Spartacus

Hey it was a great movie 65 years ago and I had a crush on Jean Simmons and it's still agreat movie today even if I outgrew the crush.

This version is a classic worthy of viewing for the next generation. Watch it, and you will understand the popular cultural reference, "I am Spartacus". Heartwarming, action-packed story. Not overdone the way recent material is.

This is one of the best 4K restorations that I've seen on a classic movie! I watched the movie (Panasonic DP-UB820 player) on my 65 inch LG G1 OLED with audio in a 7.2.4 set up, which made the musical score sound like you were actually in the orchestra pit! One of the bonus features was how the restoration process (video/audio) was done.

Well, call me a romantic but I still love this picture. Yes, it's a bit dated in technique, and it was restrained in its depictions of sex and violence and adult themes by the Hays office (the official Hollywood censor board). And it has a bit of Hollywoodness in its love story and presentation (music etc.), but it also had heart and it strived to evoke a spirit of rebellion and defiance of oppression that moved me way back when and still does today. And I don't give a tinker's damn what Howard Fast's, Dalton Trumbo's, or Kirk Douglas's for that matter, politics were...it's a helluva an entertaining movie! Stanley Kubrick replaced Anthony Mann after production began. He had decried the film and script because it wasn't the one he would have written, but I think he did a good job just bringing this effort off and he was able to tone down or eliminate much of the Hollywoodisms. The matter-of-factness of Varinia's having to offer herself, the icily calm and detached way Olivier dispatches Woody Strode like an animal, though he is unnerved by the meaning of the attack. These are Kubrickian touches. In the extra goodies in this Criterion effort, we discover that it was a very difficult shoot with everyone fighting with everyone. You had 4 major egos at battle: Kubrick, Douglas, Olivier & Laughton...each with his own ideas about what was or wasn't important. Would have been nice to have Stanley's comments, but we do get Douglas, Fast, & (most amusingly) Peter Ustinov's recollections. All that is interesting, but beside the point. Why I love Spartacus is: the great Gladiator school sequence; the genuine warmth and relaxed sexiness of Douglas & Jean Simmons (lovely & luscious)together; the depiction of Rome at its height of power and the nice interplay between the corrupt but true democrat Laughton and the haughty and superior Olivier, whose lust for order and power is a far more sinister corruption; the wonderfully flawed & human Ustinov and the affection and warmth of his scenes with Laughton (much of which he wrote and they worked out together); great battles; and finally, the haunting image of the road to Rome decorated with the crucified remnants of Spartacus's slave army. This last is why I return to this movie again and again. When the slaves lose, as they had to lose fighting against the awsome power of Rome, and the defeated remaining men standup and claim they are Spartacus knowing crucifixion will follow their gesture; and, Spartacus too goes to the cross but swears to Crassus over the dead body of Antoninus (Tony Curtis) "he'll be back and he'll be thousands"....well, it gets the blood moving. I love defiance in defeat. And the last scene, with Varinia holding up his son to the silently dieing Spartacus saying "he's free" may be Hollywood corn to some, but it was just that small note of hope that makes movies emotional experiences rather than academic exercises to me. You can have the razzle dazzle of Gladiator, I will take the emotional heart of Spartacus any day. There is still something thrilling & uplifting in watching someone go down to defeat with chin raised (cleft and all) in defiance. Probably 4 to 4-1/2 stars, but will always be 5 to me for sheer entertainment.

There should not be any possible criticism of how "Spartacus" (50th Anniversary Edition) looks in Blu-ray high definition. Vivid colors show why ancient Rome remains such a popular subject for movies. The opulent Roman villa with pool was shot at Hearst Castle, San Simeon, California. (Take advantage of public tours, like I did. You want a tour that includes Rome.) The cast is superlative, best ever assembled during the age of epics. Laurence Olivier and Charles Laughton, as rivals for power in the Roman Senate, reduce Kirk Douglas and his slave army to mere pawns. Thus I greatly admire "Spartacus" as a political film worthy of Machiavelli. One manipulation after another drives the plot forward, last days of the Republic, with a young Julius Caesar waiting for his chance to take over. Kirk Douglas deserves praise for helping break the blacklist, Dalton Trumbo's name appearing as screenwriter. Trumbo, along with the film, needed a real editor. "Spartacus" is way too long, and could easily have been cut down to something like 150 minutes or less. Even the real Spartacus might have felt tortured watching all 197 minutes, waiting for the outstandingly powerful action sequences, especially at the gladiator school and final battle. Surprised me the Blu-ray offering any "Deleted Scenes", not enough of these. How many times must we see happy, freed slaves? I presume director Stanley Kubrick, a mid-shooting replacement, was less than satisfied, subsequently insisting upon total control over his future films. Now comes a spoiler, so please don't read any further if you never have seen "Spartacus". There is one specific absurdity, usually offered up as a "Spartacus" signature scene, when all survivors claim to be Spartacus. At this point identifying the real Spartacus seems to matter more than anything else. And it's ridiculous. Kirk Douglas the actor/producer playing Spartacus, has a large dimple on his chin, his unique, totally identifying physical feature. This is also referred to as a chin dimple, cleft chin, and butt chin. Any computer search on the subject turns up something like the following for Kirk Douglas: "Probably the most prominent cleft chin in the history of Hollywood." [...] So why don't any of the characters in "Spartacus", easily able to and asked to identify Spartacus, often for a reward, not blurt out "chin dimple" or at least "dimple"? That would ruin the plot, so we must all pretend not to notice. Kirk Douglas obviously desired to keep his trademark dimple as Spartacus, while ignoring it, both at the same time, a contradiction. "Dimple vanity" came first, before believability. I hope this would not happen today, when actors care more about realism. A make-up artist should have covered up that dimple for Kirk Douglas to star in "Spartacus" as written, which likely makes me a heretic. I still think "Spartacus" is one of the best epics of that period, after "Ben-Hur" (my favorite), and perhaps "The Ten Commandments", both starring Charlton Heston.

It is a great movie. I remember when I watch it for the first time while I was still living in Fidel Castro's Cuba, but now I can say at the age of 72, I can appreciate watching this movie in 4k at my home in NC. However, I found that Kirk Douglas looks a bit older at 43 (thanks to the 4k transfer) than what I remember when I watched it as teenager. I'm glad that I got a real good 4k copy of this beloved movie as I was never able to watch it at a theater in the US. Glad I didn't have any issues playing it on my PS5 4k player.

Film storico sempre bello. Grandi interpreti, grande film. Dura quasi tre ore ma si vede volentieri. Buona la qualità video e con alcuni contenuti speciali per niente scontati per un film cosí vecchio.

SPARTACUS wird immer wieder in einem Atemzug mit BEN HUR genannt, wenn es darum geht, diesen Film einzuordnen. Man könnte auch QUO VADIS nennen, wenn man dieser Logik folgt. Ich habe BEN HUR nicht nur etliche Male geguckt und kenne alle Details, habe auch das Buch gelesen, ebenso bei QUO VADIS. Und in beiden Fällen muss ich sagen, dass, vor allem bei QUO VADIS, das Buch besser ist. Bei BEN HUR ist man natürlich von dem gigantischen Aufwand beeindruckt, und auch die Geschichte rührt bis zu einem gewissen Punkt an, und über das Wagenrennen noch Worte zu verlieren, ist ja wohl unnötig. Klasse inszeniert! Aber nun bin ich nicht mehr sooo jung und sooo naiv und lasse mich eben nicht allein von der Pracht eines monumentalen Werks blenden, ohne auf die Geschichte und auf die Schauspieler im Detail zu achten. Und genau hier gibt es entscheidende Unterschiede zwischen diesen "Monumentalfilmen". Kostüme perfekt, Kulissen perfekt, Farbe überwältigend etc. Doch bei der Geschichte verliert BEN HUR um Längen! Und QUO VADIS wirkt inzwischen überholt. Es ist immer dieselbe Leier: Christen gegen ROM... Oder eben, wie bei BEN HUR, Juden, die Christus nahe sind(Szene als CHARLTON HESTON zu den Galeeren geführt wird und Wasser von Jesus gereicht bekommt!), die das "Wunder" der Wunder, nämlich die Entstehung des Christentums, erleben. Nun, ich halte die Entstehung des Christentums nicht für eine derart primitive Angelegenheit, dass man sie locker mir nichts dir nichts mit Hilfe eines Films, auch noch inmitten von Action, nachvollziehen kann. Es wirkt klischeehaft, anspruchslos, populistisch. Nichtsdestotrotz hat mich BEN HUR immer betroffen gemacht, ich habe diesen Film immer geliebt. Aber nun habe ich SPARTACUS erneut gesehen, und ich muss sagen: SPARTACUS ist näher an unserer Realität, an dem, was wir anstreben, was uns wichtig ist. Hier geht es nicht um eine Familie, die auseinander gerissen wird, um durch ein Wunder wieder zueinander zu finden, was ich mittlerweile für kitschig und schwach halte. Bei SPARTACUS geht es um den Kampf für die FREIHEIT, für die WÜRDE des Menschen. Und es ist ein Film für die LIEBE zwischen zwei Menschen, die ein einziges Mal frei träumen dürfen, bevor dieser Traum von ROM ausgelöscht wird. Das Geniale an diesem Film ist die Darstellung der handelnden Figuren, ihre Tiefe, ihre Mehrdimensionalität. Wo bei BEN HUR ganz klar ist, wer hier GUT und wer BÖSE ist, zeigt SPARTACUS die Macht der Sachzwänge, die Auseinandersetzungen zwischen Römern, ihr Zwist untereinander, und das auch noch mit genialen Darstellern wie CHARLES LAUGHTON, PETER USTINOV, LAURENCE OLIVIER!!! Großartig! Da kommt BEN HUR natürlich nicht mit. CHARLTON HESTON spielt wie immer: steif und groß und ein ganzer HELD... Und sein Gegenspieler STEPHEN BOYD ist zwar ein wirklich guter Schauspieler, aber er hat eben die Rolle, die er hat. Die Guten sind sehr gut, die Bösen eben böse. Und auch das Gute an Rom, nämlich die Rettung von Juda BEN HUR aus der Galeerensklaverei, ist letztendlich nur ein Mittel, um die Handlung Richtung Rache voranzutreiben, also nicht wirklich ein ausgleichendes Element oder die Darstellung der Komplexität auch bei den Römern. BEN HUR ist toll für die Augen, aber flach in der Aussage und völlig durchschaubar und vorhersehbar, SPARTACUS ist zutiefst menschlich, aufrüttelnd und traurig, denn man sieht, dass auch die "bösen Römer" edle Charakterzüge haben (LAUGHTON), der Sklavenhändler ist nicht wirklich nur ein schlechter Mensch, auch JULIUS CÄSAR ist eine sensible und komplexe Erscheinung, der naive aufstrebende Patrizier im Senat, sehr interessant dargestellt. Bei SPARTACUS steckt ganz einfach mehr GRIPS hinter der Story, und dass KIRK DUGLAS gegenüber CHARLTON HESTON unendlich mehr überzeugt, braucht man wohl nicht zu sagen. Ein faszinierender SPARTACUS, zerrissen, und doch naiv wie ein Kind, ein großer Kämpfer und doch im Kampf unterlegen (bei dem Schauduell gegen WOODY STRODE). Diese Passage ist meines Erachtens eine der rührendsten und schönsten des ganzen Films! SPARTACUS ist kein Überheld wie CHARLTON HESTON in BEN HUR und die ganze Geschichte ist voller Nuancen, und das fasziniert. Auch GLADIATOR kommt da übrigens nicht mit. Bis auf ganz wenige Szenen, die man woanders in solchen Filmen, die anrühren sollen, immer wieder auch sieht, ist SPARTACUS künstlerisch gelungen, hat TIEFE, und die Schlachtenszenen überzeugen, die Kämpfe sind sehr gut inszeniert, gegenüber dem computergenerierten Mist, der uns heute dauernd um die Ohren gehauen wird, ist das eine Erholung! Zur Qualität der DVD: Das Bild ist tatsächlich besser als bei der anderen Version, auch wenn das Ausgangsmaterial dasselbe gewesen sein muss. Und die eingefügten Szenen, aufgefallen ist mir die Szene zwischen OLIVIER und CURTIS, bringen neue Nuancen in den Film und machen ihn noch komplexer. Es sind zwar andere Stimmen, aber das stört nicht wirklich, denn der Inhalt der Dialoge ist superb. Überhaupt sind die Dialoge exzellent!!! Der Ton ist klar besser geworden, da werden sich alle die freuen, die über eine entsprechende Anlage verfügen aber auch der Rest wird dafür dankbar sein. Zu den Extras: Es sind ein paar nette Extras dabei, die man sich gern anschaut, aber das Interview mit PETER USTINOV aus dem Jahre 1992 ist schlicht überragend bis sensationell!!! Das Interview aus dem Jahre 1960 ist schön, aber das von 1992 tatsächlich wertvoll! Ich denke, diese Extras machen diese EDITION in Verbindung mit der verbesserten Bild-und Tonqualität zu einer würdigen SPECIAL EDITION. Mein Tipp: Kaufen!!! P.S.: Ich werde trotz allem BEN HUR immer wieder angucken und vor allem das Wagenrennen immer toll finden...

An epic film with great story telling and excellent performances. The 4k transfer is very good considering the movie was made in 1959/1960. A worthwhile purchase when on special.

Peliculón

restored edition. The film is based on the actual historical uprising of Roman slaves between 71-73 b.c. The film deals frankly and often disturbingly with the cavalier treatment of this underclass, specificly the men who were trained to fight to the death as gladiators, all for the entertainment of the Roman ruling elite. This is a film that builds surprisingly quietly(despite it's bombastic battle sequences) to an unusually moving set denouements that should leave all but the hardest of hearts moved. Friendship, loyalty, political correctness, freedom, justice, and undying love cascade through the main characters throughout the final moments, leading to a devastating pair of final scenes between Douglas and Curtis, and then Douglas and Simmons. This may in fact be the thinking mans epic but it pulls at the heart as few films of this type ever have. Wow. Jaw-dropping beautiful. This is a meticulous restoration. It's clean and filmic, retaining a very mild grain structure that helps accentuate the amazing depth, accurate detailing and vibrant coloring the film has to offer. The amount of detail is striking. Evident in skin, clothing textures revealing some of the most inborn complex details imaginable, seen in nuanced fabrics, sweaty faces, Each grain of sand, pebble, blades of grass, leaf and other natural details are refined and sharp, even at some distance. Black levels are inky deep and natural. Flesh tones are excellent. Banding, noise reduction, aliasing, edge enhancement, and other anomalies are nowhere to be found. This is a startling improvement, in every way over previous editions. Spartacus' DTS-HD MA 7.1 lossless soundtrack is a new remix. Music is the dominant factor, and is a real treat. It manages width, depth, and power without loss of the finer points of Alex North's Oscar-nominated score. The sense of true immersion is striking, and the nuanced attention to detail is startling. The track has a potent low end; the orchestral percussion elements are fantastic. Battle scenes have a satisfyingly robust bit of chaos. Dialogue is well prioritized, center balanced and clear for the duration. This is a superb soundtrack that marvellously compliments the newly restored 1080p picture and the film in general. This is absolutely a must own despite the extras leaving a bit to be desired, and a must-see for all audiences. Highly Recommended.