For fans of Ridley Scott The lack of importance given by the British filmmaker to the historical accuracy of his films is not new. Indeed, beyond the analysis of historians, the person responsible for Stranger And blade runner He has already expressed several times (not in the most polite way) how much he hates the analysis of his work based on this premise. A critical handicap which has hardened in recent years because of films like Napoleon and now of course, for the very recent Gladiator 2. A late sequel hailed by the press and a large part of the public, the Shakespearean peplum could not avoid academic control of specialists in the field of ancient Rome.
From the biopic with Joaquin Phoenix, everything has been said, even if it is true that unlike Gladiator 2it was a story centered on a real character and of vital importance for the history of the old continent. But the fact that it is an invented plot in a historical context of the past has not prevented significant corrections from several experts on the subject. “Chess” already appreciated in the first trailer released a few months ago, by the insistence and social media virality. However, the first feature film already had these errors in its depiction of events during the time of Emperor Commodus, without placing as much emphasis on these errors. A new paradigm of our times where fiction seems to have lost its capacity to be simply that, fiction. Thus, at the beginning of the month, a recent report from an American media outlet explained, through the voice of a history expert, some of the the grossest slippages of Gladiator 2including the aforementioned scene with the sharks devastating the protagonist in the middle of a flooded Colosseum.
“Gladiator 2”: “Hollywood trash”
Analyze some of the main errors of Gladiator 2the report had the Dr Shadi Bartschprofessor at the University of Chicago who has been as anti-politically correct as the director himself when it comes to assessing the veracity of what happens in the film. And from what he comments, the licenses that were taken both by the director of what was the first opus and by the major what was put 300 million dollars for their execution, are sufficiently illusory that any average historian ends up abandoning this projection.
From the first trailer, where rap music was used to define the presentation of the plot, it was clear that those responsible cared very little about finding verisimilitude with the Roman Empire. However, this did not prevent a anthological magazine by Bartsch, who was particularly harsh on the North American representation that the industry gave to the glorious era of the Romans.
“A real Hollywood trash” The professor began by expressing, when asked about the profile of Gladiator 2 with what actually happened over 2000 years ago. Bartsch elaborated as follows: THR about the fights observed in the arena: “I don’t think the Romans knew what a shark was. Regarding the use of rhinos at the Colosseum, in 80 AD a poem was written about a rhino being thrown into the sky by a bull, although it was not the same breed as the one in the film, nor was it There is no evidence that gladiators rode rhinos.
But without a doubt, the sequence that has outraged historians the most is the one that concerns coffee and a newspaper. When printing was not invented until a thousand years later. “They had daily news, but they were carved and placed in certain places. You had to go see him, you couldn’t get him in a café. In addition, They didn’t have coffee!», Bartsch finished explaining.
What is “Gladiator II” about?
The official summary of Gladiator II is as follows: “Years after witnessing the death of the admired hero Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius is forced to enter the Colosseum and witness the conquest of his home by two tyrannical emperors who rule Rome from ‘an iron fist. With his heart overflowing with fury and the future of his land at stake, Lucius must remember his past in search of the strength and honor that will restore the lost glory of Rome to the people.
For the sequel, Scott chose Paul Mescal as the protagonist, in addition to having a whole cast of faces recognized as Pierre Pascal, Denzel Washington And Joseph Quinn. Released this weekend, Gladiator II It is available in cinemas throughout Spain.
