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USA 1960
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Cast: Kirk Douglas, Jean Simmons, Sir Laurence Olivier, Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: 6 October 1960
Running Time: 3 hours 18 minutes
The Movie Review
Epic Movie almost always involves something "Big", whether the budget and/or the story itself. Unlike modern epic world where the soldiers of one's army are really just mere CGI creations, in the old days the filmmakers used real extras or supporting actors. And of course the number of those supporting actors is something that also makes an epic movie "Big".
Such is the case in the movie Spartacus. Spartacus was released just a few years before the legendary Lawrence of Arabia (1962), exactly in October 1960 and was headlined by one of the most Hollywood's prominent actors, Kirk Douglas. Kirk Douglas himself had starred in more than 30 movies before finally swinging sword as Spartacus. Spartacus employed more than 8,500 extras and spent more than 167 days to produce it.
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| SPARTACUS |
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Spartacus was directed by still-active director Stanley Kubrick that probably some of you known his works such as A clockwork Orange (1971), Artificial Intelligent A.I. (2001) and in year 2006, Colour Me Kubrick (2006). And undeniably Spartacus brought home several academy awards and golden globe award 1961 for best motion picture.
Spartacus storyline revolves around the life of a gladiator named Spartacus who is a Thracian slave and his loved one a slave girl named Varinia (Jean Simmons). Spartacus rebels against the roman law of slavery, he is against the rule of killing his gladiator friend just for the amusement of the riches. Spartacus (Kirk Douglas) then starts to maintain supports from his fellow gladiators to free themselves and other slaves across Italy.
Certainly such action will not go unnoticed and unpunished by the Roman empire. They send their finest soldiers to extinguish the slaves' thirst for freedom. But... Unbeknownst to them, Spartacus has trained his men and prepared them to fight against whoever stands in their way.
Talking about chemistry, there is definitely one memorable scene between Kirk and Jean when Spartacus discovers Varinia once more after escaping from the arena. The scene feels so sincere and the way Kirk laughs is so genuine, you can even see his veins popping on his foreheads for laughing. However... Except for that chemistry between the two lead cast, the rest of the movie is basically ornamented with uninteresting dialogues which likely will not move the audience's emotion to be sympathetic enough for the slaves or apathetic enough for the Romans. Fortunately some heartbreaking actions near the end of the movie do the job very well.
Back in those days, one probably couldn't help to compare Spartacus with a movie that was released only a few months before, Ben Hur (1959). Both have their own distinctive virtues and shortcomings, but to see them from modern days, both are the same... Legends.
-- Spoiler Possibility Alert --
The Big Fight or the final showdown near the end of an epic film is always satisfying to see. The scene is usually something grandiose and extravagant, That scene would be even more exciting and thrilling if it's filled with real actors and actresses and not CGI characters. And my firends, that's exactly what you will get from Spartacus. Moreover... Spartacus dares to end the story with something of tragedy-material rather than happily-ever-after-Hollywood-derivative.
© iwan pranowo of Movielogy.com
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