Spartacus (1960)

At a school for training gladiators, a slave turned gladiator (Kirk Douglas) incites a rebellion against their masters. Leading an army of former slaves that continues to grow, he strikes fear in the hearts of the Roman senate and the patrician population. The greatest of the Hollywood epics! Based on the novel by Howard Fast, the film was begun by Anthony Mann but he was fired after a few weeks and replaced by Stanley Kubrick. After years of writing scripts under pseudonyms because of the Hollywood blacklist, Dalton Trumbo was able to use his own name for the first time in over ten years. Unlike most Hollywood epics, it's an intelligent and literate screenplay that complements Kubrick's concise direction, Russell Metty's excellent cinematography (though reputedly Kubrick shot a large portion of the film), Alex North's great score and the excellent acting. Most of the film was shot on the Universal backlot but you'd never know it. Unlike much of Universal's 60s and 70s output, it has a rich and elegant sheen to it. A beautifully crafted film. The massive cast includes Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, Charles Laughton, Tony Curtis, Peter Ustinov (in an Oscar winning perforamnce), John Gavin, Nina Foch, John Ireland, Herbert Lom, Woody Strode, Charles McGraw, Joanna Barnes, John Dall and George Kennedy.