| | | "HD-DVD, The Look & Sound of Perfect."
Features: DVD, Dolby, Dolby Digital (5.1), English, French, Spanish, Digital Audio
This presentation of the powerful film classic features an additional five minutes of footage cut from the film's original release, plus the original overture and extended soundtrack.Director Stanley Kubrick tells the tale of Spartacus (Kirk Douglas), the bold gladiator slave, and Varinia (Jean Simmons), the woman who believed in his cause. Challenged by the power-hungry General Crassus (Laurence Olivier), Spartacus is forced to face his convictions and the power of the Roman Empire at its glorious height. The inspirational true account of man's eternal struggle for freedom, Spartacus combines history with spectacle to create a moving drama of love and commitment.System Requirements:Run Time: 197 minsFormat: HD DVD
"Of all the historical epics, this pretty much takes the biscuit..." Ben Falk, BBC
Editor's Note
SPARTACUS, based on Howard Fast's popular novel, is Stanley Kubrick's glorious masterpiece about a slave uprising in Rome in 70 B.C. Kirk Douglas, who also served as executive producer, stars as the title character, a man born of a slave woman and a slave master who has known nothing but chains his entire life. After being forced to put on a gladiator show--that almost leads to his death--for wealthy Romans (including a marvelously conniving Laurence Olivier as the power-hungry Crassus), Spartacus leads a slave revolt across Italy that soon has thousands marching on Rome. Meanwhile, he has fallen in love with the beautiful Varinia (an effervescent Jean Simmons), pledging his life to her.Douglas assembled a fabulous all-star cast for the film; in addition to himself, Simmons, and Olivier, terrific performances are turned in by Charles Laughton as the curmudgeonly senator Gracchus, John Gavin as the young Julius Caesar, Tony Curtis as Antoninus (a "singer of songs," with all lines delivered in a beautifully thick New York accent), and especially Peter Ustinov, an Oscar winner for his portrayal of the businessman Batiatus, who always wants to know what's in it for him. Blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo's melodramatic script and Alex North's thrilling, soaring score add a majesty that helps make SPARTACUS one of the finest costume epics to ever come out of Hollywood.
Plot Summary
Stanley Kubrick's SPARTACUS is the epic saga of the rebellious slave Spartacus, a Thracian who was born into slavery and becomes one of the notorious Roman gladiators. During what became known in history as the Servile Wars, he led an uprising against the mighty Roman republic that threatened to tear apart Italy.
| Features | Audio: English, French, Spanish Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 Surround Sound | | Featurette: My Scenes | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: English, French, Spanish | | This Is An HD-DVD Made For HD-DVD Format Players Which Produce Higher Quality Picture And Sound |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Universal |
| Release Date: 11/13/2009 |
| Running Time: 197 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1960 | | Catalog ID: 31292 | | UPC: 00025193129222 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English, French Dubbed, Spanish Dubbed | | Available Subtitles: English, French, Spanish | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Widescreen 2.20:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Winner (1961) | | | Golden Globe, Spartacus, Best Motion Picture - Drama | |
Nominee (1961) | | | Golden Globe, Laurence Olivier, Best Motion Picture Actor - Drama | | | Golden Globe, Stanley Kubrick, Best Motion Picture Director | | | Golden Globe, Woody Strode, Best Supporting Actor | | | Golden Globe, Peter Ustinov, Best Supporting Actor | |
Winner (1961) | | | Oscar, Peter Ustinov, Best Actor in a Supporting Role | | | Oscar, Alexander Golitzen, et. al., Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color | | | Oscar, Russell Metty, Best Cinematography, Color | | | Oscar, Bill Thomas, et. al., Best Costume Design, Color | |
Nominee (1961) | | | Oscar, Robert Lawrence, Best Film Editing | | | Oscar, Alex North, Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture |
| Memorable Quotes| "Do you eat oysters?"----Crassus (Laurence Olivier)|"When I have them, master."----Antoninus (Tony Curtis)|"Do you eat snails?"----Crassus|"No, master."----Antoninus|"Do you consider the easting of oysters to be moral, and the eating of snails to be immoral?...My taste includes both snails and oysters."----Crassus | | "I am Spartacus." |
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| | Professional Reviews | USA Today
"...Amazing depth-of-field....Terrific performances..." 04/26/1991 p.1DTotal Film
"...One of the last truly great Roman epics, the Kirk Douglas-starrer boasts a true cast-of-thousands battle..." 03/01/2001 p.96 Empire
"The entire film was an immediate hit with cinemagoers and the majority of critics....Unquestionably it is Douglas' film..." 03/01/2009 FilmCritic.com 7 of 10
The original movie about gladiators, with Kirk Douglas taking the starring role in Stanley Kubrick's muddy epic (over three hours long) about slaves vs. Romans in the heyday of the Empire. Director Stanley Kubrick was obviously just collecting a paycheck for this one, though he stages some intricate battle scenes. Too bad he obviously couldn't have cared less about the lame love story and political machinations behind the scenes. Kubrick reported disowned this film, the only movie in his repertoire to earn such a fate. - Christopher Null
Chicago Sun-Times 8 of 10
Perhaps the most interesting element of Spartacus is its buried political assumptions. The movie is about revolution, and clearly reflects the decadence of the parasitical upper classes and the superior moral fiber of the slaves. But at the end, Spartacus, like Jesus, dies on the cross. In the final scene, his wife stands beneath him and holds up their child, saying "He will live as a free man, Spartacus." Yes, but the baby's freedom was granted him not as its right, but because of the benevolence of the soft-hearted old Gracchus. Today, that wouldn't be good enough. - Roger Ebert
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