 |
Spartacus
|
The Real
Story
Plot
Outline
Cast
Homework
Timeline
Links
Guest book
Email
Download
Search
Home
|
Spartacus
is a historical epic film starring Kirk Douglas,
Laurence
Olivier, Charles Laughton and a host of other stars.
Released
in 1960, the film was a box office smash. It won
four Oscars (Best Art Direction-Set Decoration,
Color; Best
Cinematography, Color; Best Costume Design, Color; Best
Supporting
Actor, Peter Ustinov)
Historically correct in the overall story, all the major
characters are real, but the presentation of their character
is
fictional. Some liberties were taken with time and space,
but for
the most part the presentation of the slave revolt is
accurate. The
characters of the slaves in general, and Spartacus and
Varinia in
particular, have been improved upon by Hollywood. For
example, very little is know in historical fact about
Spartacus'
wife. Plutarch says she was probably a
Thracian. She
almost certainly was not a Briton as shown in the
film. in
fact, Rome will not invade Briton for another 20 years, so
if she
were a Briton, she would have had to go to extraordinary
lengths to
have become a captive of the Romans.
The Romans in general come off somewhat the worse in
character -
especially Crassus.
But, this is entertainment after all. And, it's Spartacus'
story not
Crassus'. You can read about the Real
Spartacus in this summary by Professor Barbara
F.
McManus of The College of New Rochelle.
|
|
 The film follows the life of the Thracian slave,
Spartacus, from his purchase by a trainer of gladiators
(Peter
Ustinov as Lentulus Batiatus) and his leadership of the
revolt (in
Part
I ) to the climactic battle with the Roman Army
and his
eventual crucifixion at the order of Crassus (Olivier)(in Part
II ). Each part has a plot summary and a
scene-by-scene
outline, both with pictures. The site is arranged so you can
go from
one page to any other from all the pages or from the
Timeline page.
Spartacus
is one of three films that cover the transition of
Rome from
Republic to Empire. The others (
Cleopatra and I,
Claudius) are also available here. They are
part of the
larger History in
Film web site that supports teaching history
using
popular films. It includes films from Rome up to the war in
Vietnam.
I'd enjoy hearing your comments on this site. Please sign
the Guestbook.
I hope you enjoy your visit.
|
 |
|
Film
Stats
Historical epic,
Rome.
|
| Stars |
.
|
Kirk
Douglas, Sir Laurence Olivier, Jeanne Simmons,
Charles
Laughton, Tony Curtis |
| Director |
Stanley
Kubrick |
| Producer |
Kirk
Douglas (executive), Edward Lewis
|
| Year
|
1960 |
| Released
by |
Universal
|
|
Based
on the
book by Howard Fast |
Buy
the Book |
Buy the
Movie
|
| |
|
If you're a teacher who is interested in using this film
and you
would like these pages to edit and print as your own, they
are all
available
here
as Rich Text Format files in one relatively small WinZip
package. Alternatively, if you only want a few of the files,
each
page has a download link for that RTF WinZip file alone
(usually 3
or 4 K). If you would like the short answer essay test that
accompanies this film, please E-mail me at the mail box
below. I'd
be glad to send it back to you.
|
|
LE FastCounter
| |
