SpartacusIn every day and age, people grow accustomed to certain traditions, even when those traditions--like slavery--are morally abhorrent. Spartacus is a historical epic about the eponymous slave-turned-liberator, Spartacus (Kirk Douglas), who finds himself leading a group of former gladiators and slaves on a journey to flee Ancient Rome, where slavery is a part of their culture and economy. But as his entourage grows larger and larger--roughly to the size of an army--he attracts the attention of scheming senators like Marcus Licinius Crassus (Laurence Olivier), who in an effort to seize even greater power for himself, raises an army himself to quell this slave rebellion.
|
|
Spartacus was made in 1960, one year after Ben-Hur; and if the two movies seem similar, it isn't just a coincidence. The story goes that star Kirk Douglas had wanted the lead in Ben-Hur himself, but after being passed over for Charlton Heston, he sought to create his own epic adapted from the novel of the same name by Howard Fast. Although Spartacus was originally to be directed by Anthony Mann, Douglas replaced him with Stanley Kubrick, who Douglas had worked alongside with on Paths of Glory. The screenplay was written by then-blacklisted screenwriter, Dalton Trumbo, and after the premiere of Spartacus, in which President John F. Kennedy crossed the picket lines formed by the Legion of Decency to attend the movie, this brought an end to the process of openly blacklisting writers. All of this history and publicity about the making of Spartacus helps to frame an understanding of the popularity of the movie, and other big budget blockbusters of the era, like Ben-Hur or Cleopatra, and so on. These were akin to the "superhero" movies of today--large undertakings meant to make moviegoing an event, and every bit of publicity only attracted an ever bigger audience. After making Spartacus, Kubrick reportedly distanced himself from it, returning to making movies like Lolita and Dr. Strangelove instead. For anyone familiar with Kubrick's body of work, Spartacus stands out as the most unusual of his films, primarily because of how indistinct it is when compared to his more signature movies. Much of this, I believe, has to do with the musical score by Alex North, which while sweeping and grandiose, yet emotional and even intimate at times, sets a stage that is at odds with other movies by Kubrick, where musical choices are more often chosen rather than scored. (Just compare Spartacus with Barry Lyndon or 2001: A Space Odyssey, for example, and the difference is immediately apparent.) But the philosophy in making Spartacus was clearly different than an auteur-focused effort, although there are moments which clearly foreshadow Kubrick's later movies. For example, there is a throwaway line by Peter Sellers's Claire Quilty in Lolita about Spartacus, as he wears a bedsheet like a toga. A deeper comparison, however, could be made between this movie and Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket. As in Spartacus, the marines in Full Metal Jacket are trained for warfare and stripped of their humanity, made into all but slaves to serve political interests. Even the cruel slavemaster, Marcellus (Charles McGraw), who taunts Spartacus mercilessly as he trains him, is a precursor to R. Lee Ermey's sadistic drill sergeant.
Spartacus is a lengthy movie--at over three hours--and includes an "Entr'acte" and an intermission. This gives the film the feel of an operatic stage performance (in scope, anyway), or even something by William Shakespeare. It is unsurprising, then, that the senators use rhetoric and diction filled with insinuation that recalls some of the "history" plays by Shakespeare, not to mention casting the great Lawrence Olivier as the film's central antagonist. In fact, the interactions between the wealthy Romans and policymakers versus the slaves feels as though they were speaking different languages. In one of the restored scenes of Spartacus--in which Anthony Hopkins provided replacement dialogue for Olivier--Crassus speaks to his slave, Antoninus (Tony Curtis), about snails and oysters, although the speech is loaded with double entendre. Compare that with Spartacus's interactions with his allies, like his fellow gladiator-in-training, Crixus (John Ireland), as they deliberate about what they would do if they faced each other in combat; their dialogue is devoid of flowery prose, and is more direct and utilitarian. The implication of this is that the Romans are delusional and continue to delude themselves about (including other things) slavery as morally defensible. They cannot speak directly so as to not reveal their true motives and natures, so hide behind language to justify their actions. Although slaves like Spartacus may not have received the same level of education as free Romans--most of them were sold at the age of thirteen--they are still well-spoken and honest in their thoughts and opinions, unlike their "masters", who are generally depicted as self-serving, cruel, or both. Spartacus makes no bones about its thoughts on slavery, and ties that in with the civil rights movement of the era by way of its opening narration, in which it describes Spartacus as a man who dreamed of the end of slavery "two thousand years" before it happened. (Note that Spartacus is set in 73 B.C.) Spartacus is a charismatic leader, but a reluctant one. He is rebellious from the start, and is left to starve to death after biting the ankle of a slaver before he is bought by Batiatus (Peter Ustinov), where he is to be turned into a gladiator. Despite what might appear to be charity, Batiatus is a businessman first, who treats his slaves no better than prized horses--he even checks their teeth to underscore the point. When Crassus and his accompanying ladies come to visit, they ask for some of Batiatus's gladiators to duel to the death. But the only reason that Batiatus tries to discourage them is because he would be losing product, no matter who wins. Even for those who aren't familiar with the history of Spartacus, it should be clear that his rebellion is tragically cut short. After all, if Spartacus had been successful, if he had effectively undermined slavery in Ancient Rome to the point where others might have reconsidered their moral choices, the groundwork for Christianity may not have been as firm, and the world may look a very different place today. It is noteworthy that the (then) common practice of crucifying criminals is how Spartacus and his brethren meet their end. He is made into a pre-Christ-like figure in Spartacus, and his death emphasizes that the walls of this decadent empire were crumbling already, and that making a martyr only strengthens the resolve of those who people like Crassus intended to quash.
Recommended for: Fans of a stirring historical epic full of action, romance, intrigue, and many more aspects of this style of filmmaking of the era. Made over sixty years ago, Spartacus still manages to come across as one the earliest "woke" movies made in Hollywood, and makes its position about slavery abundantly clear from go.
Spartacus is a lengthy movie--at over three hours--and includes an "Entr'acte" and an intermission. This gives the film the feel of an operatic stage performance (in scope, anyway), or even something by William Shakespeare. It is unsurprising, then, that the senators use rhetoric and diction filled with insinuation that recalls some of the "history" plays by Shakespeare, not to mention casting the great Lawrence Olivier as the film's central antagonist. In fact, the interactions between the wealthy Romans and policymakers versus the slaves feels as though they were speaking different languages. In one of the restored scenes of Spartacus--in which Anthony Hopkins provided replacement dialogue for Olivier--Crassus speaks to his slave, Antoninus (Tony Curtis), about snails and oysters, although the speech is loaded with double entendre. Compare that with Spartacus's interactions with his allies, like his fellow gladiator-in-training, Crixus (John Ireland), as they deliberate about what they would do if they faced each other in combat; their dialogue is devoid of flowery prose, and is more direct and utilitarian. The implication of this is that the Romans are delusional and continue to delude themselves about (including other things) slavery as morally defensible. They cannot speak directly so as to not reveal their true motives and natures, so hide behind language to justify their actions. Although slaves like Spartacus may not have received the same level of education as free Romans--most of them were sold at the age of thirteen--they are still well-spoken and honest in their thoughts and opinions, unlike their "masters", who are generally depicted as self-serving, cruel, or both. Spartacus makes no bones about its thoughts on slavery, and ties that in with the civil rights movement of the era by way of its opening narration, in which it describes Spartacus as a man who dreamed of the end of slavery "two thousand years" before it happened. (Note that Spartacus is set in 73 B.C.) Spartacus is a charismatic leader, but a reluctant one. He is rebellious from the start, and is left to starve to death after biting the ankle of a slaver before he is bought by Batiatus (Peter Ustinov), where he is to be turned into a gladiator. Despite what might appear to be charity, Batiatus is a businessman first, who treats his slaves no better than prized horses--he even checks their teeth to underscore the point. When Crassus and his accompanying ladies come to visit, they ask for some of Batiatus's gladiators to duel to the death. But the only reason that Batiatus tries to discourage them is because he would be losing product, no matter who wins. Even for those who aren't familiar with the history of Spartacus, it should be clear that his rebellion is tragically cut short. After all, if Spartacus had been successful, if he had effectively undermined slavery in Ancient Rome to the point where others might have reconsidered their moral choices, the groundwork for Christianity may not have been as firm, and the world may look a very different place today. It is noteworthy that the (then) common practice of crucifying criminals is how Spartacus and his brethren meet their end. He is made into a pre-Christ-like figure in Spartacus, and his death emphasizes that the walls of this decadent empire were crumbling already, and that making a martyr only strengthens the resolve of those who people like Crassus intended to quash.
Recommended for: Fans of a stirring historical epic full of action, romance, intrigue, and many more aspects of this style of filmmaking of the era. Made over sixty years ago, Spartacus still manages to come across as one the earliest "woke" movies made in Hollywood, and makes its position about slavery abundantly clear from go.