The slave Spartacus survives brutal training as a gladiator and leads a violent revolt against the decadent Roman Republic, as the ambitious Crassus seeks to gain power by crushing the upris... Read allThe slave Spartacus survives brutal training as a gladiator and leads a violent revolt against the decadent Roman Republic, as the ambitious Crassus seeks to gain power by crushing the uprising.The slave Spartacus survives brutal training as a gladiator and leads a violent revolt against the decadent Roman Republic, as the ambitious Crassus seeks to gain power by crushing the uprising.
- Won 4 Oscars
- 12 wins & 11 nominations total
- Dionysius
- (as Nicholas Dennis)
- Directors
- Stanley Kubrick
- Anthony Mann(Libyan slave camp scenes) (uncredited)
- Writers
- Dalton Trumbo
- Howard Fast
- Peter Ustinov(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaStanley Kubrick was brought in as director after Kirk Douglas had a major falling out with the original director, Anthony Mann. According to Sir Peter Ustinov, the salt mines sequence was the only footage shot by Mann.
- GoofsDuring the scene where the slaves are storming a wall, the slaves who die at the wall can be seen rolling under it to jump over again later.
- Quotes
Herald: I bring a message from your master, Marcus Licinius Crassus, Commander of Italy. By command of His Most Merciful Excellency, your lives are to be spared. Slaves you were and slaves you remain. But the terrible penalty of crucifixion has been set aside on the single condition that you identify the body or the living person of the slave called Spartacus.
Antoninus: [stands up] I'm Spartacus!
[everyone around Antoninus and Spartacus stands up and shouts "I'm Spartacus!"]
- Crazy creditsThe six main cast members are accompanied by an item that represents their character (a chain, a Roman eagle, a wine jug, a couple of hands - one wielding a snake, and a sword).
- Alternate versionsAfter its premiere the film was heavily cut and wasn't shown in its complete form until 1991, when a restored version was re-released. Among the restored scenes is one where where Marcus Crassus (Laurence Olivier) tries to seduce Antonius (Tony Curtis) in the bath. The soundtrack was damaged, so Anthony Hopkins was called in to dub Olivier's lines. In addition, several scenes of violence preview audiences reacted to negatively were restored, including Crassus bloodily stabbing Draba, Marcellus being drowned in the stew, Spartacus stabbing a Roman soldier in the pool, and several gory shots in the final battle, notably Spartacus lopping off the arm of a Roman soldier.
- ConnectionsEdited into Hercules: The Legendary Journeys: Les Contemptibles (1997)
But Fulfilling His Contract Obligations Professionally He Delivered a Mammoth Movie that is Compelling and Timeless. That of Humans wanting to be "Free" from Bondage, Servitude, and Inhuman Evil Entrenched in Unenlightened Power and Corruption.
The Movie is Corny and a Product of its Era, but is One of the more Intellectual "Epics" and Tries Mightily to be Progressive. It mostly Succeeds and when Viewed Today is full of Fun and Despite its Length is, along with Demille's "The Ten Commandments" (1956), a Glorious Entertainment, if Confined by a Hollywood System of Conventional Conservatism, Blacklists, and Demagoguery
The Cast is Stellar, the Cinematography Beautiful, and the Aching Caste System is its central Theme. Emotional to Extremes, it can't help but be, the Film has its Clunks and some Miscasting, but Never Fails to be Compelling, even as it Demonstrates its Obvious and Manipulative way it is Smarmy in the Love Scenes and Heavy Handed with its Staged Shots of the "Family Bonding" that Depicts Campfire Coziness among the newly Freed People.
It was Defiant for its Time with an Unusual and Audacious, against the grain Rebellion from the Studio System. Kirk Douglas was Not to be Denied and this "Labor of Love" Movie Manages to Deliver its Message as much Pomp and Circumstance to be Audience Friendly and as much Anti-Establishment that was Allowed at the Time for a Film of this Magnitude.
- LeonLouisRicci
- Mar 7, 2016
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Spartacus: Rebel Against Rome
- Filming locations
- Hearst Castle, San Simeon, California, USA(Crassus' villa)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $12,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $1,830,650
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $92,162
- Apr 28, 1991
- Gross worldwide
- $1,844,917
- Runtime3 hours 17 minutes