Spartacus
- Director: Stanley Kubrick; Anthony Mann
- Writer: Howard Fast; Dalton Trumbo
- Producer: Kirk Douglas; James C. Katz
CGiii Comment
It won 4 Oscars.
A camp clash of egos, between director and star.
The story behind Spartacus is almost as entertaining as the film itself.
This is a classic and will remain so - watch it and marvel.
The conversation between Olivier & Curtis about whether one prefers to eat oysters or snails (Olivier likes both) is absolutely hysterical.
Kubrick left Hollywood after this - carrying a huge bag of sour grapes.
Essential.
Trailer...
The(ir) Blurb...
In 73 BCE, a Thracian slave leads a revolt at a gladiatorial school run by Lentulus Batiatus. The uprising soon spreads across the Italian Peninsula involving thousand of slaves. The plan is to acquire sufficient funds to acquire ships from Silesian pirates who could then transport them to other lands from Brandisium in the south. The Roman Senator Gracchus schemes to have Marcus Publius Glabrus, Commander of the garrison of Rome, lead an army against the slaves who are living on Vesuvius. When Glabrus is defeated his mentor, Senator and General Marcus Licinius Crassus is greatly embarrassed and leads his own army against the slaves. Spartacus and the thousands of freed slaves successfully make their way to Brandisium only to find that the Silesians have abandoned them. They then turn north and must face the might of Rome.
Cast & Characters
Kirk Douglas as Spartacus;
Laurence Olivier as Marcus Licinius Crassus;
Jean Simmons as Varinia;
Charles Laughton as Sempronius Gracchus;
Peter Ustinov as Lentulus Batiatus;
John Gavin as Julius Caesar;
Nina Foch as Helena Glabrus;
John Ireland as Crixus;
Herbert Lom as Tigranes Levantus;
John Dall as Marcus Publius Glabrus;
Charles McGraw as Marcellus;
Joanna Barnes as Claudia Marius;
Harold J. Stone as David;
Woody Strode as Draba;
Peter Brocco as Ramon