Visible crew/equipment: During the Germanian battle, when Maximus falls off his horse you can see the ramp, on which the fake horse (yes it's fake, as shown in Special Features in the Extended 3 Disc Edition), is being pushed forward on and finally ejected off. (00:10:00)
Visible crew/equipment: After the battle with the Germanians, the next morning after the tavern, Maximus is walking in the army camp and he feeds a horse a piece of apple. If you look closely between him and the horse, there is a crewman wearing a pair of blue jeans. (00:21:00)
Visible crew/equipment: When Maximus is told the Emperor is dead we see him barge past Commodus to see the body. Look behind Commodus at the roof and you should see an electrical stage light. (00:35:00)
Visible crew/equipment: In the scene on the DVD where Maximus' son is lunging his horse, just before he gets killed, the camera pans to show a view of the house in the background. On the right side of the house you can see two aerial power cables between the trees. You need a good resolution screen to pick it out: it's visible on my computer monitor but not on my television. (00:41:10)
Visible crew/equipment: During the first Gladiator match in Morocco, Maximus and Juba are chained together. Once they have killed the last man, the camera takes us around the arena. You can clearly see the shadow of the camera on Maximus' chest. It happens twice. (00:55:45)
Visible crew/equipment: When Commodus enters Rome in triumph, he descends from his chariot to mount the stairs. A group of children with flowers rise. At the extreme right, modern scaffolding is visible for a half a second. (00:57:28)
Visible crew/equipment: When Commodus says "The greatness of Rome. and what is that?", as Lucilla answers "It's an idea", it cuts to her walking. As she walks, look behind Commodus' throne above the arm rest, you should be able to see a yellow cord hidden behind a monument. (01:01:00)
Visible crew/equipment: During the scene where Maximus throws the sword into the crowd and yells "are you not entertained," the camera pans around, and in the crowd, for a split second, you can see a cameraman in jeans and a shirt standing next to a camera. This is visible on the big screen, but hard to see on video, unless you see it on DVD and can zoom in. (01:04:50)
Visible crew/equipment: In the first battle in the Colosseum, right before the female gladiator gets chopped in half by the chariot, you can see someone in a black outfit wearing what looks like safety or hiking boots driving the chariot. (01:22:50)
Visible crew/equipment: In the "Battle of Carthage" in the Colosseum, one of the chariots is turned over. Once the dust settles you can see a gas cylinder in the back of the chariot. (01:22:55)
Visible crew/equipment: When Maximus has killed the tiger you can see a whip hitting it as it lies on the its back. It probably belongs to the lion tamer who tries to make the tiger wriggle. (01:42:05)
Visible crew/equipment: When Maximus enters the arena before facing Tigris, the camera pans around the crowd. At one point, you can see a young Hispanic girl wearing a "scrunchie" holding her hair in a perfect ponytail, several bracelets and a watch, a necklace, a cut-off white t-shirt, and blue jeans. Most noticeable in full screen version. (01:42:40)
Visible crew/equipment: After Maximus defeats Tigris of Gaul, there are Praetorians shown coming out of a gate on the left-hand side into the arena. In the next shot, you can see an open gate at the far end of the arena and you can see some kind of golf cart-like vehicle driving by on the outside of the Colosseum. It is very a motorized vehicle because there is no horse and it moves too smoothly. (01:43:55)
Visible crew/equipment: As the firesquad release their arrows at the two prisoners the protective pads under their shirts are quite visible. (Extended version only). (01:47:10)
Chosen answer: You're probably closest with the suggestion that they're rather stunned at the sheer speed with which Maximus has carved through the opposition. They'd certainly be used to more of a show, so for Maximus to slay all his challengers in less than a minute would take them aback. If anything, the "Are you not entertained" is closer to the theatrics that they'd really expect to see, which would prompt them into cheering him - up to that point, he's not exactly won their favour, even though he's defeated all comers.
Tailkinker ★