- Golden Globe Awards
Drama: Gladiator
Ridley Scott's Gladiator revamped the sword-and-sandal epic genre of a past era in Hollywood and cemented Russell Crowe as an international superstar and sex-symbol. It was basically a revenge story in ancient Rome: when Roman General Maximus is betrayed by Emperor Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), he is forced into a painful exile, and eventually returns to Rome as a gladiator and seeks vengeance with all his might.