I liked Gladiator a lot; however, I was raised on the spectacles of Ben-Hur and such, and have always had a weakness for historical extravaganzas. But Gladiator had me from the opening scene right through to the end (which I watched through tears). There wasn't a moment in it when I felt like I could look away from the screen; I loved Russell Crowe's performance; Joaquin Phoenix was superbly slimy. And he may have been not the greatest human being, but I adored Oliver Reed as an actor, and he played his last role in Gladiator. This is really one of my favorite movies.