GLADIATORS - DVD review

Peter Watkins' films have remained largely unavailable for years, an injustice that New Yorker Video (along with Project X) has begun to address with the recent releases of "Punishment Park" (1971), "Edvard Munch" (1974) and now "The Gladiators" (1969).

In "The Gladiators," a team of allied soldiers squares off against a team of soldiers from the Chinese People's Army in the latest installment of the International Peace Games. The competition between ideologically opposed nations is conducted in the name of peace, but its primary function appears to be to rack up massive ratings: the broadcast of the so-called "Peace" Games is the most popular program in England and in other countries.

The Games are supervised by the Swedish Army, though all we ever see of the Swedes is two bored computer operators who monitor a nearly all-powerful machine called ICARUS (the Ideological Correction and Rapid Unification System). ICARUS really runs the Games; in fact, the film begins with an insistent beeping noise that "represents the pressure applied by [ICARUS] to ensure that we all play the Game as hard as we can." ICARUS has a button for everything: SLOW MOTION MURDER; TRIAL OF STRENGTH; COLLABORATION WITH ENEMY. You name it, ICARUS has a circuit designed to compensate for it and keep the Game running smoothly. The rules of the Game are simple: whichever team gets to the Control Room first wins, and each team tries to stop the other by any means necessary.

This speculative fiction premise will sound familiar to anyone who has seen Watkins' "Punishment Park," and like in that later film, Watkins employs a pseudo-documentary style (newsreel footage, interviews, etc.) and mixes professional and amateur actors in his cast. However, "The Gladiators" differs from "Punishment Park" in several ways. Chief among these is the frequent dose of over-the-top satire Watkins injects into the story, usually stemming from the fat-cat generals who observe the games with a combination of boredom and self-satisfaction. Though their soldiers are fighting to the death, Chinese and British generals (and American and Nigerian, etc.) seem to get along just fine from the safety of their cushy lounge. They share casual witticisms with each other and barely take notice as their soldiers get killed off in the Games. If a few men get killed along the way, well that's what soldiers are for (and all the better for the ratings!) The resemblance to "Dr. Strangelove" is unmistakable even if it is a superficial one.

The generals' boredom erupts into panic, however, when two soldiers from the opposing teams commit the most grievous possible violation of Peace Game etiquette: they stop hating each other. Mutual distrust is the grease which keeps the gears of the machine turning, but when soldier B-6 (Jim Kennedy) from the allied team and soldier C-2 (Pik-Sen Lim) from the Chinese team forge a genuine human connection, it causes ICARUS to "blow a valve" and threatens to destroy the Peace Games altogether.

Peter Watkins is an intense, politically motivated filmmaker whose straightforward approach can seem unsubtle or even hopelessly naïve. This impression is reinforced by Watkins' combative personality; he claims loudly and insistently that his films have been intentionally marginalized by a craven, self-serving media that is uncomfortable both with his criticism and his political focus. Some viewers might find this frankness off-putting, but now that I've seen several of Watkins' movies, I find his "straight from the heart/a sharp stick in the eye" approach a refreshing counterpoint to innumerable contemporary films that positively drown in their own irony. Watkins doesn't hedge his bets by placing tongue firmly in cheek; he has strong opinions, expresses them forthrightly and doesn't shield himself with smug cleverness or fey preciousness. Watkins lets it all hang out. He runs the risk of occasionally sounding preachy or didactic, but the good more than outweighs the bad in his full frontal assault.

Though "The Gladiators" seems to be an anti-war film, Watkins real focus here is a two-fold critique of the media and its attendant consumer culture. The Games exist only because the media can make money off of them. And as long as everyone is comfortable and happily distracted, nobody is going to challenge the system. B-3 (Jean-Pierre Delamour), an idealistic French student on the allied team, discovers this for himself when he breaks into the control room and, instead of smashing ICARUS to bits as originally planned, decides he might be able to put it to good use himself. Power begets power; the system perpetuates itself precisely because it is such an effective tool that even would-be revolutionaries can't resist taking advantage of, all for a good cause of course.

Watkins' grim vision reminds me of the Harlan Ellison short story "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream" in which the all-powerful machine AM subjects the last remaining humans on earth to eternal torture. AM is truly omnipotent, and the only way any of the defenseless subjects can "win" its sick game is by showing compassion in a hopeless situation despite the fact that the compassionate hero's only "reward" is to be subjected to even greater torment at the hands of a petulant and vengeful AM. "The Gladiators" doesn't paint quite as bleak a picture, but it's not much more optimistic. Some brief hope is offered when the co-operation of B-6 and C-2 gums up the works, but their rebellion is quickly and brutally quashed. This brief flicker of human dignity creates a minor disruption; only thousands of similar acts of decency and courage could possibly pose a fundamental risk to the system. A small chance, at least, but Watkins seems to believe this will never happen as long as everyone has good TV shows to keep them busy. I'm not as pessimistic as Watkins, but I'm not sure I can argue with him on this point. Maybe $5/gallon gas will do the trick.

Video

The film is presented in its original 1.66:1 aspect ratio. Though the image quality is fine, there appears to be a problem with the light source used for the transfer. The brightness occasionally increases or decreases even within scenes, which can be a bit distracting.

Audio

The DVD is presented in Dolby Digital Mono. Optional English and French subtitles are offered to support the audio.

Extras

A feature-length commentary by Dr. Joseph Gomez, author of a book on Watkins, provides background on the director's career and a close analysis of the film. He repeats a lot of material from his commentary on "Punishment Park," however.

The disc also included Watkins' short 16 mm. film "The Diary of an Unknown Soldier" (1959, 17 min.), an arch account of a soldier's "last day" during World War I. It's not exactly subtle or surprising (war is hell!), but it is oddly poignant and uses particularly effective narration.

A 12-page insert booklet contains another Peter Watkins "self-interview" similar to the one included with "Edvard Munch."

Film Value

Though "Punishment Park" may be a bit better known, I found "The Gladiators" to be a superior film. It still has plenty of rough edges and a few overwrought moments, but under Watkins' passionate influence, these play more like strengths than flaws. I also thought the film was more formally accomplished than "Punishment Park" especially the innovative soundwork which transforms ICARUS into the long-lost cousin of Alpha-60 from "Alphaville." "The Gladiators" is not on par with Watkins' masterpiece "Edvard Munch" but then again, I can't think of many films that are.