RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Found a Bug? Squash It! Report Bugs Here
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Spartacus
Spartacus

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Spartacus (1960)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
95 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:43

Fresh:41

Rotten:2

Average Rating:8.1/10

Consensus: Featuring terrific performances and epic action, Kubrick’s restored swords-and-sandals epic is a true classic.

Rated: PG

Runtime: 3 hrs 17 mins

Genre: Action/Adventure

Theatrical Release:09-06-2009

Synopsis: SPARTACUS, based on Howard Fast's popular novel, is Stanley Kubrick's glorious masterpiece about a slave uprising in Rome in 70 B.C. Kirk Douglas, who also served as executive producer, stars as... SPARTACUS, based on Howard Fast's popular novel, is Stanley Kubrick's glorious masterpiece about a slave uprising in Rome in 70 B.C. Kirk Douglas, who also served as executive producer, stars as the title character, a man born of a slave woman and a slave master who has known nothing but chains his entire life. After being forced to put on a gladiator show--that almost leads to his death--for wealthy Romans (including a marvelously conniving Laurence Olivier as the power-hungry Crassus), Spartacus leads a slave revolt across Italy that soon has thousands marching on Rome. Meanwhile, he has fallen in love with the beautiful Varinia (an effervescent Jean Simmons), pledging his life to her. Douglas assembled a fabulous all-star cast for the film; in addition to himself, Simmons, and Olivier, terrific performances are turned in by Charles Laughton as the curmudgeonly senator Gracchus, John Gavin as the young Julius Caesar, Tony Curtis as Antoninus (a "singer of songs," with all lines delivered in a beautifully thick New York accent), and especially Peter Ustinov, an Oscar winner for his portrayal of the businessman Batiatus, who always wants to know what's in it for him. Blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo's melodramatic script and Alex North's thrilling, soaring score add a majesty that helps make SPARTACUS one of the finest costume epics to ever come out of Hollywood. [More]

Starring: Kirk Douglas, Jean Simmons, Laurence Olivier, Charles Laughton

Starring: Kirk Douglas, Jean Simmons, Laurence Olivier, Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov, Tony Curtis, John Gavin, Nina Foch

Director: Stanley Kubrick

Director: Stanley Kubrick
Screenwriter: Dalton Trumbo
Producer: Edward Lewis
Composer: Alex North

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Spartacus

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

It is in the observation of human detail, and in many memorable little scenes that the film scores most heavily over other epics, and in which it finds an inner strength.

Full Review Source: Sky Movies | comment Comment
06/12/09
Sky Movies
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Arguably the greatest sword 'n' sandal movie of them all.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
10/03/07
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

One of the last truly great Roman epics.

Full Review Source: Total Film | comment Comment
06/12/09
Total Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Of all the historical epics, this pretty much takes the biscuit, with an unbelievable cast, incredible cinematography and plenty of quotable scenes.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment 1 Comment
01/01/00
Ben Falk
Ben Falk
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Asurprisingly apt companion piece to Paths of Glory in its consideration of the mechanisms of power.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment 5 Comments
02/09/06
Derek Adams
Derek Adams
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Douglas is terrific as the iron-jawed slave fuelled by righteous fury.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
06/12/09
James Christopher
James Christopher
Times [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Though this stuff could have been directed by anyone, the greatness of Spartacus is in the stretches everyone remembers.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
05/19/04
Kim Newman
Kim Newman
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The great-granddaddy of Ridley Scott's Gladiator hasn't lost any muscle tone after nearly half a century, and Kirk Douglas's direct, unpretentious performance as the great slave-rebel Spartacus is more engaging than ever.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
06/12/09
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

One of the greatest Hollywood epics.

Full Review Source: Observer [UK] | comment Comment
06/12/09
Philip French
Philip French
Observer [UK]

. One of the most widely publicized films of recent years, the $12 million Bryna production has terrific marquee power for class patrons, action fans and teenagers alike, thus insuring boxoffice returns of blockbuster proportions.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
06/13/01
Boxoffice Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's especially strong, and more typical of Kubrick, in the first half -- before satire gives way to sentiment.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
07/30/03
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Seeing Spartacus in this restored version, with its original overture, intermission and a few inserted pieces of footage that had been excised after initial screenings, is nothing short of spectacular.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
01/01/00
Chris Hicks
Chris Hicks
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

No review available.

comment Comment
08/02/08
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

the liberal message is delivered with a heavy hand, but the film also boasts some stirring action and intelligent dialogue.

Full Review Source: All Movie Guide | comment Comment
06/27/02
Dan Jardine
Dan Jardine
All Movie Guide

No review available.

comment Comment
03/01/08
David Kaplan
David Kaplan
Kaplan vs. Kaplan

Meant to be seen on the big screen.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
04/21/03
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

[A] very attractive film because it doesn't lack spectacle.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment 2 Comments
01/01/00
Dragan Antulov
Dragan Antulov
rec.arts.movies.reviews

No review available.

comment Comment
08/17/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Though this is hardly a Kubrick film, since Kubrick wasn't involved in the preproduction, Douglas's wisdom in calling on Kubrick to bail him out on this ambitious production is evident throughout.

Full Review Source: Movieline | comment Comment
11/12/01
F.X. Feeney
F.X. Feeney
Movieline

An absolute classic by one of the great American directors.

comment Comment
10/11/02
Forrest Hartman
Forrest Hartman
Reno Gazette-Journal
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
all

Latest News for Spartacus

July 16, 2008: Exclusive: The World of WALL-E
The artists behind this year's freshest film share their story with RT, with exclusive contributions from Andrew Stanton, Ben Burtt, Jim Morris, Lindsay Collins, Angus MacLane,... More...

June 22, 2007: AFI Announces Top 100 Movies of All Time ... Again
Ten years ago the AFI gave us a list of the Top 100 American Films Ever Made -- and when that was done they churned out 15 other lists every few years. And then last night they... More...

See All

More DVDs

Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
14% 14% The Ugly Truth
98% 98% Up
36% 36% G.I. Joe: The Rise of …
52% 52% The Taking of Pelham 1…
45% 45% Ice Age: Dawn of the D…

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
36% 36% Angels & Demons
68% 68% Funny People
25% 25% Four Christmases
45% 45% Shorts
53% 53% David & Layla

More New Releases…

What’s Hot On RT

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

5 facts straight from the cast.

Disney Animation

Disney Animation

We chart the studio's classics.

Avatar

Avatar

An exclusive look at the human hardware.

Eric Bana

Eric Bana

The Star Trek star talks cars with RT.

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Tobey Maguire Talks Brothers, Spider-Man 4 Source: Boston Globe
4
  • Nimród Antal Talks Predators Source: ComingSoon.net
2
  • Weekly Ketchup: Zombieland 2 in 3D?
78
  • First Look (Sort Of) at New Nightmare's Freddy Source: ShockTillYouDrop.com
24
  • First Look at Shrek Forever After Source: USA Today
48
  • Woody Harrelson Will Battle Zombies in 3-D Source: Moviehole
26
  • Natalie Portman Says Kat Denning Is in Thor Source: MTV
34
  • Disney Restructuring Has Broad Implications Source: Los Angeles Times
10
  • Joel Silver Talks Ninja Assassin, Sgt. Rock, Lobo, and More Source: Collider.com
1
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
128
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Friday Harvest: The Road, Avatar, and more!
95
  • Total Recall: John Travolta's Best Movies
93
  • Ban Them All! 10 Infamously Controversial Movies
87
  • 5 Facts About The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
76
  • Critics Consensus: Flee From Ninja Assassin
47
  • Weekly Ketchup: Zombieland 2 in 3D?
26
  • Five Favorite Films With Zombieland Director Ruben Fleischer
24
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
16
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Vampires and Football Break Thanksgiving Records
10
  • Duncan Jones Reteams With Kevin Spacey
4
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
16
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
11
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
21
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
21
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
8
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
28
  • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute
14
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Spartacus at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Spartacus at IGN

Fresh Links

Featured
RT on YouTube
RT on YouTube External Link

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

RT on Twitter
RT on Twitter External Link

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.