Review of Spartacus (1960) by Chris W — 30 Jun 2012

While it is true that Kubrick never considered this to truly be one of his films, mostly because he didn't have full creative control, and it was primarily a labor of love for producer and star Kirk Douglas (who had the most control over things, including hiring Kubrick), there's still many sequences, moments, and themes that fit in with Kubrick's oeuvrepretty nicely.

Based on a novel based on actual historical events, this is the story of a slave turned gladiator who becomes the leader of a major slave uprising during the era of the ancient ROman Republic. Spartacus is a good and noble man, and he's baically shown to be a Christ-like figure in a pre-Christ world. Yes, the movie takes liberties with history, but at the same time, it's a pretty glorious star studded Old Hollywood style epic, except that it's, you know, far more violent (surprisingly so for 1960), has plenty of political and sexual subtext (it was written author Dalton Trumbo who was infamously blacklisted), and just a few of the typical Kubrick trademarks such as a rich and distinct visual style, great cinematography and camera movement, and definite themes of alienation and dehumanization.

Kirk Douglas, who looks chiseled out of marble gives a commanding perforamnce here, albeit it comes off as a little more hammy at times than I remember. Then again, the last time I saw this was over the course of several days in my 7th grade history class...way before I was a film buff, or knew (or cared) about Kubrick and films as art. Still, he dfoes decently enough, and he's backed up by a stellar supporting cast that inlcudes Laurence Oliviver, Peter Ustinov, Charles Laughton, Tony Curtis, and Jean Simmons, all of whom put in some great work.

All in all, this is a decent enough film, but maybe not as great as I once thought. It's certainly not terrible, and calling it lesser Kubrick is no sin, but it just seems to drag here and there a little too often and comes off as trying a little too hard. If you want a historical film done by Kubrick that's fast(er) paced and more action oriented (though not as great) as Barry Lyndon, then give this a go.