Spartacus

I'M SPARTACUS! NO, I'M SPARTACUS!!, etc., etc.

As I slowly devour Stanley Kubrick's back catalogue, I stumble upon this grand antique-Spartacus- Kubrick's 1960 swords and sandals epic about the leader of a slave revolution. To say this is a Kubrick film is slightly misleading when you consider his other works. For one, it was brought together by Kirk Douglas, wanting to get his own back on the Ben Hur producers for snubbing him, and secondly because Kubrick only took over when Anthony Mann left the project. In all honesty, I struggle to see Kubrick's stamp on the film. It looks great, but doesn't really look like a Kubrick film.

The story follows Kirk Douglas' Spartacus as he is whisked off from his slave duties and forced to become a gladiator. While at the training camp he falls in love with a slave maid, Varinia, and encounters Batiatus (Peter Ustinov), the owner of the camp. Cue many training montages that have become the staple of sporting movies ever since. While I found the precious, forbidden desire scenes between Spartacus and Varinia err on the side of nauseating, Ustinov's turn as the sly slave owner is quite superb. His little nuances and the way he plays off the actors is surprising, given the assumption that a big budget epic like this would quell any flamboyance in the actors.

A couple of Roman senators arrive to watch a duel at the camp, and the slaves are dismayed to find it's a fight to the death. Here we are introduced to Crassus (Laurence Olivier), a devious and somewhat vindictive man. Alongside Ustinov, Olivier is one of the star performers. I must admit this is my first encounter with Olivier on screen. What struck me was the considerable talent he had for the suggestion of a thought process in his character; subtle facial expressions hinting at inner dilemmas. Quite refreshing against Douglas' full blooded, heart-on-the sleeve turn.

Incensed by the cruelty of this, the slaves revolt and escape form their confines. Spartacus rounds up the troops and leads them towards the coast, so they can escape back to their homelands. Here the film switches into a full blown epic, all stirring speeches and vast landscapes. Luckily, the action switches between the slaves plight and the politicians in Rome, offering the audience a bit of a breather in the face of continuously earnest outpourings from Douglas.

The final battle is actually remarkably short and the shot choices rather odd for a fight scene. There are some great shots of the battle formation shots, and the resources on show are staggering. Unlike films like Gladiator, which had the help of CGI, Spartacus looks like it did actually have a cast of thousands. I think the film is redeemed somewhat by the aftermath of the battle; there is a sense of tragedy and contemplation in proceedings. It helps when there are such capable actors as Olivier, adding a sense of gravitas.

For me, the stars of the show were the cinematography, which is crisp and clear and captures the landscapes beautifully, and the two performances by Ustinov and Olivier.

8/10