Spartacus

Name: Spartacus
Genre: Adventure, Biography, Drama, History, War
Released: October 19, 1960
Rating: 87
Cast: Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier

1960

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Universal acclaim based on 17 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 91 Ratings

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8.4

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8.4	User Score Universal acclaim based on 91 Ratings

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Spartacus

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Movie Details & Credits

Universal Pictures | Release Date: October 19, 1960 | Approved

Starring: Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier

Summary: The slave Spartacus (Kirk Douglas) leads a violent revolt against the decadent Roman Republic.

Director: Stanley Kubrick

Genre(s): Adventure, Biography, Drama, History, War

Rating: Approved

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Staff (Not Credited)

There is solid dramatic substance, purposeful and intriguingly contrasted character portrayals and, let's come right out with it, sheer pictorial poetry that is sweeping and savage, intimate and lusty, tender and bitter sweet. Read full review

100

Marjorie Baumgarten

Kubrick’s gladiator film is the pinnacle of sword-and-sandal epics, and who isn’t a sucker for stories about rebellious slaves? This is the kind of movie the Paramount’s screen was made for. Read full review

100

TV Guide Magazine Staff (Not Credited)

Spartacus is still a remarkable epic--one of the greatest tales of the ancient world ever to hit the screen. It's especially strong, and more typical of Kubrick, in the first half--before satire gives way to sentiment. Read full review

Pauline Kael

This may be the best-paced and most slyly entertaining of all the decadent-ancient-Rome spectacular films. It's a great big cartoon drama, directed by Stanley Kubrick, with Kirk Douglas at his most muscular.

The Telegraph Staff (Not Credited)

It's hard to conceive of a sword-and-sandals epic with greater sweep or grandeur than Spartacus...For majestic, mind-blowing sequences, you're spoilt for choice. Read full review

Time Out London Derek Adams

Needless to say, the film’s big Brit hitters – Peter Ustinov, Laurence Olivier and especially Charles Laughton – all make exceptional work of Dalton Trumbo’s reflective screenplay, while Kubrick himself handles the film’s mechanics of corruption with skill. Read full review

Bosley Crowther

It is a spotty, uneven drama in which the entire opening phase representing the basic-training program in a gladiatorial school is lively, exciting and expressive, no matter how true to history it is, and the middle phase is pretentious and tedious, because it is concerned with the dull strife of politics. Read full review

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User Reviews

FrancisDG

Jun 4, 2019

A true movie, better than Gladiator. Kubrick was a really genius, we miss him!

4 of 6 users found this helpful42

alejandro970

Nov 1, 2020

One of the greatest examples of Roman cinema. The little more than three hours of footage are justified with the correct mix of genres, and with an empathetic and hard-to-forget character.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

gracjanski

Nov 10, 2020

Classic movie with a big budget and you can see it: costumes, the amount of people involved, the lengts. I appreciate the most, that there were the political scenes with intelligent dialogues.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

FilipeNeto

Nov 15, 2020

The Fifties and Sixties saw a proliferation of epic films made around the Bible or the Roman Empire. Based on a precise moment in the history of Rome, the Slave War, this is one of the best despite not having a comma of historical rigor.

The film focuses on the historical figure ofThe Fifties and Sixties saw a proliferation of epic films made around the Bible or the Roman Empire. Based on a precise moment in the history of Rome, the Slave War, this is one of the best despite not having a comma of historical rigor.

The film focuses on the historical figure of Spartacus, a Thracian slave who begins by being a gladiator and who will become famous when he takes over the leadership of a huge group of slaves who, in the middle of the Italian peninsula, revolt and desperately fight for their own freedom and the right to abandon the empire's lands. The film creates around it a huge fictional plot and a somewhat sugary romance with another slave, and emphasizes the division of the Romans and political issues. Skillfully directed by Stanley Kubrick, it's one of the most palatable films in his filmography. The film follows the entire trajectory of the revolt until its bloody end.

One of the strongest points of the film is the extraordinary performance of the cast, led by Kirk Douglas in one of the roles that would give him immortal notoriety. He is perfect in the way he gave life to Spartacus, although perhaps Kubrick exaggerated the amount of pompous speeches and pouch phrases attributed to the character. Jean Simmons was excellent in the role of the slave he falls in love with and Laurence Olivier is impeccable in the role of Crassus, the famous Roman politician and consul responsible for ending the slave revolt. The film also features John Gavin, Charles Laughton, John Dall and Peter Ustinov in smaller roles, but where everyone did a job worthy of praise.

Technically, it is a film full of value and extremely positive grades. Let us start by mentioning the excellent cinematography, the impeccable filming work and the magnificent colors and light that accompany the entire work, which lasts about three hours. It is in fact three hours well spent, where we rarely feel we are seeing a scene that can be removed or shortened until we reach the last half hour... in fact, from that point on, Kubrick seems more concerned with creating a hermetically closed ending in spite of using the dramatic climax for a great and impactful ending. Thus, and as a result of this hesitation, the film drags on for unnecessary thirty minutes. All the sets and costumes were meticulously done and look incredible, although, like much of the script, they are more guided by the visual impact than by the historical rigor of the recreation. As in other epics of this time, many people are involved and the film was an imposing collective effort. The soundtrack, by Alex North, is effective and works quite well.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

Tchaikovsky

Mar 16, 2018

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. From my point of view on the greatest films directed by the legendary director Stanley kubrick. Also my favorite film about the Ancient Rome, the battles are spectaculars, incredible legendary actors its a true masterpiece. I would to remain after Gladiator 2000 by Ridley Scott there's no more epic and good films about Ancient Rome, I sugest to make more films about romans with this high quality. We have nowadays a lot mediocre and awful films about Rome. Spartacus, Ben Hur and Gladiator are most greatest of all the times!… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

JP32

Dec 7, 2021

Spartacus, the Stanley Kubrick directed, Kirk Douglas produced story of slave revolt in ancient Rome, is a special experience; a classic epic with a distinctly modern sensibility. It’s a sharp, subtly risqué piece of work, in line with what I expect from Kubrick.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

Broyax

Oct 21, 2020

Un péplum typique de son temps et un long-métrage très… long (typique de son temps, on vous dit…) ce qui signifie des longueurs qui rallongent encore le métrage qui semble alors ne plus en finir… Cela étant, il n’est pas le pire d’entre eux (de tous les péplums à rallonge) et avec un peu deUn péplum typique de son temps et un long-métrage très… long (typique de son temps, on vous dit…) ce qui signifie des longueurs qui rallongent encore le métrage qui semble alors ne plus en finir… Cela étant, il n’est pas le pire d’entre eux (de tous les péplums à rallonge) et avec un peu de bonne volonté, on tient à peu près la distance… des plus de trois heures bien pesées !

On note en dehors du grand spectacle (surtout les déplacements de troupes à la fin) une certaine violence (surtout vers la fin) avec même du « sang », ce qui est inhabituel en termes de péplum hollywoodien déclamatoire mais on note également quelques excellents personnages, quelques uns seulement qui donnent une grandeur et un allant inattendus : ceux de Charles Laughton, Laurence Olivier et Peter Ustinov, vraiment épatants. Kirk se débrouille tout à fait mais reste hélas coincé en mode « héroïque »… et trop poseur.

Quant à sa douce moitié dans le film, même si elle dispose apparemment de jolis attributs, elle demeure une bécasse fadasse du début à la fin : crispante comme c’est pas permis, chiante comme pas possible. Presque aussi chiante que la musique criarde envahissante, lancinante… bien crispante elle aussi !

Malgré par ailleurs sa guimauve plus ou moins appuyée, ce Spartacus n’en reste pas moins assez cruel, ce qui dénote aussi en termes de péplum (à dormir debout) : un étrange et bien curieux mélange donc ! je ne suis en tout cas globalement pas convaincu malgré de beaux numéros d’acteurs, d’autant qu’on sent un agenda pré-SJW un peu trop évident et un Crassus qui se pose trop de questions, les questions d’un scénariste communiste, évidemment. Bref, belle tentative que tout cela mais ça reste trop lourdingue dans l’ensemble.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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