Spartacus

"They trained him to kill for their pleasure ... but they trained him a little too well"

Nov 17 1960 PG-13 3h 17m
Adventure, Biography, Drama

The rebellious Thracian Spartacus, born and raised a slave, is sold to Gladiator trainer Batiatus. After weeks of being trained to kill for the arena, Spartacus turns on his owners and leads the other slaves in rebellion. As the rebels move from town to town, their numbers swell as escaped slaves join their ranks. Under the leadership of Spartacus, they make their way to southern Italy, where they will cross the sea and return to their homes.

Plot

In 73 B.C., a Thracian slave leads a revolt at a gladiatorial school run by Lentulus Batiatus (Sir Peter Ustinov). The uprising soon spreads across the Italian Peninsula involving thousand of slaves. The plan is to acquire sufficient funds to acquire ships from Silesian pirates who could then transport them to other lands from Brandisium in the south. The Roman Senator Gracchus (Charles Laughton) schemes to have Marcus Publius Glabrus (John Dall), Commander of the garrison of Rome, lead an army against the slaves who are living on Vesuvius. When Glabrus is defeated his mentor, Senator and General Marcus Licinius Crassus (Sir Laurence Olivier) is greatly embarrassed and leads his own army against the slaves. Spartacus and the thousands of freed slaves successfully make their way to Brandisium only to find that the Silesians have abandoned them. They then turn north and must face the might of Rome.

Written by

Dalton Trumbo, Howard Fast, Peter Ustinov

Directed by

Stanley Kubrick, Anthony Mann

Production Countries

United States of America

Production Companies

Bryna Productions

Languages

English

Awards

Won 4 Oscars. 12 wins & 11 nominations total

Scores
# of Votes
147,166
Average Rating
7.9 out of 10
Metascore
87
Popularity
NA