Spartacus

Year Released: 1960

Runtime: 197 Minutes (yikes, but it’s got an intermission)

Directed: Stanley Kubrick

Produced: Kirk Douglas, Edward Lewis, Edward Muhl

Starring: Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov, John Gavin, Tony Curtis

Oscars: Won: Best Supporting Actor (Peter Ustinov), Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Costumes Nominated: Best Editing, Best Music (Score)

IMDb Plot Summary: The slave Spartacus leads a violent revolt against the decadent Roman Republic.

Context, Context, Context: What Created Spartacus, and Why it’s Still Relevant

The world before Spartacus. In 1960, the country was slowly beginning to crawl out of the paranoia of the earliest stages of the Cold War. The twilight of the 50’s was marked by the era of “McCarthyism”, a political witch hunt for potential communists that extended into pop culture and everyday life. Finger-pointing and accusations were done in tabloids, in the news, and in quiet suburbs. This was the world Dalton Trumbo was living in. Trumbo and several other Hollywood screenwriters had been blacklisted in 1950 for suspected ties to Communism and spent the next 10 years writing under false names to continue earning a living. In an age where Hollywood was filled with big-budget epics set in historical times such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur, and Cleopatra, one of the most iconic movie stars who ever lived approached Trumbo, and said he was making an epic about a slave who led a revolution against Rome. The star’s name was Kirk Douglas, and the team he assembled included the free-thinking Dalton Trumbo, and one of the most important and provocative directors ever – Stanley Kubrick. More on them to come.

The legacy of Spartacus. Looking back, 1960 was a big year for cinema in terms of boundary-breaking films that have endured to this day, especially Psycho. However, Spartacus subverted an entire genre of historical epics and should have been nominated for Best Picture. Spartacus becomes just as much about who the man was as what he saw and did, a template subsequent films followed. The plot also dives into the Roman Republic’s descent into tyranny and features political maneuvering like the best of Game of Thrones and House of Cards. The success of this film allowed Trumbo to begin writing under his own name again. If you look at the best of Martin Scorsese’s gangster films, we’re still borrowing character-centric epic filmmaking from Spartacus, but trading in gladiators for gangsters. This movie’s ending also delves into a bleakness that today’s most popular movies rarely touch: in the film’s final 30 minutes, after Spartacus has been defeated and Crassus solidifies his power as Rome’s earliest dictator, he begins purging Rome of his enemies, including his liberal rival Gracchus, under the pretense that they are “enemies of the state”. Today’s world is still full of that political backstabbing, and is one where the President labels his enemies as America’s enemies to try and rid himself of them.

The Story and its Characters

Trumbo’s story – anything but simple. Trumbo presents a very complicated story, full of complex characters. On a base level, the evolution of Spartacus’ grassroots revolt into an outright crisis for the Republic is classic storytelling, and the story it tells is powerful. We also watch Spartacus grow as a person, develop a romance, and create bonds with those around him. His story is inspiring and largely uplifting until Rome has decided it has had enough of him. My favorite aspects of the story are the portions set in Rome. The movie suddenly cuts to the Roman senate as they discuss the uprising, and we are introduced to Gracchus, who opposes Crassus, and a young Julius Caesar who starts as Gracchus’ protégé (based on his love of the people) and eventually becomes Crassus’ (based on his belief in absolute law and order). Rather than panic over the uprising, Crassus and Gracchus match wits on how they can each benefit from the rebellion either succeeding or failing, in some brilliantly nuanced dialogue.

The performances. The risk of stuffing a movie with characters and plotlines is that the audience will lose interest in trying to keep up with everything going on if they don’t care about the characters, but everyone here delivers. Kirk Douglas has rightfully earned the legacy of carrying this movie with his portrayal, and his ferocity in battle and military matters is matched by a natural charisma as a leader that makes you want to spend time with him – and he shines in the film’s remarkably quiet, romantic moments. Varinia has an excellent and believable evolution from quiet house servant into a thoughtful complement to Spartacus and ultimately an independent woman capable of matching wits with the villainous Crassus. Peter Ustinov, who won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar, gives us comedic relief and a “reluctant good guy”. Watching Laurence Olivier as Crassus verbally spar with Charles Laughton’s Gracchus is a great way to spend a few hours, augmented by John Gavin’s Julius Caesar as Rome’s golden boy in the shadows, slowly learning how to play the game.

My favorite performance, however, is Tony Curtis’ Antoninus. A well-educated slave who served as a tutor for children – before Crassus turned him into a body servant and tried to seduce him – he slowly becomes a warrior and develops a father-son relationship with Spartacus. In one of the film’s most heartbreaking scenes, he and Spartacus are forced to fight to the death, with the winner being crucified. Neither man wants to let the other die a horrible death, and suddenly all his training makes him a formidable match for Spartacus, and both actors bring the emotional gravitas that scene deserves.

Technicalities

Bringing Rome to life. The fact that I’ve gotten this far without talking about Kubrick is both very telling and unforgivable. This is the only film in Kubrick’s directing career that he did not have complete artistic control over – he feuded very often with the film’s cinematographer, who earned an Oscar. The camera is beautifully capturing Rome and the “Italian” (filmed in Spain) countryside in magnificent 70mm widescreen format, but each sweeping wide shot is matched with an equally powerful close-up of the people involved. Kubrick did have more control over costuming and set design, which also earned those teams involved Oscars as well. My favorite aspect is when the visionary Kubrick exercised the MOST control, which is the physical blocking of where actors stand, where they move, etc. A standout sequence that is still a visual treat today comes in the film’s climactic battle. Literally 8,000 Roman soldiers (played by volunteers from the Spanish army) come marching over the hillside towards the heroes’ army in formation. They pause, assume a new formation, and begin marching with spears and shields drawn. It is incredible, and the camera is plopped right where our heroes stand, watching this perfectly executed maneuver, and then the weight of Rome marches straight towards the camera – in other words, Right. At. You.

John’s Highlight Reel

· Training Camp. The gladiator training camp sequence is both a great way to show Spartacus’ early indignant nature, and the small rebellious ways he and Varinia express their feelings are touching. Our introduction to Crassus also immediately tells us everything you need to know about the callous person he is.

· Arena Fight. While the actual gladiator fight between Spartacus and Draba can feel cheesy, the death of Draba when he chooses to attack Crassus instead of executing Spartacus is as brutal now as it was then. It is also a radical choice for a film in 1960 to have a black man be the first martyr and one of the breaking points that pushes the gladiators to rebel. Draba’s mercy on Spartacus is also a huge development point in Spartacus’ character development, and something he refers to throughout the movie.

· First Senate Meeting. Gracchus’ introductory scene where he manipulates Glabrus into leaving Rome to attack Spartacus and replacing him with Julius Caesar is a perfect example of the Roman political plotting that I love in this movie. The scene that immediately follows, where Gracchus takes Caesar around the market and gives him a crash course in political backstabbing is full of some of Laughton’s best dry humor.

· Quiet Moments. The quiet, romantic scenes between Spartacus and Varinia can sometimes feel like they slow the movie down, but it is where some of the film’s best character work is done and a perfect example of an escapist on-screen romance.

· Snails and Oysetrs. In a scene cut from the theatrical release but later re-added, Crassus attempts to seduce Antoninus while Antoninus bathes him, indirectly comparing sexual preference to taste in food. The famous line: “I eat both snails and oysters”. The sets are gorgeous, the lighting is dark, and the tension mounts brilliantly.

· Marching Across Rome. The large-scale crowd shots of Spartacus’ liberated slaves are still impressive and gorgeous, featuring practically filmed massive crowds moving across the rugged Spanish countryside; a treat compared to today’s CGI-laden movies.

· Prepare for Battle. After he’s been betrayed and all his fellow slaves are unable to leave the country, Spartacus realizes he will have to face the might of the Roman army directly. Spartacus then gives the pep talk you’ve been waiting for, but the movie directly crosscuts it with Crassus’ pep talk in Rome where he has just un-retired and is promising to destroy Spartacus. Genius.

· The Battle. It takes a long time for the battle to begin, but as I highlighted above the Roman army assuming battle formation is still awe-inspiring. The battle itself feels a little short for a 3-hour movie but features some great stuntwork, including using real burning logs.

· “I’m Spartacus!” Once the slaves have lost the battle, Crassus offers to spare them their lives and return them to slavery if they identify who Spartacus is. One by one they all claim to be him, and this is still as moving and iconic 60 years later as it was then.

· You Fear Him. Varinia’s realization of Crassus’ insecurity, especially his jealousy of how loved Spartacus was, is a psychologically dark interaction that is still challenging 60 years on.

· Top of the List. Crassus’ ascension to dictatorship is bleak but excellent. Antoninus and Spartacus are forced to fight each other to the death in a scene as heart-wrenching as it sounds. Immediately after, Crassus admits to his new protégé Julius Caesar that he fears the martyrdom of Spartacus “almost as much as I fear you, dear Caesar”. Brilliant.

Came for _____, Stayed for ______

Kirk Douglas, Spartacus. I mean, what else was it going to be, a history lesson? One of the most iconic actors ever in one of his most iconic roles, which is still celebrated today – I can’t think of a bigger draw. And creating, financing and starring in this movie is rightfully regarded as one of the most important things Douglas did, akin to Robert Redford and All the President’s Men. It’s also important to note that Kirk Douglas doesn’t just appear in this movie; his Spartacus is the absolute engine and soul of the film, and Douglas brings ferocity, tenderness and charisma in equal measures to create a character that has and will stand the test of time.

Everything else. Despite all that Kirk Douglas brings to the role and how lovable Spartacus is, the sharp contrast of politicking amongst the Roman elite has aged terrifically. These aspects of the film – especially the final 30 minutes – end up saying as much about America in 1960 as it does ancient Rome. However, they continue to speak volumes about 2020 America in the ways that only a timeless film can.