"No, I'm Spartacus!" I've been saying that for a week now after seeing this sword and sandal classic. It's only one of the iconic moments in this film about Roman slavery. Directed by Stanley Kubrick in a very uncharacteristic "Hollywood" style, this lavish production paved the way for modern epics like BRAVEHEART and GLADIATOR.
Spartacus (Kirk Douglas, THE SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS) has been a slave all his life, working rock quarries. Then he is purchased by shyster slave trader Lentulus Batiatus (Peter Ustinov, LOGAN'S RUN), who plans to train him to be a gladiator. After being assigned a slave girl named Varinia (Jean Simmons, ELMER GANTRY), Spartacus screams that he isn't an animal as this owners watch him fumble with the first woman he's ever been close to. Spartacus' tenderness toward Varinia makes her fall in love with him. As the gladiators train, Roman senator Crassus (Laurence Olivier, MARATHON MAN) comes with his protégé Marcus Glabrus (John Dall, ROPE) and two women to watch two pairs of gladiators fight to the death. Spartacus is chosen, and following a series of events, ends in Spartacus leading a slave revolt. Meanwhile, senior senator Sempronius Gracchus (Charles Laughton, MUTINY OF THE BOUNTY) tries to hold the senate together in the face of Crassus' maneuvers to use the uprising to gain more power. Spartacus' continued victories lead Crassus' own slave Antoninus (Tony Curtis, SOME LIKE IT HOT) to flee his master and join the rebellion.
The film is filled with amazing performances. Douglas is Spartacus. He commands the screen, equally balancing his iconic hero image and the tender and vulnerable romantic lover. Simmons is sexy and strong. Ustinov is remarkable as the conniving lanista. He serves as comic relief, but in a way that the laughs come from the characters personality not just punchlines. Olivier is menacing in a very unique way. It is alluded to that he is bisexual and uses his power and stature to rule over all those around him. Curtis does a nice job of developing his character over the course of the story.
Kubrick's pacing, visual style and musical choices are straight out of classical Biblical epics like THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. It's a rousing, polished tone that is not like any of his other work. It really shows that he treated the project as a work-for-hire. Though the film doesn't have the stamp of his other work, he is still able to provoke from time to time. There's a bloody quality not accustomed to in big budgeted Hollywood films of the time. The crucifixions scenes leave a haunting impression on the audience. The somber tone of the ending is in contrast to the preceding stirring story of freedom fighters battling their oppressors. In that the ending is sad, but never maudlin, we see the steady hand of the master filmmaker.
SPARTACUS has all the elements of a classic historical epic. The downtrodden masses rising up against their ruthless rulers. The expansive widescreen cinematography filled with extras as far as the eye can see. Greedy, murderous villains who cannot for the life of them understand the appeal of the rebel leader. The inspiring hero at the center. It's all here, executed to near perfection. Sometimes a movie lover will come to an influential film after having seen many of its imitators first. Sometimes the newer films are better, because they have built off the successes of the original or have some quality of freedom that allows them to tackle their subject in a more honest way. But with SPARTACUS, it has not been improved upon since it first debuted.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
