A modern classic, winner of a Best Picture, and a reinvention of the 'swords and sandals' genre - Gladiator. Directed by Ridley Scott and inspired by Daniel P. Mannix's 1958 book Those About to Die, Gladiator was released in May 2000. Rewind with us as we celebrate this Ancient Rome epic's 20th anniversary. Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe) is betrayed when Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), the amitious son of Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris), mursers his father and seizes the throne. Reduced to slavery, Maximus becomes a gladiator and rises through the ranks of the arena to avenge the murders of his family and his emperor.