Review of Spartacus (1960) by Fazley A — 25 Aug 2010

Spartacus, a true epic where S.Kubrick and K.Douglas team up to make spectacle history. It is remarkable how frictionlessly acting and directing can be combined, Spartacus being an perfect example of this. The mass scenes are perfectly executed with hundreds of actors and most likely not to be seen on this scale ever again.

On the story side, Spartacus is a regular slave with strong will who starts an unbelievably successfull slave uprising against the Romans. Based on a true story, it is nothing short for remarkable how successfull Spartacus was against the overpowering Romans. On this note, the epic battles battles are depicted spectacularly giving just honor for the real world events, and from this the director deserved the Oscar of Cinemagraphy wholeheartly. In between the action, strong emotions are harnessed to raise the movie's resolve as the yearn for freedom is one of the most powerfull emotions in human catalogue. These aspects combined and you have an unforgettable movie.

Kirk Douglas might not be physically up to todays standards for masculine action hero but that makes him even more believable as a leader. His stage charisma is on its own level making him the perfect actor to play an legendary leader of men. Spartacus is an experience everyone should see, it might not be perfect (darn cheesy romance scenes) but it is unquestionably one of the best, if not the best, spectacle movie out there.