Big Screen Rome - Amazon Web Services

undefiled by the reality of Rome’s distorted existence. Maximus demonstrates
his patriotism and personal valor on the battlefield, and when he
utters the Roman army motto, “Strength and Honor,” it is clear these are
virtues he embodies.
The opening scene illustrates the organization and corporate integrity
of the Roman army. As Maximus strides through the ranks of the legions,
instructing them, “At my signal, unleash hell,” and “Hold the line: stay
with me!” his men in their cohesive units respond to his rousing presence
with a surge of bravery and purposeful aggression. The men surround
him, cheering his victory after the battle is won, and Maximus raises a
bloody sword in salute to them. His comrade Quintus derides the disordered
and outmatched Germans: “People should know when they are
conquered.” Maximus answers thoughtfully: “Would you, Quintus? Would
I?” The General of the Felix Legions can conceive of no other notion of
Rome than as rightful conqueror and civilizing force over the entire world.
Later in the imperial tent, a meditative and weary Marcus Aurelius doubts
the validity of this idea: “Tell me . . . why are we here?” Maximus is bewildered
and angry on behalf of his troops: “Five thousand of my men are
out there in the freezing mud . . . I will not believe they fought and died
for nothing.” For Maximus, the idea of Rome is made unconditionally
manifest in the cooperative spirit of the legions he leads. It is the courage,
commitment, and unity of the Roman soldiers that make the idea of
Rome an inexorable reality.
But soon Maximus is harshly awakened from his dreamy vision of Rome
by the violent and sudden intervention of Commodus’ imperial nightmare.
After he is betrayed by his own trusted men and brutalized by the
new power in the very Rome to which he was devoted, Maximus loses all
faith in the idea he defended with his life. The homecoming he wished for
and deserved as a reward for his loyal service to Rome is cruelly overturned
when he rides to his home in Hispania to find his wife and son
crucified and burned, his house a smoking rubble, and his fields charred
and littered with the corpses of his servants. This scene of intense horror
and pain is played silent, with only heartbreaking female vocals in the
background, and marks the moment of Maximus’ alienation from everything
he once valued.
In shackles and with his family life destroyed, half-dead with grief and
disillusionment, Maximus is bought by the trainer Proximo, who notices
the SPQR emblem – “the Senate and the people of Rome” – tattooed on
his shoulder, and ironically pronounces him a “deserter.” Later, Maximus
uses a blade to scrape off his flesh the SPQR insignia of the legions, and he
GLADIATOR (2000) 241