Brilliant Film, Brilliantly Portrayed

Rating: 10/10 (19 June 2006)

Until Shakespeare in Love came out, this was my number one movie. It still stands the test of time.
Acccurately described as "The Thinking Man's Epic," this film should be must viewing for everyone who wonders why "progressivism" will never lose its appeal. The villains are brilliant in their belief that "Rome is an eternal thought in the mind of god." (Crassus. He died, by the way, by having molten gold poured down his throat.) And the heroes are united in their belief that "The finest wine comes from home, wherever it is." Spartacus has, in its own way, become almost a cliché - its "I'm Spartacus" lampooned in an Academy Award lead in and the whole movie replayed as Braveheart. (Witness the sound effects as the shields slap into position during the charge. Mel Gibson admitted to stealing it.) But I defy any thinking person to watch the movie and not tear up: at the scene where Spartacus tells his army, "I know that we're brothers. And I know that we're free. WE MARCH TONIGHT." At the scene where he kills Antoninus, with the words, "I love you, Antoninus, as I love the son I'll never see." And at the end scene, where Jean Simmons - transcendently beautiful - shows the dying, crucified hero his son and says, "It's your son, Spartacus. He's free." In an age when we are so willing to trade our freedom in for the illusion of safety, the message of Spartacus - the movie, and the true historical character - will remain forever uplifting.