SPARTACUS: a flawed masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (26 May 2002)

As a student of Roman history, I generally cast a jaundiced eye on Hollywood epics dwelling on ancient Rome. They're either camp, like "QUO VADIS" (Robert Taylor's impersonation of an actor is particularly unsettling), or badly researched and preachy, like the incredibly overrated, "BEN-HUR" (starring Charlton Heston, and his flying circus of facial tics). Given Hollywood's miserable track record in handing out awards (i.e., "How Green was my Valley" over "Citizen Kane"??? --- enough said), it is telling that "Ben-Hur" snagged 11 Oscars, including Chuck's, but "Spartacus" was virtually ignored (Ustinov's wonderful rendering of Lentulus Batiatus excepted).
And yet, as history, "Spartacus" is a terrific film. There are, inevitably, inconsistencies: the real Gracchus (played by Charles Laughton), was dead fifty years before Spartacus' rebellion occurred and Spartacus himself died in the film's final battle - he was NOT crucified, an imaginary incident conjured by Douglas to allow for a heart-breaking farewell scene with Jean Simmons - this is regrettable, but forgivable, dramatic license. Overall, however, "Spartacus" is one of the few films that can withstand historical scrutiny. In one of many brilliant scenes, Olivier and his brother-in-law, spectators at the gladiatorial school run by Ustinov, cavalierly discuss politics, oblivious to the fact that, in the arena below, two men are fighting for their lives. Their detachment from the slaughter being perpetrated, ostensibly for their amusement, is a vivid and unforgettable reminder that barbarism once passed for entertainment. And the now-"Un-infamous" scene where Tony Curtis and Olivier make homoerotic small talk is not only tame by today's standards, but quite realistic, given what we now know of the bisexual nature of many upper-class Roman men in the first century B.C.E.
There is one other flaw in "Spartacus": namely the sanctimonious condemnation of slavery in the opening narration. Nearly all of Hollywood's films about ancient Rome -- indeed, the ancient world in general -- incorporate this tired, pompous disclaimer about slavery and the pernicious effect it had on whatever civilization is being targeted: we need to be reminded that here, in the USA, the evil that was slavery flourished for a hundred years, as it flourished for centuries in Britain, Russia, Spain, and China: the United States of America endorsed and approved slavery, and certain areas in this country still tolerate racism, misogyny, and homophobia -- but we would resent any entity that would consider those flaws an embodiment of the American Mind. Oppression was no more typical of the Roman Empire than Mississippi is typical of the United States (thank GOD!). We should remember that before we condemn a culture that survived for over 2200 years (from the founding of Rome in 753 BCE to the fall of Constantinople in 1453 CE). Finally, Alex North's wind-and-brass-besotted, jagged score is wonderfully appropriate and especially effective in the military scenes. This is one of the few films I felt compelled to buy, so as to have my own copy. It is flawed, but only because Douglas aimed so high, and it remains one of the few films that I term, "great."