Since I made reference to the fact that TROY tried to look and feel like one of the old-school epics, I’d be remiss not to include an actual old-school epic on the list. You might be leaning toward BEN-HUR [which was recently remade, and while a pale imitation of the original, wasn’t half-bad], but no, it’s the other one. As you’ve likely guessed, it’s SPARTACUS, and the trailer is below:
Any film that has a scene so iconic that even a modern-day presidential candidate would reference it deserves to be on this list. Naturally, that moment is obvious to anyone who is either politically astute or who’s seen the movie… and no, it’s not the infamous “oysters and snails” scene [which is on YouTube and worth a watch even if you don’t want to watch the whole movie] but rather the “I am Spartacus!” scene. Even Southwest Airlines cleverly parodied the scene in one of their “Want to get away?” commercials. So, yeah, it’s a great scene… and, indeed, a great movie.
Random anecdote: my first experience with the film was when I was a little kid, and I’d wandered into the living room while my father was watching it – the aforementioned “I am Spartacus!” scene, in fact. I asked something along the lines of “So, you watching SPARTACUS?” and he began laughing so hard I thought he might have to be hospitalized. Any movie with which I have that kind of personal connection has got to go on the list!
Even without that little anecdote, the story is a great one. If I did some digging, I’m guessing I would find that it inspired the screenwriter behind GLADIATOR in some way. There are plenty of parallels between the two: slave/gladiator stands up to the full might of Rome, charismatic performance by the lead actor, epic scale, and so on. In short, the film is much more than just an iconic scene, but what else would you expect from Stanley Kubrick?
In case you aren’t familiar with the story, Spartacus [portrayed by Kirk Douglas] is a slave who is “saved” from execution by being purchased and put into a gladiator school by Batiatus [Peter Ustinov, whose turn in BILLY BUDD is simply superb, by the way, tho’ he won an Oscar for his role here]. While at this school, Spartacus develops a relationship with Varinia [Jean Simmons (no, not the bass player for KISS)], who happens to catch the eye of Gracchus [Sir Laurence Olivier], a powerful Roman senator. Eventually, Spartacus leads a revolt and escapes to the countryside, where they manage to defeat just about every army the Romans send out to destroy them. Saying more than that is unnecessary and would spoil the film [and its iconic scene], so I’ll leave it at that.
As an aside, it’s interesting to see how films manage to incorporate subtle messages about the political environments in which they’re released… and SPARTACUS is no different. Written by blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo, the film has some obvious parallels between those who were attacked for their sympathies with the Communist Party, most notably the aforementioned iconic scene. I’m not toting around a copy of Das Kapital by any stretch, but it is nevertheless interesting to see how screenwriters manage to communicate personal or even political points through film.
If you’re a fan of old-school epics in the style of David Lean [who, ironically, was the first choice to direct this one], this one should be right up your alley… and, it’s a good segue to tomorrow’s flick, also about a charismatic guy leading his folks against a seemingly invincible army. Enjoy!
Any film that has a scene so iconic that even a modern-day presidential candidate would reference it deserves to be on this list. Naturally, that moment is obvious to anyone who is either politically astute or who’s seen the movie… and no, it’s not the infamous “oysters and snails” scene [which is on YouTube and worth a watch even if you don’t want to watch the whole movie] but rather the “I am Spartacus!” scene. Even Southwest Airlines cleverly parodied the scene in one of their “Want to get away?” commercials. So, yeah, it’s a great scene… and, indeed, a great movie.
Random anecdote: my first experience with the film was when I was a little kid, and I’d wandered into the living room while my father was watching it – the aforementioned “I am Spartacus!” scene, in fact. I asked something along the lines of “So, you watching SPARTACUS?” and he began laughing so hard I thought he might have to be hospitalized. Any movie with which I have that kind of personal connection has got to go on the list!
Even without that little anecdote, the story is a great one. If I did some digging, I’m guessing I would find that it inspired the screenwriter behind GLADIATOR in some way. There are plenty of parallels between the two: slave/gladiator stands up to the full might of Rome, charismatic performance by the lead actor, epic scale, and so on. In short, the film is much more than just an iconic scene, but what else would you expect from Stanley Kubrick?
In case you aren’t familiar with the story, Spartacus [portrayed by Kirk Douglas] is a slave who is “saved” from execution by being purchased and put into a gladiator school by Batiatus [Peter Ustinov, whose turn in BILLY BUDD is simply superb, by the way, tho’ he won an Oscar for his role here]. While at this school, Spartacus develops a relationship with Varinia [Jean Simmons (no, not the bass player for KISS)], who happens to catch the eye of Gracchus [Sir Laurence Olivier], a powerful Roman senator. Eventually, Spartacus leads a revolt and escapes to the countryside, where they manage to defeat just about every army the Romans send out to destroy them. Saying more than that is unnecessary and would spoil the film [and its iconic scene], so I’ll leave it at that.
As an aside, it’s interesting to see how films manage to incorporate subtle messages about the political environments in which they’re released… and SPARTACUS is no different. Written by blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo, the film has some obvious parallels between those who were attacked for their sympathies with the Communist Party, most notably the aforementioned iconic scene. I’m not toting around a copy of Das Kapital by any stretch, but it is nevertheless interesting to see how screenwriters manage to communicate personal or even political points through film.
If you’re a fan of old-school epics in the style of David Lean [who, ironically, was the first choice to direct this one], this one should be right up your alley… and, it’s a good segue to tomorrow’s flick, also about a charismatic guy leading his folks against a seemingly invincible army. Enjoy!
