Gladiator (2000) No, it's not director Ridley Scott's best film (we'd argue Alien (1979) or Blade Runner (1982) would top the list), but Gladiator is by far his best gladiator movie. Stripped down you can argue it's just a B-grade revenge flick, but Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, and Djimon Hounsou were all solid in their roles — enough so to lead the film into five Academy Award wins. And that's in spite of numerous goofs and mistakes, which you can see in the video above. Of course, the success also helped bring back mandals, spawn a host of Gladiator games and pave the way for other "sword and sandals" films like 300 (2006) thereafter. So we have plenty to be grateful for. Well, except the mandals.


Gladiators 7 (1962) As the trailer shows you, the film's star Richard Harrison (Darius) is built and well-groomed. Having a tidy beard is a plus in gladiator movies. Anyway, Darius is the son of a prominent Spartan who is implicated in the escape of five Gladiators, and his punishment for the crime is to fight for his life in the imposing Roman Arena. Will he find freedom, or will he find himself wearing a goofy robe and bleeding to death? If you watch it, you'll find out. (Hint: it's one of those two options.) The Arena (1974) Admittedly, it's not a very strong film, but it's entertaining enough and there is plenty of nudity. The premise: Pam Grier is an enslaved woman hell-bent on fighting for her freedom. During the course in which she seeks to break free we encounter a handful of sex scenes and reasons for the characters to get naked amid the action. Fun fact: according to Wikipedia, the world's most trusted news source, the movie was also called Naked Warriors.
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