GLADIATOR (2000) Movie Fight Review - Maximus vs Tigris of Gaul

The most famous fight from GLADIATOR (2000), between Maximus (Russel Crowe) and Tigris of Gaul. Reviewed by sword instructor Matt Easton of Schola Gladiatoria HEMA clubs.
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[@t3h8ar0n]

When Maximus is on the ground, right before he uses the axe on Tigris foot, you can see he does a shield bash to the face which knocks Tigris face shield back... this is why he is bleeding from the mouth.

[@rasmusn.e.m1064]

Yup. I agree with Matt that it was a bit confusing though. As a child, I always found that particular cut from the spiking of the foot to blood out the mouth very confusing and I only really got it now.

[@RichardEvans-s4w]

Agreed, I always assumed that the shield had hit Tigris in between the mouth and nose of the mask. Since the mask is very close to the face, i believe that the momentum of the impact flowed straight to the face.

[@SpiggyTech]

​@@RichardEvans-s4wyou can see the visor lift with the second shield strike. He probably cut his mouth on the inside of the chin of the visor

[@christopherkowalczyk4405]

Same for me. Confused me as a kid. Later on I figured the shield bash pushed the face plate back and blooded his mouth. It was a lot of blood but I took punches when I was young that filled my .mouth with blood.

[@DNG99911]

He clearly bashes him in the face and his helmet turns sideways (probably broke his nose)...only problem is his nose is about 6ft off the ground (the guy is huge). There is no way he could have even hit him in the face with that size shield. It would would barely go to his chest in reality...but if it takes this much nitpicking, then it's perfectly fine in a movie.

[@n0tthemessiah]

11:50 It seems to me that Tigris is intentionally only hitting the shield here to keep the pressure on and push Maximus backwards towards the tiger traps. Gladiators were good fighters but they were also good at showmanship. No one there wants to see him kill Maximus without any of the Tigers out. Indeed, it's probably expected that Maximus dies to the a tiger rather than a Tigris because the spectacle is what everyone is really after.

[@Mtonazzi]

I was thiking the same. One could argue that Tigris and Maximus had different mindsets while fighting (or not, but years-?- of showmanship were imprinted on him)... makes me think in modern terms like mixing a MMA fighter and a WWE star, both are great athletes but one goes with the idea of actually hurt and incapacitate and the other with the idea of give a good show

[@n0tthemessiah]

@@Mtonazzi Exactly, they're fighting for very different reasons and the likelihood that Tigris dies is actually very low (assuming Maximus was a run-of-the-mill opponent and not plot-armored, obvs)

[@axelfoley133]

I was thinking the same about Maxiumus. He knows he needs to win the crowd, so killing Tigris early doesn't work for him. So when he manages to strike Tigris's head with the shield, Maximus smacks the sword into the helmet as well, rather than going for a clear kill shot to the body. Also, getting your bell rung inside a literal bell of a helmet from both sides would probably mess up your equilibrium, and that would soften Tigris for a later takedown/kill.

[@DONJUILIO]

I love this format. I would happily pay to watch some historical movies, just you and a remote and what you know...thank you as always sir..

[@scholagladiatoria]

Thanks!

[@dominicray6640]

I'd love to see the breakdown of the Princess Bride's two big fencing scenes!

[@invictusanimi]

This is my #1 choice also!

[@clestinhohlt2185]

I'll third this

[@springbloom5940]

What do you mean, they gave you a realtime breakdown of the first one?

[@ericaugust1501]

i doubt they were doing real fencing in princess bride. it was probably all just silly blade bashing. still, would like Matt to confirm it.

[@julietfischer5056]

@- There was at least movie fencing. Still, it looked pretty good and better than some I've seen elsewhere.

[@100dfrost]

Matt, I have the extended version of this movie and after watching your video I put this fight on. Just before he stabs him in the foot with the spike Maxie smacks him in the chops with the shield again, immediately afterward we see the blood coming from the big dudes mask. So I guess that's your answer. Great video, as always, thank-you.

[@ericaugust1501]

do we really have the answer? i mean you just indicated the shield bash occurring before the spike. which means we have: shield bash. no blood. foot spike... suddenly a LOT of blood. the delay is long enough to question the source. A better narrative would be that the pain from the spike to the foot, perhaps made him bite his tongue off. i'm not sure if biting your tongue severely during battle is something that occurs, but if it does, there you go. OR the shield bash made him bite his tongue off, and then only a beat later when the blood fills his mouth, does he cough it out in time with the foot getting spiked.

[@seanbyrne5313]

I grew up learning Latin for paleontology ONLY so as you talk about gladiator names it sounds like a dinosaur fighting tournament in my brain.

[@a-blivvy-yus]

ok but now we need a movie with a dinosaur fighting tournament that equips them with medieval armour and weaponry so Matt can do a breakdown of the historical accuracy of a dromaeosaur wearing a frogmouth helm ;)

[@Leftyotism]

Thanks for continuing to be Matt Easton!

[@999wilf999]

Minor quibble, there used to be breed of tiger, the Caspian Tiger, that was native to europe. They were declared extinct in the 1970s. I recall reading once, I cannot recall where, that the romans had used so many of them in their arenas that they caused local extinction.

[@josephdedrick9337]

same thing with the north african lion.

[@tillercaesar-kq4ou]

⁠@@josephdedrick9337and North African forest elephants

[@joshridinger3407]

ah, beat me to it

[@jckopfly2680]

Finally I am first to say: thank you for continuing to be Matt Easton! Really enjoying all your videos!

[@Blokewood3]

Since the retiarius is the only historical gladiator type that never wore a helmet, I suggest that future gladiator movies or shows should make their protagonist a retiarius. That way, the audience can see the actor's face but it will still be accurate to the gladiator type.

[@m.vondrake5534]

It's fairly well known that main character actors do not like their face covered if they can get out of it. Their face makes money for them and the movie. Unless there's an iconic design to the helmet, like the one he wears earlier in the movie, as soon as they can they remove the helmet.

[@eded9157]

A little humble recommendation: when explaining a exchange, instead of just rewind you can use the slow play to talk while the move is happening, maybe half speed will be awesome. I love your fight review videos.

[@julietfischer5056]

There may be copyright reasons for not doing that.

[@eded9157]

@@julietfischer5056Now that you mention it, you may be right. A lot reaction channels pause their videos to try avoid copyright

[@julietfischer5056]

@@eded9157- Yeah. If you break your source up into snippets, that doesn't trigger the copyright gods.

[@ariochiv]

When Tigris bleeds from him mouth, this is immediately after Maximus smacked him in the face with the edge of his shield for the second time. It happens quickly so you may have missed it. Once Tigris is on the ground and Maximus flips his faceguard up, you can clearly see the damage to his mouth.

[@MonkeyKingsformerroomate]

Yeah, that would seriously hurt, even with a helmet.

[@morbihan9857]

Actually, you can see his visor opens up as he falls, but then Maximus raises it once more with the axe.

[@benperry2194]

Lol, a Princess Bride review would be great

[@Leftyotism]

36:20 I think because he got smacked in the head / face earlier and right there (36:13) he is screaming in immense pain from the axe-spike through his foot. So all the blood in his mouth dribbles onto the inside of his cavalry face mask and then coming out through the cute little actual mouth hole in said face mask. But then I'm speculating. I would like to see some eventually cut out scenes as well.

[@misterkami2]

I think one of the reasons Maximus switches to his left hand is because he’s freeing up his right hand to grab the axe. There’s a moment where he looks at it after it fell and before he switches hands and he actually does grab the axe. The thing that makes it harder to see that connection is that he needs to fight a tiger between the hand switch and the axe grab.

[@SabiJD]

If that's how it was choreographed, then that's both really good choreography - but arguably an example of iffy editing. Which feels wrong to say about an otherwise brilliantly edited and structured classic. I'll have to watch out for that again.

[@FyremaelGlittersparkle]

I would wager that one of the main reasons Tigris attacks Maximus' shield so much (ignoring movie choreography reasons) is that's he's a professional showman. He's a gladiator. He knows the audience is there for the spectacle of the thing and they'll love a protracted fight more than him ending his opponent in seconds. Earlier in the film, Proximo even chastised Maximus for this same behaviour.

[@dwightgodding686]

I would love to see you break down The Princess Bride fencing scene.

[@JohnC2009Edin]

Yes to the princess blade review

[@carlcramer9269]

Commentary on all the banter about fighting schools would be interesting. Is there any basis in history, or is it just silly movie dialog?

[@crazypetec-130fe7]

@@carlcramer9269 Those names are real fencing masters. A friend of mine has a first edition Agrippa that I got a look at. So, I have studied Agrippa.

[@carlcramer9269]

@@crazypetec-130fe7 Yes they exist, that's for sure, but do they do what the say the do? Inigo Montoya: You are using Bonetti's Defense against me, ah? Man in Black: I thought it fitting considering the rocky terrain. Inigo Montoya: Naturally, you must expect me to attack with Capo Ferro? Man in Black: Naturally, but I find that Thibault cancels out Capo Ferro. Don't you? Inigo Montoya: Unless the enemy has studied his Agrippa... which I have!

[@nightking0130]

Sven is in almost every arnold movie if you look for him. In predator he gets blown out the window when arnold busts in with his knock knock joke.

[@emanicstreetpreacher]

Great video, Matt! I too always wondered why Tigris was bleeding from his mouth after being stabbed in the foot. Other commenters reckon that it was from Max's shield blow to the face immediately beforehand. My twopence that it is the classic film conceit that if someone is spewing blood at the end of a fight, it means that their number is well and truly up, regardless of where they were hit. ;)

[@ukmediawarrior]

I agree the edit between axe in the foot to blood in the mouth is weird, but I always just put it down to the shield blow in the face he had received.

[@mikesummers-smith4091]

You've a few years to go before you can be classed an antique arms dealer.

[@3.k]

No, it just depends on how old the body parts are that you deal. 😅

[@rikospostmodernlife]

Antique arms, brand new legs... And used kidneys 😬

[@thelegendaryklobb2879]

@@3.k Ok, this suddenly got dark XD

[@philipped.r.6385]

I see what you did here! 😂

[@Zedd0z]

Very interesting video! An analysis of the battle in the beginning of the movie would be so cool to see as well! Take care :)

[@chrismorgan1336]

The axe appears to be inspired by a British army all-steel farriers' axe. Long spike for destroying horses and the cutting edge for removing a hoof to demonstrate that the 'asset' has been decommissioned. The NAM has an example.

[@jacobstaggs9741]

Awesome fight review! Please consider doing the duel scene from the Gene Kelly Three Musketeers!

[@martins.4240]

Hey Matt, you will be pleased to know that you can use the ; and : keys to go frame-by-frame on a KZbin video. It would make your life a bit easier for future videos where close action needs to be analyzed.

[@RichardEvans-s4w]

For me, I have to hold down the ; and : key while use the left and right arrow to move frames

[@Regolith86]

It's the '' keys for me. I'm using the standard US QWERTY keyboard layout. Might be different if you're using a keyboard for somewhere else.

[@a-blivvy-yus]

@@Regolith86 This is the case for standard keyboards for most English-speaking regions in the world. it's the , and . keys, which are only < and > when you hold shift.

[@chrisfields8077]

The shield bash from the ground to his face is what cause him to bleed out his mouth. You can see it when he lifts his visor later.

[@Robert399]

That much blood running from the mouth is weird though. It looks like he was stabbed in the chest. (Possibly if his nose was shattered but there's no way the shield would've got that high under his mask)

[@puppyenemy]

@@Robert399 I've always believed that the shield smacks him under the chin and he bites his tongue off or something like that

[@Robert399]

@@puppyenemy Oh yeah, that would make sense

[@Niklaialeksahkin]

@@Robert399getting stabbed in the chest does not make you bleed from your mouth. That’s a Hollywood fallacy. It you get stabbed in your lungs, then your lungs are punctured and you can’t breathe at all. If the heart, instant death. Only damaging the mouth itself can cause you to bleed from you mouth.

[@Creecher98]

I think the bleeding from the mouth is because he’s taken that shield to the face like 4 times. That’s always what thought it was. His face is pretty banged up too when the mask lifts

[@-RONNIE]

Thanks for the overall video breakdown ⚔️

[@Lurklen]

I like that _after_ the tigers come roaring out the gate, they mostly spend their time being annoyed at being chained up. I buy that right when the door was opened they try to attack someone right on the other side. But after that they act more like how I would expect. Mostly just hanging out. I would also say, they have him switch to his left so that the tiger scene can happen at the right angle, and so he can grab the axe later. I think (for whatever reason) they didn't want to shoot that tiger thing from the other side.

[@BlackMasterRoshi]

i love when the silly mask guy spews blod when his foot gets poked

[@BlackMasterRoshi]

and yeah i know it looks like a 7 year old typed that but youtube autodeleted my original comment and i had to reword it. this is the level of discourse youtube encourages.

[@OreoBambino]

He got a shield to the face a squint before that...

[@spanishinquisition7623]

It could be argued Maximus’s cuirass is supposed to be metal covered by leather cuirass but made leather for being a cheaper material. In which case aside from a helmet he would be relatively well protected.

[@alexmajor7773]

9:00 pocket sand, the ultimate weapon against Anakin Skywalker

[@cl4364]

Great Video!

[@franklinbrightwater2227]

36:22 Tigris is likely bleeding from his nose after the impact of the thrown shield on his face plate potentially broke his nose. His face plate doesn’t have a nose hole so the closest place for blood to leak out is the mouth hole.

[@willjohnson1273]

The way I saw it Maximus was planning to pick up the axe, when he switched the sword from right to left, having seen it on the ground.

[@NightmareOO9]

Same. he is looking down at the ground right where the axe would be

[@sakomanlee]

Thanks for another great breakdown. Have you done an assessment of HBO's Rome? I didn't find any but I am basically computer illiterate. I have a vague recall of you appearing on another channel talking about the show. Either way, I really enjoy your videos and could never have imagined when i was a child in the 80s and 90s who was obsessed with everything about historical combat and weapons that something like your channel would ever exist. PS: I had to edit to ask a bonus question. Have you ever played the old 1984 arcade game Great Swordsman? Would LOVE to get a breakdown on that. It involves fencing, Kendo(?), and pseudo-Greek/Roman sword fighting. My breakdown is that it is stupidly hard. Every different style consists of three options, a high guard, a mid guard, and a low guard.

[@erikjrn4080]

I suspect that whether a tiger delivers a killing bite depends on whether it's in hunting mode or defensive mode. In the first case, it wants you to lie still, so it can eat you. In the second case, it wants you gone, and doesn't care whether you die or run away. What I'm sure of, however, is that, once you've been on your back, with a tiger on top, it doesn't matter if you managed to avoid getting bitten, or if you managed to kill the tiger. The damage from the claws will kill you. Unlike most animals, who attack with a single "weapon" (fangs or horns), making it theoretically possible to survive wrestling with them, cats of all sizes attack with five weapons; fangs and four sets of claws, all coming from different directions, and, if the cat is a tiger, all independently lethal. He might not have died immediately, but he certainly would've been bleeding all over the place, and had several limbs at least partially disabled, if not fully. Anyone who feels like objecting to this, think back to the last time you let a 250 g kitten play fight with your hand. Then imagine the kitten was 250 kg of adult muscle, and it wasn't playing.

[@dogevanzandt2889]

Is 250g light for a cat

[@erikjrn4080]

@@dogevanzandt2889 Only kittens can weigh as little as 250 g. Adults of the smallest cat species in the World, the Indian rusty-spotted cat (P. rubiginosus), can weigh as little as 900 g. Adults of the smallest breed of domestic cat, the Singapura, can weigh as little as 1.8 kg. For comparison, my Norwegian forest cat weighs 8 kg; 32 times more than 250 g.

[@jamesaaron7211]

My only defense of the shield targetting is that he’s much larger/stronger and might be using it like body blows in boxing, ie wearing his opponent down, making him constantly defend, and keeping him contained to his front. He might even be lulling him into expecting it.

[@MonkeyChessify]

And/or, being an undefeated gladiator, simply doing it for spectacle to hype up the crowd cause he assumes he wont get caught/killed

[@josephdedrick9337]

a pattern that you then break is a good way to catch your opponent by surprise.

[@JCOwens-zq6fd]

As a martial artist I do wish Hollywood didn't always have to use Chinese & Filipino martial systems for everything. They could use short sword techniques from Eastern Europe, Iran or India for ex. Obviously they aren't perfect analogs but imo they would be much closer to how Greeks & Romans fought with them than the filipino & Chinese styles Hollywood usually goes to.

[@carlcramer9269]

Go to Hollywood and offer to coach them. It is probably that simple; there are some masters used in every movie.

[@shetlandapache949]

Would love to see some breakdowns of the last kingdom battles/fights

[@jessmith7324]

Ive done the hand switch before. Very effective as long as the follow up is quick

[@sparrowhawk81]

When he jammed the blade into the ground I said "no!" out loud so reflexively that my wife asked me if I was ok.

[@cal2127]

man id really love to see you break down the princes dual sword fighting style in warrior within..

[@stephens2241]

I suspect the left-hand flip happened because when looking at the footage with the tiger (almost certainly filmed on a different day) they noticed him using the sword in his left. Then added a quick little hand swap scene to reconcile the continuity.

[@RedHandedGod]

I think the hand switch was actually ~because~ they needed/wanted to film the tiger attacking from screen left. But for Max to be able to lift his hand and defend, the free hand needed to be his right hand. If it was his left hand that was open that he reached up with, it would have covered his face, and blocked the audience line of sight to the thrusting sword. So they needed his sword to be in his left hand and his right hand to be open in order to allow the tiger to attack him from the left, which it needed to do because that was the direction that was behind Max.

[@derekp7864]

Brilliant fight from a brilliant film. I always assumed he bled from the mouth from biting through his tongue or into his lips from the pain of having his foot skewered. I never minded the tiger not looking like it was dying because at least you knew they were filming the fight with a real tiger and not cgi. Another good and realistic (?) looking swordfight is the D'Artagnan v Comte de Rochefort duel at the end of The Four Musketeers.

[@Subutai_Khan]

Don’t get me wrong. I love Gladiator despite the historical accuracy not being great. But the main thing I disliked about this scene is how easily Maximus shrugs off tigers pouncing him. Once those claws dig in such a strong animal is not getting shrugged off like that. Even smaller big cats like cougars are known to hang on to goats while rolling down mountains. There is a way you can kill a tiger with hand weapons like a spear assuming you are not ambushed, but it looked really silly how he just outmuscled these tigers in the scene. They were almost an afterthought.

[@OreoBambino]

Maybe they cut/pulled the claws to make em less "instant kill" like? You want to get some rutime for ya money. I still remember the Tyson fight that was over after like 30 seconds. The crowd was very upset and went on a rampage. Imagine paying a lot of money, taking a flight to Vegas and everything, and then the fight lasts less than a minute. After all the circus was a spectacle for entertainment. So giving beasts a handicap, like restrain by chains, or cutting/dulling/pulling the claws, is not far fetched.

[@Subutai_Khan]

@ A swat from a tiger would still surely knock you flat though. As would the sheer weight of the body. Tigers have been known to harm their handlers even if they are playing. As far as declawing, I am not aware of this practice being done in real life. But then again, tigers were rare in the hunts (separate from Gladiator fights) if used at all and mostly for display. We do see leopards and lions though. I guess in this fantasy rendition of gladiators fighting it might be possible they did it though. But that is just nitpicking on my part. I still think it looked a little silly that he shrugged them off instead having to spear them to keep them at bay or something. There is a reason Indians preferred to hunt tigers from on top an elephant!

[@jarrodbright5231]

I always assumed they'd drugged the tigers so they'd put on a show when released rather than looking around confused, hence the tigers being aggressive but disoriented.

[@Subutai_Khan]

@@jarrodbright5231 That is one thing we don't know from the sources, unfortunately. One theory I have seen thrown around is carnivores might have been starved. Particularly for when lions were used for executions that makes sense. Your theory is plausible too.

[@solomonkane223]

Makes sense Maximus not being as well armored. Not only for cinematic drama (him being our hero) but in the storyline. Commodus, is wanting him to be killed in the games, hence the great Tigris being brought out of retirement, accomplish what others have failed to do.

[@nestadious]

Kind of a neat detail I never noticed, but at 7:24 in this video on Maximus's shield is displayed a person fighting a large cat. Neat little foreshadowing there

[@slaterbater1988]

My take on switching to the left hand was that he was planning on grabbing the axe... and, like you talked about, he wanted the heavy, unwieldy weapon in his strong hand. And yeah, I think you're right, the blood spitting might be from a cut scene or it could be from the shield in the teeth.

[@matthewzito6130]

1) In Roman times Caspian Tigers were found as far west as Eastern Turkey. Also, while the beast hunts were usually separate from gladiator fights there was some historical basis for wild animals suddenly appearing from hidden doors. 2) One thing I like about this fight is the aggressive fighting style of Tigris of Gaul. It makes a lot of sense considering how he's armed. 3) While I agree that a sword and shield is a better weapon set in general, the ax and sword combo does have one minor advantage. Few if any of Tigris' opponents would have much experience fighting against this weapon set, while Tigris himself had much experience against gladiators with more common weapon sets. 4) It's possible that Maximus was given a round shield instead of a more familiar Roman shield in an attempt to handicap him.

[@jarrodbright5231]

Some of the best analysis I've seen from a Western commentator on two weapon combat (and yes a shield counts as a weapon!) I'd just add with the axe and sword strategy discussion (approx 10:00 - 11:00) I would suspect the axe needs to be in the opposite hand to your opponent's shield simillarly to when using a tomahawk or tonfa with a knife. You want to use the axe to hook over the edge of the shield, letting you control the shield. Having the axe in the opposite hand to your opponent's shield (i.e. axe in your right hand, shield in opponent's left hand) lets you do this by pulling the shield across your opponent's sword hand meaning you have a more effective opening and restrict your opponent's ability to strike with their sword. You do mention this a little bit later on but I did think it would be a bigger part of selecting which hand to put each weapon in.

[@yuin555]

can u cover something from Master and Commander next?

[@ukmediawarrior]

I am curious. Would Maximus, having been in the army so long and having been trained to fight that way be at a disadvantage fighting a gladiator who is taught to fight another way ... or would he actually be at an advantage? I know he goes through training as a gladiator, but not for long, a few months maybe, while he has been in Rome's army for decades to have risen so far.

[@joshridinger3407]

he'd probably have the advantage in being trained to go for the kill efficiently and avoid getting hit. whereas gladiators would train to fight in a theatrical way, giving superficial wounds and, to some extent, exposing themselves to such wounds as well... until the command comes to kill.

[@federicoponchiroli3762]

When Maximus has the tiger on his back you can hear a guy screaming: “Let go! Let go! Let go!” in Italian.

[@jacksavadge4210]

The reason he’s bleeding from his mouth is Maximus. Just use the shield, throwing it at his head, which causes him to stumble back slightly, giving him the chance to spike him in the foot. It is the throne shield to the head or face that causes the bleeding it is also not that much bleeding. It could very simply be that he has bitten his tongue.

[@YewComman]

Have you considered reviewing a duel between Colonel Picquart and Major Henry in "An Officer and a Spy"? Late 19 - early 20 century duels were the world of their own.

[@jacobclark7950]

Yes to princess bride review. And forge fight in pirates of the caribbean curse of the black pearl

[@GeoGyf]

Indeed this Axe (Tigris of Gaul) was used both by the Eastern Romans & the Sassanid Persians, so this is 600+AD. The pick/spike was highly recommended as an anti-armor option, since both the Eastern Romans & the Sassanid Persians were rich empires & thus could afford lots of formations with heavy armor (especially their mounted cavalry). Emperor Maurice mentions this fact in his Military Manual.

[@1jimmarch]

After the axe is in the foot he'll have to call a toe truck!

[@Faramirvongondor]

I love that when Tigris hooks the shield with his axe he does it on Maximus' left because from there he is in the perfekt position to pull and rotate him in a way that exposes Maximus' back and at the same time brings his sword further away out of reach. If it had'nt pulled the shield from his arm, what would you have said to Maximus doing a spin at that point? I think it could have been a fun opportunity to show a spin that is actually viable for freeing up the shield and bringing the sword back towards the oponent. Of course against someone wielding two weapons it might still be a bad idea😅

[@DSlyde]

Yes absolutely princess bride! It might not be the most historical movie but its still an excellent one

[@Blokewood3]

4:20 Most gladiators fought bare-chested, except for the provocatore, which might have had a sort of half-breastplate, the scissor, which may have worn scale or mail armor, and there were some retiarii who wore tunics. Everyone else had their torso totally exposed to show off to the crowd.

[@przybylskipawel]

Perhaps the bleeding from the mouth was from the hit with the shield to the ribcage somewhere?

[@stevenkobb156]

Princess Bride...YES! Please review that fight.

[@radianman]

Matt, the Caspian Tiger was native to eastern Anatolia (Turkey), northern Iran, Iraq, the Caucasus, Central Asia, western China and southern Russia, so it did exist along the periphery of the Roman Empire. Having said that, the solitary nature of tigers and relatively sparse populations in large territories may be another reason why lions were easier to secure.

[@matthewzito6130]

I'm sure lions would have been more common in Roman bloodsport, but it makes sense that they would use tigers in this case.

[@joshridinger3407]

there were also lots of lions in western asia and northen africa at this time. at least until the romans got ahold of them lol

[@matthewzito6130]

@@joshridinger3407 True, although Barbary Lions survived in smaller numbers until modern times.

[@radianman]

@ Yes, I read somewhere that Alexander the Great’s wagon train was attacked by lions in Greece.

[@matthewzito6130]

@@radianman Makes sense. I think Xerxes' Army lost some of their camels to lions in Greece.

[@belegturamarth]

I would LOVE a Princess Bride video. I just watched it recently, and was wondering about it myself. I know that Bob Anderson and Peter Diamond did the choreography and that Anderson had done Lord of the Rings so I assumed it was good? From what I have learned from you it seems fairly good just on the cinematic side rather than realistic. Thank you!

[@sesimie]

Thanks Matt! You answered a question i had with protrayals of armor in video games I've seen over the years. Why are some armors only on the sword arm side when the stance is leading with the other side? It's based on shields! many of the games I played I don't use shields but that armor (arm and leg on the weapon side) would make more sense with a shield!

[@sherlockemery]

You didn't cover the shield strike at 11:18 3rd shield strike at 35:34 maybe the blood out of the helm is because one of the shield strikes messed up his face? Not sure on that type of helmet as it's kind of a blend of styles/time periods per your comment.

[@alemander_01]

Love Sven! I always notice him in some of my favorite movies. Doesn't he appear in Conan the Destroyer (albeit in a full helmet) as the guy Conan defeats in one of the fights?

[@chrisfields8077]

One of my favorites!

[@balthasarEF]

I hope you check out the 1995 Rob Roy with Liam Neeson. Lots of amazing swordplay in thar film.

[@forlornfool221]

Insta watch immediately hit da like Gladiator is the best and the Soundtrack is also great ❤❤❤

[@Eluzian86]

I'd say the shield strike from underneath was able to hit up underneath the face shield to cause bleeding from his face because the strike was able to get around the protection. That's what I've always concluded.

[@Tman001100]

Not the greatest fight for me but definitely up there. I was wondering if you could review various fight scenes from the more recent Spartacus show series as there are quite a few good ones from multiple seasons. You mentioned the Spartacus movie which paid homage well to the accuracy of different gladiator roles and names of those roles.

[@hideousphidias]

Michael York''s Three Musketeers, our Musketeers and Return of the Musketeers , all have fun fights in thems

[@EdwardCooler-py6mu]

Only Porthos could come up with a way to disarm himself!

[@dias5456]

MOVIE FIGHT REVIEWS ARE MY FAVORITE

[@morbihan9857]

My interpretation has always been that Tigris is bleeding because the shield struck him on the face plate / visor, Maximus is shown throwing or raising the shield somehow ( I guess they just could depict hitting him on the chin as it was coming underneath ), instead of earlier in the fight, where the rim of the shield hit the helmet's skull. Thus the second strike really hurt him. I think once he is down he is shown bleeding from the nose, so the visor/helmet could have been displaced significantly behind to actually break his nose.

[@dominikmalysz]

Seeing You react to some polish sabre movie fights would be nice. For example Kmicic vs Wołodyjowski duel from 'the deluge' or Wołodyjowski vs Bohun duel from 'with fire and sword'

[@mep1990]

I'll repeat a suggestion I made in several videos. You should do a comparison of fights from two related Polish movies: Wołodyjowski vs Kmicic from Potop (1974) and Wołodyjowski vs Bohun from Ogniem i Mieczem (1999). The Potop one is probably one of the most realistic swordfights on film, and Skall made a fight review of that one. The Ogniem i Mieczem fight is more modern and flashier, but I don't think it's terrible, and I'd really want to hear your take on the failed feint involving the changing hands. If you want some context for those fights, I can provide it.

[@OnyxFox867]

THANK YOU FINALLY lol i always say the movie is great ,would be alot better if there were gladiators in it

[@guyplachy9688]

As others have said, Maximus smashes Tigris in the face just prior to spiking his foot, from Tigris' reaction this strike hits either harder or more effectively than the earlier two (or, perhaps, it exacerbates injuries received from the previous hits) ... But, that is a lot of blood! To produce that amount of blood the whole front of Tigris' face would have to be smashed at a minimum. Maybe if the shield struck below the helmet into Tigris' neck (I can't check without going & hunting down the DVD) it hit with enough force to rupture his jugular artery (too red for a venous injury). PS: Any chance to watch Inigo & Wesley dueling gets a nod from me! (Maybe not the most accurate running commentary, & neither is really trying to injure the other, but it is certainly one of the most entertaining cinematic sword fights.)

[@noLuckyStrike09]

In the full version you can also see his helmet has a chip/dent after the shield bash. That''s why he's bleeding from his face

[@M4TCH3SM4L0N3]

35:59 speaking of wacky editing and it being difficult to tell what is going on: I never noticed before now that this shot is CLEARLY from the moment he's meant to be pinned under the tiger and frantically stabbing it with his left hand. You can clearly see the tiger's paws under his shoulders on both sides, but after it cuts to Tigris getting hit by the shield and back to Maximus wielding the axe, there are no paws anymore!

[@shadowcheets]

Just in case it's helpful, on KZbin, you can go forward or backwards a single frame with the "," and "." keys. It makes it much easier to catch a specific moment in the fight.

[@SloppokeymaX]

It would be cool to see you react to the final duel in the 1997 ivanhoe series

[@C_F_M]

Carrying sand in your pocket implies an incredible degree of readiness, courage, and intelligence. I will also note that most people, I think, believe that shield = VERY HEAVY, and sword = VERY HEAVY, therefore blocking sword with shield = VERY HARD and as such, hitting sword against shield actually IS a viable tactic, because surely they will tire

[@DaglasVegas]

the Caspian tiger was only made extinct in the 19th centaury , it's range included Turkey and Iran. so had the roman wanted tigers they didn't have to go all the way to India. the same for lions. lions rage was must more extensive in roman times.

[@ChrisMisMYhandle]

I always thought the blood from the mouth was a bit out of place. Then I heard an interview with the editors of goodfellas regarding the infamous cigar continuity blunder. They said, always favour entertainment and storytelling over continuity. It's likely they knew the blood didn't make total sense, but left it in for dramatic effect.

[@Bullet-Tooth-Tony-]

Something i've wondered is how Maximus would have faired against Achilles in Troy, now that would be a FIGHT!

[@Kynmarcher5000]

So a question for you, Matt: When attacking someone with a shield, wouldn't all the energy from the blows that are directly blocked (instead of deflected) travel up Maximum's arm to his shoulder? You mention that it is best to go around the shield, which is true, but wouldn't weakening someone's defense by wearing out their shield arm also be effective?

[@scholagladiatoria]

Not very much - shields are generally quite heavy, and in most weapon hits you don't really feel much. Even with bucklers held at arm's length you don't feel much from the impact.

[@KFranzaltdorf]

The axe is also seen in earlier persian armies, the greek call them "Sagaris" but it had wooden shaft, not metallic. Cheers from Chile

[@gaxmo920]

Great. Can you review the duel of "Scaramouche" (1952)? It has a 6 minutes duel, Mel Ferrer was a real expert fencer.

[@TheLaminatedbrick]

Oh yes, please review The Princess Bride. That film was a lot of fun.

[@myleft9397]

I know something you don't know. I'm not left handed! Princess Bride fight commentary please!!

[@hancehanson4000]

*This is my 2nd or 3rd comment.... **_begging_** for the Princess-Bride duel-review!*

[@hancehanson4000]

"... . . . . . My name is Iniģo Montoya---- you killed my father.... Prepare to DIE!"

[@jackthunderbolt4307]

Hey Matt, I'm putting together a plsylist about historical mercenaries for my buddy. Do you have/could you make a video about mercenaries? It could anything really. a "how matt Easton would equip himself as a mercenary" as a mercenary would work, or weapons/armor known for use by mercenaries

[@krystofmraz]

These SHIELD bashes Are really underestimated in my opinion. When using SHIELD with Spear (Celtic, 1BC) i observed that shield really Is awesome offensive weapon. IT Have similar REACH As shorter sword (which Is actually where your Spear efecticness ends) And hits with unbeliavable authority. Even small tap on face of oponent (to the masks) takes balance And stops all actions. IT also, in a lot of cases, sends your oponent to the ground. Real bash with some Force behind IT can Split shields, break supear shafts or, i do believe, KO your oponent instatly.

[@rhor1882]

I think he switches to the left hand because he was thinking of picking up the axe, you can see before he switches that he's looking down at the axe which was previously shown on the floor.

[@GilgameshEthics]

Princess bride but not the famous scene at the top of the cliff. I like the final fight in the castle with the guy who killed his father. Also the fight against andre the giant is pretty good. That was the movie that got me excited for european martial arts as a kid. Before that I was all in asian martial arts and hadn't really thought of european sword fighting as refined. I thought european sword fighting was just like war with people beating on each other, and asian martial arts were refined and studied. But seeing the rapier fighting in that movie made me realize that there had to be a whole world of european martial arts as well, at least for sword duels. Still took me awhile to realize the extent of dueling schools and such in europe but I do very much love the fighting in that movie even if it's not perfect.