A Week of Kubrick- Day 4: Spartacus

A historical epic directed by Stanley Kubrick and starring actors like Kirk Douglas and Laurence Olivier... of course this movie is good. 

The reason I chose this one for today over some other Kubrick films was for two reason: 1) I just really like this movie and wanted to rewatched it. 2) There are a few sort of  behind-the-scenes facts about the film that I think are interesting. First off, the film wasn't originally supposed to be directed by Stanley Kubrick. Anthony Mann was the original director but was replaced by Kubrick shortly after filming began. Not a bad choice, as the film went on to win several awards. Additionally, Kubrick made public that the film's screenwriter was Dalton Trumbo who had previously been blacklisted a decade earlier for refusing to testify before the House Un-American Committee with regards to whether or not he was a Communist. 

As for the film itself, it was released in 1960 and this was the era of big-budget, 3hour+, historical epics. Spartacus is definitely a recommend for anyone who is a fan of The Ten Commandments (1956), Cleopatra (1963), Ben-Hur (1959), or The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964). The story is that of a slave named Spartacus (played by Kirk Douglas) who is sold and placed into a gladiator training school. One day there is a riot at the school and Spartacus, along with several others, escape. Spartacus is elected leader of the group with the goal of leading the people out of Italy and back to their home countries, while plundering Roman estates and freeing other slaves along the way. Of course, this doesn't sit well with the Roman government and their legions set out to destroy Spartacus and his army of former slaves.

Overall, it's a very good movie that I highly recommend but, it isn't without it's flaws. The one negative thing that stands out to me is that I feel the film is a bit uneven. While there are iconic moments like the famous "I am Spartacus" scene, there are also some sequences that drag on a bit too long. It's not a breezy 184 minutes, you are going to feel the runtime. However, you can shave off a few munites if you skip past the overture and intermission. 

I give this one a 4 out of 5.

80's Month Day 22: The Man from Snowy River

 

 

Well, '80's Month' is quickly coming to a close and the last 'Western Wednesday' of the month is the 1982 Australian-Western The Man from Snowy River.

 

After his father dies, a young man named Jim Craig (played by Tom, Burlinson) leaves the mountains and heads to the lowlands for work. Jim then meets up with a one-legged miner named Spur (played by Kirk Douglas) and soon gets a job at Spur's brother's ranch (Spurs brother Harrison is also played by Kirk Douglas). One day a man named Clancy (played by Jack Thompson)  who used to be a friend of Jim's dad arrives at the ranch to lead a cattle drive alongside Harrison and some of the other ranch hands while Jim stays back. While Harrison is away, the beginnings of a romance start to form between Jim and Harrison's daughter Jessica (played by Sigrid Thornton).  Eventually when Harrison returns he get gets into an argument with Jessica, threatens to send her to a woman's college and tells her that he's going to fire Jim. Impulsively, the defiant Jessica rides off into the mountains where she is caught in a storm, only to be rescued a short time later by Jim.

 The film then explains the backstory of why the two brothers Harrison and Spur don't get along, which isn't anything too interesting. Jim then brings Jessica back to the Harrison ranch and, initially Harrison is grateful. That is until Jim tells Harrison that he loves Jessica,  something that naturally angers him. Well, Jim rides off and meets up with Spur who informs him that he struck gold and that Jim will receive the share that would've gone to Jim's father. Soon after, Harrison puts up a big reward for some horses that ran off and, of course Jim retrieves them, refuses the reward, tells Jessica he'll return for her someday, then he rides off back to the mountains.

Overall, it's a pretty well made film and the acting is ok, but it's kind of dull and you definitely feel every minute of the 1hr 40min runtime. It's fine but I don't recommend it.

I give it a 2 out of 5

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