Review of Spartacus (1960) by Eric H — 21 Feb 2012

Certainly epic and ambitious, but I do not like Kirk Douglas enough to get on board with this. And it doesn't help that this is not exactly a Kubrick film. There are parts here and there that feel like Kubrick (the snails and oysters scene, for instance) but the rest of it seems like standard Hollywood fair from that era.

Apart from those shortcomings, it is still entertaining and you can see that Gladiator borrowed heavily from this film. I imagine if this had been alive when this came out, I would consider one of the best epic films ever made.

But I missed that opportunity and it's now stuck as mediocre in my book, though I acknowledge its influence. I'd just rather watch the films that it influenced rather than the film itself.