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Gladiator Extended Edition

Ridley's Scott's "Gladiator" - an epic tale of battle and betrayal in ancient Rome - is returning to DVD on August 23rd in a new 3 Disc Special Extended Edition. With a list price of $39.99, this new edition features a 200 minute Director's Cut of the film with 17 minutes of additional footage plus a new commentary track by Scott and star Russell Crowe as well as extensive new documentaries, photo galleries and other exclusive goodies.

Some details on what's included:

Disc 1:

• All-New, Widescreen Extended Edition of the Film, Including 17 Minutes of Additional Footage Seamlessly Re-edited into the Film

• Original Theatrical Edition, As Seen During the Film's Original Release

• Introduction to the Extended Edition by Director Ridley Scott

• "Are You Not Entertained?": An informative trivia track including historical references, production details and a deleted footage marker for those who just can't get enough about Gladiator.

• All-New Commentary by Ridley Scott & Russell Crowe

Disc 2:

"Strength and Honor: Creating the World of Gladiator" Extended-Length (200 minutes) Documentary Features Never-Before-Seen Footage comprised of the following chapters:

• "Tale of The Scribes: Story Development"
Exploring the story's origins in ancient history and its challenging journey from script to screen.

• "The Tools Of War": Weapons
An informative featurette on the design and construction of the battle-hardened vehicles and weapons seen in Gladiator.

• "Attire of the Realm": Costume Design
A fascinating look at how the film's Oscar®-winning costumes were designed and created.

• "The Heat of Battle": Production Journals
A series of featurettes taking the viewer on-set and deeper into the world of Gladiator, including segments on Germania, Zucchabar & Rome.

• "Shadows & Dust": Resurrecting Proximo
With the untimely passing of actor Oliver Reed, the filmmakers had to scramble to digitally salvage his unforgettable (yet incomplete) final performance. Here's how.

• "The Glory of Rome": Visual Effects
A detailed overview of Gladiator's Oscar®-Winning visual effects and how the filmmakers recreated ancient Rome.

• "Echoes in Eternity": Release & Impact
A look back at the film's phenomenal release and reaction, including its resurrection of the historical epic.

Disc Three:

• Production Design Featurette & Gallery: Production designer Arthur Max gives viewers an overview of the challenges and responsibilities in creating the look for a massive, realistic epic such as Gladiator.

• Storyboard Demonstrations, Comparisons and Gallery: Conceptual artist Sylvain Despretz discusses the importance of storyboarding and demonstrates his craft by drawing and inking two all-new Gladiator boards on-camera, exclusively for this DVD release. Multi-angle storyboard-to-film comparisons with optional commentary will give viewers insight into how the shot design for the following sequences were conceived: Germania battlefront, Chain Fight & The Battle of Carthage.

• Ridleygrams: Ridley Scott's Own Sketches of "Maximus' Journey": A sampling of Ridley Scott's own storyboards for Maximus' escape from the praetorians, leading up to the abandoned "Blood Vision" sequence.

• Costume Design Gallery: An in-depth section dedicated to Oscar®-winner Janty Yates' celebrated costume illustrations.

• Photo Galleries: Behind The Scenes & Special Shoot

• Abandoned Sequences, Including: Alternate Opening Titles, Blood Vision, Rhino Fight and a Newly-Discovered Deleted Scene

• Visual Effects Explorations: Germania & Rome: A "nuts and bolts" breakdown of the computer generated work that went into creating the world of Gladiator.