In the year 2000, masses lined up to cheer on Russell Crowe's Maximus in the Ridley Scott film, "Gladiator." More than 1,900 years earlier, they lined up for the real thing. It was a scene far bloodier and more brutal than any of the battles presented in the Oscar-winning film. We uncover the real story of "Gladiator," a tale of blood, death, obsession and violence. Demonstrations and new experiments reveal how these men really fought and died, and examine the emperor Commodus, a man who obsessed over gladiators while his empire crumbled around him.

• Leonard Nimoy
• Rod Roddenberry