He sleeps so well because he's loved.
Come, brother. It's late.
I will make Rome the wonder of the ages.
That is what Gracchus and his friends don't understand.
All my desires are splitting my head to pieces.
Drink this tonic.
I think the time is almost right.
I could announce the dissolution of the senate...
at the celebration to honor our father.
Do you think I should?
Are the people ready?
I think you need your rest now.
Will you stay with me?
Still afraid of the dark, brother?
Still.
Always.
- Stay with me tonight. - You know I won't.
Then kiss me.
Sleep, brother.
Come on!
Take me.
All right, that's enough.
The emperor wants battles, and I don't want to sacrifice my best fighters.
The crowd wants battles, so the emperor gives them battles.
- And you get the battle of Carthage. - The massacre of Carthage.
Why don't you go down to the prison, round up all the beggars and thieves?
We've done that.
If you want to give away the best gladiators in the whole of the empire...
then I want double the rates.
You'll get your contract rates, or you'll get your contract canceled.
You don't like it?
Then you can crawl back down that shit hole that you came from.
Cassius, please! Cassius!
Gladiator, are you the one they call the Spaniard?
Yes.
They said you were a giant.
They said you could crush a man's skull with one hand.
A man's? No.
A boy's.
- They have good horses in Spain? - Some of the best.
This is Argento...
and this is Scarto.
They were my horses.
They were taken from me.
I like you, Spaniard. I shall cheer for you.
- They let you watch the games? - My uncle says it makes me strong.
- And what does your father say? - My father is dead.
Master Lucius, it is time.
I have to go.
Your name is Lucius?
Lucius Verus, after my father.
Lower!
Claudius!
- Yes? - More shields!
When the emperor enters...
raise your weapons, salute him...
and then speak together.
Face the emperor...
and don't turn your back on him.
Go, and die with honor.
Hail, mighty Caesar!
Caesar! Caesar! Caesar! Caesar!
We who are about to die salute you!
On this day...
we reach back to hallowed antiquity...
to bring you a re-creation...
of the second fall of mighty Carthage!
On the barren plain of Zama...
there stood the invincible armies...
of the barbarian Hannibal.
Ferocious mercenaries and warriors...
from all brute nations...
bent on merciless...
destruction...
conquest.
Your emperor...
is pleased to give you...
the barbarian horde!
Anyone here been in the army?
Yes. I served with you at Vindobona.
You can help me.
Whatever comes out of these gates...
we've got a better chance of survival if we work together.
Do you understand?
If we stay together, we survive.
The emperor is pleased to bring you the legionnaires...
of Scipio Africanus!
To the death!
Kill! Kill! Kill!
Stay close!
Come together!
Staggered columns! Staggered columns!
- Soon all your men will be slain. - You don't have a chance.
Lock your shields! Stay as one!
Hold!
As one!
Well done!
Hold!
Down low! Down low!
Yes!
Hagen!
This column to the chariot! This column stay with me!
Quickly!
- Get out there! - Hurry!
Maximus!
Single column! Single column!
We win!
My history's a little hazy, Cassius...
but shouldn't the barbarians lose the battle of Carthage?
Yes, sire.
Forgive me, sire.
No, I rather enjoy surprises.
Who is he?
They call him the Spaniard, sire.
- I think I'll meet him. - Yes, sire.
Hail to the barbarians!
Forward! Arms at ready!
Drop your weapons.
Gladiator, the emperor has asked for you.
I am at the emperor's service.
Rise. Rise.
Your fame is well deserved, Spaniard.
I don't think there's ever been a gladiator to match you.
As for this young man, he insists you are Hector reborn. Or was it Hercules?
Why doesn't the hero reveal himself and tell us all your real name?
You do have a name?
My name is Gladiator.
How dare you show your back to me?
Slave!
You will remove your helmet and tell me your name.
My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius...
commander of the armies of the north...
general of the Felix Legions...
loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius...
father to a murdered son...
husband to a murdered wife...
and I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.
Arms!
Live! Live! Live! Live!
Guards, at rest!
Maximus! Maximus! Maximus! Maximus!
Why is he still alive?
I don't know.
He shouldn't be alive.
It vexes me.
I'm terribly vexed.
I did what I had to do.
If father had had his way, the empire would have been torn apart.
You do see that?
What did you feel when you saw him?
I felt nothing.
He wounded you deeply, didn't he?
No more than I wounded him.
They lied to me in Germania.
They told me he was dead.
If they lie to me, they don't respect me.
If they don't respect me, how can they ever love me?
Then you must let the legions know...
their treachery...
will not go unpunished.
Poor sister.
I wouldn't want to be your enemy.
What will you do?
This way.
Rich matrons pay well to be pleasured by the bravest champions.
I knew your brother would send assassins.
I didn't realize he would send his best.
Maximus, he doesn't know.
My family was burnt and crucified while they were still alive.
- I knew nothing... - Don't lie to me!
I wept for them.
As you wept for your father? As you wept for your father?
I have been living in a prison of fear since that day.
To be unable to mourn your father for fear of your brother.
To live in terror every moment of every day...
because your son is heir to the throne.
Oh, I have wept.
My son...
was innocent.
So is mine.
Must my son die, too, before you'll trust me?
What does it matter if I trust you or not?
The gods have spared you. Don't you understand?
Today I saw a slave become more powerful than the emperor of Rome.
The gods have spared me?
I am at their mercy, with the power only to amuse the mob.
That is power.
The mob is Rome, and while Commodus controls them, he controls everything.
Listen to me.
My brother has enemies, most of all in the senate.
But while the people follow him...
no one would dare stand up to him until you.
They oppose him, yet they do nothing.
There are some politicians who have dedicated their lives to Rome.
One man above all.
If I can arrange it, will you meet him?
Do you not understand?
I may die in this cell tonight, or in the arena tomorrow.
I am a slave!
What possible difference can I make?
This man wants what you want.
Then have him kill Commodus!
I knew a man once...
a noble man, a man of principle...
who loved my father...
and my father loved him.
This man served Rome well.
That man is gone.
Your brother did his work well.
Let me help you.
Yes...
you can help me.
Forget you ever knew me...
and never come here again.
Guard! The lady is finished with me.
Maximus.
You commanded legions? You had many victories?
In Germania?
In many countries.
General!
You have a great name.
He must kill your name before he kills you.
Yes, at the far end.
- Senator Gaius. - Hello.
Senator Gracchus.
Don't often see you enjoying the pleasures of the vulgar crowd.
I don't pretend to be a man of the people, Senator...
but I do try to be a man for the people.
Caesar! Caesar! Caesar! Caesar!
People of Rome!
On the fourth day of Antioch...
we can celebrate the 64th day of the games.
And in his majestic charity...
the emperor has deigned this day to favor the people of Rome...
with an historical final match.
Returning to the Colosseum today, after five years in retirement...
Caesar is pleased to bring you...
the only undefeated champion...
in Roman history...
the legendary Tigris...
of Gaul!
He knows too well how to manipulate the mob.
Marcus Aurelius had a dream that was Rome.
This is not it. This is not it!
Marcus Aurelius is dead, Maximus.
We mortals are but shadows and dust.
Shadows and dust, Maximus!
Representing the training lyceum of Antonius Proximo...
Caesar is proud to give you...
Aelius Maximus!
They embrace him like he's one of their own.
The mob is fickle, brother. He'll be forgotten in a month.
No, much sooner than that.
It's been arranged.
We who are about to die salute you.
We're with you, Maximus!
Pull! Pull! Pull!
Loose! Loose!
- Gut him! - Kill! Kill!
Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!
Kill! Kill!
Maximus the Merciful!
Forward, guards! On battery!
What am I going to do with you?
You simply won't...
die.
Are we so different, you and I?
You take life when you have to...
as I do.
I have only one more life to take. Then it is done.
Then take it now.
They tell me your son...
squealed like a girl...
when they nailed him to the cross...
and your wife...
moaned like a whore...
when they ravaged her...
again and again...
and again.
The time for honoring yourself will soon be at an end...
Highness.
General!
- General! - Cicero!
- Where are you camped? - Ostia.
- We love you, Maximus! - Praise the victor!
Tell the men their general lives. Find me.
- Move along! - Find me!
Can they hear you?
Who?
Your family, in the afterlife.
- Oh, yes. - What do you say to them?
To my boy...
I tell him I will see him again soon...
and to keep his heels down when he is riding his horse.
To my wife...
that is not your business.
And now they love Maximus for his mercy.
So I can't just kill him, or it makes me even more unmerciful.
The whole thing is like some great nightmare.
He is defying you.
His every victory is an act of defiance.
The mob sees this, and so do the senate.
Every day he lives, they grow bolder.
- Kill him. - No.
I will not make a martyr of him.
I have been told...
of a certain sea snake...
which has a very unusual method of attracting its prey.
It will lie at the bottom of the ocean as if wounded.
Then its enemies will approach...
and yet it will lie quite still.
Then its enemies will take little bites of it...
and yet it remains still.
So...
we will lie still...
and let our enemies come to us and nibble.
Have every senator followed.
Cicero, my old friend. I thought perhaps I'd seen you for the last time.
- I thought you were dead. - Close.
- How long have the men been in Ostia? - All winter.
- And how do they look? - Fat and bored.
- Who's in command? - Some fool from Rome.
How soon could they be ready to fight?
For you, tomorrow.
I need you to do something for me.
Come see. If you haven't been in the arena, you can see the show here.
Giant Maximus is defeating our emperor Commodus.
What are we to do? He's defying everyone.
My goodness!
- He got him! He's defeated! - Give way! Give way!
My lady? I served your father at Vindobona.
- Back. - My lady.
I served your father at Vindobona.
Back!
And I served General Maximus. I serve him still.
Stop.
Stand back.
The general sends word he will meet your politician.
For your loyalty, soldier.
Thank you, my lady.
Leave us.
Senator Gracchus.
General.
I hope my coming here today is evidence enough...
that you can trust me.
- The senate is with you? - The senate?
Yes. I can speak for them.
You can buy my freedom and smuggle me out of Rome?
To what end?
Get me outside the city walls.
Have fresh horses ready to take me to Ostia.
My army is encamped there.
By nightfall of the second day, I shall return at the head of 5,000 men.
But the legions all have new commanders...
loyal to Commodus.
Let my men see me alive and you shall see where their loyalties lie.
This is madness.
No Roman army has entered the capital in a hundred years.
I will not trade one dictatorship for another!
The time for half measures and talk is over, Senator.
And after your glorious coup, what then?
You'll take your 5,000 warriors and leave?
I will leave.
The soldiers will stay for your protection...
under the command of the senate.
So...
once all of Rome is yours, you'll just give it back to the people?
Tell me why.
Because that was the last wish of a dying man.
I will kill Commodus.
The fate of Rome I leave to you.
Marcus Aurelius trusted you.
His daughter trusts you.
I will trust you.
But we have little time.
Give me two days...
and I will buy your freedom.
And you...
you stay alive...
or I'll be dead.
Now we must go.
It won't work.
The emperor knows too much.
And as for me...
it's becoming dangerous.
You'll be paid on my return.
I give you my word.
Your word? What if you don't return?
Do you remember what it was to have trust, Proximo?
Trust?
Who am I to trust?
- I will kill Commodus. - Why would I want that?
He makes me rich.
Oh, I...
I know that you are a man of your word, General.
I know that you would die for honor.
You would die for Rome.
You would die for the memory of your ancestors.
But I, on the other hand...
I'm an entertainer.
Guard!
He killed the man who set you free.
Praetorians, master.
Halt!
Where have you been?
I sent for you.
Please, brother.
What's troubling you?
Does Gracchus have a new lover?
I don't know.
I thought you'd seen him.
He infects everyone like a putrid fever.
For the health of Rome, the senate must be bled.
And he will bleed too.
Very soon.
But not tonight.
Do you remember what our father said once?
"It's a dream...
a frightful dream...
life is".
Do you think that's true?
I don't know.
I think it is.
And I have only you to share it with.
Open your mouth.
You know I love you.
And I love you.
Out. Get out!
Move!
Congratulations, General.
You've got very persuasive friends.
My brother's had Gracchus arrested.
We daren't wait any longer. We must leave tonight.
Proximo will come at midnight and take you to the gate.
Your servant, Cicero, will be waiting there with horses.
You have done all this?
Yes.
You risk too much.
I have much to pay for.
You have nothing to pay for.
You love your son. You're strong for him.
I am tired of being strong.
My brother hates all the world, and you most of all.
- Because your father chose me. - No.
Because my father loved you.
And because I loved you.
A long time ago.
Was I very different then?
You laughed more.
I have felt alone all my life...
except with you.
I must go.
Yes.
There. There.
And I got you.
Isn't it late to be playing legionnaire?
I'm not a legionnaire.
- Not a legionnaire? - I'm a gladiator.
A gladiator?
Gladiators only fight in the games.
Wouldn't you rather be a great Roman warrior like Julius Caesar?
I'm Maximus, the savior of Rome!
The savior of Rome?
And who said that?
Where's Lucius?
He's with the emperor.
- She couldn't. - Yes, she did.
She took it from a basket...
and pressed it to her breast, right here above her heart.
It bit her in the breast?
Yes.
You see, Lucius, sometimes royal ladies...
behave very strangely and do very odd things in the name of love.
I think it's silly.
So do I.
Sister, join us.
I've been reading to dear Lucius.
- I've been reading too. - Yes.
He's a very clever little boy. He'll make a grand emperor one day.
We've been reading about the great Mark Antony and his adventures in Egypt.
And the queen killed herself with a snake.
And just wait until you hear what happened to our ancestors.
If you're very good, tomorrow night I'll tell you the story of Emperor Claudius.
He was betrayed...
by those closest to him...
by his own blood.
They whispered in dark corners...
and went out late at night...
and conspired...
and conspired.
But the Emperor Claudius knew that they were up to something.
He knew they were busy little bees.
And one night he sat down with one ofthem...
and he looked at her...
and he said...
"Tell me what you've been doing...
busy little bee...
or I shall strike down those dearest to you.
You shall watch as I bathe in their blood".
And the emperor was heartbroken.
The little bee had wounded him more deeply...
than anyone else could ever have done.
What do you think happened then, Lucius?
I don't know, Uncle.
The little bee told him everything.
Open, in the name of the emperor!
Proximo!
Open the gates, in the name of the emperor!
Open the gates!
Open the gates, Proximo.
Do you want to die, old man?
Here.
Everything is prepared.
It seems you have won your freedom.
Are you in danger of becoming a good man?
- Juba. - All enemies of the emperor die!
Open the gates!
Pull!
Move! Form a column on the left!
I only need moments, so do not be careless with your lives.
Ify ou don't want any part of this, go back to your cells.
We'll wait here for you, Maximus.
- Strength and honor. - Go.
Strength and honor.
Aim. Arch your bows!
Shadows and dust.
I'm sorry.
It's done.
And what of my nephew?
And what of his mother?
Should they share her lover's fate?
Or should I be merciful?
Commodus the Merciful.
Lucius will stay with me now.
And if his mother...
so much as looks at me...
in a manner that displeases me...
he will die.
If she decides...
to be noble...
and takes her own life...
he will die.
And as for you...
you will love me...
as I loved you.
You will provide me with an heir...
of pure blood...
so that Commodus and his progeny...
will rule for a thousand years.
Am I not merciful?
They call for you.
The general...
who became a slave.
The slave who became a gladiator.
The gladiator who defied an emperor.
A striking story.
Now the people want to know how the story ends.
Only a famous death will do.
And what could be more glorious...
than to challenge the emperor himself in the great arena?
You would fight me?
Why not?
Do you think I'm afraid?
I think you have been afraid all your life.
Unlike Maximus the Invincible, who knows no fear?
I knew a man who once said, "Death smiles at us all.
All a man can do is smile back".
I wonder.
Did your friend smile at his own death?
You must know.
He was your father.
You loved my father, I know...
but so did I.
That makes us brothers, doesn't it?
Smile for me now, brother.
Strap on his armor. Conceal the wound.
Ring formation!
Quintus, sword.
Give me your sword.
Sword! Give me a sword!
Sheathe your swords.
Free my men.
Senator Gracchus is to be reinstated.
There was a dream that was Rome.
It shall be realized.
These are the wishes of Marcus Aurelius.
Free the prisoners. Go!
Lucius is safe.
Go to them.
You're home.
Is Rome worth one good man's life?
We believed it once.
Make us believe it again.
He was a soldier of Rome.
Honor him.
Who will help me carry him?
Now we are free.
I will see you again.
But not yet.
Not yet.
Translated and linkage: Jean-Luc Picard