Customer Reviews

Gladiator: The Making of the Ridley Scott Epic (Newmarket Pictorial Moviebooks)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was very pleased when I received the soft cover version of GLADIATOR. It is very well written with wonderful pictures that will remind you of how much you enjoyed the film. When you see the film it moves so swiftly that you don't have time to ask, "How'd they do that?" The historical facts are made clear in the book. Although there were liberties taken with those events, the film has the "feel" of the times. Ridley Scott, manages to let you in on secrets that made this movie so incredibly popular. It is a book you will wish to return to often, before and after seeing the film again. The star, Russell Crowe, a dynamite actor, tells how he learned the dangerous swordplay, that had to carefully choreographed so that no one was injured. Mr. Crowe had the magnetism necessary to make Maximus a great hero, and at the end you wish there could be more of the book, and more of the film. It's a beautifully put together book with lots of "inside" information. You will add this to your film library with pride.

Presuming that prospective buyers of this book probably saw the movie, this book will not disappoint you. The movie was epic in scope, and although some historical inaccuracies existed, they did not detract at all from the movie, nor the performances of Russell Crowe, Connie Nielsen, Joachim Phoenix, and Richard Harris.

If you like to know the 'nuts and bolts' behind the making of a movie such as this, this is your book. If you are curious how they managed to 'reconstruct' the Coliseum complete with gladiator 'fans', this is your book.

A great gift for Gladiator and Russell Crowe fans alike.

Commodus was in fact Marcus Aurelius' son and the downfall of Rome, while already in progress, hastened when Commodus was made Caesar.

Enjoy! And watch the movie again.

This book was just as stunning as the movie. The many pictures were not just ones used for promotional purpoises but ones that were actually taken from other scenes in the movie. This book has everything, from parts of the screenplay to photos of the actors and director to the plans for the catapults used in the opening scenes for the battle of Germania. This book is highly recommended to anyone who likes to know how they make an epic movie of such size. Once you have read this book over you'll be wanting to see the movie again, and again, and again so you can see how they actually made these scenes. This movie has a huge international cast including New Zealander Russel Crowe. Hopefully he'll get the Oscar, and then there is the amazing actor Joaquin Phoenix and the late Oliver Reed who died just before the completion of the movie. This book tells you how they made some of the final scenes of Oliver Reed after he died. >Enjoy<

A visually stunning book, which portrays the movie 'Gladiator' in detail. Lots of photo's from the movie that were not part of the media blitz that promoted the movie in magazines and other publications. The book is well written using interviews from the filmmakers as well as actors. The best aspect of this book are the full page color photographs, production drawings as well as costume sketches and architectural drawings of the sets used. Overall a great book for the 'Gladiator' fan.

Okay, I admit it, I really like the film Gladiator. However, that does not mean I just buy anything related to the film. This book made the list, though.

First of all, the photos are great and plentiful, and the overall production quality is very good. The real treat, though, is in the concept drawings, storyboards, and reference material (the overleaf, 2-page spread, of Pollice Verso, or "Thumbs Down", by Jean-Leon Gerome has always been one of my favorites). I really enjoyed seeing these film-making treasures.

Secondly, the amount of supporting text is awesome. Insightful, informative, and entertaining, the content really lives up to its title: The Making of the Ridley Scott Epic. I was interested in not only learning how some of the visual tricks were done, but also appreciated the information on each of the primary actors, and loved the inclusion of excerpts from the screenplay (although it would have been a huge bonus to have the whole thing included).

Finally, I appreciated the overall value of the book. True, the DVD provides similar insight into many of the "making of" aspects, but there is a lot of information in this book, and the decision to release it in paperback format makes it a pretty good value. Besides, it "travels" better than the DVD, and provides things the DVD doesn't.

Overall, I'm happy with my decision to buy this book! You get a real inside view of the planning and execution of this great film.

This companion book to the movie will appeal to any fan of Gladiator, providing over 200 color photos and drawings and detailing the behind-the-scenes production secrets of one of the finest films of the year. Interviews reveal how the story was written and the movie cast and filmed, while color illustrations and photos liberally embellish every page.

The quality of the photos made me happy, although they were quite Russell-oriented (no problem for us Russell fans!). What was a disappointment for me was the likeness with the DVD. All the quotes and interviews were the same (Russell's words were cleaned for printing). It's the same if you read this book and listen to the soundtrack in the same time or watch the DVD.

The book gives a thorough insight into the making of the most ambitious remaking of Roman epic in the 21st century Hollywood crowd of sci-fi movies. The pictures and the conceptual sketches really give additional values to the book in satisfying the artistic curiosity of the movie fans. The only drawback is that they didn't put in the complete shooting script a la other pictorial Newmarket movie books.

This is a fantastic 'making of' book charting the fascinating process of filmmaking from script to screen. And it doesn't skimp on the color pics either. Ridley Scott' epic GLADIATOR is given the full epic treatment here, with accolades aplenty and no shortage of impressive obstacles faced while making the film. I love all of Scott's films, from The Duelists to the recently released Kingdom of Heaven. But sometimes the accompanying books don't quite match the majestic tone of the films themselves. This is different. Walter Parkes' treatment is fair and doesn't fail to connect with the reader. Showcasing all the necessary film techniques and humorous asides along with abandoned concepts, this also contains cast and crew thoughts and praises Scott for his remarkable visionary touch. A solid read and well worth the price. Buy it now!

I remember ordering this book,about a year ago,through the mail and just couldn't wait until it arrived. I've proudly made "Gladiator" a part of my DVD collection and have seen it many times since. Once I got this book I was not in the least disappointed with it. In it was absolutely everything and more I ever wanted to know about this spectacular movie. This book has it all! MANY photos, some history, costume design, about the cast, some drawings by Sylvain Despretz(storyboard artist), the making of "Gladiator", and more. I just couldn't get enough of this book. If you're crazy about the movie as I am then buying this book is highly recommended! "Gladiator" has a great book, great soundtrack, and SPECTACULAR film! ~Did You Know all the armor was made out of foam covered with leather?