CRITIQUE – Twenty-four years after restoring the peplum, Ridley Scott returns to the arena.
« Without Nazism, we would not have the keys to understanding The Big Mop. » Gaspard Proust's observation is not completely absurd. It's a bit the same thing with ancient Rome. Without it, we would not have the keys to understand Gladiator. In 2000, Ridley Scott gave color to the peplum, a genre that had fallen into disuse in Hollywood – not many people were then saying “Stop your tank, Ben-Hur!” » Covered with laurels and Oscars (including best film and best actor for Russell Crowe), Gladiator walked in the footsteps of Spartacus minus Kubrick, Kirk Douglas and the slave revolt.
Scalded by the mixed reception of his Napoleon – particularly mocked by French historians and critics, die-hard Gauls -, Ridley Scott returns to the arena to puff out his chest. At 86, the British director throws his last strength into the battle. It's not just a picture.
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