Spartacus (1960)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Stanley Kubrick

Writers:

Howard Fast (novel)
Dalton Trumbo (writer)

Release Date:

7 October 1960 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Biography | Drama | History | Romance

Tagline:

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

Plot:

The slave Spartacus leads a violent revolt against the decadent Roman empire.

Plot Keywords:

Slave | Spartacus | Roman Empire | Senator | Love

Awards:

Won 4 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Kirk Douglas	...	Spartacus
Laurence Olivier	...	Marcus Licinius Crassus
Jean Simmons	...	Varinia
Charles Laughton	...	Sempronius Gracchus
Peter Ustinov	...	Lentulus 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

Also Known As:

Spartacus: Rebel Against Rome (USA) (poster title)

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:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

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 (Nova Scotia) (1967 version) | Canada:G (Quebec) (restored 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)

Filming Locations:

Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain

Company:

Bryna Productions

Trivia:

In order to get so many big stars to play supporting roles, Kirk Douglas showed each a different script in which their character was emphasized.

Goofs:

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.

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...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Nos vies privées (2007)

Based on a historical slave revolt in areas controlled by Republican Rome, it is a story of both tragedy and triumph.

If you saw the movie, read the book (by Howard Fast) and if you have read the book, see the movie and see that they fit seamlessly together without major deviations.

The most memorable scenes are of course those of the final battle with the eerie and chilling sound of the clink, clink, clink of armor as the Roman infantry marches into intricate battle positions. I believe soldiers of the Spanish army were used as extras for this movie.

The most memorable line is that of Crassus (Olivier) as he impresses upon Antoninus, the slave (Tony Curtis), the strength of the Roman Republic. He gazes at a cohort of soldiers with their massive pilae (spears or spikes)and their bronze shields marching pass his villa at night. "There Antoninus, goes the might and power of Rome. Nothing can withstand it...........how much more a mere boy?" And at that point Antoninus, whom he had been trying to seduce into a homosexual tryst with oblique erotic talk referring to "snails and oysters," escaped to join the rebelling army of slaves led by Spartacus.

Made just as the various civil rights organizations were starting to cohere, one wonders if this epic movie which highlighted the injustice of slavery, had an impact on American society which finally acknowledged and did something about its gross violations of human rights based on skin color.