Spartacus (1960)

The slave Spartacus leads a violent revolt against the decadent Roman Republic.

Director:

Stanley Kubrick

Writers:

Dalton Trumbo (screenplay), Howard Fast (based on the novel by),

Stars:

Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons

Won 4 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kirk Douglas	...	Spartacus
Laurence Olivier	...	Crassus
Jean Simmons	...	Varinia
Charles Laughton	...	Gracchus
Peter Ustinov	...	Batiatus
John Gavin	...	Julius Caesar
Nina Foch	...	Helena Glabrus
John Ireland	...	Crixus
Herbert Lom	...	Tigranes Levantus
John Dall	...	Marcus Publius Glabrus
Charles McGraw	...	Marcellus
Joanna Barnes	...	Claudia Marius
Harold J. Stone	...	David
Woody Strode	...	Draba
Peter Brocco	...	Ramon

Storyline

In 73 BCE, a Thracian slave leads a revolt at a gladiatorial school run by Lentulus Batiatus. The uprising soon spreads across the Italian Peninsula involving thousand of slaves. The plan is to acquire sufficient funds to acquire ships from Silesian pirates who could then transport them to other lands from Brandisium in the south. The Roman Senator Gracchus schemes to have Marcus Publius Glabrus, Commander of the garrison of Rome, lead an army against the slaves who are living on Vesuvius. When Glabrus is defeated his mentor, Senator and General Marcus Licinius Crassus is greatly embarrassed and leads his own army against the slaves. Spartacus and the thousands of freed slaves successfully make their way to Brandisium only to find that the Silesians have abandoned them. They then turn north and must face the might of Rome.

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Plot Keywords:

slave | spartacus | senator | freedom | italy | 

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Taglines:

It roars with fierce excitement!

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Genres:

Adventure | Biography | Drama | History

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 October 1960 (USA)

Also Known As:

Spartacus: Rebel Against Rome

Filming Locations:

Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bryna Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

197 min 184 min (premiere) 187 min (1968 re-release) 161 min (1967 re-release) 197 min (1991 restored) 184 min (theatrical)

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Mono (Westrex Recording System) (35 mm prints, original release)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Kirk Douglas had an unhappy time for most of the production. After a major falling out with original director Anthony Mann he asked 'Stanley Kubrick' to direct, with whom he had collaborated well 3 years previously on Paths of Glory. However, he had an equally difficult time working with Kubrick. After the production, Douglas claimed he would not collaborate with Kubrick again if he was given the opportunity. Douglas has often said he regretted having Mann fired from the picture and when he was offered The Heroes of Telemark he agreed to take that role on condition that Anthony Mann be hired as director.

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Goofs

Slave extras wearing wristwatches and sandshoes.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: In the last century before the birth of the new faith called Christianity, which was destined to overthrow the pagan tyranny of Rome and bring about a new society, the Roman Republic stood at the very center of the civilized world. "Of all things fairest," sang the poet, "first among cities and home of the gods is golden Rome." Yet, even at the zenith of her pride and power, the Republic lay fatally stricken with a disease called human slavery. The age of the dictator was at hand, ...

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Crazy Credits

The opening titles appear in a montage of silhouetted Roman sculptures and tablets, which according to title designer Saul Bass is meant to evoke the strength and power of the Roman Empire. The montage ends with a zoom into the eye of a crumbling Roman bust, which hints at the Empire's coming decline and fall.

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Connections

Referenced in Have I Got News for You: Episode #20.6 (2000)

User Reviews

Based on a historical slave revolt in areas controlled by Republican Rome, it is a story of both tragedy and triumph.

If you saw the movie, read the book (by Howard Fast) and if you have read the book, see the movie and see that they fit seamlessly together without major deviations.

The most memorable scenes are of course those of the final battle with the eerie and chilling sound of the clink, clink, clink of armor as the Roman infantry marches into intricate battle positions. I believe soldiers of the Spanish army were used as extras for this movie.

The most memorable line is that of Crassus (Olivier) as he impresses upon Antoninus, the slave (Tony Curtis), the strength of the Roman Republic. He gazes at a cohort of soldiers with their massive pilae (spears or spikes)and their bronze shields marching pass his villa at night. "There Antoninus, goes the might and power of Rome. Nothing can withstand it...........how much more a mere boy?" And at that point Antoninus, whom he had been trying to seduce into a homosexual tryst with oblique erotic talk referring to "snails and oysters," escaped to join the rebelling army of slaves led by Spartacus.

Made just as the various civil rights organizations were starting to cohere, one wonders if this epic movie which highlighted the injustice of slavery, had an impact on American society which finally acknowledged and did something about its gross violations of human rights based on skin color.