Starring Russell Crowe in the lead role, Ridley Scott’s epic historical drama Gladiator is considered to be one of the best films of the 2000s. Credited with rejuvenating the swords and sandals genre in the film industry, the movie was a critical and commercial success. Following a once-powerful general who was forced to become a gladiator, the movie opens up with a brutal battle sequence set in a burning forest. However, the filmmaker did not have to use CGI for the sequence, as he was allowed to burn down a part of the forest.
Ridley Scott Burned Down a Forest For Gladiator
Ridley Scott‘s 2000 film Gladiator opens up with a thrilling and chaotic battle sequence set in the forests of Germania. The director reportedly did not have to use any visual effects to create a forest engulfed in flames for the scene.
The opening scene was filmed in the Bourne Woods, a section of which was scheduled for deforestation. When the Oscar-nominated director learned about the same, he approached the Forestry Commission to get permission to film the scene and burn a section of the forest.
“The Forestry Commission wanted to lose some forest, so I said, ‘I’ll do it – I’ll burn it to the ground,” Scott said, as per Far Out Magazine. He shared that the Forestry Commission agreed and gave him permission to “burn and do what [he] wanted” to do with 400 meters of forest.
Russell Crowe Believed Gladiator Script Was Bad
Actor Russell Crowe has shared that he almost rejected the Oscar-winning role in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator. During an interview with Vanity Fair, the actor stated that although he was sure of his abilities as an actor and knew that the director had a great concept in mind for the film, he did not feel the same about the movie’s script.
He said,
“I was confident about my abilities as a leading man. What I wasn’t confident about with ‘Gladiator’ was the world that was surrounding me. At the core of what we were doing was a great concept but the script, it was rubbish, absolute rubbish.”
The actor shared that it was only “21 pages of script” when he agreed to the film. However, his constant conversations with the filmmaker gave him faith. The movie went on to be a box office hit, making $503 million worldwide. It also landed several nominations at the 73rd Academy Awards and won five Oscars, including for Best Picture and Best Actor.
Gladiator is available on Paramount+.
