Highest-Rated Movies about 'Gladiator', Sort by Popularity

Gladiator (2000), Spartacus (1960), Fellini - Satyricon (1969), Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954), The Last Days of Pompeii (1935), Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985), Androcles and the Lion (1952), Pompeii (2014) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best Gladiator movies.

#1. Gladiator (2000)

Storyline: Maximus is a powerful Roman general, loved by the people and the aging Emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Before his death, the Emperor chooses Maximus to be his heir over his own son, Commodus, and a power struggle leaves Maximus and his family condemned to death. The powerful general is unable to save his family, and his loss of will allows him to get captured and put into the Gladiator games until he dies. The only desire that fuels him now is the chance to rise to the top so that he will be able to look into the eyes of the man who will feel his revenge.

Plot Keywords: gladiator, prince, emperor, senator, gritty, thrilling, rome ...

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#2. Spartacus (1960)

Storyline: In 73 B.C., a Thracian slave leads a revolt at a gladiatorial school run by Lentulus Batiatus (Sir Peter Ustinov). The uprising soon spreads across the Italian Peninsula involving thousand of slaves. The plan is to acquire sufficient funds to acquire ships from Silesian pirates who could then transport them to other lands from Brandisium in the south. The Roman Senator Gracchus (Charles Laughton) schemes to have Marcus Publius Glabrus (John Dall), Commander of the garrison of Rome, lead an army against the slaves who are living on Vesuvius. When Glabrus is defeated his mentor, Senator and General Marcus Licinius Crassus (Sir Laurence Olivier) is greatly embarrassed and leads his own army against the slaves. Spartacus and the thousands of freed slaves successfully make their way to Brandisium only to find that the Silesians have abandoned them. They then turn north and must face the might of Rome.

Plot Keywords: gladiator, slave, rebel, sexy woman, inspiring, engaging, rome ...

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#3. Fellini - Satyricon (1969)

Storyline: In first century Rome, two student friends, Encolpio and Ascilto, argue about ownership of the boy Gitone, divide their belongings and split up. The boy, allowed to choose who he goes with, chooses Ascilto. Only a sudden earthquake saves Encolpio from suicide. We follow Encolpio through a series of adventures, where he is eventually reunited with Ascilto, and which culminates in them helping a man kidnap a hermaphrodite demi-god from a temple. The god dies, and as punishment Encolpio becomes impotent. We then follow them in search of a cure. The film is loosely based on the book Satyricon by Gaius Petronius Arbiter, the "Arbiter of Elegance" in the court of Nero. The book has only survived in fragments, and the film reflects this by being very fragmentary itself, even stopping in mid-sentence.

Plot Keywords: boy, poet, slave, gladiator, prostitute, disturbing, unrestrained ...

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#4. Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954)

Storyline: The story picks up at the point where "The Robe (1953)" ends, following the martyrdom of Diana and Marcellus. Christ's robe is conveyed to Peter for safe-keeping, but the emperor Caligula wants it back to benefit from its powers. Marcellus' former slave Demetrius seeks to prevent this, and catches the eye of Messalina, wife to Caligula's uncle Claudius. Messalina tempts Demetrius, he winds up fighting in the arena, and wavers in his faith.—Ron Kerrigan <mvg@whidbey.com>

Plot Keywords: emperor, soldier, gladiator, roman, apostle, melodramatic, emotional ...

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#5. The Last Days of Pompeii (1935)

Storyline: Peaceloving blacksmith Marcus refuses lucrative offers to fight in the arena...until his wife dies for lack of medical care. His life as a gladiator coarsens him, and shady enterprises make him the richest man in Pompeii, while his son Flavius (who met Jesus on a brief visit to Judaea) is as gentle as Marcus once was. The final disaster of Marcus and Flavius's cross purposes is interrupted by the eruption of Vesuvius.—Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>

Plot Keywords: slave trader, blacksmith, son, fortuneteller, gladiator, pontius pilate, touching ...

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#6. Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

Storyline: Left for dead in the unforgiving deserts of post-nuclear Australia, after defeating Lord Humungus' barbarian horde of bikers in Mad Max 2 (1981), the former officer of the tough Main Force Patrol, Max Rockatansky, happens upon Bartertown: the remote market-town outpost in the middle of the dry Wasteland, and the realm of the autocratic Queen Aunty Entity. There, a lethal challenge awaits Max, who, in return for his freedom and provisions, must engage in a bloody match to the death with the grotesque symbiotic being, the Master/Blaster. However, an unforeseen complication after the brutal fight in the stronghold's combat arena, The Thunderdome, will banish, once more, Max into the vast wilderness, only to discover the peaceful haven of The Lost Tribe: a community of marooned children who survive on their own, waiting for the arrival of the legendary Captain Walker. Is "Mad" Max, indeed, their saviour? Can he overthrow Bartertown's ruthless tyrant?

Plot Keywords: ex-cop, orphan, gladiator, leader, pilot, barbarian, intense ...

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#7. Androcles and the Lion (1952)

Storyline: Androcles is a Christian who follows that religion's teachings even as they apply to the treatment of animals. Seeing a lion in pain, he removes a huge thorn from the beast's paw, creating a friend for life. Androcles and a number of other Christians are evenutally arrested and condemned to death in the arena. They are to die by being eaten by lions. Is it too much to hope that one of the lions may have a paw that has healed recently and might remember who helped heal it?—Ron Kerrigan <mvg@whidbey.com>

Plot Keywords: slave, christian, lion, gladiator, captain, thrilling, solemn ...

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#8. Pompeii (2014)

Storyline: Set in 79 A.D., POMPEII tells the epic story of Milo (Kit Harington), a slave turned invincible gladiator who finds himself in a race against time to save his true love Cassia (Emily Browning), the beautiful daughter of a wealthy merchant who has been unwillingly betrothed to a corrupt Roman Senator. As Mount Vesuvius erupts in a torrent of blazing lava, Milo must fight his way out of the arena in order to save his beloved as the once magnificent Pompeii crumbles around him.

Plot Keywords: slave, gladiator, daughter, merchant, senator, roman, brooding ...

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#9. The Legend of Hercules (2014)

Storyline: In Ancient Greece 1200 B.C., a queen succumbs to the lust of Zeus to bear a son promised to overthrow the tyrannical rule of the king and restore peace to a land in hardship. But this prince, Hercules, knows nothing of his real identity or his destiny. He desires only one thing: the love of Hebe, Princess of Crete, who has been promised to his own brother. When Hercules learns of his greater purpose, he must choose: to flee with his true love or to fulfill his destiny and become the true hero of his time. The story behind one of the greatest myths is revealed in this action-packed epic - a tale of love, sacrifice and the strength of the human spirit.

Plot Keywords: king, stepfather, woman, gladiator, slave trader, brooding, fiery ...

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