The sword-and-sandals genre, sunk by the excesses of over-budget extravaganzas such as Cleopatra in the 1960s, returns on the epic scale in Ridley Scott's hi-tech Gladiator, which is set in AD 180. It stars Russell Crowe (right), an Oscar nominee this year for The Insider, as the general, Maximus, who is forced into slavery and trained to fight in the gladiatorial arenas of ancient Rome. The cast includes Joaquin Phoenix as the young emperor, Commodus; Connie Neilsen as his sister, Lucilla; Richard Harris as Marcus Aurelius; and in his final film role, Oliver Reed, who died while working on the production last year. The film opens at cinemas across the country next Friday.