Movie Review - Spartacus

Spartacus (1960) - A highly fictionalized version of the slave uprising in 73 B.C.E. led by a gladiator named Spartacus.  Rising against the Roman Republic an army of slaves gives the Roman legions just about everything they can handle.

Sigh.

This is one of those movies I'm supposed to like.  It has a classic line of movie dialogue ("I am Spartacus!) and a scene at the end that gives you chills.  It's got big name stars (Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov, Tony Curtis), it has a big name director (Stanley Kubrick), and the screenplay was written by Dalton Trumbo who had been blacklisted just a few years before.  It's popular among some LGBT folk because it has a clearly homoerotic scene between Olivier and Curtis that is played with an astounding level of civility given the time of its creation.  This scene was cut by the censors at the time and so entered into legend.  It has been restored to the current version.  (Interesting to note that the original dialogue soundtrack had been lost when it was restored.  Curtis could re-dub his lines but Olivier was dead.  Anthony Hopkins was brought in because he could do an impeccable Olivier impression.)  It is the only Kubrick movie where an actor won an Oscar for their work (Peter Ustinov).  In fact it won 4 Oscars.  It's listed as the #5 greatest epic film of all time by the American Film Institute.

It's LEGENDARY!

Color me underwhelmed.

It starts off with an overture, which is never a good sign in my opinion.  For those not familiar with the theatrical tradition it is a musical "introduction" to the performance.  Usually involves pieces of the music that is to follow.  You find them often at the opera or musicals.  At the movies it is inevitably accompanied by a black screen with the single word "Overture" on it.  It's pretentious.  As is the "intermission" half way through.  Of course when the movie runs in excess of 3 hours folks are going to need a potty break.

There are some great moments here and some wonderful performances.  But not 3+ hours worth.  Too often dull, plodding at times, more than just a little preachy, this movie needed a really good editor with some control.  Sadly producer/star Douglas kept a stranglehold on control of the movie.  That's clearly a mistake.

In the end let's put it in that category of movies you should see once.  My bet is very few of us would willingly go through the experience twice.

Rating -*** Worth A Look