All Critics (47)
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Top Critics (5)
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Fresh (54)
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Rotten (2)
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DVD (31)
This may be the most literate of all the spectacles set in antiquity.
It is a spotty, uneven drama.
The most courageous thing about it, from today's standards, is that it closes without an obligatory happy ending, and an audience that has watched for 187 minutes doesn't get a tidy, mindless conclusion.
Thrilling epic is too intense for the youngest.
While it suffers from some of the flaws of epics of this era-such as an overly sanitized portrait of life at the time, and anachronistic visions of fashion and lifestyle-Spartacus also boasts some stirring action and intelligent dialogue
Douglas is terrific as the iron-jawed slave fuelled by righteous fury.
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.
One of the greatest Hollywood epics.
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.
One of the last truly great Roman epics.
Arguably the greatest sword 'n' sandal movie of them all.
More than a standard good vs. evil drama, the movie is about a hero's inner struggle to persevere in carrying out an ideal that's almost certain to lead to his demise.
...a story of both inward and outward conflicts, common territory for director Kubrick and screenwriter Dalton Trumbo. (HD-DVD Edition)
...notable not only for its expected sword play and scenery, but for the genuine complexity of its characters, their relationships, and their political intrigues.
Asurprisingly apt companion piece to Paths of Glory in its consideration of the mechanisms of power.
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