Oldies Movie Review - Spartacus

Director: Stanley Kubrick
Genre: Action/ Drama/ Adventure
Runtime: 197 minutes
Year: 1960
Starring: Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov, John Gavin, Nina Foch, John Ireland, Herbert Lom, John Dall, Charles McGraw, Joanna Barnes, Harold J. Stone, Woody Strode, Peter Brocco

WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2021 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 21: A THREE-HOUR MOVIE
 
Description: The slave Spartacus (Kirk Douglas) leads a violent revolt against the decadent Roman Republic.

Review: “Spartacus” is a historical epic film, and is considered one of the best films in the genre. It was also one of the first films set in antiquity that did not have biblical motifs. Officially, the film is credited to Stanley Kubrick, but he only became involved in the project after the original director, Anthony Mann, was fired by lead actor (and co-producer) Kirk Douglas.
The film tells the story of the gladiator Spartacus, who escaped from a gladiatorial school in 73 BC with 77 fellow gladiators and subsequently sparked a slave revolt. After their escape, Spartacus and his cronies free slaves everywhere and train them in fighting techniques. Rome is divided. The first army leaders sent after Spartacus are inexperienced and are crushed. The only person who can quell the rebellion is Crassus, the richest person of his time, but the Senate fears that he will use the opportunity to institute a reign of terror. In the end, however, there is nothing but to use the services of Crassus. After several scuffles, Crassus finally manages to defeat the slave army. 6000 rebels are crucified just outside Rome.  
“Spartacus” was shot almost entirely in the U.S., but for the final battle it was diverted to Spain. The story is very strong and the mass scenes are impressive. The first half of the film, with the training of the gladiators and the uprising, is oppressive. In the second half, the pace slows down a bit, as attention becomes fragmented among the various characters and there are a bit too many scenes meant to outline the togetherness withing the slave army. Fortunately, the acting is at an exceptionally high level, so it never really gets boring.
With Laurence Olivier as Crassus and Charles Laughton as Gracchus, Kubrick has at his disposal the two greatest British actors of that time but he has the misfortune that they did not like each other. It was Peter Ustinov who tried as much as possible to keep the peace on the set. With all this acting, Kirk Douglas almost seems like a supporting actor in his own film, even though he certainly does a fantastic job.
“Spartacus”, yet another classic first-timer I can check off my list. As should everyone.

Rating: 4/ 5