Goofs for
Spartacus (1960) More at IMDbPro »

• Anachronisms: A truck drives along the hills behind a battle scene.
  
  
• Anachronisms: Slave extras wearing wristwatches and sandshoes.
  
  
• Anachronisms: Aquitania was not under Roman rule until 15 years after the date of the film.
  
  

• Miscellaneous: Although Spartacus, Marcus Licinius Crassus, and Julius Caesar were real-life people, the end credits to the restored edition state that all persons in the film are fictional and any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. This presumably accounts for the many differences between the real and fictionalized Spartacus.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: During the scene where the slaves are storming a wall, the slaves who die at the wall can be seen rolling under it to jump over again later.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: As the gladiators revolt, a Roman soldier is killed, falls off a balcony and then crawls into a partially opened door below the balcony.
  
  
• Anachronisms: Antoninus is wearing a Rolex watch
  
  
• Anachronisms: A map of Italy can be seen in Spartacus' camp tent (it is prominently featured in the scenes involving the pirate emissary), which is far too accurate for the times of the movie.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: When climbing the balcony during the revolt, Draba reacts to being hit with the spear before it actually reaches him.
  
  
• Factual errors: Although Caesar and Crassus were allied in the First Triumvirate, at the time of the Third Servile Revolt, Caesar was a young ambitious politician. The alliance among Crassus, Caesar and Pompey wasn't formed until much later.
  
  
• Anachronisms: Numerous errors in the history of the Roman Republic: The last influential senator named Gracchus died some twenty years before the events depicted in the movie. Caesar never commanded the garrison of Rome. This garrison did not exist during the Republic; it was a creation of the Caesars and usually consisted of German mercenaries whose loyalty was to the Emperor rather than the Senate. Several times during the Imperial period, the garrison placed someone on the throne rather than allow the Republic to be restored.
  
  
• Anachronisms: Slaves digging with steel shovels of a pattern invented in the early 20th century instead of Roman wooden spades.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: 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.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: In the main battle scene toward the end, there is a soldier lying "dead" on the ground that clearly repositions himself as others fight around him so that he isn't stepped on.
  
  
• Anachronisms: Roman soldiers are shown carrying long spears slung across their shoulders. Spears of this kind were only carried by auxiliary units in the Roman legion; the legionnaires themselves carried several pila, short throwing javelins, and the gladius, a short sword used for thrusting. Long spears would have been indicative of the Greek phalanx style of fighting, which the Romans had long since made obsolete.
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• Anachronisms: Characters are shown using stirrups to mount and dismount their horses. Stirrups were unknown in Europe during the B.C. era.
  
  
• Anachronisms: In the opening credits, there's a shot of a plaque with the letters "ECXXI" written on it. At first glance, they appear to be Roman numerals, but the letter "E" was never used to represent a number during Roman times. In fact, the only time the letter "E" was ever used as a Roman numeral was hundreds of years later during the Middle Ages, where it was used to represent the number 250, but it is no longer used in modern times.
  
  
• Factual errors: When it is first suggested in the film that Crassus follow Sulla's example of moving his armies into Rome he responds by condemning Sulla ("to the damnation of his name") and his capture of Rome. Historically the Crassus family supported Sulla and Marcus Licinius Crassus helped Sulla capture Rome in 82 B.C. Crassus then became a protégé of Sulla and built his political career on Sulla's legacy.
  
  
• Anachronisms: The trainer blows a pea-whistle to call in the slaves. The first pea-whistle wasn't invented until the 19th century, although the Romans are known to use other whistles on board slave-galleys in order to keep the correct pace.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: 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.
  
  
• Factual errors: According to Roman historians Appian and Plutarch, Spartacus fell in a battle against Pompey at the Sele River, and his body was never found.
  
  
• Continuity: The length of Kirk Douglas' hair varies between scenes. When, after the final battle, he is captured and led to Rome, his hair is much longer than before the battle. But when he later fights Antoninus, his hair is short again.
  
  

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