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Spartacus (1960)
Starring Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, and Tony Curtis. Cinematography by Russell Metty and Clifford Stine. Edited by Robert Lawrence. Produced by Edward Lewis. Written by Dalton Trumbo. Directed by Stanley Kubrick.
Thracian Spartacus (played by Kirk Douglas) was born and raised in slavery during the height of the Roman Empire. He yearns for freedom and lacks respect for his masters. One day he is sentenced to death for biting a Roman guard, but is saved by Lentulus Batiatus (played by Peter Ustinov) who recruits him to fight as a gladiator.
Spartacus looses his first battle, but when his opponent spares his life he in turn is put to death. Spartacus is enraged by this injustice and launches a rebellion against his captures. The slave army grows and grows as they travel across the Italian countryside. Back in Rome senators use the rebellion for political positioning, all the while Roman troops move into position to end the makeshift army’s dreams of independence.
In the 1950’s Hollywood was reeling in the threat of a new and increasingly popular medium in entertainment: television. Why would someone pay admission to a theater when they could sit at home and be equally entertained? To persuade potential viewers off their couches and into their local cinemas, movie studios started funding massive projects that television studios just couldn’t afford to produce. This reaction in the film industry produced such amazing large scale epics as The Robe, The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur, Lawrence of Arabia, and Cleopatra.
Towards the later end of that cinematic decade came Spartacus; the story of the slave that challenged Rome. Filmmaker Anthony Mann was hired to direct the project, but when disagreements came up between him and Kirk Douglas, the film’s star and co-producer, the job was offered to a young Stanley Kubrick, who had previously worked with Douglas in Paths of Glory. Kubrick had just spent the past six months developing a western film with Marlon Brando called One Eye Jacks, a film that Brando would go on a direct himself, and despite his ambitions to further develop films for his independent production company (Harris-Kubrick) he accepted the offer. This would be Kubrick’s only experience as a director for hire.
Spartacus will forever stand out in Kubrick’s filmography; not that it’s an inferior product, but you certainly can not compare it in either theme or production to his previous and subsequent works. Kubrick later described his experience in filming Spartacus as that of a typical Hollywood director. He coached the actors, designed the shots, and supervised the editing, but had precious little influence on the script which was already assembled by the time he came on board. This would also be the last time that he would have no involvement on the business end of a film; an arena where he says that “many artistic battles are won and lost”.
But regardless of Kubrick’s minimal creative influence, Spartacus really is an impressive picture. The story is strong, the acting is solid, and the monumental battle sequences alone are worth the price of admission.
Budget: $12,000,000
Total US Gross: $30,000,000
Genre: War
Runtime: 184 Minutes
US Release Date: 10/7/60
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Awards: Academy Awards: Won for best art direction/set decoration, best cinematography, best costume design (color), and best supporting actor. Nominated for best editing and best dramatic score. Golden Globes: Won for best dramatic picture. Nominated for best actor in a dramatic role, best supporting actor (Woody Strode), best supporting actor (Peter Ustinov), and best director. Writers Guild of America: Nominated for Best Written American Drama. American Film Institute’s Top 100 Lists: 100 Years… 100 Thrills (#62), 100 Years… 100 Heroes and Villains (#22 – Spartacus), 100 Years… 100 Cheers (#44).
Tagline: It Roars With Fierce Excitement!
Quote: “And maybe there's no peace in this world, for us or for anyone else… I don't know. But I do know that as long as we live, we must remain true to ourselves.”
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