Spartacus
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Movie Reviews of Spartacus
Movie Review: An old fashioned Hollywood Spectacular with more substance than many of them
Summary: 5 Stars
My youngest son had never seen this old fashioned Hollywood spectacular, so we got it out and watched it together. I enjoyed watching it more than I had remembered. Yes, its Cold War / McCarthy Black List sentiments are displayed a little heavily, but only if you remember that period. My son hadn't a clue and took it as a straight human dignity story and I took it that way through his eyes.
What he was most amazed about was that all those people marching around were actually people instead of computer programs. And when the Roman armies are arrayed against Spartacus and his slave army, it is really amazing to behold. And the bigger screen you can watch it on, the better it would be. As my son noted, if you saw an army moving with that kind of precision and size against you, it wouldn't make sense to not be frightened. And that was a big part of the point, wasn't it.
This movie really does mix in the personal relationships with the spectacular scenes quite well. And the performances of leads are very fine. I particularly loved Peter Ustinov's Batiutus and Charles Laughton's Gracchus. Laurence Olivier is thoroughly patrician and sinister as Crassus and Kirk Douglass hits all the right notes as Spartacus. Jean Simmons has always been lovely, but never more than as Varinia in this movie. And I always get a kick out of Tony Curtis as Antoninus hightailing it out of Crassus' palace after Crassus makes the none too subtle comment about enjoying both oysters and snails. A funny moment in a movie without a lot of laughs.
So, if you haven't seen it, take a look. Remember this is 1960. If you have seen it, get your children or grand children around you and watch it with them. You will enjoy hearing what they see and explaining to them what they are seeing, who the actors were, and maybe a bit about the historical Spartacus (look it up before you watch the film).
Very good.
Movie Review: Masterpiece Of Cinema: Kirk Douglas' Greatest Role
Summary: 5 Stars
1960: Stanley Kubrick directed a great film that still awes us on DVD. Kirk Douglas performed the role of his lifetime as Spartacus, the slave who rebelled against the mighty Roman Empire to win his freedom. The music, the scenery, the music and the overall lush cinematography make this akin to the great epics popular in the day - The Ten Commandments and Ben-Hur. Spartacus is based on the true, historic account of the slave who desired the freedom of other slaves. He attempted to fight against the Roman legions, but was thwarted and was crucifiec with the rest of the slaves.Jean Simmons plays Lavignia, his love interest, and the woman who bears his child, who is born free. Peter Ustinov plays a promiscuous, decadent Roman senator. The corrupt Roman Empire has always been a favorite of literature and films, and in this film, the moral decay is well expressed. In contrast, the slaves are a good hearted group, young, old, men and wome, with good hearts and with a yearning for freedom. Slavery would continue until 1850's America, but even then, through efforts of Spartacus, slavery was attempted to be abolished.
Everyone knows the Roman armies were very strong and powerful. Spartacus did not stand a chance. But the greatest moment in the film comes when Spartacus is not found among the captives and every slave declares "I am Spartacus!" risking their life to save his. Such loyalty and courage is foreign to even the Romans. Spartacus is crucified, his wife is set free and his son is born free. Epic films like these are captured perfectly on DVD. The music is beautiful, the costumes are rich, and the dialogue, although poetic, is realistic. Although this film is very long, it is a good way to glimpse the Roman Empire. It is also very much like the recent film Gladiator in a sense.
Movie Review: "I Am Spartacus!"
Summary: 5 Stars
One of Hollywood's greatest historical epics, SPARTACUS is easily in the all-time Top Ten "Real Man's Movies." Starring Kirk Douglas and a literal cast of thousands, this film recounts author Howard Fast's version of the tale of a Roman slave-turned-gladiator-turned-liberator. Douglas's acting is, as usual, both rife with tight-jawed machismo and full of emotional depth. Douglas dominates the film in a way no actor working today ever could (Goran Visnjic's recent remake is simply watery in comparison).
Truly stellar performances are turned in by Tony Curtis (as Antoninus, the slave-poet), Peter Ustinov (as Batiatus, a comedic gladiatorial schoolowner), Sir Laurence Olivier (as Crassus), and Charles Laughton (as the philosophic Roman Senator Gracchus). The beautiful Jean Simmons plays Varinia, Spartacus's wife.
Roman brutality, with its gladiatorial games and crucifixions is set against nobility of spirit and the power of dreams. It's no contest. The glory that was Rome is pallid beside the strength of just a single man.
Classic scenes include the recently-restored bathhouse scene between Crassus and Antoninus (with its homosexual overtures) and the great capture scene which has ten thousand men declaring "I am Spartacus!" in the face of a terrible death.
Directed by Stanley Kubrick, but conceptualized by Kirk Douglas himself, the film lauds old-fashioned virtues, celebrates the human spirit, and is a paean to freedom, as an intellectual's epic. Of note is the fact that Douglas broke the back of the Hollywood blacklist by openly crediting Dalton Trumbo as the author of the screenplay.
The extras disc is loaded with goodies, but the best thing about SPARTACUS is simply losing oneself to the power of this amazingly well-crafted cinematic classic.
Movie Review: Pure Perfection
Summary: 5 Stars
I absolutely loooove this movie! Even after watching it 7 or 8 times, I find myself hoping that certain situations will turn out differenty! But then of course, it would not be the masterpiece that it is...
Kirk Douglas (Spartacus) ... in the best role of his career,a slave who would rather "Die free- than live a slave." This is the passion that drives him to challenge the power of the The Roman Empire.
And General Crassus -(Beautiful-Laurence Olivier)...Who is threatened and deeply jealous of Spartacus...whom has many followers who would die for this simple, brave, amazing slave turned gladiator.
The all star cast is just as spectacular...Tony Curtis,Charles Laughten and the stunning Jean Simmons (as Spartacus's wife).
There is an exceptional scene where Spartacus and Virinia are lying down on the ground and Spartacus is running a blade of grass down her neck, cheek, arm, stomach and says..."I want to know every inch of you."
OOOOH, Love that.
Or the scene when Crassus screams, "Tell me who Spartacus is and you will all save yourselves!" One by one they all step forward.
"Then kill them all." He says.
But the scene at the end kills me, absolutely rips my heart out...
Spartacus is on the cross, dying. Virinia finds him and holds his son up towards the cross.
"This is your son, Spartacus. This is your son. He is free. Free."
I only wish I hadn't watched this movie before...so I could experience it for the first time again!
"Spartacus" moved me off my seat and brought every emotion the the surface.
Now that's what a powerful motion picture should do!
Movie Review: THIS FILM ENDED THE BLACKLIST
Summary: 5 Stars
1960 was the "official" end of the Blacklist. A young director named Stanley Kubrick had made a brilliant movie about military justice, "Paths to Glory", starring Kirk Douglas in 1958. In 1960, he directed the classic, "Spartacus". "Spartacus" starred Douglas as a slave of the Roman Empire, depicting his deadly rivalry with the Roman General Crassus (played to perfection by Laurence Olivier). The film was rife with social message. The slaves who rise up against their Roman oppressors are metaphors for the working class, especially minorities, rising up against white oppression. One black slave, played by ex-football star Woody Strode, gives his life so Spartacus can live. The fact that he was black was well calculated. Dalton Trumbo, a former Communist, wrote "Spartacus". He penned it under an assumed name because he was still Blacklisted. When it came time to edit the film for release, Douglas, a huge star and its producer, made the decision to list Trumbo as the writer. His power and the film's success combined with this act ended the Blacklist. In a notorious scene that was cut from the original but has since been restored, a slave named Antoninus (Tony Curtis) bathes Crassus/Olivier. Strange wordplay about a preference between snails and oysters at first seems irrelevant until one realizes it is Trumbo's effort to introduce a homosexual theme to the story, using snails and oysters as metaphors for straight and gay love. Isn't that special? STEVEN TRAVERS
Author of "Barry Bonds: Baseball's Superman
STWRITESaol.com