Spartacus (1960) - 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital

Here is a good old movie with another great actor Kirk douglas he was a great actor who very solomon did a bad movie. His charter was a good one and a good storyline with a great cast of charter who gave good supporting roll to make a all-time great movie

When Universal released "Spartacus"(1960) on Blu-ray for the first time for it's 50th Anniversary in 2010, there was a universal(no pun intended) outcry because of it's less than stellar presentation. Complaints by fans, customers and reviewers were so numerous that many thought they'd never see a true representation of the film in their lifetime. What a difference five years makes. Universal's new 2015 restored version of "Spartacus" should put all that to rest once and for all. This new restored version is simply stunning and Universal deserves credit for finally giving one of their most famous(and valuable) films from it's library the respect it deserves. According to the information that appears on screen at the end of the film "a 2015 4K digital restoration from a 6K scan of the 1991 reconstructed version supervised by Robert A. Harris" was used for this new Blu-ray presentation. I saw the 1991 reconstructed version in 70 mm when it played at one of the Cinerama theaters in San Diego and remember being very impressed when I walked out of the theater. When Criterion released the standard DVD some years ago I immediately bought it and this has been my go to copy for years. That's all changed now with this new 2015 Blu-ray. One thing that viewers will notice right away is how Russell Metty's Oscar winning cinematography dazzles the eye. Colors are sharp and vivid with even the smallest details very prominent. This is very apparent in the art direction, set decorations and costumes all of which won Oscars that year. Metty, who photographed "Touch of Evil" and "The Misfits" during his long career with Universal, had disagreements with director Stanley Kubrick during filming and his insistence on using natural lighting during nighttime scenes(campfires, torches, etc.) conflicted with Kubrick opinions on how the film should be photographed. The results are very apparent now in this restored version with the faces of the actors taking on a more natural glow(mainly yellow) from the flames of the torches inside tents that make the whole scene more authentic than using the studio lighting that Kubrick preferred. Daylight scenes are another wonder and just pop off the screen. Greens, reds, blues, yellows are not only striking but vivid in every scene((Bitrate: 23.49). Since the 1991 reconstruction was used for this new restoration there are still some soft scenes where close-ups are not as crystal clear as other portions but these scenes are few and do not detract from the overall presentation. The story of a slave rebellion(under the leadership of Spartacus) against their Roman masters in 73 B.C. is engrossing from beginning to end. Director Kubrick wisely keeps the whole film focused on the love story between Spartacus(Kirk Douglas) and Varinia(Jean Simmons) and the love they have for each other despite all the events that surround them. The final battle between the slaves and the Roman legions is heartbreaking but leads to a very satisfying ending that proves that love and hope can bring about change no matter what. Douglas and Simmons get great support from Laurence Olivier, Charles Laughton, Tony Curtis and Peter Ustinov(who won an Oscar). "Spartacus" is 197 minutes(Aspect ratio: 2.20:1) and contains the following subtitles: English SDH, French and Spanish. The Audio(DTS-HD MA 7.1 English and DTS French 5.1) is another highlight and free of any noise artifacts(hiss, pop, crackle, etc.) with Alex North's music being especially prominent. Special features include: I am Spartacus(9:39) a 2015 interview with Kirk Douglas; Restoring Spartacus(9:00); Four deleted scenes(7:41); Archival Interviews with Peter Ustinov and Jean Simmons(6:00); Behind the Scenes footage(5:10); Five vintage newsreels(4:59); an Image gallery and the original theatrical trailer. The Blu-ray disc itself is housed in a standard and solid Blu-ray case(not an eco-cutout) and comes inside a cardboard slipcase for added protection. Universal's restored version of "Spartacus" is long overdue and is a must own for any home film library. It comes highly recommended.

Stanley Kubrick distanced himself from “Spartacus” over time despite the fact that it was an enormously successful film both in its execution and box office. In fact, Kubrick’s reputation received an enormous lift from the film, after which Hollywood considered him a major, bankable director. But to Kubrick, that most auteur of directors, it wasn’t really his film, not in the sense that he originated the idea, wrote or co-wrote the screenplay and oversaw every aspect of his films from cinematography and lighting to details of set and costume design. In fact, he wasn’t even the original director. “Spartacus” was the personal project of Kirk Douglas, an actor smart enough to have founded his own production company. It is said to have been developed because William Wyler did not choose him as the lead in “Ben Hur”. It became a production full of conflict, animosity and controversy. To begin with it drew condemnation from conservatives by virtue of its being written by two avowed communists. The novel by Howard Fast, was written while he was in prison for not naming names before the House Un-American Activities Committee (hence the inspiration for the “I am Spartacus” scene). Spartacus had been named as a hero by Karl Marx himself and leftist German revolutionaries in 1914-19 called themselves Spartacists. Dalton Trumbo, another blacklisted writer, was responsible for the screenplay and was famously given credit by Douglas, thus breaking the whole blacklist era, though it was in tangent with Otto Preminger, who also gave Trumbo credit for “Exodus” the same year. Trumbo and Fast loathed each other and this came to a head during production where Trumbo accused Fast of being too ideologically hidebound and was furious when he found out that Fast was writing changes in the dialog. Douglas and original director Anthony Mann clashed continually. Though Douglas claimed that Mann simply couldn’t handle an epic scale production, he handled “El Cid” well enough the following year. Mann later said the clash was over his removing excessive dialog, believing that film was primarily a visual medium and the audience would understand enough by what they saw of the treatment of the slaves. One can only imagine the speeches the two politically- minded writers might have inserted throughout the script. Douglas chose the young Kubrick on virtue of having worked with him in “Paths of Glory”. Ironically, he couldn’t have found a director more visually-over-verbally oriented and Kubrick proceeded to cut out even more dialog, including most of Douglas’ in the first half hour of the film. Kubrick himself clashed with cinematographer Russell Metty, essentially telling him to sit in his chair and follow orders, as he was the actual director of photography. This was typical of Kubrick, who tended to see even important crew members as his tools rather that letting them have too much say of their own.The absolutely splendid cinematography in the film, including some spectacular panoramic shots utilizing the full potential of the 70mm Technirama process, won the Academy Award that year for Metty. Fortunately no one bothered Alex North, who composed one of his greatest scores for the film. It’s generally unimportant to note the actual history behind a film, but in this case, the public is still interested in the story of Spartacus, so it might be of some value to add some here so the background is explained. As epics go, particularly Roman epics, “Spartacus” has always been considered one of the best by critics and audiences alike. Whether a historical film follows the details of history is actually somewhat irrelevant to the quality of the film itself unless the film totally subverts the facts. “Spartacus”, with its mostly historic characters - even Batiatus and Crixus - generally follows the gist of the events with some necessary telescoping for time. The biggest divergence is the notion that Spartacus was leading a movement to free all slaves, inserted into the novel because that’s how Marx saw him and in the screenplay where it naturally fit in with American sentiments about equality and justice. In the Ancient World, no one questioned slavery as an institution. Even Aristotle called slaves “animated tools”. It seemingly had always existed, and this was true worldwide, where most , though not all, societies and tribes had slaves. Slavery itself wasn’t questioned until the Enlightenment philosophes developed a theory of the rights of man, and was not acted upon officially until Britain forced the issue at the Congress of Vienna in 1815. Still, like most of the historically inaccurate aspects of Spartacus, it works for the film and lifts it above a story of slaves simply making a break for their own freedom. The actual events, called the Third Servile War (there had been two before in Sicily), occurred from 73 to 71 B.C. and saw an ever expanding group wandering around Italy from Campania to the extreme south and northward over halfway to the Alps. Historians generally think that Spartacus wanted to take his followers north and then disperse them to their places of origin, but most of them preferred looting the countryside and insisted on returning to the extreme south. There, he hired Cilician pirates to ferry him and two thousand men across the Strait of Messina to Sicily, but they were paid to betray him. This is all changed to his wanting to ferry everyone from Brindisium to the east, a more noble move that fits better within the film’s intent. Its intent gets a little carried away in one scene where the runaways are depicted in such a warm and rosy way that they are all but singing “Kumbyaya” This was a mob of 120,000 people who had to eat every day and were roaming southern Italy taking everything they needed. In the film Crassus seems to be delighted to see Pompey and Lucullus coming to his aid when in reality Pompey, his greatest rival, was the last person he wanted to see coming to take some of the glory away from him (which Pompey actually did, rounding up many of the fleeing rebels). As far as Lucullus goes, he was busy chasing Mithridates VI around the Black Sea and wasn’t there at all. But again, it all works in the film to create a picture of Spartacus facing impossible odds. The acting in the film is amazingly good, especially Olivier, Laughton and Ustinov and is another element that lifts the film far above average. Olivier as Crassus actually looks like the famously grimacing bust of the man and manages to convey in him everything that was wrong with Rome. This was the man famous as “the richest man in Rome” who bragged that he paid for the crosses on which he lined the Appian Way with 6,000 crucified men himself. The late Roman Republic was a terrible thing, operating like a criminal cartel in which members of leading families went out with the army to loot the provinces they governed or to conquer new territory and loot even more. Since the relatively recent Social War in Italy and the Civil War between Marius and Sulla, there was a series of civil wars until the empire established by Augustus brought peace and prosperity to the entire Mediterranean and evolved into a kind of commonwealth. Olivier here possesses that darkness as well as a total inability to understand Varinia’s love for Spartacus in an intense and convincing way. Charles Laughton is Gracchus (perhaps allusion to the populist brothers of fifty years prior), a hedonistic but sympathetic Roman aristocrat who sees the danger in Crassus and tries his best to foil him. Laughton effortlessly seems to embody sophistication, world weariness and an immense understanding and sorrow about the foibles of humanity. Peter Ustinov was a brilliant (and Oscar winning) choice for Batiatus, owner of t

BOTTOM LINE: A stunning achievement and one of the pillars of spectacle movie-making, SPARTACUS, like all truly great films, continues to impress and entertain no matter how long ago it was made. 5 solid sandal-stomping, shield-clanging, sword-swinging STARS!!! THE STORY: A former slave and gladiator-in-training for Rome seizes an opportunity to overthrow his cruel masters and in the process finds the courage to start a revolution, eventually leading thousands of slaves of the Roman Empire out of their bondage and onto the hard-fought road to freedom. THOUGHTS: My first time to finally enjoy this incredible film. I have long-known of it and its reputation and after getting to see it in this amazing restoration print I can now fully appreciate just what a magnificent motion picture SPARTACUS truly is. Everything about it screams spectacle, yet SPARTACUS is also a surprisingly quiet, introspective movie; one with a wealth of thought-provoking ideas and beliefs. Kirk Douglas is at his best here in a role that obviously calls on him to be the mightiest of macho men yet he is equally adept (and impressive) in the smaller personal moments in the film where he exposes just how fragile & frightened he is, despite his fierce reputation among the other gladiators & slaves; knowing what they expect from him as their leader. Douglas also graciously allows many other actors to steal the scenes they share with him. One of Stanley Kubrick's earlier works, he nonetheless handles the imposing chore of wrangling such a massive movie with seeming ease. Like THE TEN COMMANDMENTS and BEN-HUR, the sheer overwhelming nature of SPARTACUS might have turned it into a bunch of bold action set-pieces with no heart in lesser hands. Kubrick here shows why he is recognized as a master of movie-making with this impressive, energetic, emotionally exhausting film. It is equal parts heroic & heartfelt. Big and yet somehow small. Just a grand motion picture experience, and one well worth the 3+ hours you'll spend watching it. THE BLU-RAY: As mentioned above, this film has undergone a painstaking restoration process that fully brings out the best it has to offer. It looks awesome, sounds thundering and stuns with its visual clarity & video stability. No artifacting or pixelation that I could detect. Strong, solid color pallet with inky blacks, vibrant mid-tones and crystal clarity. Only negative is that the soundmix was slightly uneven; I had to crank the sound up during dialogue scenes to catch everything being said but then dial the volume way down when the musical score took over during the big action sequences. Otherwise no complaints. Most all of the bonus features are sadly archival in nature. Even though a few cast & crew members are still living no new interviews or retrospective material was created for this restoration of SPARTACUS. Still, with such an impressive job in refreshing and cleaning up the film, I can forgive the somewhat weak bonus content.

There should not be any possible criticism of how "Spartacus" (50th Anniversary Edition) looks in Blu-ray high definition. Vivid colors show why ancient Rome remains such a popular subject for movies. The opulent Roman villa with pool was shot at Hearst Castle, San Simeon, California. (Take advantage of public tours, like I did. You want a tour that includes Rome.) The cast is superlative, best ever assembled during the age of epics. Laurence Olivier and Charles Laughton, as rivals for power in the Roman Senate, reduce Kirk Douglas and his slave army to mere pawns. Thus I greatly admire "Spartacus" as a political film worthy of Machiavelli. One manipulation after another drives the plot forward, last days of the Republic, with a young Julius Caesar waiting for his chance to take over. Kirk Douglas deserves praise for helping break the blacklist, Dalton Trumbo's name appearing as screenwriter. Trumbo, along with the film, needed a real editor. "Spartacus" is way too long, and could easily have been cut down to something like 150 minutes or less. Even the real Spartacus might have felt tortured watching all 197 minutes, waiting for the outstandingly powerful action sequences, especially at the gladiator school and final battle. Surprised me the Blu-ray offering any "Deleted Scenes", not enough of these. How many times must we see happy, freed slaves? I presume director Stanley Kubrick, a mid-shooting replacement, was less than satisfied, subsequently insisting upon total control over his future films. Now comes a spoiler, so please don't read any further if you never have seen "Spartacus". There is one specific absurdity, usually offered up as a "Spartacus" signature scene, when all survivors claim to be Spartacus. At this point identifying the real Spartacus seems to matter more than anything else. And it's ridiculous. Kirk Douglas the actor/producer playing Spartacus, has a large dimple on his chin, his unique, totally identifying physical feature. This is also referred to as a chin dimple, cleft chin, and butt chin. Any computer search on the subject turns up something like the following for Kirk Douglas: "Probably the most prominent cleft chin in the history of Hollywood." [...] So why don't any of the characters in "Spartacus", easily able to and asked to identify Spartacus, often for a reward, not blurt out "chin dimple" or at least "dimple"? That would ruin the plot, so we must all pretend not to notice. Kirk Douglas obviously desired to keep his trademark dimple as Spartacus, while ignoring it, both at the same time, a contradiction. "Dimple vanity" came first, before believability. I hope this would not happen today, when actors care more about realism. A make-up artist should have covered up that dimple for Kirk Douglas to star in "Spartacus" as written, which likely makes me a heretic. I still think "Spartacus" is one of the best epics of that period, after "Ben-Hur" (my favorite), and perhaps "The Ten Commandments", both starring Charlton Heston.

Well, call me a romantic but I still love this picture. Yes, it's a bit dated in technique, and it was restrained in its depictions of sex and violence and adult themes by the Hays office (the official Hollywood censor board). And it has a bit of Hollywoodness in its love story and presentation (music etc.), but it also had heart and it strived to evoke a spirit of rebellion and defiance of oppression that moved me way back when and still does today. And I don't give a tinker's damn what Howard Fast's, Dalton Trumbo's, or Kirk Douglas's for that matter, politics were...it's a helluva an entertaining movie! Stanley Kubrick replaced Anthony Mann after production began. He had decried the film and script because it wasn't the one he would have written, but I think he did a good job just bringing this effort off and he was able to tone down or eliminate much of the Hollywoodisms. The matter-of-factness of Varinia's having to offer herself, the icily calm and detached way Olivier dispatches Woody Strode like an animal, though he is unnerved by the meaning of the attack. These are Kubrickian touches. In the extra goodies in this Criterion effort, we discover that it was a very difficult shoot with everyone fighting with everyone. You had 4 major egos at battle: Kubrick, Douglas, Olivier & Laughton...each with his own ideas about what was or wasn't important. Would have been nice to have Stanley's comments, but we do get Douglas, Fast, & (most amusingly) Peter Ustinov's recollections. All that is interesting, but beside the point. Why I love Spartacus is: the great Gladiator school sequence; the genuine warmth and relaxed sexiness of Douglas & Jean Simmons (lovely & luscious)together; the depiction of Rome at its height of power and the nice interplay between the corrupt but true democrat Laughton and the haughty and superior Olivier, whose lust for order and power is a far more sinister corruption; the wonderfully flawed & human Ustinov and the affection and warmth of his scenes with Laughton (much of which he wrote and they worked out together); great battles; and finally, the haunting image of the road to Rome decorated with the crucified remnants of Spartacus's slave army. This last is why I return to this movie again and again. When the slaves lose, as they had to lose fighting against the awsome power of Rome, and the defeated remaining men standup and claim they are Spartacus knowing crucifixion will follow their gesture; and, Spartacus too goes to the cross but swears to Crassus over the dead body of Antoninus (Tony Curtis) "he'll be back and he'll be thousands"....well, it gets the blood moving. I love defiance in defeat. And the last scene, with Varinia holding up his son to the silently dieing Spartacus saying "he's free" may be Hollywood corn to some, but it was just that small note of hope that makes movies emotional experiences rather than academic exercises to me. You can have the razzle dazzle of Gladiator, I will take the emotional heart of Spartacus any day. There is still something thrilling & uplifting in watching someone go down to defeat with chin raised (cleft and all) in defiance. Probably 4 to 4-1/2 stars, but will always be 5 to me for sheer entertainment.

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It is a great movie. I remember when I watch it for the first time while I was still living in Fidel Castro's Cuba, but now I can say at the age of 72, I can appreciate watching this movie in 4k at my home in NC. However, I found that Kirk Douglas looks a bit older at 43 (thanks to the 4k transfer) than what I remember when I watched it as teenager. I'm glad that I got a real good 4k copy of this beloved movie as I was never able to watch it at a theater in the US. Glad I didn't have any issues playing it on my PS5 4k player.

SPARTACUS wird immer wieder in einem Atemzug mit BEN HUR genannt, wenn es darum geht, diesen Film einzuordnen. Man könnte auch QUO VADIS nennen, wenn man dieser Logik folgt. Ich habe BEN HUR nicht nur etliche Male geguckt und kenne alle Details, habe auch das Buch gelesen, ebenso bei QUO VADIS. Und in beiden Fällen muss ich sagen, dass, vor allem bei QUO VADIS, das Buch besser ist. Bei BEN HUR ist man natürlich von dem gigantischen Aufwand beeindruckt, und auch die Geschichte rührt bis zu einem gewissen Punkt an, und über das Wagenrennen noch Worte zu verlieren, ist ja wohl unnötig. Klasse inszeniert! Aber nun bin ich nicht mehr sooo jung und sooo naiv und lasse mich eben nicht allein von der Pracht eines monumentalen Werks blenden, ohne auf die Geschichte und auf die Schauspieler im Detail zu achten. Und genau hier gibt es entscheidende Unterschiede zwischen diesen "Monumentalfilmen". Kostüme perfekt, Kulissen perfekt, Farbe überwältigend etc. Doch bei der Geschichte verliert BEN HUR um Längen! Und QUO VADIS wirkt inzwischen überholt. Es ist immer dieselbe Leier: Christen gegen ROM... Oder eben, wie bei BEN HUR, Juden, die Christus nahe sind(Szene als CHARLTON HESTON zu den Galeeren geführt wird und Wasser von Jesus gereicht bekommt!), die das "Wunder" der Wunder, nämlich die Entstehung des Christentums, erleben. Nun, ich halte die Entstehung des Christentums nicht für eine derart primitive Angelegenheit, dass man sie locker mir nichts dir nichts mit Hilfe eines Films, auch noch inmitten von Action, nachvollziehen kann. Es wirkt klischeehaft, anspruchslos, populistisch. Nichtsdestotrotz hat mich BEN HUR immer betroffen gemacht, ich habe diesen Film immer geliebt. Aber nun habe ich SPARTACUS erneut gesehen, und ich muss sagen: SPARTACUS ist näher an unserer Realität, an dem, was wir anstreben, was uns wichtig ist. Hier geht es nicht um eine Familie, die auseinander gerissen wird, um durch ein Wunder wieder zueinander zu finden, was ich mittlerweile für kitschig und schwach halte. Bei SPARTACUS geht es um den Kampf für die FREIHEIT, für die WÜRDE des Menschen. Und es ist ein Film für die LIEBE zwischen zwei Menschen, die ein einziges Mal frei träumen dürfen, bevor dieser Traum von ROM ausgelöscht wird. Das Geniale an diesem Film ist die Darstellung der handelnden Figuren, ihre Tiefe, ihre Mehrdimensionalität. Wo bei BEN HUR ganz klar ist, wer hier GUT und wer BÖSE ist, zeigt SPARTACUS die Macht der Sachzwänge, die Auseinandersetzungen zwischen Römern, ihr Zwist untereinander, und das auch noch mit genialen Darstellern wie CHARLES LAUGHTON, PETER USTINOV, LAURENCE OLIVIER!!! Großartig! Da kommt BEN HUR natürlich nicht mit. CHARLTON HESTON spielt wie immer: steif und groß und ein ganzer HELD... Und sein Gegenspieler STEPHEN BOYD ist zwar ein wirklich guter Schauspieler, aber er hat eben die Rolle, die er hat. Die Guten sind sehr gut, die Bösen eben böse. Und auch das Gute an Rom, nämlich die Rettung von Juda BEN HUR aus der Galeerensklaverei, ist letztendlich nur ein Mittel, um die Handlung Richtung Rache voranzutreiben, also nicht wirklich ein ausgleichendes Element oder die Darstellung der Komplexität auch bei den Römern. BEN HUR ist toll für die Augen, aber flach in der Aussage und völlig durchschaubar und vorhersehbar, SPARTACUS ist zutiefst menschlich, aufrüttelnd und traurig, denn man sieht, dass auch die "bösen Römer" edle Charakterzüge haben (LAUGHTON), der Sklavenhändler ist nicht wirklich nur ein schlechter Mensch, auch JULIUS CÄSAR ist eine sensible und komplexe Erscheinung, der naive aufstrebende Patrizier im Senat, sehr interessant dargestellt. Bei SPARTACUS steckt ganz einfach mehr GRIPS hinter der Story, und dass KIRK DUGLAS gegenüber CHARLTON HESTON unendlich mehr überzeugt, braucht man wohl nicht zu sagen. Ein faszinierender SPARTACUS, zerrissen, und doch naiv wie ein Kind, ein großer Kämpfer und doch im Kampf unterlegen (bei dem Schauduell gegen WOODY STRODE). Diese Passage ist meines Erachtens eine der rührendsten und schönsten des ganzen Films! SPARTACUS ist kein Überheld wie CHARLTON HESTON in BEN HUR und die ganze Geschichte ist voller Nuancen, und das fasziniert. Auch GLADIATOR kommt da übrigens nicht mit. Bis auf ganz wenige Szenen, die man woanders in solchen Filmen, die anrühren sollen, immer wieder auch sieht, ist SPARTACUS künstlerisch gelungen, hat TIEFE, und die Schlachtenszenen überzeugen, die Kämpfe sind sehr gut inszeniert, gegenüber dem computergenerierten Mist, der uns heute dauernd um die Ohren gehauen wird, ist das eine Erholung! Zur Qualität der DVD: Das Bild ist tatsächlich besser als bei der anderen Version, auch wenn das Ausgangsmaterial dasselbe gewesen sein muss. Und die eingefügten Szenen, aufgefallen ist mir die Szene zwischen OLIVIER und CURTIS, bringen neue Nuancen in den Film und machen ihn noch komplexer. Es sind zwar andere Stimmen, aber das stört nicht wirklich, denn der Inhalt der Dialoge ist superb. Überhaupt sind die Dialoge exzellent!!! Der Ton ist klar besser geworden, da werden sich alle die freuen, die über eine entsprechende Anlage verfügen aber auch der Rest wird dafür dankbar sein. Zu den Extras: Es sind ein paar nette Extras dabei, die man sich gern anschaut, aber das Interview mit PETER USTINOV aus dem Jahre 1992 ist schlicht überragend bis sensationell!!! Das Interview aus dem Jahre 1960 ist schön, aber das von 1992 tatsächlich wertvoll! Ich denke, diese Extras machen diese EDITION in Verbindung mit der verbesserten Bild-und Tonqualität zu einer würdigen SPECIAL EDITION. Mein Tipp: Kaufen!!! P.S.: Ich werde trotz allem BEN HUR immer wieder angucken und vor allem das Wagenrennen immer toll finden...

Avec un casting impressionnant (Kirk Douglas, Tony Curtis, Jean Simmons, Peter Ustinov, Laurence Olivier,, Charles Laughton...) cette épopée comprend tous les ingrédients nécessaires, décors et costumes qui nous plonge dans l'antiquité, le lyrisme et l'épique !!! Une version longue restaurée 4K Ultra HD. 45 mn de bonus. Durée : 189 mn !!!

An epic film with great story telling and excellent performances. The 4k transfer is very good considering the movie was made in 1959/1960. A worthwhile purchase when on special.

restored edition. The film is based on the actual historical uprising of Roman slaves between 71-73 b.c. The film deals frankly and often disturbingly with the cavalier treatment of this underclass, specificly the men who were trained to fight to the death as gladiators, all for the entertainment of the Roman ruling elite. This is a film that builds surprisingly quietly(despite it's bombastic battle sequences) to an unusually moving set denouements that should leave all but the hardest of hearts moved. Friendship, loyalty, political correctness, freedom, justice, and undying love cascade through the main characters throughout the final moments, leading to a devastating pair of final scenes between Douglas and Curtis, and then Douglas and Simmons. This may in fact be the thinking mans epic but it pulls at the heart as few films of this type ever have. Wow. Jaw-dropping beautiful. This is a meticulous restoration. It's clean and filmic, retaining a very mild grain structure that helps accentuate the amazing depth, accurate detailing and vibrant coloring the film has to offer. The amount of detail is striking. Evident in skin, clothing textures revealing some of the most inborn complex details imaginable, seen in nuanced fabrics, sweaty faces, Each grain of sand, pebble, blades of grass, leaf and other natural details are refined and sharp, even at some distance. Black levels are inky deep and natural. Flesh tones are excellent. Banding, noise reduction, aliasing, edge enhancement, and other anomalies are nowhere to be found. This is a startling improvement, in every way over previous editions. Spartacus' DTS-HD MA 7.1 lossless soundtrack is a new remix. Music is the dominant factor, and is a real treat. It manages width, depth, and power without loss of the finer points of Alex North's Oscar-nominated score. The sense of true immersion is striking, and the nuanced attention to detail is startling. The track has a potent low end; the orchestral percussion elements are fantastic. Battle scenes have a satisfyingly robust bit of chaos. Dialogue is well prioritized, center balanced and clear for the duration. This is a superb soundtrack that marvellously compliments the newly restored 1080p picture and the film in general. This is absolutely a must own despite the extras leaving a bit to be desired, and a must-see for all audiences. Highly Recommended.

La película llegó a tiempo y en buen estado. Un clásico del cine, la imagen se ve impecable, el sonido se escucha genial, la historia es muy buena y las actuaciones son geniales. Viene con doblaje a español latino y subtitulos.