“ Without Nazism, we wouldn’t have the keys to understand The Great Mop. “ The finding of Gaspard Proust is not completely absurd. It’s a bit the same with ancient Rome. Without it, we wouldn’t have the keys to understand Gladiator. In 2000, Ridley Scott gave a new lease of life to the peplum, a genre that had fallen into disuse in Hollywood – by then, not many people were saying “Cut the crap, Ben-Hur!” Covered in laurels and Oscars (including Best Picture and Best Actor for Russell Crowe), Gladiator followed in the footsteps of Spartacus by Kubrick, minus Kirk Douglas and the slave revolt.

Warmed by the lukewarm reception of his Napoleon – particularly mocked by French historians and critics – Ridley Scott is back in the arena to raise his chest. At the age of 86, the British director is throwing his last reserves into the battle. It’s not just an image.

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