A Rich, Engrossing, and Beautifully Moving Epic

Rating: 9/10 (5 September 2011)

That is what this film is. I skim through the reviews here on IMDb and find several things posted like "idealized and dull", "Rome Epic Roams Too Much", "Unfocused and Simplistic", "Overkill", etc. Maybe it's just me, but I can't quite see what these people are talking about. In my mind, Spartacus is one of the grandest and most powerful films in its genre. Perhaps it has moments where it becomes a bit melodramatic, but don't most epics, even the most loved? Didn't The Ten Commandments? Didn't Ben-Hur?
While Spartacus can certainly boast of sprawling battle sequences, riveting gladiatorial matches, lavish sets, and all the other things that one might expect from a Hollywood epic, it is the quieter, gentler, and more human moments that make the film more than that – the scene of the liberated slaves together about the campfire as Tony Curtis' Antoninus amuses them pleasantly with magic tricks, the tender and joyous exchanges between Spartacus and Varinia as they dream hopefully of the future and reflect on their pasts, the shot of an ancient couple dancing blissfully as free people after who knows how many years of slavery All these parts listed deeply and compassionately illustrate the lives of ordinary people in a strikingly intimate way, far distanced from an epic motion picture's usual excesses.
Of course, the cast is nothing short of stupendous. Kirk Douglas is excellent in the title role. In much of the first part of the film, he bristles with pent-up energy. Grimly mute, the viewer can sense the simmering rage the character has against his captors, a fury just waiting to boil over. Later, as leader of the slave revolt, he exudes a deep love for all his comrades, as well as the painful weight of his responsibility for them, especially when it appears as if their rebellion may fail. Jean Simmons as Varinia is exquisite, not just in terms of her beauty but in her performance. And as Crassus, the great Laurence Olivier creates a multi-layered and intriguing antagonist – cold and sinister, but with depth and inner turmoil, as can be seen in his scenes with Antoninus and later Varinia.
Peter Ustinov won an Oscar for his role as the obsequious head of a gladiatorial school, and it is easy to see why. He clearly relishes the part of this finicky, weaselly, cowardly slave master. Every time he appears, he brightens up the screen. Equally superb is Charles Laughton as the aging Gracchus. He skillfully portrays a bloated old senator with the countenance of a codger but a sharp and conniving mind. Throughout the film, Laughton is witty, amusing, and finally tragic. There is pathos in his last scenes. It is a great part to play that gets many of the best lines. (To paraphrase: "Privately, I believe in none of the gods. Publicly, I believe in them all.") When Ustinov and Laughton are on screen together to conspire or chat about their vices, the two's perfect chemistry makes those portions perhaps the best in the whole film.
Charles McGraw, Herbert Lom, and Woody Strode are also very memorable and deserve a mention.
Kubrick famously loathed the film, and everyone often makes a big deal about that, along with the hubris of Douglas that spurred the project to one-up Ben-Hur. So they should; it's a fascinating topic. But while it may not be fully Kubrick's vision, Spartacus remains stunning nonetheless. The acting, as I've noted, is great. The screenplay by the then-blacklisted Dalton Trumbo can be hauntingly poetic. The musical score is splendid. No matter the views of the man credited as the movie's director, I feel that Spartacus, just as it is, is a well-done and resonating piece of work.