Pre-Lawrence of Arabia epic has naive characterisation of Spartacus, but still, doesn't get enough credit in Kubrick's canon.

Rating: 8/10 (18 July 2004)

Spartacus is a slave... He wants to be a King... There's only one way to go about it...
Its love story, and the character of Spartacus, belong to that old-fashioned school of naive epics, where the hero is relentlessly deified and praised as perfect.
Its just too damn simple. The revisionist epics, like Lawrence of Arabia, are much more interesting - they are an investigation into the character of the hero. They do not therefore have to be perfect, only interesting. They are more interesting, therefore, and realistic, if they are imperfect.
But all the same Kubrick fans don't give Spartacus enough credit. I always figured the most amusing thing in it was Tony Curtis' Brooklyn accent in the middle of this ancient Roman epic. But then I realised many of its characterisations are done with humour: Laughton and Olivier give performances which are tongue in cheek and camp. But best of all is Peter Ustinov, who lights up the screen with a very unique character.
Kubrick's mastery at choreographing mass crowd scenes is evident here. It is a gorgeously photographed epic - and, if you're a Kubrick fan, a sumptuous and satisfying experience.
Its musical score also has a gorgeous love theme.
8/10. Spartacus is without a doubt an accomplished and above-average film.