While it suffers from some of the flaws of epics of this era, Spartacus also boasts some stirring action and intelligent dialogue.

Rating: 8/10 (1 July 2010)

A gladiator (Kirk Douglas) in ancient Rome sparks a slaves' revolt. The documentary Trumbo suggests that the "I am Spartacus!" scene was meant to dramatize the solidarity of those accused of being Communist sympathizers during the McCarthy Era who refused to implicate others, and thus were blacklisted.
Spartacus is a long, well-made, downbeat epic, rather talky in its first half, but with deeper than usual characterization and several bravura sequences. This is about as good as the sword-and-sandals genre got in this era. The original score for the film was composed and conducted by six-time Academy Award nominee Alex North. It is considered one of his best works.