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 8 wins & 11 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 B.C., a Thracian slave leads a revolt at a gladiatorial school run by Lentulus Batiatus (Sir Peter Ustinov). 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 (Charles Laughton) schemes to have Marcus Publius Glabrus (John Dall), 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 (Sir Laurence Olivier) 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 rebellion | roman republic | freedom | slave revolt | homosexual subtext | 

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Taglines:

Electrifying Excitement!

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Genres:

Adventure | Biography | Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

PG-13

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie was filmed using the 35mm Super 70 Technirama format, and then blown up to 70mm film. This was a change for director Stanley Kubrick, who preferred using the standard spherical format. This process allowed him to achieve ultra-high definition, and to capture large panoramic scenes, including one with 8,000 Roman soldiers (who were actually active-duty soldiers from the Spanish Army).

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Goofs

Near the end of the film, Gracchus asks Batiatus to take Varinia and her baby to Aquitania. Nevertheless, Aquitania would be conquered for the Roman Empire by Julius Caesar some decades later, and it took even more time setting up a stable Roman civil government in the Province.

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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 evokes 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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Alternate Versions

After its premiere the film was heavily cut and wasn't shown in its complete form until 1991, when a restored version was re-released. Among the restored scenes is one where where Marcus Crassus (Laurence Olivier) tries to seduce Antonius (Tony Curtis) in the bath. The soundtrack was damaged, so Anthony Hopkins was called in to dub Olivier's lines.

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Connections

Referenced in The 100 Greatest Films (2001)

User Reviews

The World of Stanley Kubrick: Director for hire.

Spartacus (1960) was a director for hire gig for Stanley Kubrick. Kirk Douglas was in a pinch for his next film project. He was making an epic film about a slave in the roman republic who rebels against his masters. Anthony Mann stepped down from the director's chair and Mr. Douglas needed someone to take over. Enters Stanley Kubrick. Although he has little creative input (i.e. script and story wise) he manages to make a compelling movie with his keen eye and directorial abilities.

Filmed in a grand scope and in such great detail, Spartacus is eye candy for fans of epic film making. I can only imagine what the film would have been like if he had total control over the project. Kirk Douglas is the man as Spartacus, Tony Curtis is quite good as his sidekick, Charles Laughton is wise and witty as the elder senator, Peter Ustinov is a hoot in his role as the poor victim of fortunate (and unfortunate) circumstance and Sir Laurence Olivier shows why he was the premier actor of his day as Crassus.

Highly recommended for Kirk Douglas fans and Stanley Kubrick philes.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 November 1960 (Brazil)

Also Known As:

Spartacus: Rebel Against Rome

Filming Locations:

Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$92,162, 28 April 1991

Gross USA:

$1,830,650

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,844,789

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bryna Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

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

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Mono (35 mm prints) Dolby Stereo (35 mm prints) (1991 restoration) DTS (DTS: X)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.25 : 1