Analyzing Evil: Commodus From Gladiator

Welcome everyone to the forty-sixth episode of Analyzing Evil! Our feature villain for this video is Commodus from Gladiator. I hope you enjoy, and thanks for watching. If you have any feedback or questions feel free to let me know below!

The song in this video, The Lonely Dark Soul, was provided by the YouTube audio library.

#Commodus #Gladiator #JoaquinPhoenix

[TheVileEye]

Sorry all I had to delete the previous video to fix some issues. Apologies everyone but his video is unfortunately blocked in several countries right now due to copyright issues but those issues should be resolved within a few days.

[StellaAdler_]

One of THE BEST villains & supporting role of all time. Not only was Russel Crowe phenomenal, but Joaquin as well, which is incredibly rare. This movie is the only one that made me feel angry, sad, hopeful, shocked, scared. There’s just no other film like it & the performances by all were outstanding.

[stnermthevill]

Phoenix was so good in this role that I despised him in everything I saw for years. It wasn't until Joker that I was able to forgive him for how dirty he did Maximus. That's the sign of a good villain & actor.

[shadowking]

My favorite Commodus moment was when he was telling the "busy little bee" story to Lucius while maintaining eye contact with Lucilla, letting her know that he's aware of her treachery and is willing to do anything to hurt her. Just a chilling scene.

[dylanrivera]

Keep in mind, the real life Commodus was a very sick and messed up individual, who is known as one of Romes worst emperors. And in case your wondering how he died, after a failed poising attempt, the conspirators had his favorite wrestler strangle him in his own bath.

[WoddCar]

Joaquin Phoenix always plays the best roles, and his acting is just so good for the movies he is in

[haha-pwnv]

when he screamed "AM I NOT MERCIFUL?" it was off the cuff. the reaction of the actress playing his sister was genuine shock

[AtlasBlizzard]

"A child not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth." I feel that proverb describes Commodus to a tee. He's a despicable character, but his father's lack of love for him was horrible too.

[uncabob]

Worth noting is that real Gladiators were not butchered as they are in the film. A Gladiator had a fair number of similarities to a pro wrestler from the more bloody times; they were deeply skilled professionals who did a dangerous and bodily damaging job to provide a spectacle of staged violence and blood. They where costly investments, not something cheaply thrown away. And although the film largely portrays all gladiators as death fodder in that older, less accurate view, if we take the view that this was not the norm but rather a change brought on by Commodus, it fits in well with his character. That he would take a dangerous but controlled sport and turn it into a murder fest, all to gain the love of the crowd for the escalated spectacle of it.

[zerc-cp]

Joaquin Phoenix always kills his roles, excited to see him as Napoleon Bonaparte in Kitbag, which is being directed by Ridley Scott (who also directed Gladiator)

[hideousruin]

Whatever the historical accuracy, those sets are so beautiful and detailed it almost hurts. The costumes are awe inspiring as well.

[Dragons_Armory]

Joaquin Phoenix really got me to hate his character, holy shit the combination of cowardice as well as abuse with absolute power pretty much reached out of the screen and got me to hate him

[gh]

Joaquin should have absolutely won the oscar for best supporting actor. Hands down.

[happygucci]

But he wasn't just evil- Joaquin' characterization was brilliant- you saw the deep wounding by his father and how that unmendable wound shaped and molded his personality. There was a wretched sadness and childish yearning for love.
Joaquin Phoenix was brilliant.

[kingthom]

Joaquin was 26....crazy! I don't think nobody could've killed that role more than him.

[russian_knight]

I suggest analyzing the evil of Percy, from the green mile. He's absolutely despicable and quite pathetic, at the end of it all and is a very good villain, or the closest thing to it at least

[ashlielove]

All time favorite of mine. He's evil in a way that's sad, disturbing, uncomfortable and completely relatable to someone who just wants someone to love them.

This was the role that made me love Joaquin Phoenix, not Walk the Line or Joker. He needs to play more villains. In my eyes he was born for it. 🖤

[mattpope]

Excellent analysis of a compelling villain. Early in the film, Commodus tells Marcus Aurelius that he once read a list of virtues his father had written to him and knew that he possessed none of them. He then recites the virtues he lacks as wisdom, justice, fortitude and temperance. In real life, Marcus Aurelius was a Stoic and those four are the cardinal virtues of Stoicism.

[straburyred]

I think Commodus is more like a serpent than a worm, striking when one least expects it.

[mr.l]

I don’t know about ya’ll but the one thing I love about these videos is studying and gaining a better understanding of the meaning of evil and how it applies to our personal lives.

Obviously the concept is evil is a very murky one and can even been seen has subjective. However, the more evil we see and witness the closer we get to understanding its nature. Theres just something so fascinating about it.