Year 180 after JC, the emperor Marc Aurelius tired of all his conquests, witnesses the ultimate confrontation of his powerful army commanded by General Maximus (Russell Crowe) against a horde of Germans that Rome has not yet bent. After a warlike prologue of incredible violence, Ridley Scott immerses us in the intimacy of an old emperor dreaming of restoring Rome to its lost splendor. Richard Harris (“a man named horse”) embodies the old philosopher emperor who wants to make Maximus his interim heir while waiting for the senate to vote for the return of the Roman republic. But Marc Aurèle will die suddenly and his legitimate son Commodus (Joachim Phoenix) will proclaim himself emperor and give the order to assassinate Maximus and his family. Escaping death, General Maximus will become a gladiator and will never stop seeking revenge. R.Scott takes us on a disproportionate epic that is both tragic and romantic, an epic at the height of the magnificence of Rome and we cross its territories to the rhythm of Hans Zimmer's captivating score. From the dense forests of northern Europe to the fertile plains of Spain, passing through the arid deserts of Africa, Maximus, left for dead, will be the avenging arm of his family and of Marc Aurèle. Bring to Rome with the gladiators of Proximo (Oliver Reed), Maximus the Spaniard, to be ghostly for some, myth for others, will be resurrected in contact with the sand of the Colosseum. ''What we do in life resonates for eternity''!