Spartacus [PG]

Centuries before Christianity came to Rome and slavery ceased, the dream of freedom was already there in a slave named Spartacus. A troublemaker in peak physical condition, Spartacus is bought by a gladiator houser and instructor and taught to fight to the death in the arena. After visiting dignitaries demand a true performance that goes awry, Spartacus leads a slave revolt and soon is a name loved and hated all over Italy as slaves are dying to join the cause and gain freedom, and the senate in Rome is determined to crush the revolution. 

Spartacus originally was to be filmed by Anthony Man who was fired by Kirk Douglas not long after shooting began. A few of his early desert scenes are still in the film, but the gauntlet was passed over to Stanley Kubrick; the man who famously brought us The Shining, A Clockwork Orange, and 2001: A Space Odyssey… what?! There’s something weird in thinking that Kubrick, who is oftentimes all about minimalism, is responsible for one of the biggest epics in cinematic history. Spartacus is name that everyone knows, even if they haven’t seen the film and we have Kubrick to thank for that. 

Centuries before Christianity came to Rome and slavery ceased, the dream of freedom was already there in a slave named Spartacus. A troublemaker in peak physical condition, Spartacus is bought by a gladiator houser and instructor and taught to fight to the death in the arena. After visiting dignitaries demand a true performance that goes awry, Spartacus leads a slave revolt and soon is a name loved and hated all over Italy as slaves are dying to join the cause and gain freedom, and the senate in Rome is determined to crush the revolution. 

On a quick trivial note, this edition that I think is the most accessible is remastered and restored. Various scenes have been put back into the film where they had been cut during cinematic release. Here’s a fun fact; the bath scene between Antoninus and Crassus, which was cut because of its homoeroticism, is back in with Anthony Hopkins providing the lost dialogue of Laurence Olivier. 

Anyway, onto the film… 

As an epic, this film works that label like a boss. Kubrick creates this beautiful balancing act between the action, the drama, and the romance with many scenes balancing each other out in terms of the audience feeling emotions of heartbreak, adrenaline, hatred, whatever. The battle sequences are pretty incredible with these simple but effective troop formations marching and being shot simply and lengthily as is Kubrick’s style. 

For a PG movie there is a fair amount of blood, gore, and a few confronting war scenes, including the slow tracking shot over mounds of bloodied dead bodies after the film’s massive battle, but this merciless depiction of ancient war is part of what makes this film a real stand out. Add to this, for balance, the film’s touching final scene where Varinia, Spartacus’ love, shows him their son and repeats, “he’s free Spartacus, he’s free”, and you’ve got a winner. A winner of 4 Academy Awards to be precise. 

Starring Kirk Douglas, Jean Simmons, Laurence Olivier, Peter Ustinov, Charles Laughton, John Gavin, Nina Foch, John Ireland, Herbert Lom, John Dall, Charles McGraw, Joanna Barnes, Harold Stone, Woody Strode, Peter Brocco, and Tony Curtis, Spartacus is a pretty impressive epic movie packed with action, war, bloodshed, drama, and romance. It’s one of those classics that everyone sort of knows even if it’s drip-fed to them in other movies or shows, and if you’re interested in the ‘classics’ of cinema, I’d say give this a go.