Spartacus

Spartacus starts with a Thracian slave who is sold to a gladiator school and taught to kill for entertainment. Instead of accepting his fate, he rebels against his trainers and frees fellow fighters. The fugitives gather more escaped slaves as they move across the Italian countryside, turning a handful of runaways into a sizable force. Spartacus leads them toward the southern coast with the hope of crossing the sea and returning to their homes. Along the way the group tests loyalties, faces Roman reprisals, and forces commanders and politicians to confront a spreading uprising without revealing the story's final outcomes.

Released in 1960, the film was directed by Stanley Kubrick and adapted from Howard Fast's novel, with a screenplay credited to Dalton Trumbo. The production stars Kirk Douglas as Spartacus, Laurence Olivier as Crassus, Jean Simmons, Charles Laughton, and Peter Ustinov.

Peter Ustinov won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance, which became one of the film's most noted honors.

Spartacus left a mark on culture beyond cinema. The line and scene where captured rebels speak up in solidarity became instantly memorable and is often referenced. The movie also played a role in ending the Hollywood blacklist after Dalton Trumbo received screen credit, a moment that changed industry practice and public perception of blacklisted writers.

Critics and audiences have tended to praise the movie's scale, the strength of its central performances, and its political overtones. On user ratings it averages 7.5 out of 10 from over two thousand votes. The film mixes large battle sequences with quieter moral conflict, asking questions about freedom, leadership, and the cost of resistance while keeping a clear focus on character and spectacle.