Synopsis

In the days of the Roman Empire two millenia ago (73 BCE), slaves were commodities. Spartacus (Kirk Douglas), a Thracian (Southeastern Europe), was one of them.

Spartacus - Movie Review

Specifications
Spartacus - Movie Review
Universal
1960 (New restoration in 2015 using the original 70mm camera negatives)
Rated PG-13, 3 Hrs, 17 mins
DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, 2.20:1 Aspect Ratio (Super Technirama 70)
Starring: Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov, Jean Simmons, John Gavin, and Tony Curtis

Directed by Stanley Kubrick

Rating

Entertainment:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:

Violence: Yes
Sex: No
Language: No

He was purchased by a Roman, Batiatus (Peter Ustinov) who owned a gladiator school, and who then arranged for guests to be entertained.

Spartacus - Movie Review

Spartacus didn’t particularly care for being a slave, let alone being thrown into an arena and fight other gladiators to the death, some of whom he had befriended.

Spartacus - Movie Review

So, one day he shoved the school instructor’s head into a vat of steaming soup and led his compatriots in a revolt, escaping the school. He gathered others like him by the tens of thousands with the goal of escaping the Roman Empire to lead a peaceful life somewhere that Latin and Greek were not the native languages (tough to find, maybe they should have considered certain parts of New Jersey). Laurence Olivier, as Crassus, head of the Roman Army, chased him all the way, and Jean Simmons comforted him as Spartacus’ companion and lover, Varinia.

Spartacus - Movie Review

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Commentary

When the cast for Ben Hur (1959) was being assembled, Kirk Douglas lusted for the leading role. He didn’t get it, so he made his own sword and sandal epic, Spartacus. Although Ben Hur received eleven Academy Awards, and Spartacus got four, the latter film remains today one of the finest of the genre and a masterpiece of storytelling.

This is due to Dalton Trumbo, who wrote the screenplay. As one of the Hollywood Ten, Trumbo had refused to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in 1947 during the committee’s investigation of Communist influences in the motion picture industry, so he was black listed from being involved in film making. Douglas utilized Trumbo’s genius anyway, and gave him public recognition in the movie’s credits.

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Technical

Spartacus was shot in Super Technirama 70, which used 35mm film running sideways through the camera (like VistaVision) instead of vertically, with the framing at an aspect ratio of 2.20:1. Then the film was enlarged onto 70mm film for use in what was called “Road Shows” in those days. Theaters without 70mm projectors used the 35mm print.

As a result of the increased film space, the image quality is spectacular. I have the previous Blu-ray version, and the new one is so sharp, it is almost like comparing TV before High Definition and 2K (HD 1080p). 70mm film is not used much anymore, especially since digital movie cameras have 4K resolution now, although at my last visit to the movie theater, one of the coming attractions was listed as being shot in 70mm.

The sound is in DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, which is not used very often in new motion pictures, let alone old ones (Spartacus was made more than half a century ago). It was shot with six channels of sound, and the studio added a seventh for this release.

Some of Hollywood’s A-list directors have publicly stated they will only use film in their future motion pictures and never give in to digital. This might be a problem in distribution, since most theaters have totally converted to digital projection. However, the master could be 70mm and the movie converted to digital for theaters. The beautiful warmth of the 70mm image seems to come through even in digital conversion, especially skin tones. The large 70mm camera negative could also be used when 8K arrives, and even 16K, as long as the 70mm image is the native image, and not a blowup from 35mm film.

Spartacus - Movie Review

Extras

The disc is awash in extras, including a recent interview with the 98 year old Douglas. The rest of the extras are the same as in the previous version.