“Fires raged, horse-riding soldiers charged and warriors did hand-to-hand battle at Bourne Woods,” the Herald reported on February 12, 1999, as filming for the movie Gladiator entered its second week.

“Members of the public eager to sample a taste of the movies, lined the bridleways and footpaths around the Forestry Commission land to photograph 700 warring soldiers.”

Crew and extras, some of them Farnham residents, braved freezing conditions, sleet and snow, to film the opening scenes of the Ridley Scott epic as the woods took on a distinctly wintry appearance.

Most of the extras were cast at Farnham Maltings two months earlier.

And there was great excitement when a then-lesser-known leading star, Russell Crowe, arrived on the set.

"On Wednesday, Russell Crowe, who starred in the 1997 thriller LA Confidential, was able to put his fighting skills into practice when he beheaded a German warrior. 

"The scene will only last a few moments but the need to get the sophisticated special effects spot-on meant it was the only action to be shot, meaning hundreds of extras had a day off."

Bourne Woods doubled up as the banks of the River Danube in the opening scenes of Gladiator, with chainmail-wearing German and Roman warriors doing battle.

Roars from the battle were reportedly clearly audible more than half-a-mile away.

The remaining scenes of the blockbuster were filmed in Malta, some of which featured as many as 28,000 people and a mock-up of the colosseum in Rome.

The film went on to win critical accolades, large audiences and five Oscars amongst a host of other major awards.

The premier woodland location has seen many film productions since Gladiator led the way in 1999, including Ridley Scott’s film Napoleon as well as Harry Potter, Warhorse, Robin Hood, Thor, Wonder Woman, Transformers 3 and several Netflix productions.