Häufig gestellte Fragen (FAQ) for
Gladiator (2000)

The Romans had a system of messengers for their army, "Cursus Publicus", much like the Postal Services in Europe or the Pony Express in the USA, with fresh horses every 30 km or so. So a number of messengers could make their way much quicker to Spain (Merida, where Maximus' family lived), than Maximus alone with two horses that grew progressively more tired. Once the messengers reached the Guards in Merida, these would send a detachment over to Maximus' farm. Et exeunt...

The Wikipedia has an article on the "cursus publicus" ("public transportation"). By the time of Marcus Aurelius, this system had been in use for about 200 years. Quote from the Wikipedia article:

"Cursus publicus was the courier service of the Roman Empire. It was created by Emperor Augustus to transport messages, officials, and tax revenues from one province to another. A series of forts and stations were spread out along the major road systems connecting the regions of the Roman world. These relay points (or stationes) provided horses to dispatch riders, usually soldiers, and vehicles for magistrates or officers of the court. ...the system simply provided an infrastructure for magistrates and messengers who traveled through the empire. It consisted of thousands of stations placed along the main roads; these had to supply fresh horses, mules, donkeys, and oxen, as well as carts, food, fodder, and accommodation." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cursus_publicus)

So even with two horses, there was no way Maximus could have beat a messenger that changed horses every 20 miles or so and was fed and bedded by the stations on the "cursus"... -they had a head start on him and travelled much quicker. Still, this journey would have taken weeks by horse (2100 km or 1300 miles from Vienna to Merida, as the crow flies). He tried, though.

Most notably is his next to final scene when he gives the keys to Maximus. You can tell that he was digitally removed from another scene because the focus doesnt change on anything even though he is moving closer, the lighting is different enough to stand out, and all his new lines are said by an impersonator(added later) while Proximo is off screen.

Most characters playing inhabitants of Rome speak English with a British accent. Russell Crowe's New Zealand accent indicates that he is from a different region within the Empire. In this case, Hispania (present day Spain), which was a region previously conquered by the Romans, so they would have spoken Latin with an accent. Concomitantly, Hagen (the German gladiator) and Juba (the African gladiator) speak English with a German and African accent respectively.

It is in German, although grammatically incorrect or in a heavy dialect. Most likely he means to say "Ihr seid verfluchte Hünde!", which means "You are (a bunch of) cursed dogs!"