Hail, Spartacus!

Rating: 10/10 (7 August 2015)

I must admit I am always taken aback when I see how many negative reviews there are about "Spartacus" on IMDb. But of course, I also appreciate that many generations of reviewers have been born since it was made who didn't stare up at that Super Technirama 70 screen as a 12-year old boy in 1960 to be totally overwhelmed by the experience.
Nostalgia plays a huge part in the way we remember movies, but I'm obviously not alone in my love of this one. I remember one of the guys who restored "Spartacus" for its 40th Anniversary saying that it was one of the reasons he got into movies. I can totally relate to that.
There was just something more immediate, more intense, even something more modern about the movie. From Alex North's opening fanfares to Saul Bass's crumbling Roman statue behind the main titles, you knew you were in for something different.
Just compare the costuming in "Ben Hur" with "Spartacus". In "Ben Hur", everything had a shiny, glitzy look that almost suggested costumes made by clever parents for a Christmas pageant while "Spartacus" had a more muscular, functional look.
Then there were the actors. Kirk Douglas as producer had mostly given British actors the parts of the Romans, and American actors the roles of gladiators and slaves to create an interesting language scheme; it worked well. Ustinov and Laughton got the most out of Dalton Trumbo's urbane and often witty script while Olivier conveyed much with just a look. You sense that although his Crassus knows he will defeat Spartacus in battle, he will never defeat his spirit.
And Douglas stands up to all those esteemed British actors, gutsy really, but he wasn't outclassed at all and such intensity, I believed him; he was Spartacus.
Now this was a pretty adult movie for it's time (some scenes were cut), and the audience went very quiet indeed during the heavily-shaded scene where Jean Simmons took off her clothes in Spartacus' cell. I'm surprised they even let a 12-year old in; it was such a tightly-buttoned era.
There have been other attempts at "Spartacus". A version with Gorin Visnjic was so lacklustre I don't know why they bothered. Then there's the recent Kiwi mini series. I know some like it, and it does weave more of the real history throughout the series, however, it goes for a graphic novel approach, which I find very repetitious. Along with everyone yelling like they are dealing with strangulated hernias, I didn't see one scene in all its monochromatic, CGI weirdness that remotely approached those sunlit scenes in the 1960 version of the slave army on the march propelled along by Alex North's stunning score.
As for all the political criticism levelled at the film at the time; 'Marxists in togas' etc., it just went straight over my head - it still does to be honest.
I know there were battles between Douglas and Kubrick behind the scenes; two strong characters butting heads, but between them they achieved something unique even if they didn't go to each other's dinner parties ever again.
No, it's the original "Spartacus" for me. Whenever I watch it I can still feel its power.