After the original “Gladiator” was released in 2000, the story of a Roman General forced to become a slave and a gladiator in the Colosseum went on to take the Academy Awards by storm. It earned a whopping 12 nominations, and it went on to win the Oscars for Best Picture and Best Actor for Russell Crowe, as well as Best Costume Design, Best Sound, and Best Visual Effects. But there’s one key piece of “Gladiator” that didn’t take home the trophy, despite being nominated: Hans Zimmer’s incredible original score, which lost out to Tan Dun’s soundtrack for “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.”
Despite not winning the Oscar, “Gladiator” would become one of the most influential scores in cinema at the time. So many movies tried to replicate the power of Hans Zimmer’s beautiful, triumphant, and magnificent music. In particular, the theme that emerges early on in the film’s action-packed opening …