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Spartacus
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Spartacus (1960) More at IMDbPro »

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Spartacus (1960) -- Screen legends Kirk Douglas, Tony Curtis and Laurence Olivier highlight an all-star cast in this Academy Award-winning epic about a gladiator whose love for a beautiful slave inspires him to lead a violent rebellion against the decadent Roman Empire. Dire
Spartacus (1960) -- The slave Spartacus leads a violent revolt against the decadent Roman empire.
Spartacus (1960) -- CineMagia.ro - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 1% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Howard Fast (novel)
Dalton Trumbo (writer)
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Contact:
View company contact information for Spartacus on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
7 October 1960 (USA) more
Tagline:
They trained him to kill for their pleasure. . .but they trained him a little too well. . . more
Plot:
The slave Spartacus leads a violent revolt against the decadent Roman empire. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Won 4 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 9 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(46 articles)
User Comments:
The Eternal Cry For Freedom more (205 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Spartacus: Rebel Against Rome (USA) (poster title)
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Runtime:
184 min (premiere version) | Sweden:187 min (1968 re-release) | UK:197 min (1991 re-release) | USA:161 min (1967 re-release) | USA:198 min (1991 restored version)
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.20 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby SR (35 mm prints, restored version) | Mono (Westrex Recording System) (35 mm prints, original release)
Certification:
Canada:G (Quebec) (restored version) | Canada:G (Nova Scotia) (1967 version) | Spain:13 | Iceland:12 | Finland:K-14 (1992) | Finland:K-16 (1962) | South Korea:12 | Brazil:12 | New Zealand:PG | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Canada:AA (Ontario) (restored version) | Canada:G (Manitoba) (1967 version) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) (restored version) | Canada:PG (Ontario) (original release) | Denmark:15 | France:U | Germany:12 | Ireland:PG | Netherlands:12 (video rating) | Norway:16 (1963) | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG-13 (restored version) | West Germany:16 | UK:A (original rating) (cut)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
A number of scenes featuring Peter Ustinov and Charles Laughton were rewritten by Ustinov after Laughton rejected the original script. more
Goofs:
Continuity: While in the senate house Julius Ceasar is wearing the traditional white robe trimmed with a purple border, however when he walks out onto the steps with Gracchus he is wearing a gray robe trimmed with white vine leaves. more
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...
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FAQ

A Note Regarding Spoilers
Is "Spartacus" based on a novel?
Besides Spartacus, Julius Caesar, and Marcus Licinius Crassus, what other characters in the film were not fictitious?
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65 out of 82 people found the following comment useful.
The Eternal Cry For Freedom, 6 March 2005
10/10
Author: bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York

From what little I've read of this film it was lucky to have been made at all. Some very big talents had some very big egos and those egos clashed repeatedly. Original director Anthony Mann was replaced by Stanley Kubrick by Producer/Star Kirk Douglas among other clashes.

But the result was all worth it. The stars all give top notch performances, but the mark of a really great film is the memorability of each individual in the ensemble. To give a few examples, Charles McGraw as the sadistic trainer at the gladiatorial school, John Dall as Sir Laurence Olivier's protégé, and John Ireland as Kirk Douglas's fellow gladiator trainee are all memorable in the brief roles they have.

Kirk Douglas wisely opts for a straightforward interpretation of a hero in the title role of Spartacus. He's a BC everyman, born into a world which hadn't heard anything about human rights, he knows and feels he's not just cattle. Catch the alternating scenes of Douglas and Sir Laurence Olivier addressing the slave army and the Roman Army. Olivier with his years of Shakespearean training coming across as the tyrant to be, and Douglas in simple prose talking about the slaves fighting for their hopes and dreams. Very effective.

The plot concerns a revolt at a gladiatorial school which mushrooms into a crisis for the Roman Empire. Political factions led by Olivier as Crassus and Charles Laughton as Gracchus seek to use the slave revolt to further their own ends.

Laughton as always is a wonder. It's a bit of unusual casting for him because his parts are usually those of very tortured souls. His Gracchus is a sly rogue, but a decent man. One of my favorite movie lines of all time is delivered by him addressing the Roman Senate where he says he'll "take a little republican corruption for a little republican freedom."

Another sly rogue in the film is Peter Ustinov who won the first of his two Oscars as Batiatus the owner of the gladiatorial school. Like so many others I'm sure in those days, he's just trying to come out on the winning side when doing so could be a life or death situation.

Jean Simmons as Varinia, beloved of Spartacus, has the only woman's part of any substance. But when was Ms. Simmons bad in anything. One of the most underrated and under-appreciated actresses in the history of film.

The lessons about man's desire for freedom and to control his own destiny are eternal and valid. And this film will be also.

Was the above comment useful to you?
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