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4.1% of the viewers favorited this title, 0.4% disliked it
Currently in 20 official lists, but has been in 25
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Siskoid
With Spartacus, Stanley Kubrick (ironically?) bends his will to the studio, and comes up with his most mainstream, some would say compromised, effort - a big sword & sandals epic with a veritable cast of thousands. Less daring, then? It's less experimental for sure, though the restored version does include some fierce violence and an amazing scene where Laurence Olivier threatens Tony Curtis with his bisexuality, all cut from 1960's theatrical version, of course. Whether because of studio interference or not, Spartacus may also be Kubrick's most emotionally engaging picture, with Kirk Douglas in the title role and Jean Simmons as his wife a well-matched pair of defiant slaves who put everything on the line, at all times, to assert their freedom. As the action tips from slave revolt to Roman politics and back again, Kurbrick shows his hand more. The editing is great, and the story feels very Shakespearean in those sections. If I rate it more highly than Ben-Hur, it is in part because it's a more focused story. We see how freedom becomes viral, is put down, but survives, and the film bitterly notes how long it'll take to run its course. I'm well impressed.
Dieguito
A good movie, but probably the worst from Kubrick.. I other words, a great epic, but the only Kubrick I didn't favorited..
Andrewski
Considering Kubrick's epic success in other "epics" of various sorts (like Barry Lyndon, 2001, and even Paths of Glory), I found Spartacus to be much more detached. The characters didn't really resonate with me and the only scene that really had an effect on me was the brooding beginning of the war.