I'm Spartacus !!

Rating: 10/10 (25 December 2019)

"Spartacus" is one of the all-time great epics. A film based on true events, admittedly romanticised but nonetheless retaining much of the real story.
There really was a Spartacus and he really did lead a slave revolt that really did threaten Rome. There really was a lenista in Capua named Lentulus Batiatus, at whose gladiator school Spartacus was trained and from where he escaped with other slaves. There really was a Roman general named Marcus Licinius Crassus, who eventually defeated the uprising, and everyone's heard of Julius Caesar. Crixus really was one of the revolt's principle leaders, while the Marcus Publius Glabrus of the film is simply too close to the real life Gaius Claudius Glaber to be dismissed as fictional. Other characters also have strong similarities to what is known of the history of those times as do many of the events that are portrayed.
It is a fact that, after the final defeat of the rebellion, thousands were crucifed along the road from Rome to Capua, the Appian Way. Whether Spartacus was one of them is unknown, although the romantic suggestions in the film have no basis in known fact; neither does the characer of Antoninus as played by Tony Curtis. Nonetheless, who's to say there wasn't an Antoninus or a Verinia ?
The story is great, the script excellent and the acting and direction of top quality. The action scenes are terrific and the musical score fits perfectly without ever taking centre stage and diverting attention from the action. The performances of Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, who was rarely more commanding, and Charles Laughton are first rate and to my mind the film is only let down by it's romantic interludes which simply don't suit the overall mood of those times or events. However, the catchphrase "I'm Spartacus", one that demonstrates the bond that developed between men who had been horribly oppressed, has entered the language as few other clips from films have.
"Spartacus" is a great film with minor flaws. If I could give it 9.5, I would, but as I can't it has to be a 10.