Spartacus (1960)

A Dang Good Flick

Warning: Spoilers

In 1960, Stanley Kubrick released his colossal, towering, gargantuan, monumental, epic blockbuster "SPARTACUS!!!!" Okay, it isn't that spectacular, but it is a pretty dang good flick.

Spartacus stars Kirk Douglas as an impudent Thracian slave. Thracians, as depicted in the film, were a race of people known for a particular physical characteristic - they had chin dimples the size of walnuts.

Because Spartacus is such an uppity wisenheimer, he is sentenced to a life as a gladiator. Not that it's all bad. He gets to work out a lot and is "whipped" into incredible physical shape. Also, he receives occasional visits from another slave who also happens to be a tasty dish named Varinia (played as a genteel aristocrat by Jean Simmons).

Douglas does a fine job as the brooding gladiator. Other standouts include Charles Laughton as Gracchus; not to be confused with Crassus, a gourmet who likes both escargot and shellfish, played by Laurence Olivier. Peter Ustinov provides some Oscar-winning semi-comic relief as the sniveling sycophant Batiatus.

Another major character in the film is Antoninus, played by Tony Curtis. Tony (which is short for Antoninus) is a "singer" of "songs". His "songs" are just poems spoken in a Bronx accent.

During the course of the movie, Spartacus escapes from gladiator school and assembles a considerable army of fellow undergraduates. Spartacus is well-loved by his men, and this is illustrated in one particularly moving scene.

When the Romans capture Spartacus and his men, Crassus threatens to kill them all unless someone betrays their leader (who Crassus believes is a communist). Spartacus - in a heroic effort to spare his men - stands up to reveal himself, but Antoninus beats him to the punch. He jumps to his sandaled feet and yells out, "I'm Spartacus." This sets off a chain reaction. Another guy stands up and shouts, "I'm Spartacus." And another, "I'm Spartacus." Another, "I'm Spartacus." And so on.

The Romans were very frustrated by this, because now instead of one pesky Spartacus, they had to deal with a whole slew of Spartaci.

Legend has it that this event spawned an entire generation of scofflaws. Whenever a centurion confronted a non-Roman for some infraction - say a speeding chariot - the inevitable happened: "Name?"
"Spartacus."
"All right wise guy. Thirty days in the dungeon."

Anyway, this is a very good film that I highly recommend. And, if I may, I'd like to close out this "review" with one of Antoninus' "songs":

"When the blazing wind hangs low in the western sky when the sun flies away to the mountain when the "song" of the crow scares the locusts from the fields and maidens sleep in the sea foam at last at twilight time..."

Or something like that.

Rating:  9/10

I should mention that Kubrick is probably my favorite film director. His movies include, "2001: A Space Odyssey" (10/10),  "A Clockwork Orange" (9/10), "Paths of Glory" (8/10), "The Shining" (8/10), "Dr. Strangelove" (8/10), and "Eyes Wide Shut" (7/10).

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

 Palpitating In My Pajamas

"The Texas Chainsaw Massacre?" (4/10) Dumb. "The Hills Have Eyes?" (3/10) Boring. "The Exorcist?" (6/10) Humorous. "The Shining?" (8/10) Lots of fun. Any of them scary? Naw. Why not? Because as a kid, I survived a viewing of "The Wizard of Oz."

It is true that I no longer find movies frightening. Some of them, like "The Shining", are downright creepy, but I haven't been scared by a movie since I was a young boy. "The Wizard of Oz" with its evil flying monkeys, wicked witches, and the gigantic phantom-like head of Oz himself - accompanied by smoke and fire - was frightening enough to make me hide under the bed for the rest of my life. I'm telling you, that scene where the Wicked Witch of the West throws a fireball that ignites the scarecrow nearly made me mess my little drawers. Even the opening scenes with the dread Almira Gulch and the nasty Kansas twister had me palpitating in my pajamas. 

Although I won't admit to being scared by it anymore, I still watch The "Wizard of Oz" every year or two. It is incredible that this film was made in 1939. The special effects for that day and age are astounding (I still don't know how they did those soaring simians). The whole movie seems fresh and ageless. The entire cast is outstanding, led by Judy Garland's unforgettable turn as Dorothy Gale. Heck, even Terry as Toto gives one of the most memorable canine performances of all time. 

Perhaps the most enduring and endearing scene is Garland's rendering of the Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg song "Over the Rainbow." Just watching that scene makes me think of spring - you know; rainbows, bluebirds, skies that are blue, and impending tornadoes. 

Director Victor Fleming gives us the film's opening and closing scenes in sepia-toned black and white. The scenes in Oz are in Technicolor. This is a stroke of interpretive genius, giving the whole Oz experience a fantastic dreamlike quality. The fact that Fleming directed this and "Gone With The Wind" (8/10) in the same year is astounding. 

I'm not sure I've seen a movie this decade that can match either of those.

Rating: 10/10