Movie · 1960 · History, War, Drama, Adventure · 3h 17m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 8.2/10 (273.1K ratings)
They trained him to kill for their pleasure ... but they trained him a little too well
Overview
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.
Ratings
Curator score: 8.2/10
IMDb: 7.9/10
Letterboxd: 3.87/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
Metacritic: 87
TMDB: 7.5/10
Director
Stanley Kubrick
Production
Bryna Productions, Universal Pictures
Cast
Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov, John Gavin, Tony Curtis, Nina Foch, John Ireland, Herbert Lom, John Dall, Woody Strode, Harold J. Stone, Charles McGraw, Joanna Barnes, Peter Brocco, Paul Lambert, Robert J. Wilke, Nick Dennis, John Hoyt
Curator Review
Verdict
A grand, emotionally charged historical epic that pairs old-school spectacle with a surprisingly human story of slavery, solidarity, and resistance. It’s long and sometimes stately, but the scale, performances, and political resonance still land strongly.
Best for
fans of classic Hollywood epics
viewers interested in rebellion and anti-slavery stories
people who like large-scale battle scenes and lavish production design
audiences drawn to prestige historical drama with moral seriousness
Skip if
you want tight pacing and modern editing
you dislike long runtimes and formal, old-fashioned storytelling
you prefer historical films with more realism than pageantry
you’re looking for a purely Kubrickian, highly controlled stylistic experience
Overview
Spartacus is one of the great studio epics: huge in scale, polished in craft, and more emotionally direct than many films of its era. Its story of a slave uprising gives the spectacle real purpose, turning marches, battles, and courtroom intrigue into a larger argument about dignity, labor, and collective resistance.
Worth noting
What stands out most is how alive the film feels despite its age and size. The performances are forceful, the production design is lavish, and the action still has a physical punch. It can feel a little overextended in places, but the best sequences are genuinely stirring and surprisingly intimate for a film this massive.
Bottom line
It’s also historically interesting as a politically charged Hollywood epic, with themes of solidarity and oppression that give it lasting relevance. Even if it’s not the most formally daring entry in its director’s filmography, it remains one of the most satisfying examples of the sword-and-sandals genre at full scale.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Patrick Willems (3★) · 1574 likes
I audibly gasped when Spartacus chopped a guy’s hand off and it spurted blood because I didn’t think movies were allowed to do that back then
Josh Lewis (4★) · 1040 likes
I can see why this feels like for-hire work when you look at Kubrick's filmography but when compared to other old-fashioned analog epics this is honestly among the more beautiful and intimate of them with finely-tuned performances from some reliable greats (Douglas, Laughton, Ustinov, Olivier, etc) and insanely gorgeous spectacle sequences that simply serve to amplify fast and Trumbo's material which was clearly inspired by their blacklisting and is very emotionally engaged with its basic ideas of class solidarity and… more I can see why this feels like for-hire work when you look at Kubrick's filmography but when compared to other old-fashioned analog epics this is honestly among the more beautiful and intimate of them with finely-tuned performances from some reliable greats (Douglas, Laughton, Ustinov, Olivier, etc) and insanely gorgeous spectacle sequences that simply serve to amplify fast and Trumbo's material which was clearly inspired by their blacklisting and is very emotionally engaged with its basic ideas of class solidarity and… more
cinemasauron (4★) · 453 likes
One of its taglines says, "More titanic than any story ever told!" which actually isn't very far from the truth. Notorious for being the only film in the legendary career of Stanley Kubrick for which he didn't have complete artistic control, Spartacus is breathtaking in both scope of its ambition & scale of its production and just like every other Kubrick feature is an influential example of its genre.
Set during the 1st century BC, the story follows its titular character,… more
matt lynch (3.5★) · 419 likes
Pretty rousing and undoubtedly a gorgeous piece of classic spectacle. Not as enamored with its depiction of queerness as a symptom of decadence, especially since it bumps up so poorly with the larger thread of individualism here, but you can't have everything. Would've been down for Ustinov and Olivier having a fight to the death. Kirk Douglas' chin dimple looks like the Sarlacc if you see this in 70mm.
[70mm]
theriverjordan (4★) · 326 likes
“Spartacus” subverts the empty cloak theatrics of many major and minor sword and sandals epics for one reason: the unbridled intensity of emotion swelling on and off camera.
The ‘disowned child’ of substitute director Stanley Kubrick, the history of “Spartacus” is as packed with scandals as its climactic battle scene is with corpses. From lifelong spats between stars Laurence Olivier and Charles Laughton to the picture’s cinematographer essentially quitting in protest of Kubrick’s micromanaging of shots (only to later win… more
A towering biblical-era epic with similar scale, pageantry, and old Hollywood spectacle, but with even more emphasis on crowd-pleasing action and moral grandeur.
1966 · Drama, History · 2h · G · Curator 7.4/10 (66.8K ratings)
A more restrained but equally serious historical drama about conscience, power, and resistance to authority.
Topics
historical epic, sword and sandals, revolt, anti-slavery, class struggle, lavish spectacle, battle scenes, classic Hollywood, political drama, prestige drama