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Spartacus (1960)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
7 October 1960 (USA) moreTagline:
They trained him to kill for their pleasure. . .but they trained him a little too well. . . morePlot:
The slave Spartacus leads a violent revolt against the decadent Roman empire. full summary | full synopsisAwards:
Won 4 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 9 nominations moreNewsDesk:
(32 articles)
Douglas: 'I learned a lot from Malden' (From digitalspy. 2 July 2009, 9:04 PM, PDT)
Douglas Wins Slavery Apology Battle
(From WENN. 18 June 2009, 6:35 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
The Eternal Cry For Freedom moreCast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| 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 |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
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:
USALanguage:
EnglishColour:
Colour (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
2.20 : 1 moreSound 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)Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Film preservationist Robert A. Harris has said that by 1991 the 65mm camera negative for this film was totally faded and unusable. Nothing could be done to produce any printing material from that element. Color separation elements made on black and white film in the early 1960s were used instead. moreGoofs:
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. moreQuotes:
[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...
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How much sex, violence, and profanity are in this movie?A Note Regarding Spoilers
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From what little I've read of this film it was lucky to have been made at all. Some very big talents had some very big egos and those egos clashed repeatedly. Original director Anthony Mann was replaced by Stanley Kubrick by Producer/Star Kirk Douglas among other clashes.
But the result was all worth it. The stars all give top notch performances, but the mark of a really great film is the memorability of each individual in the ensemble. To give a few examples, Charles McGraw as the sadistic trainer at the gladiatorial school, John Dall as Sir Laurence Olivier's protégé, and John Ireland as Kirk Douglas's fellow gladiator trainee are all memorable in the brief roles they have.
Kirk Douglas wisely opts for a straightforward interpretation of a hero in the title role of Spartacus. He's a BC everyman, born into a world which hadn't heard anything about human rights, he knows and feels he's not just cattle. Catch the alternating scenes of Douglas and Sir Laurence Olivier addressing the slave army and the Roman Army. Olivier with his years of Shakespearean training coming across as the tyrant to be, and Douglas in simple prose talking about the slaves fighting for their hopes and dreams. Very effective.
The plot concerns a revolt at a gladiatorial school which mushrooms into a crisis for the Roman Empire. Political factions led by Olivier as Crassus and Charles Laughton as Gracchus seek to use the slave revolt to further their own ends.
Laughton as always is a wonder. It's a bit of unusual casting for him because his parts are usually those of very tortured souls. His Gracchus is a sly rogue, but a decent man. One of my favorite movie lines of all time is delivered by him addressing the Roman Senate where he says he'll "take a little republican corruption for a little republican freedom."
Another sly rogue in the film is Peter Ustinov who won the first of his two Oscars as Batiatus the owner of the gladiatorial school. Like so many others I'm sure in those days, he's just trying to come out on the winning side when doing so could be a life or death situation.
Jean Simmons as Varinia, beloved of Spartacus, has the only woman's part of any substance. But when was Ms. Simmons bad in anything. One of the most underrated and under-appreciated actresses in the history of film.
The lessons about man's desire for freedom and to control his own destiny are eternal and valid. And this film will be also.