Pseudolus Play Vs Movie Essay

The plot of Pseudolus written by the playwright Plautus was already a delight to read before experiencing how the story had inspired this film. Although there were some variations in comparing the written version to the film version, both had the same plot in which a cunning slave is in charge of reuniting two lovers back together. Watching the film, I really appreciated the amount of comedy enriched within the lines. We have seen and read many depressing stories in class so it was a nice change to lighten up the food. My favorite scene was the “Soothsayer” scene in which the house was mistaken to be haunted and Psuedolus disguised himself as a soothsayer yelling random gibberish. It was random moments like these that made me laugh and appreciate
Maximus was a character I really felt for as he had went through many struggles and had to end up dying in the end as well. During his struggles, he managed to become a powerful figure of his time, leaving behind a legacy that would continue to inspire people. I really enjoyed the visuals in this especially the beginning of the movie with the war scene. The fighting was very fast-paced and the environment was ever-changing with different characters displaying different talents. Commodus was a character I really liked as I felt he was really good with playing a villainous character. Throughout the plot, Commodus never gave up in fulfilling his plans. He murders his own father in an act of rage, sentences Maximus to punishment of death, orders Maximus’ Spanish estate farm to be destroyed, orders Maximus’ family to be killed, uses his own nephew as hostage to gain information against Maximus’ plans, and stabs Maximus’ at the end to gain an unfair handicap advantage in the colosseum battle. Already, I could tell there truly is no limit to his actions in the film and I thought the actor did a wonderful job in playing an ambitious villain. Adding on, the plot of the movie since the colosseum onwards really reminded me of Spartacus. Maximus and Spartacus are really similar in terms of their strength, spirit, and the respect they earned from people around them. They both become gladiators without their will and prove themselves