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Spartacus (1960) - Full Movie Reaction

This is the full/long version of the movie! My copy is from Google Play.

You will need your own copy of this version of the movie to sync up with me and follow along!

Spartacus (1960) - Full Movie Reaction

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In the British newspaper "The Guardian" today (Thursday, October 17, 2024), their movie critic, Chris Tryhorn, posted “Are You Not Entertained? The 18 Best Films About the Romans – Ranked!”. "Spartacus" he ranked as number 1, "Gladiator" was ranked number 2, and "Ben Hur" was ranked number 3. According to a Ipsos MORI research poll in September 2018, The Guardian was rated the most trusted of all British newspapers. See Wikipedia, "The Guardian". Wiki also states: "It was also reported to be the most-read of the UK's 'quality newsbrands', including 'The Times', 'The Daily Telegraph', and 'The Independent'" --Wiki.

Edward M. Crowe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6e9BEnGT-8 Sorry it is not in English....had to settle for it this way. Draba, played by actor Woody Strode, is an incredible hero in this movie. What selflessness to overcome everything inside him and sacrifice himself this way. Simply astounding! This astonishing act is not in vain, for in it Spartacus finds massive inspiration and everything that transpires hence reflects back upon it. I still can't get over the looks between Draba and Spartacus as they are waiting their turn. That cool, unwavering, speculative gaze of Draba as he looks upon and appraises Spartacus. What is he thinking? And Spartacus too, as he eyes Draba. What's running through his mind? What, exactly, was director Stanley Kubrick seeking to convey to us during this sequence? I find the whole thing fascinating. (apologies Mr Spock lol) Simply fascinating. RIP honorable and heroic Draba. Remember https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6-gUgiqhhk

Scott Phx

Thanks for the recommendation! Someone else, has as well, so I've put it on my list.

bunnytails

Hey Bunny, since you liked Spartacus and like The Ten Commandments, I think you'd also like Ben Hur (1959). It's 3h 32m, so, it's pretty long but takes place around the same time as Spartacus. I think it's a spectacular film and epic story! (For future reference, Ben Hur has an overture and intermission. The intermission occurs about 2h 21 min into the film. So, plan accordingly if you plan to watch it.)

Ron

Recommendations... Paths Of Glory (this was his first truly successful movie, it came out in 1957), Dr. Strangelove (this was all about mocking the cold war mentality), 2001, A Space Odyssey (came out before the moon landing), A Clockwork Orange (kinda violent, but still recommend), The Shinning (heeeeeeRRRRRSSSS JOHNNY!), Full Metal Jacket, and Eyes Wide Shut. I would also add A. I. Artificial Intelligence; though it was directed by Steven Spielberg, it was supposed to be Stanley's next project.

Carlos Stevens

Wow. Why are all these movies so long!?? haha. Cleopatra sounds like it will be so much fun, as I know a little bit about her dealings with Caesar and Mark Antony. I have no idea what Ben Hur is about based on the title, but that's fine. The less I know the better, in most cases! Thanks for recommending Spartacus! As you know, I thoroughly enjoyed it! I hope you enjoyed my reaction!

bunnytails

Ahh thanks! That clears a lot up for me!

bunnytails

Thanks for the recommendations!

bunnytails

Wow. I LOVE this story! That's wonderful :D

bunnytails

Perhaps I'll check out the tv series on my own time someday!

bunnytails

No, Will, thank YOU! Hail Casear sounds great! And no worries, even if it doesn't rise to the top, I do want to do your movie someday!

bunnytails

I am certainly open to watching more of Kubrick's movies!

bunnytails

I'm sure every person who suggests a specific movie to you hopes you will find it a rewarding experience that justifies their choice, and so after pushing this one so much I'm glad to see you really reacted to it so strongly. That last scene can be a pretty emotional one for me too! Here I just want to answer a few of your last questions on "other movies circa Roman Empire" to watch. There are just 2 that I could really recommend trying to cram into your busy schedule between now and Christmas: "Ben Hur" (1959), 3 hours 32 minutes // and "Cleopatra" (1963), 3 hours 53 minutes. "Ben Hur" (you may know already) WON (not nominated but WON) 11 Academy Awards. It is a pretty good movie -- very straight forward and does not have the emotional ups and downs that Spartacus did. It does not have the male-female love theme to the same extent that Spartacus did either. The movie that is really tricky in recommending, but knowing you a bit I think you might like better, is "Cleopatra", with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Very, very much a "relationships" movie. Nominated 9 Academy Awards, won 4. Most expensive movie ever made up to that point; "one of the highest grossing films world-wide of the entire decade" (Wiki). My take on it is this: they got Rex Harrison to play Julius Caesar, the "#3" of the 3-part love triangle, and I just don't think he did a great job of it -- not compared to Taylor and Burton. Obviously you saw above that Sir Laurence Olivier did a tremendous job as "Crassus", and had they cast him as Caesar, then "Cleopatra" might have ranked with Spartacus and Gladiator as #1 all-time. Harrison and the fact that the movie is so long are the only reasons I haven't been pushing it on you much before now. It has kind of a tragic ending, similar to Spartacus (I didn't cry, but yeah, its kind of like that). And with the two legendary actors E.T. & R.B. playing the lead roles, you could be drawn in to more of an emotional experience. Just 1 final thought before Gladiator: there are a few scenes there which are ALMOST IDENTICAL remakes to scenes in Spartacus. So just before watching, and with an eye to eventual Youtube use, maybe think how much you want to incorporate comments about comparison to Spartacus in the reaction. A few is good, but a critic could probably go on for 15-20 minutes with comparisons, so however you want to handle that in the reaction. But can't wait to see it !! Have fun !!

Edward M. Crowe

Oh dear God Bunny... Do you not know? Slavery has been staple of human civilization since the beginning of human existence. It was only ended in Western Civilization thanks to the British Empire and thanks to the American Civil War. These are anomalies in the history of human existence.

Carlos Stevens

.... Soooo... Back in the day (1960s and before) they didn't have advertisements before they started the movies. They had "Overtures"; this was a hold over from symphonies and plays back in they day. They would play the overture both as a warm up for the live musicians, and to let the audience know that the show was about to start. Typically an overture would last about 10 minutes. They would also have an intermission, in the middle of the movie which was a 10 minute break so people could go to the bathroom and buy things from the concession stand. These practices kinda ended about 1970; mostly because the theater owners wanted movies to be shorter so they can have an extra showing during the day. Oh, and theaters were owned by movie studios back then, not by corporations or independent owners like they are today.

Carlos Stevens

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6-gUgiqhhk

Scott Phx

HBO's series Rome is great. It is only two series and covers Julius Caesar and the rise of Augustus. The Vikings is another great film starring Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis. Peter Ustinov was also a great raconteur, put his name in youtube and watch some of his interviews

Capaneus

I'm Kirk Douglas's son! a member of the audience jumped up and shouted "No, I'm Kirk Douglas's son!" then the rest of the audience started jumping up and shouting it!

Capaneus

Kirk Douglas had a son called Eric who did stand up comedy. One time he was performing at the Comedy Store in London and the audience wouldn't stop heckling. Eventually he snapped and shouted "You can't do this to me, I'm Kirk Doi"

Capaneus

One of the classic epic movies. The tv show spartacus is also good, it's halfway betwee this and 300.

Terry Mcginnis

The movie is heavy with strong actors, Olivier, Douglas, Ustinov, and a plethora of talent. For fans of Apollo, no Mark Forest, no Steve Reeves or Alan Steel. The movie is pretty long and talky, but I guess audiences had the patience to sit through the long scenes for the payoff at the end. Rome is the villain in this movie, more than usual, and the gladiators aren't even martyrs. Still it's satisfying to see a final resolution at the end of a movie, staying close to the historic outcome. I'm glad bunny is watching these history based movies. Spartacus proved that you didn't have to abandon authenticity for plot and legitimized period movies up to the present. If my movie ever gets voted in for movie night, my likely next movie nominee will be along the lines of the BBC I Claudius, HBO Rome, Quo Vadis, something of that strain. Bunny should see Hail Caesar! where George Clooney plays an actor in a similar movie to Spartacus with a spot-on channeling of Kirk Douglas. Bunny spoke previously about how bad the Romans were in the way the emperors acted. I agree-I read that the number of good emperors, out of around 40, is in the single digits. There are the "5 good emperors" in a row: Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius. I would add Constantine and Justinian. None of these guys get movies made about them, unlike Caligula, Nero, Commodus; they ascended while in their teens with disastrous results. Thanks for all you do!

William Terry

Ah a major classic. One of Stanley Kubrick's best movies. I think this was his first major successful movies in the theaters. I remember he got a lot of flack for making a 3 hour long movie; the theaters hated movies longer than 2 hours because that would mean one less showing per day. I hope this means you're doing a series of Stanley Kubrick's movies (you might want to bypass Lolita though). And yes... "I'm Sparticus" came from this movie.

Carlos Stevens


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