Smithsonian Channel - The Real Story Series 3 (2011) Part 4 Gladiator

Behind Hollywood's Biggest Movies There Is… The Real Story. Find Out The True Inspiration Behind Pirates of the Caribbean, Jaws, Jurassic Park, Gladiator And Titanic, An Unsinkable Ship That Did Just That. Discover the true stories that inspired some of pop culture's most iconic heroes and villains. Hollywood often turns to history for its greatest stories. The prehistoric era gave us “Jurassic Park.” The first century gave us “Gladiator.” The 1700's gave us the swashbuckling “Pirates of the Caribbean.” The 20th century gave us terror at sea in the form of the sinking “Titanic” and a killer shark that terrorized the northeast in “Jaws.” These films achieved enormous success, but in bringing them to the screen, the truth was often left on the cutting room floor. Now, THE REAL STORY, separates fact from fiction and real life from reel life.

Part 4 Gladiator

Ridley Scott's version of the Roman Empire's blood sport was violent, but not nearly as brutal as the real thing. Ridley Scott's Oscar-winning film “Gladiator” is the story of Maximus; a general who became a slave who then became a gladiator. He is a work of fiction, but the world in which slaves battled for their ives in front of thousands of bloodthirsty fans, was very real. So too was Commodus, the emperor of Rome, a man even more insane than the film's villain. THE REAL STORY interviews historians, archaeologists and screenwriter David Franzoni to reveal the history of Roman gladiators, a remarkable and violent tale that needs no Hollywood embellishment.

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