Kirk's best performance

Rating: 10/10 (25 July 2018)

Better than I remembered, or was led to expect by the ratings on this site, which have Gladiator at 8.5 and Spartacus at 7.9. It's better written than Gladiator, though not quite as well directed. But fairly accurate historically, as far as can be ascertained. The cast list is very impressive, except for the slightly weird presence of Tony Curtis as a juggler and tone-deaf singer of songs. This actor is, for me, forever indelibly memorable as a cookie full of arsenic, equally incredible as an ex-slave singer of songs as an ex-slave Viking. The rest of the cast is excellent. Olivier is Crassus personified, especially when comparing oysters with snails; Jean Simmons is everything she has to be; Ustinov provides welcome comic relief; Lom is highly convincing; and Laughton is both sardonic and ironic. The biblical echoes are strong. The temporary escape of the slaves powerfully recalls an earlier exodus from Egypt, and the mode of execution favoured by the Romans seems remarkably familiar. There's even a suggested future promise in the appearance of the infant son.