Refreshingly dark epic

Rating: 8/10 (22 April 2008)

The presence of two directors is quite noticeable, as is the lack of Kubrickian influence on the script, as it's almost like a tale of two movies. There's the dark, depressing, realistic Kubrick stuff (the scene right before the first fight to the death, where the gladiators hear the nobles discussing trivial matters, is right out of Paths of Glory), and then there's the sappy, melodramatic, happy Hollywood stuff (those terrible montages of life in the slave camp). Luckily Kubrick wins out (for the most part) and the end is suitably dismal.
As with Paths of Glory, there's a lot of ideas thrown about dealing with the distinction between the higher and lower classes, and that couldn't be more obvious than with the political maneuvering of Crassus and Gracchus nearly outweighing the noble plight of Spartacus. Kubrick also likes three-way conflicts (Jack/Danny/the Overlook in The Shining, US/Russia/Ripper in Dr. Strangelove) and Spartacus and Gracchus uniting (in a way) to beat their common enemy is symptomatic of that. That stuff, along with that horribly depressing end with all the slaves crucified along the road, is vintage Kubrick.
Unfortunately there's all that cheesy Hollywood stuff about hope and glory and freedom that really feels at odds with the realistic epic that the rest of the film is trying to put forth. The ill-fated romance, Spartacus' many speeches, indeed the entire epic battle all fall in line with this. Of course, we also get that great "I'm Spartacus!" scene, so maybe it's not all bad.
The sexual innuendo and political drama which lie just under the surface are quite refreshing, and really distinguish this film from, say, Ben-Hur. It seems to me to be an epic more concerned with art than financial success, at least for the most part, and I really dug that. It's not perfect, but it's not mediocre like so many epics of the time, either.
Definite recommend, especially for Ben-Hur fans so they can learn what life is really like.