Spartacus
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- Trailer 1 (01:12)
Movie Info & Cast
Synopsis
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). Anthony Mann was the original director of Spartacus, eventually replaced by Stanley Kubrick, who'd previously guided Douglas through Paths of Glory. The film received 4 Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actor for Ustinov. A crucial scene between Olivier and Curtis, removed from the 1967 reissue because of its subtle homosexual implications, was restored in 1991, with a newly recorded soundtrack featuring Curtis as his younger self and Anthony Hopkins standing in for the deceased Olivier.~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Cast
- Kirk Douglas
- Laurence Olivier
- Jean Simmons
- Charles Laughton
- Peter Ustinov
- John Gavin
- Nina Foch
- John Ireland
- Herbert Lom
- John Dall
Letterboxd User Reviews
3.9
201.3K
81.3K
40.9K
- Aug 20, 2022
I audibly gasped when Spartacus chopped a guy’s hand off and it spurted blood because I didn’t think movies were allowed to do that back then
Patrick WillemsJan 3, 2021I can see why this feels like for-hire work when you look at Kubrick's filmography but when compared to other old-fashioned analog epics this is honestly among the more beautiful and intimate of them with finely-tuned performances from some reliable greats (Douglas,…
Josh LewisJan 11, 2015One of its taglines says, "More titanic than any story ever told!" which actually isn't very far from the truth. Notorious for being the only film in the legendary career of Stanley Kubrick for which he didn't have complete artistic control, Spartacus is breathtaking in…
cinemasauron - Aug 30, 2017
Pretty rousing and undoubtedly a gorgeous piece of classic spectacle. Not as enamored with its depiction of queerness as a symptom of decadence, especially since it bumps up so poorly with the larger thread of individualism here, but you can't have everything. Would've been…
matt lynchJul 26, 2021“Spartacus” subverts the empty cloak theatrics of many major and minor sword and sandals epics for one reason: the unbridled intensity of emotion swelling on and off camera. The ‘disowned child’ of substitute director Stanley Kubrick, the history of “Spartacus” is as…
theriverjordanApr 6, 2020during the climatic battle an extra gets his forearm chopped off. it ruled.
Jamelle Bouie - Aug 19, 2013
Damn you, Spartacus. With a first half containing just a single shot that truly impressed me, I was fully expecting to have an easy time ranking this in relation to Kubrick's other, later works. The first half seemed to solidify this as an entertaining - yet sterile -…
PTAbroApr 3, 2026Spanish version... Gigantesca pieza péplum, que no sintiéndose como algo 100% Kubrick, brinda de igual forma emociones típicas de una épica colosal. La libertad creativa aún no era total para el director, sin embargo, se las arregló para filmar escenas con una…
kheycAug 17, 2022Who lives, who dies, who tells your story.
anna nomaly
Queue Community Reviews
88%
Community 1,466
Top Reviews
- nevan lovedSpartacus
better than gladiator; more douglas’ vision than kubrick’s, there are excellent visuals and a powerful narrative that explores themes of ego, greed, and humanity. strong performances, combat, and music make for a great epic that holds up today. what an ending
Brianug likedSpartacusGood gladiator movie with a great overall story. Being a history buff, I like how they used actual names from history and while it’s not all as it happened, they did a good job of tying it together. Good for any war, love, and action film fans.
Hayden lovedSpartacusStanley Kubrick does not miss as this is a classic of cinema in every way possible. Personally I couldn’t look at Kirk and not see Michael and that was cool too. A must watch if your a fan of any of the above.
- manny bobanny lovedSpartacus
I cannot praise this film highly enough. Beautifully shot, an incredible immensity to it, and a constant unwavering theme of freedom and what it truly means. One of the best movies ever made.
Brayton Chastain is "meh" onSpartacusThe story seemed too slow. I don’t really understand the end. Like he died and led all those people to die for just to have his son be free?
hannah likedSpartacusvery good film but i decided to continue writing my essay while i watched it because i was so bored. 7.5/10
- William Luckenbach lovedSpartacus
This is the most spectacular historical epic of its time if not of all time! 9/10
McSevis lovedSpartacusA long but wonderful movie about the terrors of slavery in the Roman empire
huh lovedSpartacusWatching it remastered was a treat, such a good watch
Atom Users Reviews
Metacritic
The most entertaining performance in the movie, consistently funny, is by Ustinov, who upstages everybody when he is onscreen (he won an Oscar).
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
It is a spotty, uneven drama in which the entire opening phase representing the basic-training program in a gladiatorial school is lively, exciting and expressive, no matter how true to history it is, and the middle phase is pretentious and tedious, because it is concerned with the dull strife of politics.
Bosley Crowther
The New York Times
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