Gladiator: What The German Says At The Beginning Of The Movie

What does the leader of the Germanic tribe say during the iconic opening scene of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator? Starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielson, and Richard Harris, Gladiator was inspired by Daniel P. Mannix’s 1958 novel, Those About to Die. The central plot of the epic historical drama follows Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius (Crowe), who is sabotaged by the power-hungry son of Emperor Marcus Aurelius in an attempt to seize the throne.

It is important to note that the events of Gladiator are loosely based on real events that occurred within the Roman Empire in the latter half of the 2nd century AD, leading to several historical inaccuracies and add-ons for artistic purposes. A prime example of the fact is that the core conflict of the film, in which Commodus murders his father, is simply not true, as Aurelius died at Vindobona, Vienna in 180 AD from the Antonine Plague. Keeping this in mind, there are several liberties taken by Scott and the crew in terms of the portrayal of Germanic tribes, which factors into the film’s opening sequence.

The film opens with the cavalry riding past Gladiator‘s protagonist General Maximus, who surveys his army pre-battle alongside the muddied paths of the battle-worn forest. The army is ready for the attack through the rear flanks of the tribes, who greet Maximus in the meanwhile with a max of respect and admiration. While Maximus discusses the battle strategy with Quintus and Valerius, cries of the Germanic tribe can be heard faintly in the distance, the words “Ihr seid verfluchte hunde!” resonating throughout the space. A headless horseman emerges from the forest line, as the Germanic leader waves the horseman’s head and repeats his proclamation.

“Ihr seid verfluchte hunde!” roughly translates to “You are cursed dogs!” in modern German, capturing the raw disdain of the tribes towards the Roman empire. While this is established, the presence of this proclamation is somewhat inaccurate, as it would make more sense for the phrase to be uttered in an Old Germanic dialect suitable to that point in time, instead of a direct modern German phrase. Moreover, the actor uttering the line delivers the same in a heavy Scottish accent, lending more inaccuracy to the scene from a linguistic perspective.

This, of course, is one of many historical inconsistencies in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator, despite the fact that a handful of historians were hired for consultations, with most of their observations being ignored. For instance, costumes were way off as per the attire of the times, as some of the soldiers are seen wearing fantasy helmets with bands wrapped around their arms. The Germanic tribes, such as the one featured in the opening sequence, are seen wearing clothing from the Stone Age period, which is a possible manifestation of the stereotype that these groups of people were “savages” or “barbarians”.

About The Author

Debopriyaa Dutta
(328 Articles Published)

Apart from being a features writer and critic at ScreenRant, Debopriyaa is a news writer at /Film. She is also a contributor to High on Films & Fansided, and an editor at Digital Mafia Talkies. Her poetry has been published in a wide array of journals, such as Gideon Poetry, White Noise Magazine, and Literaria. Find her on Twitter @angelusatani.

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