A gladiator slave (Kirk Douglas) leads a revolt in decadent Rome and attempts to lead his followers to... (Learn more)
Starring: Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons (View All)
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Starring: Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons
Spartacus (Kirk Douglas) is a rebellious slave purchased by Lentulus Batiatus (Peter Ustinov), owner of a school for gladiators. For the entertainment of corrupt Roman senator Marcus Licinius Crassus (Laurence Olivier), Batiatus' gladiators are to stage a fight to the death. On the night before the event, the enslaved trainees are "rewarded" with female companionship. Spartacus' companion for the evening is Varinia (Jean Simmons), a slave from Brittania. When Spartacus later learns that Varinia has been sold to Crassus, he leads 78 fellow gladiators in revolt. Word of the rebellion spreads like wildfire, and soon Spartacus' army numbers in the hundreds. Escaping to join his cause is Varinia, who has fallen in love with Spartacus, and another of Crassus' house slaves, the sensitive Antoninus (Tony Curtis). The revolt becomes the principal cog in the wheel of a political struggle between Crassus and a more temperate senator named Gracchus (Charles Laughton). Anthony Mann was the original director of Spartacus, eventually replaced by Stanley Kubrick, who'd previously guided Douglas through Paths of Glory. The film received 4 Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actor for Ustinov. A crucial scene between Olivier and Curtis, removed from the 1967 reissue because of its subtle homosexual implications, was restored in 1991, with a newly recorded soundtrack featuring Curtis as his younger self and Anthony Hopkins standing in for the deceased Olivier. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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US Release Date
9/30/60
MPAA Rating
Rated PG-13 for (re-issue)
Running Time
182 mins. (1960 release)
Language
- English
Box Office Total
$1,659,554
Awards
- Nominated for a Best Director award at the 1960 Hollywood Foreign Press Association [F Awards.
- Nominated for a Best Original Score award at the 1960 Hollywood Foreign Press Association [F Awards.
- Nominated for a Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama award at the 1960 Hollywood Foreign Press Association [F Awards.
- Nominated for a Best Drama or Comedy Score award at the 1960 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie Awards.
- Winner of the Best Color Cinematography award at the 1960 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie Awards.
- Winner of the Best Color Costume Design award at the 1960 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie Awards.
- Winner of the Best Color Art Direction award at the 1960 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie Awards.
- Winner of the Best Supporting Actor award at the 1960 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie Awards.
- Nominated for a Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion award at the 1960 Hollywood Foreign Press Association [F Awards.
- Winner of the Best Picture - Drama award at the 1960 Hollywood Foreign Press Association [F Awards.
- Nominated for a Best Editing award at the 1960 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie Awards.
Distributor
- Universal
- Universal Pictures
- Universal Studios Home Entertainment
