QUOTE(SubRosa @ Feb 26 2013, 05:29 AM)

QUOTE(Darkness Eternal @ Feb 25 2013, 08:54 PM)

Colosseum-A Gladiator's story.Documantary-styled movie video based on the real life story of Verus, a slave gladiator in the Roman days. Very interesting video. I was always fascinated by the gladiatorial sport.
I saw that one a year ago. It was excellent. So much better than the ridiculous tripe that Hollywood loves to put out about gladiators. It was so nice to see reality for a change. Like the fact that slaves
wanted to become gladiators, and actually competed with one another for the chance. Because the alternative was usually so much worse. Or that gladiators cost money, and when one died in a fight, their owner had to be reimbursed by the sponsor of the games. So that meant the real arena was not a massive bloodfest, but rather only one match in 4 or 5 ended with a death instead.
Of course! Hollywood sensationalized gladiators to make it seem that many people died in the arena. It's true to a certain point, though. Criminals, prisoners, christians and renegade slaves who were condemned were thrown into the arena to be executed and fed to the lions. Now, official career-type gladiators were not often killed. They died, yes, eventually but not everytime they fought. They had good food, a great income, the best medics of that time period. They had the best training. The women loved them. They were the rockstars of that age.
You're right about the owner being reimbursed. Training gladiators in a ludus cost some good money, and of course, imagine having one of your best warriors suddenly killed? All the time it took to train, feed and cloth him would have to be paid back in full.
QUOTE(King Of Beasts @ Feb 26 2013, 06:09 AM)

I watched Van Helsing! That movie really renewed my love for Werewolves and Vampires!
Heh, can't believe you just watched it. It came out in 2004. I liked it, though. Best werewolves in movie. Period.