This weekend on AMC is the debut of Alexander, and to mark this occasion BEER.COM presents EPIC WEEK. All this week I'll be taking a look at some great Epic flicks.

The week starts with GLADIATOR:

GLADIATOR (2000)

Starring: Russel Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, and Connie Nielsen.

This masterwork from director Ridley Scott won 5 Oscars (Including Best Actor and Best Picture) in 2001, clearly a measure of its caliber.

Gladiator is the story of General Maximus, one of the manliest men to ever eviscerate a proletariat. He's a battle-scarred Roman general, husband, and Father. He also happens to be the right-hand man to the Roman Emperor.

The film opens up with an EPIC clash between the Roman armies and the Barbarians, complete with flaming arrows, war hammers, and vicious hand-to-hand battles. Maximus swears this is his last battle before retiring from the life of a soldier and emerges victorious.

After the battle, the Roman Emperor approaches Maximus and tells him he wants him to take the throne of Rome when he dies - instead of his ambitious and treacherous son Commodus. Enraged by this decision, Commodus kills his father and takes the mantle of Emperor for himself.

As his first act, he has Maximus charged with the murder of his father, and sentences Maximus to death before he gets to see his wife or son again.

Maximus escapes his captors only to find Commodus has ordered Maximus' family murdered! On the run, Maximus is taken in and sold to Gladiatorial combat - the only way he can earn his freedom.

What follows can only be described as EPIC.

Take a look at the opening scene of the film to see exactly how amazing and large-scale this film is. EPIC.

Stay tuned tomorrow for Beer.com's second installment for EPIC WEEK.

Remember, ALEXANDER is on AMC on June 21st!