There is a bird’s eye view as the battle starts and you are shown all the firepower they had at their disposal. Archers, catapults, cavalry are shown to show the technologically advanced Romans. The camera cuts to the soldiers and the front line battle. The camera cuts to a close up with the camera dollying with cavalry soldiers and Maximus, the music is very fast which reflects the actions happening at the scene. The camera follows them into war where death is shown all the way through and very graphically which shows the horror of war, as the battle comes to an end the music slows and the scene moves into slow motion. The sound effects stop completely but for the music, which is very calm and mournful reflecting the horror of the battle. In this scene the shots go from distant to close up which show the violence, anger and pure adrenaline of war. At the end of the battle ash and snow start to fall, which represents that the Romans won the battle, but with a great cost of human life, the music is very melancholy representing sorrow.
The Director wishes to show the audience how organized and invincible the Romans are (on the battle field at least), how they are lacking in motivation, and in contrast how the barbarians are fighting for a lost cause and yet they will not give up. He shows this by always making the Romans look organized and goes in amongst the barracks and with Maximus in the ambush with the camera where as the camera watches the barbarians get attacked and slaughtered.
‘Death smiles at us all’ is the title of the ending scene and is of possibly the most significance of the whole film. It is the scene where he two main characters die and has religious over tones from the start. It starts with the two main characters, Maximus and Comadus, rising on a platform with roses dropping from above and a gospel choir singing as if they are rising up to heaven; the camera is close up until they go out of view and then pans out to see a wooden structure that resembles a cross. This may symbolize that someone is going to die. As they rise to the top platform the viewer is shown the whole of the floor of the coliseum covered in rose petals; this shows that this is a very emotional occasion. The camera then cuts to a close up of each person of significance to give the effect of a showdown, the petals also mite look like blood on the sand of the arena.
During the period of most of the fight there is no music, only other sound effects such as swords clashing; this is because there is no music that could state every emotion that the characters would be feeling and so there is no need because the event almost speaks for its self as it is of such emotional significance because it would affect so many people. Before the battle starts we see a paradox between a bad man wearing white stabbing a good man wearing black in the back whilst showing affection and hugging him, this shows that Comadus wants to become the good man in the public's (us) eyes and Maximus is very upset and his life and does not care, all he wants to do is take revenge and do the last words of Marcus Aeurileus. As the battle starts the camera dollies with them but cuts back and forth from the ground level view and in the stands which puts the audience right in the seats of the arena, this is to give variety to the fight scene and keep it seeming fast paced and keep the audience involved in the fight, it also shows the fighter's perspective to the fight. All through this scene some bits are in slow motion, others blurred and some normal speed; this is because whenever any of those happened it was always seen from Maximus’ view and so Maximus is beginning to die and would be seeing things at different speeds. The fight is fast paced and the camera angles vary lots of times in a very short space of time to make it look more exciting than it actually was. The only sound used throughout the fight scene is that of clashing blades. The camera cuts to Maximus’ house once more to show that he is dying and is almost dead, the director here wants the audience to sympathise with Maximus. As Comadus dies there is no music and very gory sound effects to show the enormity of the event and the director wants the audience not to have sympathy for him. The camera then cuts to silence with the camera spinning round the coliseum to give the effect of everyone watching and reflecting on the emperor’s death; the music starts very slowly and builds up. The camera cuts to Maximus’ house again to show he is really near the end and almost with his family in the afterlife, the solo vocalist returns and then the camera cuts between Maximus and the dead Emperors sister several times before a close up on his face as he dies; the camera then follows him as he glides along the ground, with rose petals clearly visible on the floor behind him symbolizing that he is back with his wife and child and happy again. The camera cuts to Maximus walking in the field back to his house as in the beginning but this time in colour and then cuts back to him lying on the floor in the middle of the coliseum. The camera moves to inside the ring of people and has a close up on the emperors daughters big speech about how Rome is not worth one good mans life with a close up view on her but looking up at her to give the effect of her being big and taking over. It then moves to a bird’s eye view as Maximus is carried off.
Next the camera shows a close up of Chimsy burying Maximus’ figures of his family in sand stained in blood to symbolize him being with his family as he died in the same place in the sand and they are buried in his blood. The camera then rises to see the sun going down on the great city of Rome. In this scene I think that the director (Ridley Scott) is trying to show how weak such a powerful city like Rome can be and that even though it looks so magnificent, it only takes one man to tear it apart.
Language – At the beginning of the movie the language is shown in text. Within the text it explains the genre and idea of the movie by explaining the situation of the Roman Empire and that the Roman Empire was at its rise (therefore the audience realizes something is going to happen to the Roman Empire). But through out the whole movie the language is shown oral. Main characters such as Russell Crowe use very much of a "wise-men" language; this means they make influential speeches in the movie, which portrays their character in the movie. The barbarians and the Arabs are shown that they do not speak the same language as the Romans; therefore there are the "bad" and the roman language is the "good".
Music – The music through out the movie is very downhearted and melancholy. The music expresses sorrow and sadness. At the beginning the movie starts with music and it ends with music, perhaps they are both parts of the same song because the tune seems to be the same. On the other hand there is a music theme for the wars and fights which is a more militia music type to show the expressions and give the feeling of war and death.
Symbolism – In this movie symbols were very much involved. Symbols such as robins to show winter, bad people wear black dirty and good people wear bright and clean, the bad dead body is on the floor in the arena and the good body is carried of with honor, a ring is shown to show devotion to family, flowers are always shown to show emotions, in the wars the catapults were shown to show the technology of the roman empire and Comadus is shown with a baby face which symbolizes a child, not an emperor. Many different symbols have been used in this movie to give hints or ideas to the audience on what happens in the movie or what is happening in the movie.