"Gladiator" is a 2000 epic historical drama film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, and Oliver Reed. The film is set in ancient Rome and tells the story of Maximus Decimus Meridius (played by Crowe), a loyal general who is betrayed when Commodus (Phoenix), the ambitious son of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, murders his father and seizes the throne. Reduced to slavery, Maximus becomes a gladiator and rises through the ranks of the arena to avenge the murder of his family and his emperor.