May 5, 2000: The film "Gladiator" premieres

May 5, 2000: The film Gladiator premieres, directed by Ridley Scott. As Mel Gibson did 5 years earlier, Russell Crowe stars in a historical epic that’s a lot better with drama than it is with historical accuracy. Still, most people who saw it were entertained.

For all intents and purposes, it's a remake of the 1964 film The Fall of the Roman Empire, directed by Anthony Mann, which is often said to have marked the beginning of the end of historical epics, although that wasn't quite the case. Both films are set AD 180, roughly the high point of the Empire. In the 1964 film, the general-turned-gladiator is named Livius, and he's played by Stephen Boyd; in the 2000 film, he is named Maximus, and played by Crowe.

In the 1964 film, old Emperor Marcus Aurelius is played by Alec Guinness, new Emperor Commodus by Christopher Plummer, Commodus' sister and the gladiator's ex-girlfriend Lucilla by Sophia Loren. In the 2000 film, those roles are played, respectively, by Richard Harris, Joaquin Phoenix and Connie Nielsen. The 1964 film also features James Mason, Mel Ferrer, Omar Sharif, Anthony Quayle and John Ireland; while the 2000 film also features Oliver Red, Derek Jacobi, Djimon Hounsou and David Hemmings.

Gladiator was nominated for 12 Academy Awards, and won 5, including Best Picture, and Best Actor for Crowe. Apparently, sufficient members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences were entertained.

In real life, Marcus Aurelius, who reigned from AD 161 to 180, dying in office at the age of 58, is considered the last of "The Five Good Emperors," and his surviving writing, The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, have led to him being called a "philosopher-king." In contrast, his son Commodus, both in his time and since, was regarded as an evil dictator, who did, indeed, enter the gladiatorial field of combat himself. He reigned until 192, and was assassinated, although not as a gladiator. He was 31.

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May 5, 2000 was a Friday. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* A wild game was played at the old Yankee Stadium. The New York Yankees blew a 3-0 lead over the Baltimore Orioles, then blew a 5-3 lead. Then the Orioles blew an 8-5 lead. The Orioles took a 10-8 lead in the top of the 9th.

Paul O’Neill led off the bottom of the 9th against Mike Timlin, and crushed a home run. Bernie Williams singled. Oriole manager Mike Hargrove brought B.J. Ryan in to pitch. Tino Martinez worked him for a walk. Yankee manager Joe Torre sent Clay Bellinger in to pinch-run for Tino. And Jorge Posada hit one out. Four runs without an out in the bottom of the 9th, and the Yankees won, 12-10. And that wasn't the highest-scoring game that day.

* The New York Mets beat the Florida Marlins, 4-1 at Pro Player Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida. Al Leiter was the winning pitcher. Mike Piazza hit a home run.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 5-3 at Fenway Park in Boston.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-5 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta. Tom Glavine and Randy Wolf started, but neither figured in the decision. The Phils scored 4 runs in the top of the 9th, including a home run by Scott Rolen, to take a 5-4 lead. But in the bottom of the 9th, Wally Joyner singled, and Andruw Jones hit a game-winning home run.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Cleveland Indians, 11-10 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto. The Jays got home runs from Darrin Fletcher, Raúl Mondesí Sr., Carlos Delgado, José Cruz Jr. and Alex Gonzalez. The Tribe got them from Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome. And that wasn't the highest-scoring game that day.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-2 at Cinergy Field (formerly Riverfront Stadium) in Cincinnati. Ken Griffey Jr. went 2-for-4 with a home run and 2 RBIs.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs, 4-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 10-2 at Milwaukee County Stadium.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins, 10-8 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-1 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Oakland Athletics, 17-16 at The Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. The Rangers got only 1 home run, from Iván Rodríguez; but they got 2 hits and 4 RBIs from Scott Sheldon; and 3 hits each from Rodríguez, Rafael Palmeiro, Chad Curtis, Rubén Mateo and Tom Evans. The A's got homers from Frank Menechino; Ramón Hernández ,Jeremy Giambi, Adam Piatt and Terrence Long (3, off Jeff Zimmerman, 8th inn, 0 on, 2 outs to RF).

* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the San Diego Padres, 5-3 at Bank One Ballpark (now Chase Field) in Phoenix. Tony Gwynn did not play.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Houston Astros, 3-2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Colorado Rockies, 5-0 at Pacific Bell Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco. Joe Nathan pitched 7 innings of 2-hit shutout ball, and John Johnstone and Alan Embree finished the 3-hit shutout. J.T. Snow hit a home run. Barry Bonds went 0-for-4.

* And the Anaheim Angels beat the Seattle Mariners, 6-5 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle.

Football was out of season. There were 2 games in the NBA Playoffs. The Utah Jazz beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 96-93 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. And the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Sacramento Kings, 113-86 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles. Shaquille O'Neal scored 32 points and grabbed 18 rebounds.

There were 2 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Colorado Avalanche beat the Detroit Red Wings, 4-2 at the Pepsi Center (now the Ball Arena) in Denver. And the Dallas Stars beat the San Jose Sharks, 5-4 at the San Jose Arena (now the SAP Center).