Name a better film than Gladiator - go on, I’ll wait. Gladiator is the ultimate movie, it has everything. Action, intrigue, a powerful hero, a fantastic villain (even men in skirts, if that’s your thing) and maybe most importantly of all, an absolute belter of a soundtrack.
The score for Gladiator, penned by Austrian composer Hans Zimmer, literally reinvented movie soundtracks. Where John Williams reigned during the 70’s, 80’s & 90’s (Star Wars, Jurassic Park, ET, Jaws... need I go on?) Hans Zimmer is certainly this generation’s movie maestro. With soundtracks such as Pirates of the Caribbean, Gladiator, The Dark Knight and The Lion King to name a few, pretty much all of his back catalogue can be whistled by even the most clueless of film fans. The man is a genius, and not to mention the fella behind the infamous ‘BOOOOOOOOOOOMS’ that make up the soundtrack to Christopher Nolan’s epic, Inception.
The reason for this article? Let me tell you. The Gladiator soundtrack this week went platinum. Let me remind you as to why this is important. I do not mean that the film Gladiator somehow has gone platinum, I mean that the album, of which holds all 17 tracks that makes up the main score of the film, has gone platinum. 1 million copies of this album, this movie soundtrack album, have been sold. Let that sink in.
Now I know that any tradesman on a building site has at one stage or another nailed the perfect job, turned around to his workmates and asked, ‘ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!’ Don’t worry, I almost did this morning when I carried the Rhino team’s McDonalds breakfasts from my car without spilling a single drop of the three cappuccinos that were piled high in my arms. The movie is a classic, and it’s many quotable lines and gripping fight scenes make it an absolute joy to watch; a few turbulent senate debates and a bit of incest aside, the film is near perfect. What is the cement that holds this near perfect film together you ask? That soundtrack. That thumping soundtrack that somehow gets into your veins and sends you into beast mode when it needs to and reduces you to a sniffling wreck just as easily. Honestly, I cannot think of any other scenario that would have me weeping one minute and then almost taking up arms against conniving Romans the next.
Commenting on the impressive feat of going platinum, Hans told Facebook ‘Gladiator has gone platinum. It was such fun to celebrate the two decades of the soundtrack for Ridley, Lisa and me!’. Hans there credits the Director and Australian singer Lisa Gerrard with shared credit in the album’s success, and again reminds us all that not only is going platinum such a cause for celebration, but the soundtrack, and the film is 20 years old!
I’ll end by saying this, I defy all of you not to feel the thrills and chills of Hans Zimmer’s masterpiece if you crank it up on your speakers this afternoon. I want to see that builders, plumbers, painters, carpenters, anyone working today are celebrating that Friday feeling by pumping out Gladiator on your site radios. Go on, you know you’re tempted… after all, when in Rome.
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