Swords 'n' Sandals In Action

Rating: 8/10 (18 December 2008)

Although a little wobbly in its production here and there, on account of the conflicting 'professional' interpretations between Douglas and Kubrick; this movie has certainly stood the test of time.
Considered pretty bold in its day for the graphic representation of Roman cruelty, some of the scenes still hold up very well and help underline the slaves' motive for rebellion.
There's a host of big names from that age of movie-making. Douglas has invariably played firebrands of one stamp or another and here he fits the sandals of Spartacus as well as any. His full and extensive remit of acting skills are put on show. Tony Curtis as Antoninus, his close friend, is rather less convincing; he doesn't do 'serious' quite so well as comedy.
Ustinov bumbles along as Batiatus, owner of the gladiator school. Olivier brings a stately gravitas to Crassus, Jean Simmons is a scrawny but adequate Varinia. However, I believe the best part is played by chubby Charles Laughton, who is absolutely believable as the crafty, but basically decent political manipulator, Gracchus. In a script that is unusually intelligent for the genre, he definitely gets the best lines, and delivers them with convincing panache. He steals every one of his scenes, even those including Olivier.
Indeed, you'd be hard-pressed to find a bum role here, with reliable Woody Strode playing a doomed gladiator stricken by misguided loyalties, and a cameo from excellent Herbert Lom as the fixer Levantus.
The political squabbling is actually more entertaining than the fighting. Let's face it; we've seen hoards of men in a sword-wielding scrum so often it's almost a period cliché.
But the set-piece deployment of the Roman army is wonderfully realised. I don't know how many extras were engaged in this all-too-briefly observed spectacle, but I've never seen an army look so believable or so bloody intimidating. We watch from the slave perspective at each separate legion marching steadfastly forward with lock-step precision over the rolling meadows, just as they must have done during the centuries of Roman rule, indomitable, irresistible, suppressing everything in their wake. And then a second army is seen in the distance, following on from the first. It required extraordinary visceral courage to stand in the face of this expert machine.
When Laughton isn't amply demonstrating the decadence that is the other face of Rome, Olivier adds additional icing with an attempt to seduce Antoninus. In a sly metaphor, choices in food are compared to tastes in sexual appetite that could be an object lesson for sophisticated homosexuals the world over, and must have been astonishingly daring for 1960. Once again, the extremely clever script shines through.
There are many other excellent set-pieces and situations. Camera work is as expansive as widescreen production demands, but there is plenty of subtle intimacy too, with well-judged lighting throughout. In general, I like the music; though the martial bombast of Roman anthems tend to batter your eardrums into submission. There's a nice 'romantic' theme for the scenes depicting Spartacus and Varinia.
The more recent 'Gladiator' added absolutely nothing to the 'conflict of loyalties' story, or the sword 'n' sandals genre, except - as one might expect - in the CGI department. Quite the contrary; I thought it inferior in every other way. Certainly the latter's script couldn't hold a candle to this one. And come to that; neither could the lead roles.
If you haven't already; give 'em a whizz and see what you think.