Gladiator (Extended Edition) (DVD)

In this day and age the double-dip efforts of the studios have become ridiculous. Getting consumers to buy bare bone releases of DVDs they have been anxiously awaiting while keeping the good stuff on the shelf for a few months just to release a massive special edition in the near future. It is ridiculous, and yet there is nothing consumers can do but accept it, because until you stop buying them, they are going to keep on doing it, but there are some cases where the double-dip can be accepted. Cases in which circumstances make the re-release of a DVD worth the while of all involved, and one of those cases is exactly what we have come upon as Universal lets the dogs loose on the Oscar-winning fare Gladiator, and I dare you not to like it.

It had been some time since I popped my copy of the Gladiator 2-Disc Signature Collection in my DVD player and once I got going with this DVD set I was wondering why... I love this movie! And to get more of it is a treat I can hardly explain, especially since they added back in a spectacular seen as Commodus has two men executed by a firing squad of archers! The scene was available as a deleted scene on the original DVD release but here it is fully integrated into the movie itself making up a portion of the over 17 additional minutes of footage, but the fun doesn't stop there.

Along with the extended version of the film, disc one also contains a commentary track and a trivia/history track. The commentary track is the biggest bonus here considering it is director Ridley Scott and star Russell Crowe. Yeah, Crowe takes time to talk to the fans! This thing is great! Crowe and Scott chat it up like long lost friends revealing several secrets to the film, a scene where a man is wearing blue jeans in the background (go to 23:10 to see that) and a spot where Crowe convinced Ridley to beg the question, "How many heads have we got?" The trivia track can be watched at the same time as the you listen to the commentary, killing two birds with one stone, and as an added bonus the trivia turns red whenever you are watching new footage, just as an added bonus.

If I had any complaints about the first disc it would simply be that the DTS track is no longer available as it was on the original release. This is obviously done due to space on the disc, but it is missed.

Moving on to the second disc you will begin to see just how massive this EXTRA special edition really is as you will need to set aside 3 hours and 20 minutes to enjoy the brand new making-of featurette supplied on this DVD. The feature is broken up into seven different chapters (listed below) and covers every aspect of the film:

Chapter 1: "Tale of the Scribes": Story Development (34:00 mins.)
Chapter 2: "The Tools of War": Weapons (12:55 mins.)
Chapter 3: "Attire of the Realm": Costume Design (19:38 mins.)
Chapter 4: "The Heat of Battle": Production Journals (1 hr. 5 mins.)
Chapter 5: "Shadows and Dust": Resurrecting Proximo (24:28 mins.)
Chapter 6: "The Glory of Rome": Visual Effects (20:10 mins.)
Chapter 7: "Echoes in Eternity": Release and Impact (19:25 mins.)

If you are any kind of fan of this movie or filmmaking in general you will learn how these filmmakers set out to reinvent the "swords & sandals" epic and to what lengths they went to to get it right. There was an extreme "toga fear" they had as they didn't want to make a film that simply relied on the look to build its drama, Ridley wanted character to drive the story and you will often hear how the film would not have been successful "in the hands of a lesser director," and I couldn't agree more.

Disc three is were you get your more traditional special features.

Production Design Featurette and Galleries: Get a close up look at just how exactly Germania, Zucchabar, Rome, the Coliseum, streets and exteriors were all brought to life and given that Roman look.

Storyboard Demonstrations, Comparison and Galleries: Ever wonder why storyboards are important and why they seem to be featured on every DVD release? Well, here is your chance to find out as you are informed of their importance and then you get a look at some multi-angle storyboard comparisons.

Costume Design Gallery: See how the look of Maximus, Commodus, Lucilla, Marcus Aurelius, Proximo, the gladiators, the senators and the citizens were given their unique look.

Visual Effects Explorations (Germania and Rome): The title gives this one away as you get a 24-minute look into how the CGI work was done to bring to life Germania and Rome and then a look at even some of the more obscure and subtle work was done.

Abandoned Sequences: What remains of anything that didn't make the extended cut and scenes that were conceived but never actually shot. The most interesting is the Rhino Fight, which if you are an Easter Egg hunter you found the CGI test on the original release, but here you have the entire storyboard feature with commentary. The Alternate Opening Sequence is also quite cool as it also is shown with an accompanied featurette showing how it was made.

Alternate Opening Credits Sequence
Blood Vision
Rhino Fight
Choose Your Weapon

Promotional Materials: Trailers and 20 TV Spots

Overall, this edition is fantastic and cannot be considered a double-dip. Universal has done well to initially offer a massive special-edition when the film was first released and then to revisit it years later with brand new material and goodies to keep a serious fan happy. I applaud them on their effort and the fact that they turned out one of the better DVD releases of the year.