Spartacus (film)

A 1960 historical epic directed by Stanley Kubrick, following a gladiator who leads a slave revolt against the Roman Republic.

Spartacus (novel): Howard Fast’s 1951 historical novel depicts the ancient slave revolt led by Spartacus. The film adapts Fast’s novel, written while he was imprisoned for refusing to cooperate with Congress.
Stanley Kubrick: Stanley Kubrick was an American film director known for formally controlled and often unsettling films. He directed the film after taking over from Anthony Mann, though he later criticized its limited creative control.
Spartacus: Spartacus was a Thracian gladiator who led a major slave revolt against Rome from 73 to 71 BCE. The film turns this historical rebel into its central protagonist.
Epic film: An epic film is a large-scale motion picture that treats expansive historical, mythic, or social subjects. Spartacus uses massed armies, elaborate sets, and a long historical narrative in the epic tradition.
Hollywood blacklist: The Hollywood blacklist excluded film and television workers suspected of communist affiliations from employment. Crediting Dalton Trumbo publicly challenged the blacklist’s power over studio productions.
Howard Fast: Howard Fast was an American novelist and screenwriter whose works often addressed social and political conflict. His novel supplied the story, and he adapted it for the film under a pseudonym.
Laurence Olivier: Laurence Olivier was an English actor and director widely regarded as one of the leading stage performers of his era. He plays the Roman general and politician Marcus Licinius Crassus.
Third Servile War: The Third Servile War was a revolt of enslaved people and gladiators against the Roman Republic from 73 to 71 BCE. It provides the historical conflict, though the film reshapes events and characters for drama.
Technirama: Technirama was a widescreen film process that used horizontally transported 35 mm film. The production used Technirama to create its wide, detailed images.
Ayn Rand: Ayn Rand was a Russian-born American novelist and philosopher who developed the philosophy she called Objectivism. She publicly opposed the film’s collective revolt and urged a boycott.

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Aram KhachaturianBroader topic: Its Adagio became one of the composer’s most widely recognized dramatic passages.