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9 comments
5 comments
Rank This Matchup or Comment/Reply Below
on 6/29/2009
americans failing at war. just general disgraceful americans doing their thing, and ending up with their limbs in the sand. loved every minute of it
on 8/22/2009
I REALLY LOVE BOTH! But I voted for Gladiator because I love the Maximus character
on 12/13/2009
I forgot that the "United States" is the only society to ever wage war... dumbass
on 4/20/2010
GLADIATOR was pretty impressive, I have to say. It was very flawed, sure, but it had charisma and oodles of badassery. BLACK HAWK DOWN was much tighter and aged better than most war films of the time (it's rivaled only by THE THIN RED LINE in my book). Going to go with BHD on this one.
Two fine films to choose from. Black Hawk Down is more compelling and less melodramatic.
on 4/23/2010
Black Hawk Down is a great film. This is tough. I'll give it to Gladiator, simply because I see myself watching it more often.
on 5/5/2010
I think I need to see Black Hawk Down again. But right now, I WANT to see Gladiator again.
Black Hawk Down improves with a second viewing and Gladiator seems epically drawn out on second viewing.
on 5/12/2010
@ear: I actually didn't find that. I've seen Gladiator three times, I think, and I liked it better the second time through. I could see BHD actually improving on second view, though; I really should do that some day. Honestly, my preference in this pairing is tainted by the fact that I'm not a big fan of war movies in general.
on 11/17/2010
loved bot equally it is a a true tie but i am going with hawk for my own reasons
on 11/24/2011
Black Hawk Down seems to be the better movie here.
on 5/30/2012
Both are great, but where as Black Hawk Down is a top 50 film, Gladiator is a top 20. They are both very different and very similar at the same time; while Gladiator is a sword-and-sandal epic and Black Hawk Down is an anti-war film (although ironically released during a wave of patriotic fervor in the USA, and received as such), they are both technically very similar; both Ridley Scott films, both filmed in Morocco to a greater or lesser extent (hence several similarities in cinematography for both reasons) and both have a sombre yet epic feel to them thanks to scoring from Hans Zimmer (although while Gladiator's score is more epic and grandiose, Black Hawk Down's is a lot more grittier and threatening). I'm not going to compare anything else because beyond those similarities they have very different objectives as films and achieve them through different means; the acting, story, scripts etc are very different. I love them both, but I'm going to go with Gladiator because while Black Hawk Down is arguably a better directorial achievement from Ridley Scott, Gladiator is more entertaining and presents a more edifying movie experience. Plus Black Hawk Down, whilst still one of my favourite war films, has not aged well in comparison to others, partly because some of the technical aspects such as visual effects, while still impressive, are beginning to stick out a little and partly because of the dramatic change in politics in the Middle East since the release of the film at the start of the Afghan War.
on 6/30/2012
Massive showdown! Tough one this, two great movies made a year part. While BHD is brilliant I think Gladiator wins by a nose due to the tragic story of Crowe's character, I think that adds the depth needed for this film to triumph here.
on 9/25/2012
gladiator has more depth to it but black hawk down is more interesting because its a true story
Although i like both as many of my fellow commentators, Black Hawk down is a better made movie in my opinion....it has the right mix of entertaining wall-to-wall action combined with the simple yet effective message about the futility of war.....Gladiator rides mostly on Russell Crowe's charismatic performance....remove him and u have a decent but not great swords nd sandals epic....
on 10/6/2012
Two brilliantly directed films by Ridley Scott. In terms of capturing the brutality of war, BHD does a fantastic job. Gladiator being a tale of betrayal, jealousy, corruption and vengeance is also a stunning epic with great production value. Both are among my favorites. For its rewatchability and memorable performances, Gladiator by a hair.
