As aspiring screenwriters, the first thing we learn is that movies are visual media, and that we’re supposed to “Show, not tell” our stories; yet, dialogue is a very important part of movies. One reason is that people communicate both verbally and non-verbally. (Mehrabian would tell you the ratio.) Another is that not everything can be shown. We also learn that dialogue has two main purposes in a movie: it either reveals character, or advances the story. And the first better relate to the story. Other than that, all other dialogue should be cut out or conveyed visually. Looking at dialogue in the second draft of Gladiator, we notice that there is a combination of all of those types of dialogues: - those that serve the story, and which mostly reveal relationships among characters while depicting each character’s personality, point of view and attitude, and - those that simply help the writer prove a point, make a transition or build a relationship. Most of the visual words could be cut out, and most of the other transitional lines aren’t necessary as they are implicit. That’s why these dialogue lines were omitted in the movie. For example, the first dialogue between Commodus and Lucilla in the wagon communicates the type of relationship they share. It also justifies the relevance of this scene as their conversation reveals their role in the story. However, much of the following dialogue is very much articulated visual imagery which is why it is silenced in the movie. COMMODUS: Why have we stopped? PRAETORIAN GUARD MEMBER: We're here, sir. COMMODUS (to Soldier #1): My sister wants a bath, take her to the camp. (to Soldier #2)Take me to my father. Also reconsidered in the movie is the very first line uttered by Maximus: A people should know when they are conquered. That’s a bad first impression of our hero. He sounds arrogant, which he’s not. In the movie, this line is successfully put in the mouth of Quintus and cleverly followed by Maximus’s: Would you, Quintus? Would I? Which best reveals the hero’s unpretentious nature. Maximus’s dialogues with the wounded and dying soldiers are meant to show his caring side. These are replaced by shorter comments and the repeated “Stay with me” line which does the job without making Maximus too emotional (eliminated the tears and the ”you’ve been crying” line) and without wasting valuable time from the action movie. A lot of the “Lectures” are about Rome, the empire, the republic, the people, and the future of Rome. They are too long and repetitive. They are also trimmed in the movie. By the way, I spend too much time on my dialogues regurgitating them over and over until I’m satisfied. By analyzing the dialogues in this script, I learned that I could write crappy dialogue in my first draft; it will be trimmed and groomed for the final one. Some of my favorite lines which didn’t make the movie (the killed darlings) are: MAXIMUS: My men have been fighting for five solid days. They're too busy dying to go on dress parade. Too bold of Maximus at this stage; plus it doesn’t serve more than revealing the weird relationship between the heir to the throne and a general, something already established in previous scenes. So, it’s bye bye dress parade. Another one that didn’t make the cut: MARCUS: Read this. MAXIMUS: I never acquired the art, sir. Revealing an unpretentious, honest, respectful Maximus The following dialogue survived subsequent revisions because it showed a reason among many why Marcus didn’t see Commodus fit to reign: COMMODUS: Have I missed the battle? MARCUS: You've missed the war. We're done here. Marcus’s dream is expressed in too many words. Juba’s anecdotes and philosophical lectures are loquacious. “It's just better than the alternative” anecdote is exceptional. But what purpose does it serve especially since for Maximus the better alternative is death and not life. Nevertheless, in the script, this piece of dialogue is crucial as Maximus embraces this alternative when he takes Lucius into custody. However, in the movie that alternative never exists for him. Juba’s talk about the animals is Gibberish. Down the trash chute it goes. A notable call back in the script is the memorable lines uttered by Proximo and then repeated by Maximus. This dialogue serves the story and one of its themes: mortality. In this life, we all die. All we can choose is how we die. And how we are remembered. Be remembered proudly. There is the anecdote that Gracchus tells Lucius which seems to be a metaphor of some sort. But it simply doesn’t add to the story. The same with “Kissing the toe of Mars” as Vibius doesn’t need to be convinced to fight; he would as a means of survival. Best dialogue in the movie, the one that will make this movie most memorable: MAXIMUS: I AM MAXIMUS MERIDAS, GENERAL OF THE FELIX REGIMENT OF THE ROMAN ARMY AND SERVANT TO THE EMPEROR MARCUS AURELIUS! I AM FATHER TO A MURDERED SON AND HUSBAND TO A MURDERED WIFE AND LANDLORD TO A MURDERED WORLD – AND I WILL HAVE VENGEANCE! In the movie, we also have some sort of a mantra “Strength and honor.” “Not Yet” is also repeated in the movie. Here’s the importance of dialogues in movies; a few words can become mantras, can make a movie live forever. Simply by chanting those lines, we conjure movie magic that take us back into the world which kidnapped us years earlier, which changed our lives forever. "Life [is] like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." Some other favorites of mine: MAXIMUS: I knew your brother would send assassins. I didn't think he would send his best. LUCILLA: Empires come and go. Cities crumble to dust. Only family matters. JUBA: When a man kills for no reason, he has lost himself. Maximus’s prayer has many meaning and values. “All else is dust and air.” And has some connection with the following lines: JUBA: Among my people we honor the soil of our home. Our ancestors are in that soil. All their dreams live there. I will never see my home again. The soil is dead and no one honors them, so the dreams die. This “we’re alike” and “we want the same thing” dialogue: MAXIMUS: My son was innocent. LUCILLA: So is mine. MAXIMUS: I want your brother dead. LUCILLA: So do I. MAXIMUS: It doesn't take courage to kill. This line which reveals to the audience as well as to Maximus his true reasons for the rebellion: MAXIMUS: Because one night an old man whispered to me about a dream. I will die for that dream. The Promise dialogue was important for the script; it is this promise that tied him to this life and made him say “not yet” for the afterlife, and which also justified the hope he expresses in his last dialogue also a result of the-alternative-is-better anecdote. However, as Maximus dies in the movie, all those scenes are deemed non relevant. Commodus’s anecdote of “The busy little bee” was a beautiful dialogue and it served its purpose very well as it played a double duty a history lesson from an uncle to his nephew and a threat from a jealous brother/lover to a conspiring sister/love interest and loving mother of a threatened child. Maximus, the father of Rome, returned to Rome its voice: Rome... you are better than this. Look inside yourselves. I challenge you to find your true voice. Help the Senate speak for you. Make them your champion... And dare to think what could be. I give you back the dream.

I haven't forgotten this! I'm gowna post something up later today when I get a spare moment.