spoliers ahead...(but if you haven't seen the movie yet, you probably never will).

I just rewatched Gladiator (love this movie) and had a question about the final fight at the end. When the Emperor stabs Maximus before the fight, is the knife poisoned? Or does he just stab him in such a way to give him a mortal wound? If so, where exactly - lungs? kidney?

It's been a while since I've seen it, but I assumed that it was posioned.

I always thought he just stabbed him in a place where he would bleed to death fast, especially moving around a lot during the fight. I can't remember if Ridley Scott says in the commentary where he stabs him, but I would assume the kidneys or liver or something vital.

I thought he just stabbed him so that he couldnt fight good and the Emporer would kill him during the fight. If he stabbed him too bad, Maximus would just fall over and die in the middle of the fight and people would think something was up.

Been awhile since I have seen it . . . but I thought that they showed him wiping something on the blade before stabbing Maximus.

I thought it was just a normal wound to hurt him. Funny how we have such a mixed response on this already

not poisoned

I had to watch the scene because I wanted to know for myself. He doesn't wipe it in anything, so it doesn't appear to be poisoned, and he seems to stab him a little higher in the back, so he might have punctured a lung.

Here's a pic; the exposed skin in the middle right is just behind his armpit.

stabbed in the lung is the correct answer.

yup

i always thought it was poisoned. If he punctured a long, wouldn't he start coughing?

granted i haven't seen the movie in a while, so ignore me.

Too bad they didn't have that valve thing Marky Mark used in 'Three Kings' to keep his lung open - Maximus might have pulled through.

And then we would have the rumored Gladiator sequel (or in Elizabeth Taylor's case "Gladiator squeal").