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r. i t-T yvn1! Variety PAGE E4 STAR TRIBUNK WEDNESDAY, MAY 10 2000 Hollywood philosophy: When in Rome, come out swinging 'Gladiator' hits the classic and the high-tech VIM It rP Jr ill By Bob Strauss Los Angeles Daily News 4-1 4 '1 i 7 Photo provided by DreamWorks Pictures Filmmakers used computer-imaging to re-create the vistas of ancient Rome and produce thousands of Praetorian Guards to greet the new emperor, played by Joaquin Phoenix, In a scene from "Gladiator." or exciting enough for us. "So we took a bit of license. We got more inspiration from the painters of the 18th- and 19th-century neoclassical traditions; we liked the way they imagined Rome to be. Once we got rolling, we kind of left the scholastic and historical behind because we didn't find it juicy enough." Maybe not, but the historical record was certainly too bloody for the filmmakers' tastes.

"Gladiator" is undoubtedly the most explicitly violent movie Hollywood has ever produced in the genre, if only by dint of being the first one made since the late '60s relaxation of the censorship code. Since then, however, commercial considerations have had their own effect on how much off-putting, graphic gore producers are willing to approve, especially in big-budget movies that need as wide an audience as possible to make a profit. "In the shooting, you've got to plan," Scott explains. "In a fight, you've got to have the person who's going to deliver the blow and the person who's going to receive the blow, and you've got to follow it through. But the decision comes in the editing room.

You look at it and go, now, do I need to see the arm coming off? Do I need to see blood shoot? I'd But even with such a start, it would have been economically prohibitive to physically re-create even scale facades of the entire olosseum. It cost $1 million for production designer Arthur Max's team just to build a third of the circular stadium's first tier. The other two-thirds of the structure's circumference, as well as the entirety of its upper two tiers, were meticulously added by computer in post-production. The resulting images look terrific. But are they the most accurate reproductions of Second Century Rome ever filmed? While he trumpets the exhaustive research that went into the production, Scott shrugs off the notion that such fidelity is even feasible or desirable.

"We had a scholar involved but, you know, there's a limit to what you want to hear," the director says dismissively. "When you hear that no women had colorful clothes, they all wore white, you go, How do you know?" "We did all our due diligence." Max adds. "We did our research; we went to all the museums in Italy and England; we went to Pompeii. We looked at everything there was in all the books and all the archives and then we decided that it wasn't rich enough rather leave it to the imagination, so I clip it right on the edge. It's where you cut it that makes it visceral, so you think you've seen a lot but you can't quite put a finger on what you've seen." Don't mention the word "finger" to the easily riled Russell Crowe, who stars as the gladiator, Maximus.

As far as he was concerned, the film came much too close for comfort to capturing the real thing. "It was a very hard experience, the most physically demanding thing I'd ever done," says Crowe who, besides having to train like a lunatic in ancient fighting techniques, was required to lose the 40 pounds he'd put on for his Oscar-nominated role in "The Insider" in roughly a month. "This was difficult, man; it was full on. I cracked a bone in my foot. I fractured my hip.

Both bicep tendons popped out 1 still don't have any feeling in the top of a finger because it got slashed in the very first batde sequence by a sword that was covered in dirt." Few films suffer as tragic a bit of bad luck as "Gladiator" did. Oliver Reed, the larger-than-life strangled in his bath. Maximus (Russell Crowe): There is no historical record of the hero of the movie and Commodus' nemesis. The Colosseum: Rome's great amphitheater and a symbol of the city's eternity. The movie, set in Malta, re-created about a third of the real thing; computer wizardry filled in the blanks.

A huge oval arena measuring 620 by 513 feet, the Colosseum could seat more than 40,000 spectators. In its bowels are cages for wild animals and an elaborate system of elevators to hoist beasts, men and props into the arena, which was covered with sand to soak up the blood. The Colosseum was begun sometime around 70 AD. and officially dedicated in 80 AD. by Emperor Titus.

The inaugural games lasted 100 days. Thousands of gladiators and thousands of wild animals died. Associated Press Is 'Gladiator' plot historically accurate? As you might expect, the answer cuts both ways 'Gladiator' conquers box office LOS ANGELES "Gladiator," a bloody tale of betrayal and revenge in the Roman arena, entertained battle-hungry masses with an opening weekend of $34.8 million in North American movie theaters. The new DreamWorks and Universal film starring Russell Crowe bumped "U-571" from atop the box office after two weeks. The World War II submarine drama fell to second at $7.8 million.

"Gladiator" had the biggest opening weekend for DreamWorks, exceeding the $30.1 million for "Saving Private Ryan" in July 1998. Weekend Avg. per Gross Wks. in gross screen to date release 1. Gladiator $34.8 million $11,851 $34.8 million 1 2.

U-571 7.8 million 2,875 49.6 million 3 3. 6.6 million 2,175 18.6 million 2 4. Frequency 6.5 million 2,476 17.9 million 2 5. Where the Heart Is 5.1 million 2,096 15.7 million 2 6. Love and Basketball 3.1 million 2,631 19.6 million 3 7.

Keeping the Faith 2.8 million 1,381 29.5 million 4 8. Rules of Engagement 2.45 million 1,081 54.1 million 5 9. 1 Dreamed of Africa 2.41 million 1,142 2.41 million 1 10. 28 Days 2.35 million 976 32 million 4 lLErinBrockovlch 2.2 million 1,125 116 million 8 12. Final Destination 1.6 million 1,478 48.2 million 8 13.

Return To Me 1.5 million 887 27.3 million 5 14. The Road to El Dorado 907,993 594 47.8 million 6 15. HighFidelty 749,686 1,358 23.3 million 6 16. The Skulls 686.510 790 33.6 million 6 17. Romeo Must Die 447.176 987 54.4 million 7 18.

American Psycho 442.960 884 13.2 million 4 19. American Beauty 429,026 711 128.8 million 34 20. The Virgin Suicides 349.998 3.500 919,429 3 'G, I ladiator" is not your grandfather's, well. I gladiator movie. The first film that Hollywood has produced in more than ib years to focus on ancient Rome's brutal "circus" games, the new epic boasts many up-to-the-minute movie qualities.

The relative modernism of "Gladiator," which opened last weekend at the top of the box office, is evident from the start. It begins with a massive, pitched battle and uses extensive computer-generated imagery to fill out its sumptuous visual plan. And certain attitudes have been modernized from the genre's 1950s and early '60s heyday. Unlike "Quo Vadis," "Barab-bas," "Demetrius and the Gladiators" and even the high point of the cycle, Stanley Kubrick's "Spartacus," Christianity is not presented as "Gladiator's" alternative to pagan depravity; liberal democracy is. Also, interestingly, the new film's demented, evil emperor Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) is demonized by the desire to sleep with his sister, not the implied homosexuality that characterized the '50s and '60s tyrants.

And the object of her brother's incestuous attention, Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), is a capable woman who is a far cry from the lust-crazed vamps who used to represent Rome's female aristocracy. That stuff aside, though, "Gladiator" delivers the classic goods: extravagant sets, delectable decadence and mucho man-to-man struggling to the death. Filmed in England, Morocco and Malta, shooting involved actually burning down a stretch of British forest (it was scheduled for demolition anyway) and restaging the most elaborate of arena contests, some involving charging chariots and live tigers. The movie's logistical centerpiece, of course, was rebuilding parts of ancient Rome and its massive Colosseum as it looked during the empire's height, circa 180A.D. "1 like making worlds," director Ridley Scott explains.

"I don't mind making contemporary movies, but I love getting into that whole process of getting a world right. It required all kinds of preconceptions and visualizations, from costumes to weapons to fighting choreography, but especially for the Forum and Rome itself. "I had a model of the place I decided to do that in, which was an existing piece of architecture on Malta," Scott continues. "It had been a military base for the English Army against Napoleon in 1803, and it had been constructed in a Romanesque fashion. It was fantastic and it was derelict so we loved it! It was like $10 million of free building work immediately.

Reading, Writing, Spelling, Math Time Money, 8th Grade Standards, Pre-K Readiness Leadership in Discovering Abilities Donate your car to Our Community Technical School put someone to work. Your Donation is 100 Tax Deductible at Fair Market Value Newgate Education Training Center 2900 E. Hennepin, Mpls. (612) 378-0177 www.Newgateschool.org Tuition Free Training since 1975 British actor with the legendary appetite for living, died suddenly just before completing his role as Proximo, Maximus' greedy but secretly noble gladiatorial master. "It was really sad, because I've known Ollie for 25 years," recalls Scott, who managed to complete Reed's performance with a little computer magic.

"He liked his drinking, but he saved it for the weekends and he popped off in a pub on a Sunday morning. But, you know, he had a great time and a great life and great work, so you can't feel too sad about it." "A CIKItMS MANN IHIAIHtS PA KIM EACH CIUKA II MAPU CDOff MANN IMAMS "6I CIEI IB APACHE 6 UNHID ARTISTS 4M-4M! miil EDEN PRAIRIE WEST MANN IHFATRFS UNIHDARIISTS UIHHIM PLtHOUW CWftU BUOOMAIf SQUARE MARCUS ClNl MAS SSI-OOOfl ELI RIVER 111 MARCIISCWMAS UNI1F0ARIISIS BURNSVIILEI IHOIPTNOENT 44S-S300 HIM lill EICIISIORMCI MANN THFAfRtS CARMIKTCWIMAS 2S ST. LOUIS PARK 6 CAHMUFIS MIIIIFR FAMILY IHIAIRIS I0FWS CINFPIEX GFNIRAI CINIMA LAKEVILLE THEATRE WLUmCREU CEHTLHHIAL LAKES HIMH 5SI SJI8 CINEMA 8 CINIRAl CINIMA CARMIKF CINEMAS illMIS04 AU OF AMLRICA WYWISORC IS SHOWPIACt 16 iJFILMIilll J8S-185b HUAIMS Sorfv. No Pwsses. Coupons.

VI P. or COON RAPIDS Group Activity Tickets Accepted Tb7 6F1O8 Che, Theater Direr.tones for Showtiroes I 4 'l mm Source: Entertainment Data Inc. and Exhibitor Relations Some fact and fiction in the movie Emperor Marcus Aurelius (played by Richard Harris): The movie portrays him as a wise emperor who wants his trusted general Maximus to succeed him and make Rome a republic again. The real Marcus Aurelius, who ruled from 161 to 180 A.D. and is best known for his "Meditations" on Stoic philosophy, did no such thing.

He made his son co-emperor in 1 77 A.D. when Commodus was just 17 and Commodus turned out to be a bad seed. Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix): Portrayed in the movie as a twisted, evil fellow, much as he appears to have been in real life. Historians say flatly that he was insane. His brutal misrule, which lasted until 192 A.D., set off civil strife that ended nearly a century of prosperity and marked the beginning of the decline of the Roman Empire.

The real Commodus fancied himself to be Hercules and loved playing gladiator. He is said to have killed no fewer than five hippopotamuses in one'day at the Colosseum, 100 leopards on another day. His advisers had him 2000 Tanit Cwporatinti, Inc. Visit BRAMBLY HEDGE Exclusive new background! WEB Co. Burklom 2(XX) lirnnsod by Copytiqhts All Riqdh teeivcd Mm mm Wm Rinmlilv Jill 99 With $7.95 silling Ice per person Portrait Package I 1-10x13 2-5x7s 6 Billfolds 3 Charm 1-8x10 15 Wallets 4-3'5x5s Portraits 0The Portrait Studio5" Your Family Photographer at TARGET i at silting.

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