Maximus allows him to vie for the throne of the Roman Empire, without even being a native Roman, or having any blood relationship to the emperor. This detail stuck out to me, as I do not believe it to be realistic or even possible that Rome would accept a foreign general, not related to the emperor, as its ruler. While the movie was excellent, I did not believe such a situation would ever arise. I can, however, believe in the Roman people supporting Maximus over a despot like Commodus.

Word count: 499

Spartacus (1960) follows the titular character on his journey from slavery to rebellion leader to his tragic defeat. The movie opens with Spartacus, a slave whose mind and body are unbreakable, being sold into gladiator school. While he is initially targeted by the owner for his rebellious nature, tensions quickly boil over when Spartacus is forced to duel an Ethiopian slave, Draba, for the entertainment of Crassus and his two guests. Draba defeats Spartacus, but he refuses to kill him, instead trying to kill Crassus. Though he fails, he inspires Spartacus to kill the slave master, Marcellus, which inspires an impromptu slave uprising.

The slave uprising initially begins just as a taking of land and recruitment of fellow slaves, but eventually the movement attracts the attention of the Romans, as well as their fear. Meanwhile, Spartacus rejoins with Varinia, a fellow former slave who had been sold to Crassus when he visited the gladiatorial school. The two are married and guide the slave army with courage and benevolence. Determined to put a stop to this, Crassus is put in charge of the Roman army, made consul, and hunts down Spartacus and corners him at the edge of Italy. Spartacus, who was abandoned by pirates he had made a deal with for transportation, rouses his companions with a moving speech, and leads them into battle. Unfortunately, however, he is still defeated despite his excellent leadership and inspiring words. Spartacus is captured, and after spitting on Crassus in contempt, kills his friend Antoninus to save him from crucifixion. Spartacus himself is crucified along the Appian Way, and gets to see his beloved wife and newborn son one last time as they depart for newfound freedom.

Spartacus, though laden with historical inaccuracies which definitely caught my attention, created a lot of thought of what a Roman hero should entail. In our class, we’ve discussed both legendary and historic heroes. From Mucius Scaevola to Scipio Africanus, heroes have used military prowess and ingenuity to prove their devotion to Rome. Spartacus’ portrayal as an eloquent orator who naturally commands respect and admiration from his peers is honestly not one that I felt fit the character well. The movie attempts to introduce him as a kind person from the start, as he asks for a fellow gladiator’s name while they wash themselves. His compassion is further on display when he refuses to have sex with Varinia for the entertainment of Batiatus.

This creates an interesting contrast between Spartacus as the leader of the brutal revolution and the kind friend to his army. I feel like this depiction is not fitting for Spartacus’ role in the revolution, and I at times felt confused by his portrayal as a reincarnation of the Roman hero’s spirit, compared to his persona of a kind man. However, as we discussed in class, Romans often believed life was performance, it makes sense to consider that Spartacus was simply switching between his masks, even though he wasn’t technically Roman.

Word Count: 496