Spartacus

Director: Stanley Kubrick
Written by: Dalton Trumbo, based on the novel by Howard Fast
Year: 1960
Genre: Drama
My rating: 5 out of 5

This historical epic that brought Kubrick to the forefront of filmmakers of the time has since been separated into two other epics: "Braveheart" and "Gladiator." It begins with slaves working in the Roman province of Libya. One of the slaves, a young man named Spartacus (Kirk Douglas), is particularly rebellious, and he is chained to a rock to starve to death after he bites the ankle of one of the guards. Along comes slave trader Lentulus Batiatus (Peter Ustinov), who buys Spartacus and takes him, among other slaves, to his gladiatorial training camp. The recruits are taught rigorously by Marcellus (Charles McGraw), and Batiatus plans to sell them to wealthy Romans when their training is complete. However, they are visited one day by power-hungry political figure Marcus Licinius Crassus (Laurence Olivier) and three of his companions. He pays the reluctant Batiatus a large sum of money to see two fights to the death, and the two women accompanying him choose Crixus (John Ireland) versus Galino and Spartacus versus Draba (Woody Strode). Crixus wins his match against Galino, and Draba gets the upper hand over Spartacus but refuses to kill him and instead throws his trident into the balcony and attempts to kill Crassus, who stabs him in the back of the neck. The next day, Spartacus learns that the slave woman Varinia (Jean Simmons) to whom he has grown attached has been bought by Crassus and is leaving for Rome. Spartacus sparks a revolt by drowning Marcellus in a cauldron of soup, and the gladiators soon take over the camp while Batiatus runs away. Spartacus organizes the group and starts a movement that takes them all over Italy, freeing slaves everywhere and adding them to their soon-unstoppable army. Along the way, they run into Varinia, who managed to escape en route to Rome. Spartacus also forms a strong friendship with Antoninus (Tony Curtis), a former servant of Crassus who entertains the freed slaves with songs and magic tricks. Interspersed with Spartacus' march are intriguing scenes from the Senate in Rome, with debates between Crassus and his political enemy, Gracchus (Charles Laughton; the character is not quite historically accurate, but is a combination of two famous Gracchi from before the events in the film took place). Both are supposedly mutual allies of Batiatus and Julius Caesar (John Gavin), and although they both fight for Rome and the Republic, Gracchus believes in freedom while Crassus believes in personal power and wants to eliminate Spartacus and what he stands for.

There is nothing wrong with this film that it does not compensate for. One complaint I had after the first hour or so (running time: 3 hours and 16 minutes) was that the development of relationships between characters was not very clear. Specifically, the rivalry between Spartacus and Marcellus was not apparent enough for the murderous assault to seem justified, and the chemistry between Spartacus and Varinia felt too sporadic for the first third of the movie. However, relationships became more easy and enjoyable to follow later on, particularly that of Spartacus and Varinia. I also found the music to be too omnipresent at first. It worked well during fight scenes, but there were several times when the score budged in on sequences that would have been better with just dialogue. The film made up for this by showing more restraint in later scenes, and the music was very powerful during the end credits. Speaking of fight scenes, the battles are just as masterfully executed as one could ask from any movie of any era, particularly the forced match between Spartacus and Draba. "Spartacus" has the distinction of being the only Kubrick film to win an Oscar for acting. This did not go to the much-deserving Kirk Douglas or Laurence Olivier, but surprisingly to Peter Ustinov as Batiatus. I did not imagine him winning an award for his performance while I watched the film, but after learning that he did and reflecting on it, I can see how he earned it. He seems to truly transform into the shrewd slave trader more than most actors would do in most roles, and he also provides an unexpected but not underappreciated amount of comic relief. While it may not represent his trademark cynicism, "Spartacus" is a Kubrick classic and an example of filmmaking at its best.


Structure/Form:
What does the title mean in relation to the film as a whole?
It represents the rebellious and freedom-seeking spirit of the slaves.

Is sound used in any vivid ways to enhance the film?
There is a score for essentially every scene. It works in the more action-packed scenes, but not as well at more mellow times.

What specific scene constitutes the film's climax?
Spartacus learns that his son is born free, which is what he wanted most.

Does the film leave any disunities at the end?
An epilogue would have been nice, but the ending was still good.

Why does the film conclude on this particular image?
To emphasize the bittersweetness.


Theme:
How does this film relate to the issues presented or developed? What questions are evoked by the film? Does the film present a clear point of view on an issue? How?
It promotes freedom, and rebellion against injustice. I think if Kubrick had written the screenplay, he may have re-worked it to make it more pessimistic, but he came in after the script was finished to replace original director Anthony Mann.

How does this film relate to other films you have viewed or literary texts you have read?
It's like "Braveheart" mixed with "Gladiator."


Mise en Scene:
Refusing to kill Spartacus, Draba throws his trident into the balcony at Crassus.

Dominant: Where is our eye attracted first?
The trident flying towards the balcony.

Lighting key: High key? Low key? High contrast? Some combination of these?
High key on the ground but low key in the balcony.

Shot and camera distance: What type of shot? How far away is the camera from the action?
The camera looks down at Draba over the heads of Crassus and his companions.

Angle: Are we (and the camera) looking up or down on the subject? Or is the camera eye level?
Down.

Subsidiary contrasts: What are the main eye-stops after taking in the dominant?
Draba's stance, Crassus and his companions trying to dodge the trident, and perhaps Spartacus in the far back.

Density: How much visual information is packed into the image?
It's hard to get much out of faces, but we can infer Draba's rage and Spartacus' confusion and Crassus and company's fear.