Review of Spartacus (1960) by Lorenzo V — 11 Dec 2008

"They trained him to kill for their pleasure. . .but they trained him a little too well. . .".

Spartacus (Kirk Douglas) is a rebellious slave purchased by Lentulus Batiatus (Peter Ustinov), owner of a school for gladiators. For the entertainment of corrupt Roman senator Marcus Licinius Crassus (Laurence Olivier), Batiatus' gladiators are to stage a fight to the death. On the night before the event, the enslaved trainees are "rewarded" with female companionship. Spartacus' companion for the evening is Varinia (Jean Simmons), a slave from Brittania. When Spartacus later learns that Varinia has been sold to Crassus, he leads 78 fellow gladiators in revolt. Word of the rebellion spreads like wildfire, and soon Spartacus' army numbers in the hundreds. Escaping to join his cause is Varinia, who has fallen in love with Spartacus, and another of Crassus' house slaves, the sensitive Antoninus (Tony Curtis). The revolt becomes the principal cog in the wheel of a political struggle between Crassus and a more temperate senator named Gracchus (Charles Laughton).

Review.

"Spartacus" used the talents of Kirk Douglas and the other members of the cast to invoke a strong message against the ancient practice of slavery. Based in part on an actual time in the history of Rome, Spartacus, the slave portrayed by Douglas, does remain true to the times of this screen epic.

Kirk Douglas did have a hand in some of the production tasks of the film, but the major part of the work goes to Stanley Kubrick. While on camera, Douglas delivered a performance that should have won an Oscar, but did not. However, Douglas did a lot of the physical stunts involved with the film, and delivered a very fine on-screen performance. Other members of the cast that made this film stand out were Jean Simmons, as his wife, Varinia, Charles Laughton, as a Roman senator, Laurence Olivier, as Crassus, the one that ultimately captured Spartacus, John Gavin as Julius Caesar, Tony Curtis as a friend of Spartacus, John Ireland and in a role that many actors relish, Peter Ustinov, who trained the slave as a gladiator, and then saw him lead the uprising against Rome. Battle scenes are first-rate, the gladiator contests are well staged, and the viewer is taken back to the city streets and arenas of Rome, when that location controlled all the known world. A lengthy film that gets better appreciated after each and every viewing.