Sweeping epic of revoltin' slaves

Rating: 9/10 (20 February 2000)

Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece - which is saying something, considering Kubrick's work, which includes "2001," "A Clockwork Orange," and "Barry Lyndon" - covers quite a bit of historical ground, but no director before or since has told the tale of the strong slave Spartacus inciting his fellow chained men and women to rebel against the arms of Italy. It's movies like these, along with De Mille's "The Ten Commandments," that really defined the term "sweeping epic." Kirk Douglas stars as the resilient leader Spartacus, and gives an unusually commanding and convincing performance. He's supported by an all-star cast, of course, including a magnificent Peter Ustinov, who won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his work. The toughest part for Kubrick probably wasn't filming the movie, it was keeping all of his stars' egos in check - he had Charles Laughton, Ustinov, and Lawrence Olivier, to name three. Such heavyweights in a movie today would provide some amiable gossip column fodder, but it's a testament to Kubrick that there weren't more problems on the set. As for the movie itself, you won't find many movies with the same level of cinematography, which also garnered an Oscar. A must-see.