Delayed Reaction: Spartacus

The Pitch: Paramount has The Ten Commandments. MGM has Ben-Hur. Universal needs one too.

The epic tale of the slave who led a revolt against the Roman Empire at the height of its power.

I'll keep this short for a few reasons. 1) I've seen this before, even though it was nearly 20 years ago, when I was in middle school. This is more remembering than reacting. 2) The DVD I had of this was a particularly bad scan. It made the movie look visibly awful and I worry that I came away harsher than I should've about the movie. 3) Except for a scene or two, I didn't find much about the movie that was special.

The story behind the film is great. Kirk Douglas insisted that Dalton Trumbo write the screenplay, which helped to end the Hollywood blacklist. It's also a Stanley Kubrick movie from before he really became the Stanley Kubrick that other film nerds lose their shit over.

The movie itself is fine. The "I'm Spartacus" scene is awesome and inspiring. I'm always impressed by the number of extras in the bigger scenes from a pre-CGI era. Some of the fighting scenes are entertaining. And the cast is unimpeachable. However, it's 3 hour movie with enough content for a 2 hour movie. It's a lot like Ben-hur in that way, but without the incredible chariot race.

I think we remember the movie because of the people involved in making it and because it has that one classic scene. There's a reason why I rarely see it show up on greatest films lists. It was nice to see it again but not enlightening.

Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend