Spartacus

1960 197 min ★ 7.5 History, War, Drama, Adventure

The rebellious Thracian Spartacus, born and raised a slave, is sold to Gladiator trainer Batiatus. After weeks of being trained to kill for the arena, Spartacus turns on his owners and leads the other slaves in rebellion. As the rebels move from town to town, their numbers swell as escaped slaves join their ranks. Under the leadership of Spartacus, they make their way to southern Italy, where they will cross the sea and return to their homes.

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Cast

Kirk Douglas

Spartacus

Laurence Olivier

Marcus Licinius Crassus

Jean Simmons

Varinia

Charles Laughton

Sempronius Gracchus

Peter Ustinov

Lentulus Batiatus

John Gavin

Julius Caesar

Tony Curtis

Antoninus

Nina Foch

Helena Glabrus

John Ireland

Crixus

Herbert Lom

Tigranes Levantus

Details

Director

Stanley Kubrick

Screenplay

Dalton Trumbo

Tagline

"They trained him to kill for their pleasure ... but they trained him a little too well"

Status

Released

Original Language

EN

Budget

$12,000,000

Revenue

$60,000,000

Production

Bryna Productions, Universal Pictures

Reviews

J

John Chard

September 15, 2019

★ 10/10

The sword and sandal epic that has everything. Spartacus is the Thracian slave who refused to be a Roman plaything, breaking out of their clutches he led the slave revolt that panicked the Roman Rebublic in circa BC 73, this film is based on that period in history. Spartacus got off to a troubled start, original director Anthony Mann was fired by leading man Kirk Douglas (Spartacus) after a ...

B

BornKnight

November 21, 2023

★ 7/10

This historical/epic drama was one of those 50-60's movies that lasted for 3 and a half hours. It isn't perfect despite the production have being great in some points. The main issue is that it isn't historical based (and who knows the history to the full extend?), but it was based on a Roward Fast novel of 1951 with lots of romanticized and non historical events. Some things are history: li...

C

CinemaSerf

May 30, 2024

★ 8/10

Kirk Douglas had the vision to back the previously black-listed Dalton Trumbo with his excellent screenplay for this epic tale of slavery and the struggle for freedom. He also led a cast with some of the best actors to ever grace the silver screen. Olivier, Laughton, Ustinov, Curtis and a wonderfully tender Jean Simmons who all lift this tale of a slave who rebelled against the tyrannical rule of ...