Too sentimental, but beautiful... Wonderfully erotic and surprisingly moving...

Rating: 10/10 (7 December 2000)

Widely acclaimed for his serious ambitions and his uncompromising perfectionism, Stanley Kubrick has won for himself a unique degree of artistic freedom...
Based on a true story of a slave revolt in 73 B.C., Dalton Trumbo's script mixes the melodrama with some quite moving moments... The film depicts the Roman era, the brutality of the slave system, gladiator combat and the decadence of Roman senators... What emerges from the screen is a passionate statement on behalf of freedom and men who are willing to die to overthrow oppressive governments...
The credit for the film's style belongs to Stanley Kubrick, who handles scenes of intimacy and scenes of gigantic sweep with equal attention, illustrating the violence, brutality and corruption of both, the masters and the slaves, raising the question of freedom which justify the human cost...
Kirk Douglas plays Spartacus the idealistic noble slave who believes he must struggle forever against tyranny and just by opposing tyranny he inspires his followers with his example...
Spartacus' character, from a violent primitive rebel who hamstrung a foreman with his teeth, into a gladiator who fought desperately for life in the arena, into a revolutionary able to unite an amorphous mass of slaves and deserters, into a force which succeeded to defeat Rome's best trained armies, into a charismatic leader (with a vision) who forces a long-awaited revolt against the Roman empire...
Two political rivals (Crassus and Gracchus) use the slave uprising threat to manipulate the Roman senate for their own ends:
Crassus (played powerfully by Laurence Olivier) extorts 'a fee,' the dictatorial post of First Consul, Commander of all the legions of Italy as his price for releasing Rome from Spartacus... Crassus sees the defeat of Spartacus' army as a chance for him to seize power of the empire for himself... He tries to make the slaves betray Spartacus... He tries to win the love of Varinia, not merely to possess her, but as a form of victory over Spartacus... In his last confrontation with Spartacus, he is seen losing all his delusions of grandeur as he stands deeply wounded by the total disregard in which Spartacus holds him...
Charles Laughton plays, with expertise, Gracchus, a generous Roman politician, soft and rich, able to get his Julius Caesar (John Gavin) elected leader of the Praetorian Guard to annoy Crassus' ambitions...
The first hour of "Spartacus" contains many of the film's best moments : The operation of the gladiatorial school and its training program is impressive and also expressive... The gladiators school is tough but fair: The men are oiled, bathed, shaved, massaged and trained to fight... They are never allowed to kill... And for their good performances, they are even rewarded with the companionship of a young lady... In this degrading manner Spartacus meets Varinia (Jean Simmons-lovely as ever) and it is his love for her and his hatred for his captors that inadvertently sparks off an uprising and the gladiators break out...
Particularly effective is the scene in which Crassus and his "capricious over-painted nymphs" (Nina Foch & Joanna Barnes) ask to be entertained by the sight of two pairs fighting to the death... The scene summarizes the injustice of the situation, the cruelty of bondage and the insurrection becomes a triumph easy to understand...
Nominated for six Academy Awards, and winning for Cinematography, Costume Design, Art Direction and Supporting ActorPeter Ustinov. the motion picture contains no chariot races and no orgies but it still imparts the grandeur and the decay of ancient Rome...
With a stirring musical score by Oscar nominee Alex North, "Spartacus," is masterfully directed by Kubrick...