Review of Spartacus (1960) by Gregg P — 17 Sep 2009

Based on a true story, Spartacus is the story of slave revolt against the Roman Republic led by a gladiator. The film details both the conditions and the struggles of the slaves as well as the reactions from the Romans and the political intrigue involved in the response to the rebellion. There is of course also a love story which is well handled but not entirely in keeping with the rest of the film. The film moves along effectively but does clock in at over 3 hours.

The films great cast includes; Kirk Douglas, Jean Simmons, Laurence Olivier, Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov and Tony Curtis. The film was directed by Stanley Kubrick.

The score by Alex North is very effective for a score of that era.

Script was penned by Dalton Trumbo a blacklisted writer, who was credited for his efforts and effectively ended the blacklisting. Many blacklisted writers and other film makers had been working in Hollywood for some time but they were not credited or acknowledged for their efforts and instead used pseudonyms. Based on a novel by Howard Fast, who was also blacklisted and briefly imprisoned, which is where he would begin writing the novel.

The film has been almost entirely restored including scenes that had been cut for being to controversial at the time, but today seem remarkably tame.

The film despite the controversy would go onto to be nominated for 6 Oscars of which it would win two; including Cinematography and a Supporting Actor nod for Peter Ustinov.

The film despite its age remains quite powerful especially the iconic I am Spartacus scene.