Gladiator

Germania, 150 AD, the setting of Gladiator's opening scene. Far from the blazing sun and dazzlingly beauty of ancient Rome, Ridley Scott shoots the opening sequence in a subdued light. The Roman legions are nonetheless impeccably turned out as they face the comparatively disorganised rabble that inhabits this miserable environment. Caesar's soldiers seem somewhat misplaced here. However, Russell Crowe is at home in this environment of knee-deep mud and merciless snow. He commands the screen with all the virtues of his motto: ‘Strength and Honour.'

Inspiring, isn't it? Come next Wednesday 17th to the Library to see with your own eyes one of the best battles filmed in the history of cinema, even better than those in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Ring's...