- If you want truly epic scenery, some of the most immense and authentic-looking sets in any historical drama, and an incredible stable of acting talent, then Spartacus may be your movie. I can think of no more beautifully rendered version of Rome than appears in this film, and there are probably no more convincing cinematic Romans than the always-excellent Sir Laurence Olivier as the military leader Crassus and the equally terrific Charles Laughton as his Senatorial diametric opposite, Gracchus. Not impressed yet? Did I mention Jean Simmons as the beautiful Varinia, Peter Ustinov as the wonderfully slimy slave trainer Batiatus, John Gavin as Caesar, John Ireland and Tony Curtis as rebellious slaves, and John Dall as the military Glabrus? Topping it all off, naturally, is Spartacus himself: the great Kirk Douglas.
- You may have noticed by now that I've been, to coin a phrase, talking more about the ingredients than the cake. Well, there's a good reason for that. For all its many, many merits, Spartacus is far from being the most engaging epic I've ever seen. Stretching over 196 minutes, the film feels at times like reading "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." All six volumes in one sitting, I mean. The gladiator training is exciting enough, as are the final battle with Rome and most of the Senate scenes, but the film also meanders a lot during the course of its substantial runtime. And then there's the story itself. A slave rebellion is obviously a noble pursuit, but the final implications of this particular one are tough to interpret. By my count, a full 100% of the slaves appear to have been killed by the film's end. While Spartacus would no doubt have claimed that "death is the only freedom a slave knows," there's a lot of blood behind those fine words.
- Whoa, George Kennedy is Spartacus, too! Apparently, that was his film debut.
- In the restored version that I watched, Anthony Hopkins did his best Olivier impression to cover some lost dialogue during the weird oysters and snails scene.
- Dalton Trumbo was credited for the screenplay, which is cited by some as the end of the Hollywood blacklist.
- "You and I have a tendency towards corpulence," says Laughton to Ustinov. Excellent.
