- Sir. - General.
- Sir.
Lean and hungry.
- Still nothing? - Not a sign.
- How long has he been gone? - Nearly two hours.
- Will they fight, sir? - We shall know soon enough.
Soldier, I said to move those catapults forward.
- They're out of range. - The range is good.
- The danger to the cavalry. - Is acceptable. Agreed?
They say no.
Steady. Steady.
People should know when they're conquered.
Would you, Quintus? Would I?
- Strength and honor. - Strength and honor.
At my signal, unleash hell.
Load the catapults.
Infantry form up for advance.
- Archers ready. - Archers.
- Knock. - Knock.
- Patres. - Maximus.
Three weeks from now, I will be harvesting my crops.
Imagine where you will be, and it will be so.
Hold the line. Stay with me.
If you find yourself alone,
riding in green fields with the sun on your face,
do not be troubled.
For you are in Elysium, and you're already dead.
Brothers,
what we do in life
echoes in eternity.
Pull.
- Pull. - Pull.
Catapults ready, sir.
Archers, ignite.
- Ignite. - Ignite.
Archers, draw.
Loose.
All right, men, ready.
Hold the line.
Loose. Loose.
Reload.
Hold the line.
Draw. Loose.
Stay with me.
Roma Victor.
Do you think he's really dying?
He's been dying for ten years.
If he weren't really dying, he wouldn't have sent for us.
Maybe he just misses us.
The senators? He wouldn't have summoned them if...
Peace, Commodus.
After two weeks on the road, your incessant scheming is hurting my head.
He's made his decision. He's going to announce it.
He will name me.
The first thing I shall do
when...
is honor him with games worthy of His Majesty.
For now, the first thing I shall do is have a hot bath.
Your Highness?
We seem to be almost there, sir.
- Sire. - Where's the Emperor?
He's at the front, sire. They've been gone for 19 days.
The wounded are still coming in.
My horse.
My lord.
A kiss?
You have proved your valor yet again, Maximus.
Let us hope for the last time.
There's no one left to fight, sire.
There is always someone left to fight.
How can I reward Rome's greatest general?
Let me go home.
Home.
They honor you, Caesar.
It's for you, Maximus. They honor you.
Have I missed it? Have I missed the battle?
You have missed the war.
Father, congratulations.
I shall sacrifice a hundred bulls to honor your triumph.
Save the bulls. Honor Maximus.
He won the battle.
- General. - Highness.
Rome salutes you, and I embrace you as a brother.
- It has been too long, my old friend. - Highness.
Here, Father. Take my arm.
I think it is time for me to leave.
So much for the glory of Rome.
Magnificent battle.
Three of our legions against four thousand of them.
Still alive?
- Still alive. - The gods must have a sense of humor.
The gods must love you.
- Valerius. - Back to barracks, General?
- Or to Rome? - Home.
My wife, the son, the harvest.
Maximus the farmer. I still have difficulty imagining that.
You know, dirt cleans off a lot easier than blood, Quintus.
- Here he is. - Highness.
Senator Gaius, Senator Falco.
Beware of Gaius. He'll pour a honeyed potion in your ear,
and you'll wake up one day, and all you'll say is, "Republic, republic."
Well, why not? Rome was founded as a republic.
Yes, and in a republic, the Senate has the power.
Senator Gaius isn't influenced by that, of course.
Where do you stand, General? Emperor or senate?
The soldier has the advantage
of being able to look his enemy in the eye, Senator.
Well, with an army behind you, you could be extremely political.
I warned you. Now I shall save you. Senators.
Maximus.
I'm going to need good men like you.
How may I be of service, Highness?
You're a man who knows what it is to command.
You give your orders, the orders are obeyed and the battle is won.
But these senators scheme and squabble and flatter and deceive.
We must save Rome from the politicians, my friend.
Can I count on you, when the time comes?
Highness, when your father releases me, I intend to return home.
Home? Well, no one's earned it more.
Don't get too comfortable. I may call on you before long.
Lucilla's here. Did you know?
She's not forgotten you.
And now you're the great man.
If only you had been born a man.
What a Caesar you would have made.
Father.
You would have been strong.
I wonder, would you have been just?
I would have been what you taught me to be.
How was your journey?
Long. Uncomfortable. Why have I come?
I need your help. With your brother.
Of course.
He loves you. He always has.
And...
he will need you now, more than ever.
Enough of politics.
Let us pretend that you are a loving daughter
and I am a good father.
This is a pleasant fiction, isn't it?
Good morning, General.
I need three warhorses.
Two. Three.
Four.
One. Two.
You sent for me, Caesar?
- Caesar? - Tell me again, Maximus.
Why are we here?
For the glory of the Empire, sire.
Ah, yes.
Ah, yes, I remember.
Do you see that map, Maximus?
That is the world which I created.
For 25 years,
I have conquered, spilt blood, expanded the Empire.
Since I became Caesar, I've known four years without war.
Four years of peace in 20.
And for what?
I brought the sword.
Nothing more.
- Caesar, your life... - Please. Please don't call me that.
Come. Please.
Come sit.
Let us talk together now, very simply, as men.
Well, Maximus?
Talk.
5,000 of my men are out there in the freezing mud.
3,000 are bloodied and cleaved. 2,000 will never leave this place.
I will not believe that they fought and died for nothing.
- And what would you believe... - They fought for you.
- And for Rome. - And what is Rome, Maximus?
I've seen much of the rest of the world.
It is brutal and cruel and dark. Rome is the light.
Yet you have never been there.
You have not seen what it has become.
I am dying, Maximus.
When a man sees his end,
he wants to know there was some purpose to his life.
How will the world speak my name in years to come?
Will I be known as the philosopher?
The warrior? The tyrant?
Or will I be the emperor who gave Rome back her true self?
There was once a dream that was Rome. You could only whisper it.
Anything more than a whisper and it would vanish.
It was so fragile.
And I fear that it will not survive the winter.
Let us whisper now.
Together, you and I.
You have a son.
Tell me about your home.
My house is in the hills above Tiujillo.
A very simple place.
Pink stones that warm in the sun.
A kitchen garden that smells of herbs in the day,
jasmine in the evening.
Through the gate is a giant poplar.
Figs, apples, pears.
The soil, Marcus... black. Black like my wife's hair.
Grapes on the south slopes, olives on the north.
Wild ponies play near my house. My son, he wants to be one of them.
- When was the last time you were home? - Two years, 264 days, and this morning.
I envy you, Maximus.
It's a good home. Worth fighting for.
There is one more duty that I ask of you before you go home.
What would you have me do, Caesar?
I want you to become the protector of Rome after I die.
I will empower you to one end alone.
To give power back to the people of Rome,
and end the corruption that has crippled it.
Well, do you accept this great honor that I have offered you?
With all my heart, no.
That is why it must be you.
But surely a prefect, a senator,
somebody who knows the city, understands her politics.
But you have not been corrupted by her politics.
- And Commodus? - Commodus is not a moral man.
You have known that since you were young.
Commodus cannot rule.
He must not rule.
You are the son that I should have had.
Commodus will accept my decision.
He knows that you command the loyalty of the army.
- I need some time, sire. - Yes.
By sunset, I hope you will have agreed.
Now embrace me as my son.
And bring an old man another blanket.
- My father favors you now. - My lady.
- It was not always so. - Many things change.
Many things.
Not everything.
Maximus, stop.
Let me see your face.
- You seem upset. - I lost many men.
What did my father want with you?
To wish me well before I leave for home.
You're lying.
I could always tell when you were lying. You were never any good at it.
- I never acquired your comfort with it. - True. But then you never had to.
Life is more simple for a soldier.
Or do you think me heartless?
I think you have a talent for survival.
Maximus, stop.
Is it really so terrible seeing me again?
No. I'm tired from battle.
It hurts you to see my father so fragile.
Commodus expects that my father will announce his succession within days.
Will you serve my brother as you served his father?
I will always serve Rome.
Do you know, I still remember you in my prayers.
Oh, yes. I pray.
I was sad to hear of your husband's death. I mourned him.
- Thank you. - And I hear you have a son.
Yes. Lucius.
- He'll be nearly eight years old. - My son is also nearly eight.
I thank you for your prayers.
Ancestors, I ask for your guidance.
Blessed Mother, come to me with the gods' desire for my future.
Blessed Father, watch over my wife and son with a ready sword.
Whisper to them I live only to hold them again.
Ancestors, I honor you.
I will try to live with the dignity you have taught me.
Cicero.
Sir.
You don't find it hard to do your duty?
Sometimes I do what I want to do.
The rest of the time, I do what I have to.
We may not be able to go home after all.
Are you ready to do your duty for Rome?
Yes, Father.
You will not be Emperor.
Which wiser, older man is to take my place?
My powers will pass to Maximus,
to hold in trust until the Senate is ready to rule once more.
Rome is to be a republic again.
- Maximus. - Yes.
My decision disappoints you?
You wrote to me once,
listing the four chief virtues.
Wisdom, justice,
fortitude and temperance.
As I read the list, I knew I had none of them.
But I have other virtues, Father.
Ambition.
That can be a virtue when it drives us to excel.
Resourcefulness. Courage.
Perhaps not on the battlefield, but there are many forms of courage.
Devotion.
To my family. To you.
But none of my virtues were on your list.
Even then it was as if you didn't want me for your son.
You go too far.
I searched the faces of the gods
for ways to please you, to make you proud.
One kind word,
one full hug,
where you pressed me to your chest and held me tight,
would have been like the sun on my heart for a thousand years.
- What is it in me you hate so much? - Shh, Commodus.
All I've ever wanted
was to live up to you, Caesar.
Father.
Your faults as a son
is my failure as a father.
Come.
Father.
I would butcher the whole world
if you would only love me.
Maximus, the Emperor needs you. It's urgent.
Lament with me, brother.
Our great father is dead.
How did he die?
The surgeons say there was no pain.
His breath gave out as he slept.
Father.
Your emperor asks for your loyalty, Maximus.
Take my hand.
I only offer it once.
Quintus.
Hail, Caesar.
I must talk to the senators. I need their counsel.
- Wake Gaius and Falco. - Gaius and Falco.
- Sword. - Sword.
Maximus, please be careful. That was not prudent.
Prudent? The Emperor has been slain.
The Emperor died of natural causes.
- Why are you armed, Quintus? - Guards.
Please don't fight, Maximus.
I'm sorry. Caesar has spoken.
Ride until dawn and then execute him.
Quintus, look at me. Look at me.
Promise me that you will look after my family.
Your family will meet you in the afterlife.
Kneel.
Blessed Father, watch over my wife and son.
Whisper to them that I live only to hold them again.
At least give me a clean death.
A soldier's death.
The frost. Sometimes it makes the blade stick.
Praetorian.