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 7 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:

homosexual subtext | male objectification | national film registry | slave rebellion | roman republic | 

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Taglines:

They trained him to kill for their pleasure. . .but they trained him a little too well. . .

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Genres:

Adventure | Biography | Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

PG-13

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)

Gross USA:

$30,000,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$60,000,000, 1 January 1998

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bryna Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

184 min (premiere) 187 min (1968 re-release) 161 min (1967 re-release) 197 min (1991 restored) 184 min (theatrical) 197 min (2015 restored)

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Charles Laughton and Sir Peter Ustinov rehearsed the scenes they were coupled together, to give a rapport between Gracchus and Batiatus. Sometimes, Director Stanley Kubrick watched these rehearsals, and afterwards would shoot the scenes the same way they were rehearsed.

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Goofs

During the gladiatorial battle between Spartacus and the black gladiator, the sword Spartacus is using is clearly shown as a prop sword with a retractable blade.

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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 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).

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Alternate Versions

The film premiered at 202 minutes. However, the prints from the premiere were lost in the 1970s when Universal threw out all the film's tracks, outtakes, additional prints etc. (This was parallel to 'John Landis'' claim during his work on creating the director's cut of The Blues Brothers). The Criterion Collection has 4 minutes of lost scenes involving the Gracchus subplot:

• 1.) After the first senatorial meeting scene, Gracchus and Caesar walk around the market discussing the dirty tactic of fishing votes. (Shown in production-still form)
• 2.) Gracchus commits suicide by slitting his wrist in the bathtub. This occurred immediately after he closes the curtain near the end of the film. Only the audio track was found in the studio vault.

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Connections

Spoofed in The 72nd Annual Academy Awards (2000)

User Reviews

great commentary on DVD

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.