X
- 1960
- Approved
- Universal Pictures
- 3 h 17 m
- 1960
- Approved
- Universal Pictures
- 3 h 17 m
Summary The slave Spartacus (Kirk Douglas) leads a violent revolt against the decadent Roman Republic.
Directed By: Stanley Kubrick, Anthony Mann
- 1960
- Approved
- Universal Pictures
- 3 h 17 m
- 1960
- Approved
- Universal Pictures
- 3 h 17 m
Spartacus
8.5
Where to Watch
Summary The slave Spartacus (Kirk Douglas) leads a violent revolt against the decadent Roman Republic.
Directed By: Stanley Kubrick, Anthony Mann
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 17 Critic Reviews
87
94% Positive
16 Reviews
16 Reviews
6% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 17 Critic Reviews
87
94% Positive
16 Reviews
16 Reviews
6% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Spartacus isn't the greatest epic ever made, but it's head and shoulders above most of the sword-and-sandal wheezers that came out in the '50s and '60s. And, given the prohibitive costs of shooting an epic today, it's the kind of movie we're not likely to see anymore -- except in well-deserved revivals like this one. [13 May 1991, p.E1]
A stirring classic.
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 137 User Ratings
8.5
87% Positive
119 Ratings
119 Ratings
11% Mixed
15 Ratings
15 Ratings
2% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 137 User Ratings
8.5
87% Positive
119 Ratings
119 Ratings
11% Mixed
15 Ratings
15 Ratings
2% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
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.
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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.
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Spartacus' merry rabble swarms across country to face a Roman army that, seen from a distance, resembles either a group of ants moving in perfect formation or living chessboard squares marching in order — an unbeatable, fascist machine. It's a breathtaking moment, which forces you to realise that Kubrick (before CGI) had to command extras as rigidly as Crassus runs Rome.
Much as it owes to Kubrick, Spartacus owes even more to its script, which Scenarist Trumbo has adorned with humor, eloquence, sophistication and a corrosive irony. Above all, despite his personal predilection for the 20th century's most crushing political orthodoxy, Trumbo has imparted to Spartacus a passion for freedom and the men who live and die for it —a passion that transcends all politics and persons in the fearful, final image of the dying gladiator, the revolutionary on the cross.
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.
Even when informed by Douglas' characteristic intensity, Spartacus has no real identity apart from "the common man"; at his side, the beautiful Jean Simmons is never anything more than Spartacus' chick - the proof that he's a manly man, as opposed to those mincing Roman aristocrats. Whatever Trumbo's progressive leanings, he was not past equating homosexuality with unspeakable evil and perversion.
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.
Es emocionante, épica y emotiva, es una de las mejores películas de la historia.
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This was excellent, the production design, score, and performances are all high marks for the era. The middle act is undoubtedly bloated but you gotta let Kubrick cook.
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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 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.
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Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 4 Wins & 6 Nominations
Golden Globes, USA
• 1 Win & 6 Nominations
Huabiao Film Awards
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations
