Tragic story.

Rating: 8/10 (11 December 2005)

An illiterate non-Roman slave almost defeats the best armies Rome has at her disposal. The same slave, before his "break out," shares his cell with a naked female slave, in full view of his Roman guards. And a Roman general has some kind of relationship with his male slave - in a swimming pool. Now, what does all this have in common? Answer: I don't know! It's all in the movie, however. I don't care about Spartacus's love life nor do I care about whether the Roman general had a special relationship with his male slave. The story is about the revolt itself, which is one of the most famous slave revolts in history. It's about an army of slaves who are fighting for their freedom. But that's not enough material for Hollywood, so here comes the sex, as if that had any bearing on the revolt itself. Kirk Douglas offers a powerful, albeit somewhat hammy performance as the heroic Spartacus and Tony Curtis offers an interesting portrayal as the Greek slave who is Spartacus's adviser, friend and scribe - and his master's lover. Okay, Spartacus rebelled against Rome, but was it really necessary for Rome to crucify thousands of men just to find Spartacus? That is truly tragic.