*Gladiator* is the BEST revenge tragedy movie I've ever seen!
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Actually Richard Harris (Marcus Aurelius) didn't play Obi Wan, but Dumbledore.
You have to understand, when filmmakers in this or in lord of the rings use certain frame rates, for certain battle scenes, its intentional to achieve certain perspective.
You need to watch the first Blade movie with Wesley Snipes.
You want revenge tragedy? Watch Man On Fire.
@@brianoden1798 The title says it all. One of Denzel's most epic action roles. And it was an emotional rollercoaster too.
How Joaquin Phoenix didn't earn any awards for his role in this is beyond me.
WE ALL HAVE BEEN ENTERTAINED!!!!!
My theory is, he was so good at this role that even in real life, people hated him and didn't want him to win. :P
@@gundummies lol facts he managed to get hated by everyone def need a prize.
Don't you mean 'Walking Phenis"?
In a way he did win. Johnny Cash saw his performance and was impressed. He met Joaquin Phoenix. He was a huge fan of Gladiator and he knew a lot of the lines and he knew that they were going to be making a movie about him called Walk the line. So Joaquin got the role playing Johnny and he won a Golden globe for Best Actor. Unfortunately Johnny died before the movie came out.
"ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?" is a legendary moment.
Spawned an entire genre of memes, culminating in the epic "Are you not into trains".
so is the airplane that appeared in that scene
Mary: "I'm not enjoying any of this." (the bloodsport)
Also Mary: "Yeah, bash him! This is epic!"
Mary is on the same journey as Maximus. Initially throws her wooden sword to the ground and refuses to fight, but by the end she's vengeance personified :)
@@daxriley8195 😁
Human nature debunked.
We did this 2000 years ago, we did a movie about it 20 years ago, and we are enjoying it now.
I always think about that guy who said "I served with you at Vindibona."
A legionary who survived the campaign, survived poverty, survived enslavement, and ended up as one of the thirty men there in the Coliseum with his former general. What a phenomenal coincidence. Who was that guy?
Probably a deserter. That would seem to be the easier way to end up on the sands.
Someone who died of the plague.
He could have been someone who was captured in battle. Captives were often sold into slavery. Armies back then were always looking for profit.
@@ScarlettM They did not served the army all their life. Maybe something happened when he was civilian.
I served with you at restaurant.
The Emperor is played by Richard Harris - so you're close, it is the original Dumbledore not Obi-Wan! His son Jared Harris is in quite a lot though, including the fairly recently acclaimed mini-series Chernobyl.
Alec Guinness also played Marcus Aurelius, but not here.
Close??? In what universe Star Wars is close to Harry Potter? LMAO!
And as Mary is watching The Expanse now, she'll see Jared there.
@Scrotumus Ballbagius Patrick Stewart was excellent in that as Gandalf.
@Scrotumus Ballbagius I just coughed up a lung laughing too hard!!!🤣🤣🤣
Hans Zimmer score for this film is so incredible
One of his best imho.
and it birthed the Pirates soundtrack
@@jokybones both themes are so similar
@@martinlatour9311 yep
If you want a revenge movie, “The Count of Monte Cristo” (2002) is the BEST.
Another is good one I would probably recommend is Django.
And korean "Oldboy" too
Count of Monte Cristo is one of my favorite movies of all time. The acting is flawless and Dagmara Dominczyk is soooo beautiful.
Count of Monte Cristo is EXCELLENT plus with a YOUNG 19ish/20 Henry Cavill
Sweeney Todd
I also love this line from Maximus: "What we do in life echoes in eternity."
i don't trust someone who cries watching planet of the apes and not gladiator
There was an actual Roman Emperor that slept with his sisters. His name was Caligula. I think Gladiator pulled Commodus' character is a mix of Caligula and Commodus himself. Caligula was known to hold orgies, loved torturing his enemies, and craved power. He would sleep with his sisters, and I believe one of them was carrying his child that he was going to name as his heir to Rome. The movie does add a good portion of the actual Commodus in there. Commodus was known to be passionate about gladiatorial combat. He also fought as a gladiator and won every fight. I do believe they found out that he was dulling his opponents' blades. Although, he died in an assassination.
Superman's Dad, Wonder Woman's Mom and The Ancient Wizard Shazam vs The Joker.
Where was Supermans dad?
@@nothingtoospiffy7913 Russell Crowe played Jor-El in Man of Steel 2013. The biological father of Kal-El/ Superman.
The slow frame rate is meant to show how time becomes when in a combat situation, or when you are overwhelmed by adrenaline. Its how the world around you "feels" when stressed in such a manner.
Yeah if those scenes were meant to be true slow-mo it would not have fit in this movie at all
Was going to say this.
I don't think it's on purpose. It's because they film in 24fps and their post production timeline is 24fps. In order to film slow motion, they have to plan each slow motion shot, and shoot it separately by itself with a higher frame rate (calculated based on how slow they want it to appear in post). But, a lot of slow motion shots don't happen until post-production because it wasn't planned or it's just one part of a longer scene that was filmed all at once. The result is an actual lower fps in the final product for slow motion moments... Modern film makers can use much higher frame rates these days, they can shoot 4k at 240+ fps for some nice super slow scene, but even today, you can't slow down a 1:1 fps ratio (film to post) without losing frames.
No. The slow frame rate is due to technology at the time.
I'm sure all of your have seen slow mo done well.
This is just an example of it done in post, and badly.
@@n0madtv yes ur right, but I think you need to make your explanation more concise.
I doubt the average person would read that wall of text about post production in movies.
As others have said it was Richard Harris who played Marcus Aurelius and he was also the original Dumbledore before he died.
One of the things that makes Joaquin Phoenix’s performance so good is that he essentially adopts a lot of Richard Harris’ voice into his own delivery, particularly when he’s speaking in softer tones. Masterful stuff.
A cinematic gem that had everything action, heart, brotherhood, all in a plot of revenge. Russell Crowe was phenomenal in this and the story, performances production and score made it deserving of the Oscars it won. Looking back the start of the millennium was the last golden age of films that didn’t involve superheroes.
If you want to watch an underrated Ridley Scott movie, watch the director’s cut of “Kingdom of Heaven”. It’s so good, infinitely better than the theatrical cut and Eva Green shines in it!
I agree and I love the movie, however go into it understanding that the Directors Cut is 3 hours and 14 minutes long, if you can stand to sit through LOTR: Return of the King or Justice League: The Snyder Cut, they you should be ok for this.
Ohhh I love that movie so much
@@One_Rifle woof. Don’t even compare the Snyder Cut to the other two.
She really should watch it . I fell in love with Eva Green
@@ThatBlakeCampbell In terms of run time, you can.
Tommy Flanagan (Cicero) was scarred in real life during a mugging in Scotland. He's on the TV series Sons of Anarchy.
"Commodus the joke" i get that reference (even if she dind't knew it that was the joker)
"WALKIN FENIS" omg i can't that was too good 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
😂😂😂😂😂😭
1:16 - "He could have played Ned Stark." His role in this movie is very much a Ned Stark kind of role. Imagine if Ned had survived season 1 but the Red Wedding had still happened.
Watching this in cinema was the best experience. Everything was so good,the soundtrack by hans zimmer was on another level. Enough to say this movie is the turning point for hans
"His son's not going to be happy about that..." Roll credits.
Now - “Braveheart,” and “Master and Commander,” and “The Bounty.”
and Centurion
@@iL3g4L18 Agreed.,It’s fun watching reactions to space and comic book flicks, but film history contains LOADS of great films that need to be kept alive. I’ve never seen any reactions to “The Bounty,” for example, let alone “The Wild Bunch,” “A Man for All Seasons,” “Tombstone,” or “The Ipcress File,” “The Third Man,” or “Hara Kiri.”
Braveheart is a must
Before Braveheart, Mad Max.
The ultimate show of leadership and selflessness by Maximus is one no one ever talks about -- he's on his death bed and the first thing he's concerned about is "Lucius is safe?".
"Go to them"...this line always got me. Womans cry watching Titanic, mens cry watching Gladiator.
Fun Fact: Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus actually ruled as emperors together (161-169). After Lucius' death, there would also be a brief period where Marcus Aurelius ruled alongside Commodus (177-180).
I love seeing similar movies trending among reactors. So all the more I must say, The Last Samurai!
Yes!! Amazing movie.
The slo-mo in the battle scene is done that way to give it a chaotic and distorted feel of battle. I don't think the slow motion effects we see today would've worked in that scene.
And to add to that; the low frame rate is an artistic decision. Sure, advances in camera technology enable filmmakers to achieve higher frame rates at much slower speeds, to retain a hyper-real image, but even 20 years ago it would have been possible to produce a "smoother" image if the director/editor had so wished.
The history is abysmal but the entertainment is off the charts.
I loved that at the beginning you were "ooh the violence!" , but by the end you were " YES! BASH HIM!" Perfect arc!❤
Loved this one.
Mary watching gladiator fights "I don't find any of this entertaining."
Also Mary "Yes, yes bash him." AND "Oh dude, he's gonna stab himself. Why you stabbin' yourself?"
Great movie, great reaction. I was entertained!
FYI, the events are set in ancient Rome and fictionalize the lives of actual royalty from the time: Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was Roman emperor from 161 to 180. Commodus was Roman emperor jointly with his father Marcus Aurelius from 176 until his father's death in 180, and solely until 192. Lucilla was the second daughter and third child of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, an elder sister to later Emperor Commodus (source: Wikipedia).
13:26 - "He enters Rome as a conquering hero" - That's Derek Jacobi, one of the greatest Shakespearean actors of all time, though he's sadly underused here. Check him out in Hamlet (1980, not 1996) and Henry V (1989).
He was also great in The Fifth Element and the Underworld movies.
@@jeremyfrost2636 Can't remember him in The Fifth Element. Are you perhaps thinking of Ian Holm (who is another great Shakespearian actor)? Granted, Holm's role of the monk is a character Jacobi could have done very well.
He's in new dr who too, playing a character called Doctor Yana.
@@torgnyaanderaa2334 I can't believe I mistook Ian Holm for Derek Jacobi. 🤦♂️
Thanks mary . What we do in life echoes in eternity. Richard Harris and Oliver reed , rest in peace
"The Emporer" Richard Harris was also in "The Man in the Wilderness" (1971) which was Re-Made into "The Revenant" (2016) earning DiCaprio his only Oscar Win! :o
It's nice to hear people say "far out", I quite often say "groovy". Bring back the good slang!
Groovy won't go out of style until Evil Dead does.
The internet is bringing everything back. Slang, music, clothes, etc.
I feel comfortable including clothing accessories inspired by styles as far back as the 1900s. No aesthetic is off limits anymore, and it makes me so happy.
Growing up, i experimented with all forms of dress, and my style grew as i did. My current look is hippie -witchy-grandma-fabric-faerie but my inner goth has been creeping out the last couple years. 😘
Could have gotten the extra points if you said older Dumbledore instead of Obi-wan😉
The scars on the actor (Tommy Flanagan) who played Cicero's face are real - "the result of a knife attack outside a nightclub where he had been working as a DJ. After leaving the club he was attacked by a gang, whereupon he was stabbed and physically assaulted with a knife that resulted in him being left with scars." Which resulted in him being cast in Gladiator and other films based upon his scarred appearance (and the fact that he's a pretty good looking fellow, scars notwithstanding). Perfect example of, "Lemons? Lemonade!"
I subscribed because you were the only reactor to say "That doesn't make it better" when Marcus Aurelius said, "Your faults as a son are my failures as a father."
You backed right into his flaw regarding his son.
Joaquin Phoenix's characters have a knack for suffocating their parents
“Oh...That Fookin 8yr Old Is Dead” lol classic line from ya!
We're not that different from Rome - on the news they still say 'if it bleeds, it leads'.
I just recognized the boy as Bruce Willis's son in Unbreakable.
You're the first person I've ever seen watch this movie and have no emotion to it 🤣
Commodus to this father is kind of a similar relationship between Loki and Odin dont you think?
Great pick....Kingdom of Heaven (Director's cut) - another Ridley Scott Joint that comes highly recommended. Lots of swords and history and stuff!
"Glory" and "The Last Samurai" also great historically based films, both directed by Edward Zwick.
Yes. Kingdom of Heaven is one of the greatest epics ever...my absolute favorite...but it's more than just swords and history. It's a very unique take on the Crusades.
Kingdom of Heaven is great 👍🏼
Defiance is another one where Zwick is at the top of his game.
You need to watch History of the World Part 1. It gives a realistic accurate depiction of the past. It's very educational.
🤔🤔🤔😂😂🤣🤣
For all potential Stand-Up Philosophers.
'INCEST and combat, bring it on', lmao I'm wheezing!
I did see Gladiator in the theater while I was still in the Navy; I was stationed in San Diego at the time. It was an amazing film to see on the big screen. And speaking of Joaquin Phoenix, if you want to see him in a movie when he was a kid, look for the 1986 movie Space Camp. He also had a small scene in the classic 80's movie Fast Times At Ridgemont High.
They played Gladiator in cinemas recently in London and I watched it on the big screen it was amazing
The frame dropping is intentional. Proper slow motion has been around forever. This is a stylistic choice. Zhora's death In Blade Runner had beautiful slow motion shots, and Ridley Scott made that movie 17 years before he made this one.
7:00 The funny thing is that adopting Maximus would not have been controversial in the age of Marcus Aurellius. When Marcus Aurellius died there hadn't been a blood sucession in Rome since Domitianus succeeded Titus more than a a century ago.
A great piece of Historical Fiction ... definitely NOT to be confused with Historical Facts.
Not Obi-wan. That was Alec Guinness in Star wars. This is the great Richard Harris....most will say Dumbledore. But he was in many great films.
The "Are you not entertained?" scene makes me think that the crowd loves Maximus' contempt for them.
I'm really glad you've finally got around to seeing this! This and Braveheart are my two most favourite films.
Have you seen the sequel to Braveheart about Robert the Bruce that came out a few years ago?
I say Ridley's other brilliant epic Kingdom of Heaven is way better than Braveheart
@@AshrafAnam I think youre the only person who has ever said that Kingdom of Heaven is better than Braveheart. lol.
@@BasketCase-rr7tx 'Cause people didn't see the director's cut, plus, the theatrical cut failed at the box office due it being released in a post-9/11 time. Braveheart is a generic hero story...not anywhere close to the complexities of Kingdom of Heaven.
@@AshrafAnam
Braveheart > Kingdom Of Heaven
That speech where he removes his helmet still gives me chills every time i hear it.
You really need to check out the OG revenge story now and watch The Count of Monte Cristo, it also has Richard Harris (Marcus Aurelius) as a big role
When Rome became Christian is when the gladiator games stopped. But dueling to the death was still a thing until the 1800s.
I love how she was bobbing and weaving Commodus's knife attacks Haha
This movie made me hating Joaquin Phoenix for a decade. Absolutely incredible acting performance from him.
😂
Historically speaking. The gladiators rarely fought to the death. Some gladiators were slaves others were there in search of fame and riches. Those who volunteered went into debt to the house that trained them. Training gladiators was very expensive from food medical costs to armor. It also took years of Training. So that's why the fights were rarely to the death it was just to expensive.
The actor with the scars, those are his real scars. He was tortured and given a Glasgow smile.
The greatest movie ever made. I seen it in the cinema with no previous info on the movie and was blown away by it and today it’s still my fav
Much more than a popcorn film (and yes, it was a true spectacle to behold in a full theater).
There's a reason that this film won 5 of 12 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Costume Design, Best Sound, and Best Visual Effects.
Great reaction to a great film.
BTW the scene at the beggining where they're fighting in a woods and the woods are on fire it's real. That part was filmed in a part of the words scheduled for deforestation so they took advantage of that and went crazy with it.
Mary: I don't find any of this entertaining.
Everybody: ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!
The end! “Hhhuuuuhhhh! Walking fenis?”😂
😂😂😂😂
Tommy Flanagan, the scottish actor who played Cicero actually has those "Joker scars" as you said, he got mugged by a drug dealer in his youth, and got those scars. "the angel smile" it is call
He was great in Braveheart too - played the husband who had to suffer when the English lord invoked Primae Noctis (Dreut de Signeur) - although that was mythical and not verified in historical/contemporary sources
In an interview he mentioned that he likes the rain and misery of Scotland over the sun of California. I was the same way being from the Midwest and living in SoCal for 9 years.
Probably Russell Crowe's best film to date I love the acting from crow and Phoenix but I really loved the lighting in this film.
Yes crowe best one is def gladiator I do love robin hood too.
I think he's also excellent in The Sum of Us and L.A. Confidential
Ive seen this movie a bunch of times and never realized when he asked at the first colosseum battle if anyone 'had been in the army" that the guy who responded says "I served with YOU" at wherever.
So now I wonder how many people in his troop knew his story before the big reveal, since I thought it was basically news to everyone of his prior prestige.
Conan the barbarian is a great revenge movie! One of the underrated classics of the 1980s!!!
I trust no person who shed not a single tear during this.
Terrific VID Mary! Another Ridley Scott gem was KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, which was also filmed in Aït Benhaddou, Morroco (Rural desert scenes in Gladiator) .. .. The locale was popular for filmmakers, even 'GOT' was filmed there .. .. Anyways, KINGDOM OF HEAVEN is regarded as the one of the best war movies made, and perhaps the best about the Crusades in Jerusalem .. .. And, of course, Scott had an all-star cast of ORLANDO BLOOM, EVA GREEN, LIAM NEESON, JEREMY IRONS, BRENDAN GLEESON & DAVID THEWLIS .. .. You'll enjoy it >> Get the Directors Cut .. ..
and GHASSAN MASSOUD and ALEXANDER SIDDIG. One of my absolute favorites.
The slowmo thing in older movies was because they shot at 30fps, which meant slowing it down would reduce it to 15fps.
Now cameras can shoot at 120fps, so you can slow it down to 30fps without losing any frames.
Not a single tear at the end, have you no emotion, I cry every time when maximus dies.
This Caesar of Rome actually existed his name is Marcus Aurelius. And his son is also Caesar Commodus. You can actually research these people and they actually did exist.
the real history of gladiators would blow your mind
Maximus to Lucilla: "I think you have a talent for survival." Yeah, so do cockroaches…
You're right it was enhanced by seeing it on the big screen. Audience enthusiasm contributed to its effectiveness, also.
I remember going to go see this movie in theaters and my 4th grade teacher was also there and on Monday we were talking about the movie and the rest of the class were just watching us. Good times 😀
Great movie with Russell Crowe ( oscar winner for this role) and Joaquin Phoenix. English acting greats Oliver Reed and Richard Harris and of course Djimon hounsou.
An add popped up at 17:23 for me, right after the characters were talking about seeing their dead loved ones. The first thing that was said in the movie commercial add was "are you afraid of ghosts?"
The actor who plays Emperor Marcus Aurelius is Sir Richard Harris who also played the role of Dumbledore in the first two movies of Harry Potter saga, these were their last roles before die, in the next Harry Potter movies was replaced by another actor, but he was not who played the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi in classic Star Wars trilogy, that was Sir Alec Guinness.
I remember it as if it was yesteday Mary Cherry! I went to see this movie with 11 years old , in 2000, i saw it 2 or 3 times at the cinemas, it was amazing , a massive massive spectacle for the impressionable mind of a young boy! To watch and hear this film play out in front of a telly at home , pales in comparison. Back then , people were not so rude at the cinemas and no one had phones and lights on their hands, so it was the perfect time fot many many cinema sessions and i sure had them. cheers.
one of the things that very few people realize about the thumbs up/thumbs down gesture when it came to the coliseum is that it doesnt mean "live" or "die" at all, it only signifies whether or not the emperor agrees with the crowd.
So thumbs up could be both kill or live, depending on the crowd, same with thumbs down.
You definitely need to see Braveheart next.
The one actor from gladiator 2000 plays as Stoick The Vast from HTTYD/How To Train Your Dragon
Side Note: "Why you stabbin' yourself?" HAHAHA that was awesome
The "slow motion" you were seeing is not actually slow-motion, it's a film camera trick where you capture fewer frames per second, but the shutter remains open longer for each frame. So it's actually still real-time, but with a stuttering effect. It's an intentional style, I don't particularly care for it myself.
Yeah, I'm not a fan of it either. They used it a lot in Lord of the Rings too, and I hated it then. Its meant to be off-putting, which it is, but its definitely not a camera trick that I enjoy when it is used.
@@RyoHazuki224 but can be nice for intense battlescenes
As others have said, Richard Harris played Marcus Aurelius. But Alec Guinness (Obi-Wan) played the exact same character in a previous film that was similar in plot to this called the "Fall of the Roman Empire."
Movies used to at 24 frames a sec so when slow downs happened they were really low frames "lower than the regular 24". Long story short we “evolved” past film developer’s expectations. edited for clarity!
Slow motion filming existed back then. It was actually an intentional effect.
@@MikeTaffet SO 24 FRAMES WAS SLOW MOTION?
BECAUSE THATS NOT WHAT I SAID HUMAN
A few vitally important things. Marcus Aurelius never intended to give power back to the Senate. He never outlawed gladiator contests in the Empire, and that is a sword, the gladius, not a dagger.
in gladiator fighting scenes they reduced the shutter angle of the cameras, that made more sharp frames with less motion blur. It was quite nice unique look that was replicated later in other movies.
In Uruguay, with consent of their Congress and President, you can still fight a duel...
"Give them bread and circuses and they will never revolt." - Roman poet Juvenal
"Framerates have dropped". That was a deliberate effect. The ability to do slow motion properly existed for decades. The choppy slow-mo is there to portray the fragmented perception during chaos. It's not there to look pretty or glorious, you purposely lose information between frames because memory on adrenaline becomes like swiss cheese.
It is by design.
Fun Fact: Richard Harris (who plays Marcus Aurelius in this film) played Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter films. He passed away in 2002, which is why he was replaced in the third film. I guess it's also a Sad Fact.
The first 80 years after the coliseum hosted real naval battles with ships. Crazy man.
35:57 Story going around Joaquin was trying that line in different ways to pick the right one, both the quiet delivery and the loud one and the director thought they were both so good that he decided to keep both of them in the final cut.
historic notes
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus 26 April 121 - 17 March 180 was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers known, but later, as the Five Good Emperors and the last emperor of the Pax Romana, an age of relative peace, calm, and stability for the Roman Empire lasting from 27 BC to 180 AD. He served as Roman consul in 140, 145, and 161.
Marcus Aurelius was born during the reign of Hadrian to the emperor's nephew, the praetor Marcus Annius Verus, and the heiress Domitia Calvilla. His father died when he was three, and he was raised by his mother and his paternal grandfather. After Hadrian's adoptive son, Aelius Caesar, died in 138, the emperor adopted Marcus's uncle Antoninus Pius as his new heir. In turn, Antoninus adopted Marcus and Lucius, the son of Aelius. Hadrian died that year, and Antoninus became emperor. Now heir to the throne, Marcus studied Greek and Latin under tutors such as Herodes Atticus and Marcus Cornelius Fronto. He married Antoninus' daughter Faustina in 145. After Antoninus died in 161, Marcus Aurelius acceded to the throne alongside his adoptive brother, who reigned under the name Lucius Verus. Under his rule the Roman Empire witnessed heavy military conflict. In the East, the Romans fought successfully with a revitalized Parthian Empire and the rebel Kingdom of Armenia. Marcus defeated the Marcomanni, Quadi, and Sarmatian Iazyges in the Marcomannic Wars; however, these and other Germanic peoples began to represent a troubling reality for the Empire. He modified the silver purity of the Roman currency, the denarius. The persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire appears to have increased during his reign, but his involvement in this is unlikely since there is no record of early Christians in the 2nd century calling him a persecutor, and Tertullian even called Marcus a "protector of Christians".The Antonine Plague broke out in 165 or 166 and devastated the population of the Roman Empire, causing the deaths of five to ten million people. Lucius Verus may have died from the plague in 169.Unlike some of his predecessors, Marcus chose not to adopt an heir. His children included Lucilla, who married Lucius, and Commodus, whose succession after Marcus has been a subject of debate among both contemporary and modern historians. The Column and Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius still stand in Rome, where they were erected in celebration of his military victories. Meditations, the writings of "the philosopher" - as contemporary biographers called Marcus - are a significant source of the modern understanding of ancient Stoic philosophy. These writings have been praised by fellow writers, philosophers, monarchs, and politicians centuries after his death.
Commodus 31 August 161 - 31 December 192 was a Roman emperor who ruled from 177 to 192. He served jointly with his father Marcus Aurelius from 177 until the latter's death in 180, and thereafter he reigned alone until his assassination. His reign is commonly thought as marking the end of a golden age of peace and prosperity in the history of the Roman Empire the Pax Romana. Commodus accompanied his father during the Marcomannic Wars in 172 and on a tour of the Eastern provinces in 176. The following year he became the youngest emperor and consul up to that point, at the age of 16. During his solo reign, the Roman Empire enjoyed reduced military conflict compared with the reign of Marcus Aurelius. Intrigues and conspiracies abounded, leading Commodus to revert to an increasingly dictatorial style of leadership, culminating in his creating a deific personality cult, including his performing as a gladiator in the Colosseum. Throughout his reign, Commodus entrusted the management of affairs to his palace chamberlain and praetorian prefects, namely Saoterus, Perennis and Cleander.
Commodus' assassination in 192, by a wrestler in the bath who held him underwater, marked the end of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty. He was succeeded by Pertinax, the first emperor in the tumultuous Year of the Five Emperors.