Spartacus
(PG-13, 3:16:44, Released 1960)
| Genres: | Drama, Action & Adventure, Classics |
| Release Date: | Oct 7, 1960 |
| DVD Release Date: | Apr 24, 2001 |
| Starring: | Charles Laughton, Jean Simmons, Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Peter Ustinov, Tony Curtis |
| Directed by: | Stanley Kubrick |
| Synopsis: | Spartacus (Kirk Douglas) is a rebellious slave purchased by Lentulus Batiatus (Peter Ustinov), owner of a school for gladiators. For the entertainment of corrupt Roman senator Marcus Licinius Crassus (Laurence Olivier), Batiatus' gladiators are to stage a fight to the death. On the night before the event, the enslaved trainees are rewarded with female companionship. Spartacus' companion for the evening is Varinia (Jean Simmons), a slave from Brittania. When Spartacus later learns that Varinia has been sold to Crassus, he leads 78 fellow gladiators in revolt. Word of the rebellion spreads like wildfire, and soon Spartacus' army numbers in the hundreds. Escaping to join his cause is Varinia, who has fallen in love with Spartacus, and another of Crassus' house slaves, the sensitive Antoninus (Tony Curtis). The revolt becomes the principal cog in the wheel of a political struggle between Crassus and a more temperate senator named Gracchus (Charles Laughton). Anthony Mann was the original director of Spartacus, eventually replaced by Stanley Kubrick, who'd previously guided Douglas through Paths of Glory. The film received 4 Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actor for Ustinov. A crucial scene between Olivier and Curtis, removed from the 1967 reissue because of its subtle homosexual implications, was restored in 1991, with a newly recorded soundtrack featuring Curtis as his younger self and Anthony Hopkins standing in for the deceased Olivier.~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide |
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Other Top Reviews
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January 4, 2010
"When a freeman dies, he loses the pleasure of life. A slave loses his pain. Death is the only freedom a slave knows." Before the groundbreaking sci-fi, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Stanley Kubrick did an unforgettable 3-hour classic epic about a slave who inspired other men like him to fight against the indestructible Roman soldiers headed by Crassus to gain their freedom. Kirk Douglas (Paths of Glory) starred as the man who fought bravely for his life and love, Spartacus. The battle scenes were brilliantly executed. Spartacus's will to give freedom to his fellow men (though he didn't achieve it) and his model as a leader to them made him one of the best of all Kubrick's characters in his films. This film had had more dramatic scenes than all of Kubrick's films put together, including the last scene. It is truly hearth wrenching when Crassus offered them to live and to be slaves again if they bring him the body of Spartacus, but in surprise they all admitted that they were Spartacus, they rather be crucified till death than to be slaves again. Spartacus's character is unbreakable and undeniably strong. Crassus did kill Spartacus, but he didn't kill the legend of Spartacus. Perfect!
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January 2, 2010
Excellent movie starring Douglas as the rebel slave Spartacus
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January 1, 2010
The epic film which seems to go on forever takes its time to tell the story of a gladiator who refuses to bow down to an empire. Douglas is very good in the title role and Curtis gives the film an emotional view from his role. There are some excellent moments but the film goes on for so long you do wonder how it all began.
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December 24, 2009
I'm Spartacus!
No, I'M Spartacus.
Forget him, I'M SPARTACUS! -
December 19, 2009
Excellent movie starring Douglas as the rebel slave Spartacus who revolts against the Romans.
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December 12, 2009
A classic movie that starts off really strong, but then I just lost interest. Kirk Douglas was also kind of bland in this movie.
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December 5, 2009
If there's one director that I'm most fond of, it would be Stanley Kubrick (next is Godard, then Hitchcock I should say). His works continue to surprise me as I swim into his archives. He is so versatile that I can't pick which of which is his best. They are of different intensities, but they can top any criterion of a good film. Drama, science fiction, suspense, war epic, romance?
SPARTACUS is a 1960 epic based on a novel of the same name written by Howard Fast in 1951. The film stars Kirk Douglas as the slave turned rebel Spartacus and Laurence Olivier as the power-greedy general of the Roman Empire.
It's a story of struggle for freedom.
As we all know, slaves at that time were treated most likely as animals (or some times worse). Spartacus was a slave and introduced in the film as one of those who were working for construction. But because of his physique and man power, he was chosen to be a "Gladiator" for the entertainment of higher ranking officials of Rome at that time. He was later put in a series of trainings and tests for his newly-given task. During then, he met a beautiful lady named Varinia (Jean Simmons) who soon became his wife.
Marcus Licinius Crassus (Laurence Olivier) on the other hand was a Roman leader and the main protagonist of the film.
Cinematography
First thing that I noticed about this film is its excellent cinematography. Technically, the version that I've watched is the restored version by Robert Harris (nicely done).
Kubrick I should say is a big fan of landscapes. Almost most of his films include pictures and scenes of great landscapes. Like those wallpapers in our personal computers. In "2001: A Space Odyssey" for example exhibits slideshows of great sunset sceneries in the desert or elsewhere. Another is in "The Shining" where in the start of the film when credits are rolled up, cameras are focusing on the road and side cliffs of a mountain. Nothing, those are just fantastic pictures to watch.
Costumes were carefully designed for the film.
Fantastic music. This film has a great musical score effective for those scenes especially when Spartacus and Varinia are together. And when the battle began for the slaves and the army of the Roman Empire.
The Gladiators, I wish that it was more aggressive. That was the scene when
Spartacus and the black guy were fighting in the arena.
Laurence Olivier as Crassus
He was very effective portraying his role. Actually while I was watching, I wish I could punch him right on his face. That's how effective he was. Really great actor.
Sad ending for a hero.
"I am Spartacus", every slave claimed that they were Spartacus to protect their leader. But fate was bad for him. Great Crassus had him crucified and the last scene showed Varinia, like Mary stood before Jesus. Varinia left crying with their son to escape Crassus from hurting them.
Spartacus is a really sad story about a struggle to find freedom. Everyone wants to be a "free man". But you sure want to die as a slave after watching this one.
Great film from great director and great actors. -
November 30, 2009
i love this movie and i love to watch it everyday.
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November 13, 2009
Shows great examples of the civilazations in the time. I loved this movie.
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November 7, 2009
Very good movie! A bit too long, but an all time classic that's really worth seeing!
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November 1, 2009
This is yet another one of Stanley Kubrick films I put on hold. This the movie the made Kubrick a well known name. But it's not my favorite of his.
I loved the cast and the story was great. The only thing that really I didn't like was how bloody long it was. Other than that it's a great films, with great direction by Stanley Kubrick. -
September 23, 2009
AWESOME..ive seen it forty two times
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September 22, 2009
A masterpiece of classic epic filmmaking. Establishing early Kubrick's style, Spartacus is a reminder towards the Hollywood of the modern era of what a work of art is. Grandiose epic proportions.
95/100 -
August 25, 2009
I liked Kirk douglas because of hi muscles.
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August 25, 2009
Couldn't get into this.
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August 24, 2009
Tedious, pointless film about nothing.
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August 23, 2009
Önderlik yetene?iyle dikkati çeken Trakyal? bir köle olan Spartaküs, bir olas?l??a göre Roma ordusundan kaçm??, haydutluk yaparken yakalanm?? ve köle olarak sat?lm??t?. Spartaküs M.Ö. 73'te kendisiyle birlikte Capua'daki gladyatör okulundan kaçan 77 arkada??yla Vezüv Yanarda??'na s???nd?. Küçük bir Roma ordusunca ku?at?lan kaçaklar, bir uçurumdan a?a?? inerek Romal? askerleri ?a??rt?p kaçmay? ba?ard?lar. Spartaküs, kendisine kat?lan ve say?lar? 100 bine ula?an kaçak köle ve gladyatörlerle Lucania'ya do?ru yürüdü. Amans?z bir çat??ma sonucunda Publius Varinius'u yendi ve Thuria ile Metapontion kentlerini ya?malad?. Spartaküs art?k Güney ?talya'ya egemen olmu?tu. Roma Senatosu birden tehlikenin fark?na vard?. M.Ö. 72'de iki konsülün yönetimindeki güçler Spartaküs'ün üzerine gönderildi. Spartaküs onlar? yendikten sonra kuzeye, Alpler'e do?ru yürüyü?e geçti. Gallia Cisalpina valisi onu durdurmaya çal??t?ysa da, yenilgiye u?rad?. Köle ordusu art?k Alpler'i geçebilir ve güvenlik içinde da??labilirdi. Ne var ki, kimse ?talya'dan ayr?lmak istemedi. Spartaküs, ister istemez güneye yürümek durumunda kald?. Lucinia'ya geri dönen ordu, orada ilk kez Marcus Crassus'a yenildi. Spartaküs, Sicilya'ya geçmeyi tasarlayarak Messina'ya çekildi. Onlar? kaç?rmaya söz veren korsanlar sözlerinde durmad?. Crassus köleleri ku?att?ysa da, Spartaküs ku?atmay? yararak çekildi. Daha sonra, M.Ö. 71'de, sava?makta direnen köleler Romal?larca k?l?çtan geçirildi. Romal? general Pompeius, Spartaküs'ün ordusundaki çok say?da kaça?? yakalay?p öldürdü. 6000 ki?iyi tutsak alan Crassus, Appia Yolu boyunca tümünü çarm?ha gerdirdi. Spartacus'un cesedi ise asla bulunamad?.
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August 20, 2009
A classic Kirk Douglas Adventure set in the historical event of the Greek slave rebellion led by Spartacus.
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August 20, 2009
A great film from the days before hollywood decided that heros were a bad thing
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August 5, 2009
not as good as i thought it would be, just another decent epic and biopic..
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August 3, 2009
JEAN SIMMONS?? REALLY?
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August 1, 2009
I'll admit, if there's one film that actually brings a tear to my eye, it's 'Spartacus.' I think you know what scene I'm refering to..it's since been made into a Pepsi commercial.
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July 21, 2009
Not a great film, but an important milestone in the career of Stanley Kubrick who was a replacement for Anthony Mann. The antagonism between Kubrick and Star/ Producer Kirk Douglas is well known, and that led to Kubrick being his own producer for the remainder of his career.
Spartacus was significant in being a non-biblical period piece, for touching upon the subject of homosexuality, and for openly listing black-listed writer Dalton Trumbo.
This is one of those big budget films that needs to be seen on the big screen to get the full impact... -
July 12, 2009
Demostración elocuente de una batalla por ideales y amor propio.
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July 3, 2009
One of the best Sword and Sandel films ever. I am Spartacus.
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June 26, 2009
Classic loved Kirk douglas in this
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June 24, 2009
It was good well done film.
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June 7, 2009
"I am somewhat more of a civilian..."
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May 23, 2009
imaginé gladiator mais 40 avant on dirait meme par moment une copie .Je suis Spartacus
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May 18, 2009
A well assembled, star-packed Hollywood epic.
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May 16, 2009
haven't seen this in a very long time
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May 15, 2009
Gran película, un clásico. Obra maestra de Kubrick. "Yo soy Espartaco"
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May 14, 2009
Ah the scene in the movie when Caesar asks the group of men (Spartacus was among them) which one was Spartacus-well Spartacus starts to stand up and one by one each of them stand up and say "I am Spartacus." Pretty powerful stuff.
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May 10, 2009
brilliant! magnificent story and visuals!excellent acting. best gladiator movie I have seen..
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April 20, 2009
I like it, is very romantic.
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April 19, 2009
A Great movie star studded cast
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April 18, 2009
one of Kubrick better films.
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April 17, 2009
I thought it was great classic flick,I could watch it ova and ova again.
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April 8, 2009
Another historical movie showing culture and civilization of those times
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April 6, 2009
this film of my favorite director stanley kubrick who with starring kirk douglas together again since "paths of glory" who play as spartacus the slave before and became a gladiator.
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March 26, 2009
Sticking with the epic "swords and sandals" movies from the 50's/60's, I saw this movie after "Ben-Hur" and "Ten Commandments" and if evaluating all three I would put this somewhere in between. Although shorter than the aforementioned (still over 3 hours) "Spartacus" let's the audience know they are in for a lengthy spectacle with an introductory overture and middle intermission. With such a vast time frame, there is plenty of epic struggle that main character (played famously by Kirk Douglas) encounters as he evolves in character. In this case he turns from humble slave to the Romans, to the charismatic leader of a revolution.
With Kubrick at the helm, you can usually expect some different artistic flavors as he pushes forth his unique visions, but this movie is played out pretty conventional, but worth noting is some intense music, especially during some of the famous gladiator scenes, and some surprisingly lovely poetic moments that fill in between some of the action. To go along with the main story of rebellion there is a love tale between Spartacus and fellow slave Virinia (Simmons) that makes survival and ensuing victory even more desperate and hopeful. Even though it is forced and under developed at first that portion is able to stand up pretty well and is vital to the ending. The weakest part of this film is the political story between treasonous Crassus and other members of the Senate who look to squash the uprising. While a necessary component, some of it lacks intrigue and seems somewhat unfocused at times.
As a whole, there are no major gripes and there features several classic scenes including a powerful ending which has helped to garner it's classic status. -
March 26, 2009
An oldie but a goodie. Kirk Douglas at his best and Stanley Kubrik stretched his directing muscle with this one.
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March 15, 2009
Good movie , bring back ev eryboy except Tony Curtis
