Spartacus

Spartacus (1960) was a director for hire gig for Stanley Kubrick. Kirk Douglas was in a pinch for his next film project. He was making an epic film about a slave in the roman republic who rebels against his masters. Anthony Mann stepped down from the director's chair and Mr. Douglas needed someone to take over. Enters Stanley Kubrick. Although he has little creative input (i.e. script and story wise) he manages to make a compelling movie with his keen eye and directorial abilities.

Filmed in a grand scope and in such great detail, Spartacus is eye candy for fans of epic film making. I can only imagine what the film would have been like if he had total control over the project. Kirk Douglas is the man as Spartacus, Tony Curtis is quite good as his sidekick, Charles Laughton is wise and witty as the elder senator, Peter Ustinov is a hoot in his role as the poor victim of fortunate (and unfortunate) circumstance and Sir Laurence Olivier shows why he was the premier actor of his day as Crassus.

Highly recommended for Kirk Douglas fans and Stanley Kubrick philes.

The darkest historical epic. No dancing girls, no chariot races, filmed in sombre browns and reds. Nominally directed by Kubrick but Douglas, as a very 'hands on' producer was responsable for the operatic sweep of the film. I was astonished when revisiting the film in 1991 at the cinema at the bravery of the project-to have the hero cry several times, once even out of self pity and with a heart rending ending! The film has depth and weight, the characters are well drawn. The performances are almost flawless, Douglas managing as actor to create tension in each scene-Olivier, not withstanding his eyerolling mannerisms is perfectly cast. The minor parts are richly drawn-gravel voiced Charles McGraw, Herbert Lom and Woody Strode. The cinematography and music are flawless. Only John Dall as a very modern Glaberus and John Ireland as Crixus seem out of place. Ironically, despite the downbeat tone of the film it is impossible to watch it without being uplifted through your tears of compassion. Unofficialy remade as Braveheart...watch one after the other and you'll see the similarities in mood, theme and even the battle choreography. Spartacus would be my 'desert island' movie.

I know my summary may sound opinionated...but I couldn't help being entertained by this film. If I had any complaints it would be there are one or two parts that suffer from uneven pacing and in the latter half especially there are a lot of wordy speeches from Kirk Douglas. That said, it is very well made, with sweeping cinematography, beautiful costumes and well constructed sets. The score is triumphant and bombastic, Kubrick's direction is secure and the script is surprisingly intelligent and knowing. Also the action is brilliantly done, and the performances are to be much applauded, with Kirk Douglas believable and sincere in the title role, Jean Simmons alluring as Varina and Laurence Olivier, Peter Ustinov and Charles Laughton stealing every single scene they are in.

Overall, maybe not Kubrick's very best, but a fine historical epic. 9/10 Bethany Cox

It is very much part of Hollywood folklore that having dispensed with the services of Anthony Mann, producer and star Kirk Douglas brought in Stanley Kubrick with whom he had worked so effectively in 'Paths of Glory'. This represented a daunting challenge and Kubrick passed with flying colours. The rest as they say is history although Douglas always felt that Kubrick was not as grateful as he should have been!

It would be well-nigh impossible now to assemble a cast of such substance and quality. There were bound to be clashes of temperament of course and the animosity between Olivier and Laughton has been amusingly recounted by Peter Ustinov who picked up an Oscar as Best Supporting actor. Olivier here is in his physical prime and is magnificent in the role of Crassus. He is ruthlessness incarnate but tender in his scenes with the Lavinia of Jean Simmons. He had previously directed her in 'Hamlet' and their professional bond is palpable.

There are scenes which are indelibly etched notably the gladiatorial combat between Douglas and Woody Strode and the scene where the slave army watches the legions of Crassus forming for battle which must surely have been inspired by Eisenstein's 'Alexander Nevsky'. The score by Alex North although harsh captures perfectly the brutality of the times whilst Russell Metty's cinematography is outstanding.

Forget the others, this is the only gladiator film that really matters and it will never be surpassed.

This is Kubrick's farewell to Hollywood. I would have liked to be a fly on the wall. I don't believe for a minute that it was a cordial parting of the ways. I mean, Kubrick never returned, never! With "Paths of Glory" Kubrick gave Kirk Douglas, not just his best part as an actor, but his best movie. By the time Douglas called Kubrick to "take over" "Spartacus" Douglas was already a huge star with too much saying in the matter. Look at it, it's clear. "Spartacus" is more Douglas than Kubrick. Great fun to watch, yes, absolutely. A terrific script by black listed Dalton Trumbo. Some fight sequences unequalled in the history of film. Look at the fight between Douglas and Woody Strode and compare it to the ones in "Troy" or "Gladiator" for that matter. It is sad an embarrassing to realise how low we've fallen. Computer generated images or not. The cast is unbelievable but it's clearly not Kubrick's. The casting of his movies was part of his master plan. He would cast a Ryan O'Neil as Barry Lyndon for instance so he can blend perfectly with the magnificent tapestry, without adding any colours of his own. The same can be said of Keir Dullea, in 2001, a robotic non entity in a showdown with a voice. When he needed actors to be at the very pinnacle of his universe he went to Peter Sellers, Malcolm McDowell or James Mason. Even the casting of Tom Cruise made a lot of sense. He used the star and his wife to talk about the dreamlike powers of betrayal. In "Spartacus" Tony Curtis, plays Antoninus, a teacher of the classics. A campy idea never seen in a Kubrick film, before or since. To be fair, there are some spot on, brilliant pieces of casting. Charles Laughton is, as usual, superb. Peter Ustinov, terrific. Laurence Olivier manages to give a multifaceted portrait of weakness, fear and greed. Jean Simmons makes the reason to survive totally believable. But the cutesy love scene between her and a shiny muscular, coiffed Spartacus is truly terrible. As a final blow, the scene is enveloped in a sticky, corny music theme. Having said all that. Don't you dare missing this epic. I'ts Kubrick's goodbye to Hollywood and like everything else that the master said or do, he really meant it.