Plot: What’s it about?
Spartacus (Kirk Douglas) was born a slave and raised a slave, but he holds a sense of freedom within himself. Soon he is sold to Batiatus (Peter Ustinov), a man who trains slaves to do battle within the arenas, as gladiators. He is soon being drilled in the art of fighting and when he is prepared enough, he will sent to the arena to battle and more than likely, to die in front of the audiences there. But Spartacus has no plans to do that, so he stages a rebellion and as luck would have it, it works to sheer perfection. As he revolts against his owners, he is joined by many other slaves also, which gives them the power they need to make a break for freedom. As the band of rebels travels across the lands, they end up being joined by more and more escaped slaves, which means their numbers and power grow. But back in Rome, this rebellion has rooted a dividing mark between two leaders, the Republican Gracchus (Charles Laughton) and the military minded Crassus (Laurence Olivier). As the slaves close in on their homelands and freedom, the politicians plot to use the rebellion to their favor, but which side will win out in the end?
The original release from Universal left a lot to be desired, but the mistakes have been resolved here and a lot of new material has been added also. In other words, if you’re a fan of this picture and you have the original release, consider it time to upgrade and trust me, you’ll be pleased you did. But more about the disc itself later on, as it is now time to discuss the film for a spell. Of all the epic motion pictures out there, Spartacus ranks as my personal favorite and that’s impressive, as a wealth of excellent epics like Ben-Hur and The Robe were stacked against this film. It moves a slower pace, but never becomes dull in the least and in the end, the performances & musical score alone warrant seeing this one time and again. All the elements just seem to meld together here as the music is fantastic, the performances divine, the production design is superb, and of course, Stanley Kubrick’s direction is always effective. I give this film my highest recommendation with such a lush two disc release, there’s no reason to pass this edition by, whether you’re a longtime fan or a newcomer to the flick.
Although he is perhaps best known for his later works, I feel some of Stanley Kubrick’s finest works were delivered toward the start of his career. This was his eighth film and could have been a hurdle, but Kubrick tackles the massive scope well and nails the direction to perfection. He is given excellent writing and actors to work with of course, which I am sure made his task a little easier in the end. But he was a perfectionist and as such, I would wager he pushed himself and the crew hard to get things just right. That hard work pays off however, as Spartacus is excellent in all respects and stands as one of Kubrick’s greatest accomplishments. Other films directed by Kubrick include Full Metal Jacket, Killer’s Kiss, Eyes Wide Shut, Paths of Glory, A Clockwork Orange, Fear and Desire, and Barry Lyndon. The cast here includes Kirk Douglas (The Final Countdown, Seven Days In May), Laurence Olivier (Marathon Man, Hamlet), Charles Laughton (The Paradine Case, Island of Lost Souls), Jean Simmons (The Robe, Rough Night In Jericho), and Peter Ustinov (Death On The Nile, Stiff Upper Lips).
Video: How does it look?
Just because it says “HD DVD” on it doesn’t mean that it’ll look like it just came out in theaters. And with “Spartacus”, that’s the case in point here. The film is the 196 minute extended cut and shares a lot of the same flaws that the very first Universal release had (standard DVD). It’s not terrible, by any means, but it certainly doesn’t hold up to the other HD DVD’s out there. Criterion’s treatment of this title a few years back actually looks a little better, video-wise, than this does on High Definition. Hard to imagine, yes but it’s the truth. I don’t know why Universal was in such a hurry to get this title out, it needs some major restoration work and though it’s nice to have on HD DVD, I’d have rather waited for quality and not quantity.
Audio: How does it sound?
The re-mastered Dolby Digital Plus track is a little better than the video. The track is very robust at times and very quiet at others. Dialogue sounds very rich, warm and natural and there are several battle scenes that really take advantage of each of your 5.1 speakers. Granted, the movie is over 40 years old now, so there isn’t a whole lot of room for improvement. It sounds better than most films of the age and I don’t think anyone should be too disappointed here, either.
Supplements: What are the extras?
A first for the new format – “Spartacus” contains absolutely no supplements whatsoever. The only thing worth mentioning is “My Scenes” in which you can bookmark your favorite scenes for a later time (a feature Warner has been offering of ALL of their discs from the get go).
Honestly, if you have the Criterion standard DVD, stick with that.
