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A great movie by Stanley Kubrick , please do buy if you have a hd-dvd forthe xbox 360, or a HD-DVD player do buy.
Next up, I hope, is a solid Blu-Ray version.*** This comment contains spoilers ***The story is a no-nonsense dramatic tale of a slave who leads a revolt against Rome, is successful in building the movement from almost nothing to an army of thousands, only to be beaten and literally crucified in the end.but leaving his mark, to use a cliché, on history.The prelude to the final battle scene is awesome-looking when you see all the soldiers lined up. At two-and-a-half hours this would have been a much tighter script and easier to view.Kirk Douglas, as "Spartacus," the leader of that revolt, was excellent and Peter Ustinov shines, too.
This movie also featured the acting talents of Jean Simmons, Laurence Olivier, Tony Curtis and John Gavin. The dialog given Ustinov and Charles Laughton was intelligent.
This is a solid adventure story that keeps looking better and better with each succeeding DVD. On the other hand, they could have cut down on the overall length of the movie which was over three hours long.
Not bad, eh. The excellent Criterion version was the last.
I liked the fact they didn't overdo the action scenes, which they could easily have done since they employed a cast of thousands.
"We all have good and evil in us, which we act on is who we are."(Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter). I couldn't wait to get this film. The real Spartucus wasn't as nice as Kirk Douglas' character I hear, but for a man to revolt against slavery and the Romans and win is awesome.
The Bottom Line:Spartacus is of course beloved due to its director, but it's an overlong and sprawling movie whose attempts at romance fall pretty flat and whose ending leaves something to be desired; if you've got three hours it might be worth seeing for pure spectacle, but expect a large serving of corn with the meaty battle scenes.
I give the movie 4 stars and the dvd 3 stars. Some scenes from this movie are really powerful. Spartacus is one of Stanley Kubrick's best movies. It could have had more action scenes but overall it's epic and really good.
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