Movie of My Week: "Spartacus" (1960)
Sunday, July 25, 2010 at 12:01AM 
Watched it with son Jerome in home theater, and I must say, it's really worthwhile to get the blu-ray version, because the restoration is just lovely to look at.
Tons of stars, almost all of whom overshadow Kirk Douglas's wonderfully understated performance. This movie, produced by Douglas with a firm grip, was originally directed by Anthony Mann, who Douglas forced out, only to give to his friend (and then still largely unknown), up-and-coming Brit director Stanley Kubrick, with whom he had worked three years previously on the antiwar classic, "Paths of Glory." Kubrick and Douglas fought incessantly during production, and it killed their relationship forever. It was the only movie Kubrick ever directed without his usual control, all of which lay with Kirk. Interestingly enough, it won four Oscars, including the only one ever for a Kubrick actor (best supporting to Peter Ustinov).
It remains one of my favorite Laurence Olivier movies ("I'm not after glory! I'm after Spartacus.").
Reader Comments (2)
Kubrick was a native of the Bronx. He relocated to England and rarely left because of his fear of air travel. He never lost his thick New York accent.
Very watchable film. Didn't realize it was Anthony Mann that was fired by Douglas. He is one of my favorites. Check out his noir westerns with James Stewart, especially Man From Laramie and Winchester '73. He bought out Stewart's dark side very well. Winchester has herd of great characters including early performances by unknowns Rock Hudson and Tony Curtis. Would like to see what Mann would have done if allowed to finish Spartacus. He showed with El Cid that he could work on the epic scale.
The restored edition returns the controversial bath sequence with Larry and Tony Curtis and showcase the amazing talent Anthony Hopkins, dubbing Olivier's lines, has for mimicry.
Recently saw Olivier in The Entertainer for the first time. Showed what he could do with modern drama. Wonderful performance.