The Gladiators (Gladiatorerna)

"Not only a beautifully constructed suspense thriller but also one of the finest anti-war films of recent years." - Judith Crist, New York Magazine

The near future. To maintain international and internal security and to divert mankind's natural aggression, the UN organizes a series of televised military games, which are often fought to the death. Sponsored by a pasta corporation and based on the gladiatorial games of ancient Rome, these are the International Peace Games.

For Game Number 256, the Western Team must reach the Control Room in order to win and has to deal with a series of violent obstacles set by a highly sophisticated computer. However, the system's control of the Game cannot handle the human spirit and extreme measures become necessary.

Winner of the Grand Prix at the Trieste International Science Fiction Film Festival.

"The central metaphor is formidably strong and Watkins' meticulous expertise with arms and men in conflict and violence, his attention to detail and his careful drilling of a substantially non-actor cast, background the metaphor well. It is a substantial film, cruel and precise." - The Scotsman, UK