A New York City doctor, who is married to an art curator, pushes himself on a harrowing and dangerous night-long odyssey of sexual and moral discovery after his wife admits that she once almost cheated on him.
After a short study of boxing's history, narrated by newscaster Douglas Edwards, we follow a day in the life of a middleweight Irish boxer named Walter Cartier.
Director:
Stanley Kubrick
Stars:
Douglas Edwards,
Nat Fleischer,
Walter Cartier
Stanley Kubrick's first film made in color, lost for over forty years. The documentary extols the benefits of membership to the Seafarers International Union.
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.Written by
garykmcd
Human Desires so Strong they changed the course of History...of a Rebellion that shook a Civilization in a Pagan era, 71 B.C....the grandeur and might of Rome and the challenge of an immortal gladiator...of a love that changed the world. See more »
At first the studio did not want to give the blacklisted Dalton Trumbo screen credit for his work. Stanley Kubrick said he would accept the credit. Kirk Douglas later said he was so appalled by Kubrick's attempt to claim credit for someone else's work that he used his clout to make sure Trumbo received his due credit, effectively ending the Hollywood blacklist. Trumbo had already been credited as the writer of Exodus (1960), although a delay caused that film to be released two months after this one. Trumbo's family publicly disputed Douglas' version of the story, as did producer Edward Lewis and the children of writer Howard Fast. In any case, the blacklist had been greatly undermined when Cecil B. DeMille hired Edward G. Robinson for The Ten Commandments (1956), reviving Robinson's career after the star had been nearly blacklisted for his past political activism. See more »
Goofs
During the final battle sequences the slaves drag down burning hay rollers. One of the slaves in Sparacus's army overshoots the end of the run and a Roman soldier generously drops his sword in order to catch him. See 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, "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 six main cast members are accompanied by an item that represents their character (a chain, a Roman eagle, a wine jug, a couple of hands - one wielding a snake, and a sword). See more »
I think the movie is quite good; what I want to add to the comments already made is just this:
The commentary (on the DVD) by screenplay writer Dalton Trumbo is great. Kirk Douglas said it was the greatest analysis of film-making ever. He explains the purpose of every scene, very openly and honestly critiquing the changes the actors made, for (in his estimation) better or worse.
There is another track of commentary by the actors. The actors had an unusual degree of latitude in re-writing their lines and forming their characters.
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I think the movie is quite good; what I want to add to the comments already made is just this:
The commentary (on the DVD) by screenplay writer Dalton Trumbo is great. Kirk Douglas said it was the greatest analysis of film-making ever. He explains the purpose of every scene, very openly and honestly critiquing the changes the actors made, for (in his estimation) better or worse.
There is another track of commentary by the actors. The actors had an unusual degree of latitude in re-writing their lines and forming their characters.