Spartacus

Starring: Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov, John Gavin, Nina Foch, John Ireland, Herbert Lom, John Dall, Charles McGraw, Woody Strode, Tony Curtis, Hume Cronyn (uncredited)
Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Adventure, Drama
1960

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: The slave Spartacus (Kirk Douglas) leads an uprising against the oppressive Roman rulers.

Review:

Tim: I was really looking forward to Spartacus. It's a classic movie that took me way too long to see. Plus, I love these historical epics. The movie racked up Academy Award wins, is featured on the American Film Institute's 100 Years, 100 Movies list. All signs pointed to this being excellent. And yet, I felt like it was only really, really good. It's absurd when expectations are so high, but you do need some way to categorize movies. Spartacus was a really good movie. Unfortunately, it felt like it was missing that special something that propel films to greatness. As much as I enjoyed this movie, I also felt like it was slightly overrated by critics and fans.

This film is certainly epic- it clocks in at 3 hours and 17 minutes. However, the size of the movie never really impressed me that much. It feels less epic than a Lawrence of Arabia or Cleopatra or The Ten Commandments. Oftentimes, the sheer enormity of a film can be a benefit. This film was epic, but it never packed that punch that created true awe. It was good, but never great.

Even more problematic, I never really loved the characters. Spartacus is a cool character, but I struggled to find an emotional connection with him. You obviously automatically root for any enslaved person to overthrow the yoke of their masters (at least most people do), so you do have a vested interest initially. However, Kirk Douglas' performance didn't do much to win me over. He was certainly strong and noble, but he didn't show enough human vulnerability. Being impressed by a magic act isn't enough character development for me. Douglas is a great actor, but I wasn't completely connecting with his portrayal of Spartacus. It felt too stoic, too tough. I'm not sure his real humanity showed through. This was somewhat unexpected, as you'd anticipate Spartacus to be a terrific character. I never really felt that here. I cared about his plight, but to be honest, the Roman politics scenes often felt even more compelling and intriguing. His slave revolt was impressive, but it wasn't even the most fascinating part of this movie. I never got a sense for whether Spartacus was a genius or just lucky. It didn't surprise me that Douglas didn't get an Academy Award nomination- he never felt all that great in the lead role.

Peter Ustinov did win an Academy Award- for Best Supporting Actor. I can definitely see this. It felt like he stole several scenes he was in. He was involved in some entertaining exchanges. I thought Laurence Olivier was effective as well, although I was never wowed by anything he did. He's an accomplished actor and played the part well, but it felt more serviceable than anything. Jean Simmons had some nice moments as well, but she didn't blow me away, either. Woody Strode did a great job in his small role and Tony Curtis had a few really strong moments, too. It felt like a bunch of good actors gave mostly good performances, but there were far too few standouts.

I have to say I was a bit underwhelmed by the famous, "I am Spartacus" line. Without seeing the film, I still knew that iconic line. When the scene finally came, it was fine. Based on similar movies, I expected a little chill to run down my spine, or some feeling of wanting to pump my fist in the air. It just kind of happens and then the next scene starts. It wasn't nearly as incredible or pivotal a scene as I expected it to be. Don't get me wrong, it was a good scene, but it wasn't great.

After watching the movie and liking it (but again, not loving it), I did some research. I was interested to see that director Stanley Kubrick disowned the movie because of frustrations with not having complete control over the script and the film. It also wasn't surprising that Douglas was unhappy through most of the filming and clashed with Kubrick. I'm not sure if this turmoil contributed to my being a bit underwhelmed by the movie, but it's certainly possible.

I need to stress now that I still thoroughly enjoyed Spartacus. It's a memorable, epic movie. In addition to Ustinov's Best Supporting Actor win, the film also won Academy Awards for Best Cinematography- Color, Best Art Direction-Set Direction- Color, and Best Costume Design- Color. Four Academy Awards is impressive and speaks to the technical proficiency of the film.

I would still highly recommend Spartacus and it's a movie I'm really glad I watched. Expectations might have been raised too high, but it's still a worthwhile, entertaining movie.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Lust for Life, The Ten Commandments, Lawrence of Arabia