I change my mind, I'm not Spartacus

Rating: 7/10 (15 May 2007)

This film is entertainment. It is very broad and lenient with facts. But why not? No one really knows a lot about a guy who lived 2000 centuries ago. Scholars can't even agree on Jesus, and he had more identified eye witnesses than any character before the printing press. Spartacus leads a rebellion against Rome composed of gladiators. How they are initially formed is hypothetical. Once you get several hundred, it is easy to recruit more and more, however. It isn't a spoiler to say Spartacus eventually gets caught, but not before he has several victories. In this, the film is pretty accurate. Kirk Douglas isn't the epitome of Spartacus. Most gladiators who were slaves from conquered lands were from the East, and would be darker than the Romans, who had a lot of blonde and fair citizens at the time. Their dark skin and hair really evolved later when they began intermingling with what they called the "Orientals". However, some slaves were from the North, so it isn't beyond possibility. Douglas doesn't seem large enough, however, to be a leader of gladiators. One would expect a towering figure to be Spartacus. That said, this has a lot of adventure and intrigue. Most of the story deals with Spartacus as an alien force, focusing more on two factions of Roman citizens trying to win control of Rome. Of course, one must mention the famous line, when the gladiators are caught, and Spartacus is told to identify himself. I doubt that when the film was made that they realized this scene would become one of the ten greatest known of all time. A fun movie.