History Film / Spartacus

''Spartacus'' was also a landmark movie for the fact that, along with ''Film/Exodus1960'', it ended UsefulNotes/TheHollywoodBlacklist period. As per the ''unspoken'' rules, no blacklisted screenwriter could officially work in Hollywood, yet Trumbo was blacklisted (in practise, these screenwriters were employed under front names). By publicly crediting him, while he was also praised for ''Exodus'', Kirk Douglas decisively helped in ending the blacklist, once and for all.

* RichSuitorPoorSuitor: In a sense it could be a rather ''extreme'' version.

* AristocratsAreEvil: Especially when they are picking out slaves to fight to the death.

** The Roman Senator Gracchus is an InNameOnly composite of the famous Gracchi Brothers. This allusion is weird because the Gracchi were Tribune of the Plebes and ''not'' senators; furthermore, they preceded the events of the film by some 60-70 years. Likewise, the film paints Gracchus as a kind of cynical KnightInSourArmour with some PetTheDog moments mostly because he opposes the aristocrat Crassus. The real-life Gracchi were more or less [[WideEyedIdealist wide-eyed idealists]] of mixed plebian-patrician stock, and their policies, while controversial in their lifetimes, informed later Roman politics and were at times supported by patricians, including Crassus himself (who aligned himself to the populares, albeit much after the events of the film).
** Although ''Spartacus'' is notably secular compared to other Hollywood films, if mostly because it is set in the pre-Christian period of Rome, the opening narration states that slavery in Ancient Rome was part of pagan tyranny and would only be cleared when Christianity arrived. Now admittedly this might have been a CensorDecoy (UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode was heavily Catholic-inspired) [[note]]Kubrick himself came from Jewish family, but described himself as not having a religious upbringing, and was rather irreligious[[/note]], but it must be stated that slavery in the classical and medieval world continued even after Christianity became the organizing and dominant religion. In the Western Roman Empire, slavery was replaced by serfdom, which is not quite the same thing as slavery but certainly a form of IndenturedServitude. While some parts of Christianity curbed the abuses of slavery, and some Church fathers did criticize the practice, most of both didn't, and an explicitly abolitionist Christianity would not come into being until the 18th century.[[note]]There were certain pagan abuses that Christianity, Islam, Judaism and some classical philosophical schools clamped down on (infanticide of sickly, deformed and in the case of the latter, female children standing out in particular), but slavery was not one of them.[[/note]] Furthermore, Spartacus and his fellow slaves were themselves pagans and there was no real "pagan tyranny" because there was no organized pagan belief enforcing common views.
** The opening also says that Spartacus was [[BornIntoSlavery born to an illiterate slave woman.]] However, while little is known of Spartacus's life prior to becoming a gladiator, it is currently believed that he was not born a slave. It is believed that he served in the Roman Army and was [[MadeASlave enslaved as punishment for desertion]].
** Varinia is said to be from Britannia. Not only was Britain not a part of Roman dominion (and would not be for over a century after this time period), no Roman had ever been there, and would not until Julius Caesar landed there decades later. While she might have been brought to Rome by trade with the Gauls, it would be quite of an unique history for the time.
** Crassus, though as ruthless as most Roman higher-ups, was neither this psychotic nor was he in charge of Rome at this point. He is portrayed as the pre-eminent man in Rome who uses the slave revolt to launch a coup d'etat when he was really just one of many wealthy and ambitious aristocrats. In fact he was snubbed afterwards and not awarded a triumph for his victory, but only the lesser honor of an ovation (the Romans didn't consider slaves a WorthyOpponent). He didn't even become consul (a bit like prime minister, but more like chairman of the board, and the consulship was always shared with another consul) until after the war. Spartacus' men were not crucified because they refused to hand him in, the Romans always planned to kill them all as a very clear example (this was standard to deter further revolts).
** The movie prior to the ''I Am Spartacus'' speech is loosely based on a true story and the moment that word is uttered (in the movie only, not in actual history books)... Spartacus died in the battle. Yeah, anything after the speech (save for the executions) never happened.

* BerserkButton: When Spartacus sees Varinia being taken away (with Marcellus taunting him about this), he snaps and drowns Marcellus in a cauldron of soup, then leads the gladiators' revolt.

* BittersweetEnding: The slave revolt is crushed and Spartacus is crucified, but Varinia and their son escape to freedom and Spartacus dies knowing that they are safe. Crassus is also most likely going to be humiliated by losing Varinia, and if we go by RealLife, in the future he is going to be defeated and die a gruesome death.

** The opening narration references Christianity and that it contributed to Rome's fall. That was forced by UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode to make the movie look conservative, but they weren't fooling anybody. Note that the argument that Christianity caused the fall of Rome has traditionally been used as an argument ''against'' Christianity. Indeed, Christian leaders of TheLowMiddleAges spent some time convincing people that the collapse of the Western Roman Empire had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Rome had abandoned its traditional pagan gods, with Christian monks and scholars even being the reason a number of pieces of pagan-era Roman knowledge survived the collapse by being preserved by the Church.

* DeadGuyOnDisplay: Draba is hung up in the gladiators' quarters to serve as a warning against rebellion. It has the opposite effect.
* DeadpanSnarker: Gracchus and Batiatus.

* DoubleEntendre: Crassus' infamous "Oysters and Snails" speech, above.

* EvilCannotComprehendGood: Crassus is unnerved at the love and loyalty that the formerly enslaved people demonstrate, towards each other and most of all towards Spartacus. He tries to court Varinia as opposed to simply taking what he wants and demands that she tell him ''why'' she loves her husband, only for her to reply that he would never understand -- as well as realising that he is afraid of Spartacus, and wants to possess her in order to soothe that fear.

* GoodRepublicEvilEmpire: Averted. While Rome is shown to act like an empire overseas, conquering other countries and taking home slaves, this is during the days of the Roman ''Republic''. It can be said that this is where a large part of the subversion of preceding SwordAndSandal movies occurs. Depicting the Roman state in a negative light was standard fare -- but it was almost always the Roman ''Empire''. What sets ''Spartacus'' apart was, quite simply, its assertion that the Republic was just as bad as, if not worse than, the Empire as shown in previous movies.

* InspiredBy: As noted elsewhere on this page, a very loose adaptation of history.

* NoChallengeEqualsNoSatisfaction: When Varinia asks her current master why he doesn't just have his way with her, he tells her he wants her to give herself to him.

* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: How the visiting nobles get a fight to death arranged at the gladiator training camp. It's explicitly against their policy (because it would be terrible for morale). It backfires spectacularly when the gladiators start rioting in outrage after the fight, kicking off the slave revolt that makes up the main plot.
* SexSlave: Varinia and the other girls at the gladiator school are this. Besides doing the domestic chores, they are given to the gladiators as rewards.

** The movie prior to the ''I Am Spartacus'' speech is loosely based on a true story and the moment that word is uttered (in the movie only, not in actual history books)... Spartacus died in the battle. Yeah, anything after the speech never happened.

* BerserkButton: When Spartacus sees Varinia being taken away (with Marcellus taunting him about this), he snaps and drowns Marcellus in soup, then leads the gladiators' revolt.

* KarmaHoudini: Crassus. Though in RealLife, he had a KarmicDeath at the hands of the Parthians.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Gracchus just disappears from the movie near the end, although the perceptive viewer will pick up the implication that he's going to commit suicide when, before disappearing, he wraps up his final bit of business and selects a small knife, commenting on its beauty. A lost scene showed him cutting his wrists in the bath, confirming the implication.

* BittersweetEnding: The slave revolt is crushed and Spartacus is crucified, but Varinia and their son escape to freedom. Crassus is also most likely going to be humiliated by losing Varinia, and if we go by RealLife, is going to be defeated and die a gruesome death.

* ForegoneConclusion: Especially for the original audience.

* IAmSpartacus: {{Trope Namer|s}}, though it's also deconstructed in that the Romans manage to identify Spartacus anyways and use survivors' declaration to justify crucifying them all. With that said, their willingness to identify themselves as all Spartacus rather than let one slave take the fall shows their loyalty to their leader and defiance against the state that enslaved them. Making this an UnbuiltTrope.

* ManOnFire: Seen when Spartacus torches Glabrus's camp.

* IAmSpartacus: {{Trope Namer|s}}, though it's also deconstructed in that the Romans manage to identify Spartacus anyways and use survivors' declaration to justify crucifying them all. With that said, their willingness to identify themselves as all Spartacus rather than let one slave take the fall shows their loyalty to their leader and defiance against the state that enslaved them.

** Although ''Spartacus'' is notably secular compared to other Hollywood films, if mostly because it is set in the pre-Christian period of Rome, the opening narration states that slavery in Ancient Rome was part of pagan tyranny and would only be cleared when Christianity arrived. Now admittedly this might have been a CensorDecoy (UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode was heavily Catholic-inspired), but it must be stated that slavery in the classical and medieval world continued even after Christianity became the organizing and dominant religion. In the Western Roman Empire, slavery was replaced by serfdom, which is not quite the same thing as slavery but certainly a form of IndenturedServitude. While some parts of Christianity curbed the abuses of slavery, and some Church fathers did criticize the practice, most of both didn't, and an explicitly abolitionist Christianity would not come into being until the 18th century.[[note]]There were certain pagan abuses that Christianity, Islam, Judaism and some classical philosophical schools clamped down on (infanticide of sickly, deformed and in the case of the latter, female children standing out in particular), but slavery was not one of them.[[/note]] Furthermore, Spartacus and his fellow slaves were themselves pagans and there was no real "pagan tyranny" because there was no organized pagan belief enforcing common views.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

** The opening narration references Christianity and that it contributed to Rome's fall. That was forced by UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode to make the movie look conservative, but they weren't fooling anybody. Note that the argument that Christianity caused the fall of Rome has traditionally been used as an argument ''against'' Christianity. Indeed, Christian leaders of TheLowMiddleAges spent some time convincing people that the collapse of the Western Roman Empire had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Rome had abandoned its traditional pagan gods.

A classic 1960 film by Creator/StanleyKubrick, starring Creator/KirkDouglas in one of his most famous roles, Creator/LaurenceOlivier, Creator/CharlesLaughton, Creator/JeanSimmons, Creator/PeterUstinov and Creator/TonyCurtis. It was based on the 1951 novel by Howard Fast, with a screenplay by Dalton Trumbo. It was InspiredBy history, and a rather subversive version of the SwordAndSandal movies that preceded it by depicting UsefulNotes/TheRomanRepublic as a CrapsackWorld. It's also notable for being Kubrick's longest film, clocking in at 3 hours and 17 minutes, just ten minutes longer than the runner-up, ''Film/BarryLyndon''.

''Spartacus'' was also a landmark movie for the fact that, along with ''Film/{{Exodus}}'', it ended UsefulNotes/TheHollywoodBlacklist period. As per the ''unspoken'' rules, no blacklisted screenwriter could officially work in Hollywood, yet Trumbo was blacklisted (in practise, these screenwriters were employed under front names). By publicly crediting him, while he was also praised for ''Exodus'', Kirk Douglas decisively helped in ending the blacklist, once and for all.

** Likewise, ''Spartacus'' is notably secular compared to other Hollywood films, mostly because it is set in the pre-Christian period of Rome. But the opening narration states that slavery in Ancient Rome was part of pagan tyranny and would only be cleared when Christianity arrived. Now admittedly this might have been a CensorDecoy (UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode was heavily Catholic-inspired) but it must be stated that slavery in the classical and medieval world continued even after Christianity became the organizing and dominant religion. In the Western Roman Empire, slavery was replaced by serfdom, which is not quite the same thing as slavery but certainly a form of IndenturedServitude. While some parts of Christianity curbed the abuses of slavery, and some Church fathers did criticize the practice, an explicitly abolitionist Christianity would not come into being until the 18th Century. Furthermore, Spartacus and his fellow slaves were themselves pagans and there was no real "pagan tyranny" because there was no organized pagan belief enforcing common views. Now, there were certain pagan abuses that Christianity, and later Islam and Judaism, clamped down on (infanticide of sickly, deformed and in the case of the latter, female children standing out in particular) but slavery was not one of them.

** Varinia is said to be from Britannia. Not only was Britain not a part of Roman dominion (and would not be for over a century after this time period), no Roman had ever been there, and would not until Julius Caesar landed there decades later.
** While it is possible (if far-fetched) that there would be British slaves in the Republic through trade with the Gauls, there is no such excuse for Crassus being shown wearing boots in the scene where he kills Draba.

** The opening narration references Christianity and that it contributed to Rome's fall. That was forced by UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode to make the movie look conservative. They weren't fooling anybody. (Note that the argument that Christianity caused the fall of Rome has traditionally been used as an argument ''against'' Christianity. Indeed, Christian leaders of TheLowMiddleAges spent some time convincing people that the collapse of the Western Roman Empire had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Rome had abandoned its traditional pagan gods.)

* CrucifiedHeroShot: An ArtisticLicense, but {{justified|Trope}}, given the historical setting. Captured rebel slaves being crucified is TruthInTelevision. As for Spartacus himself, contrary to the film's depiction, he was not crucified, as they NeverFoundTheBody.

* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: The real Spartacus and his rebellion wasn't nearly this idealistic.
** The biggest difference being that Spartacus, instead of being a slave from birth sold into gladiator school, was in fact an ex-soldier (more precisely, an auxiliary, which was a non-citizen soldier in the Roman army) who was sent to a gladiator school as a punishment for deserting from the army.
** Also Crassus, though as ruthless as most Roman higher-ups, was neither this psychotic nor was he in charge of Rome at this point. He is portrayed as the pre-eminent man in Rome who uses the slave revolt to launch a coup d'etat when he was really just one of many wealthy and ambitious aristocrats. In fact he was snubbed afterwards and not awarded a triumph for his victory, but only the lesser honor of an ovation (the Romans didn't consider slaves a WorthyOpponent). He didn't even become consul (a bit like prime minister, but more like chairman of the board, and the consulship was always shared with another consul) until after the war. Oh, and Spartacus' men were not crucified because they refused to hand him in, the Romans always planned to kill them all as a very clear example (this was standard to deter further revolts).
** The movie prior to the ''I Am Spartacus'' speech is loosely based on a true story and the moment that word is uttered (in the movie only, not in actual history books)... Spartacus died in the battle. Yeah, anything after the speech never happened.
** The entire character of Gracchus is made up. There were two brothers named Gracchus who were important figures in Roman history, but they were tribunes, not senators, and died more than 50 years before the Spartacus revolt.
** In reality, Spartacus's chief lieutenant Crixus broke from Spartacus and led a large faction of his army on a desultory march against Rome. Dalton Trumbo's original script depicted this, but either Douglas or Kubrick removed it from the final film, where Crixus is a loyal follower.

* KubrickStare: This is the least Kubrickian of Stanley's films - he was a hired gun here - but he still got this in. Spartacus gives one of these to the Roman ladies as they are picking out contestants. Crassus then does this while questioning Batiatus about Spartacus.

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Antoninus tricks Spartacus into cracking a real egg in his hand, splashing yolk onto his face. Once Spartacus is able to laugh at himself, everyone else joins in.

* IAmSpartacus: {{Trope Namer|s}}.

** Likewise, ''Spartacus'' is notably secular compared to other Hollywood films, mostly because it is set in the pre-Christian period of Rome. But the opening narration states that slavery in Ancient Rome was part of pagan tyranny and would only be cleared when Christianity arrived. Now admittedly this might have been a CensorDecoy (UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode was heavily Catholic-inspired) but it must be stated that slavery in the classical and medieval world continued even after Christianity became the organizing and dominant religion. In the Western Roman Empire, slavery was replaced by serfdom, which is not quite the same thing as slavery but certainly a form of IndenturedServitude. While some parts of Christianity curbed the abuses of slavery, and some Church fathers did criticize the practice, an explicitly abolitionist Christianity would not come into being until the 18th Century. Furthermore, Spartacus and his fellow slaves were themselves pagans and there was no real "pagan tyranny" because there was no organized pagan belief enforcing common views. Now, there were certain pagan abuses that Christianity, and later Islam, clamped down on (infanticide of sickly, deformed and in the case of the latter, female children standing out in particular) but slavery was not one of them.

* BlackGuyDiesFirst: Not how the trope usually plays out, but it happens in something of a HeroicSacrifice that incites the gladiator revolt. Draba, the sole African gladiator, defeats Spartacus, but instead of killing him, he tries to kill Crassus instead. He gets killed for it. When his body is displayed as a warning to the others, it helps enrage the gladiators so much that they revolt on the next day.

* {{Determinator}}: The Romans. [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] By Spartacus:

* IAmSpartacus: TropeNamer.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Gracchus just disappears from the movie near the end. A lost scene showed him cutting his wrists in the bath.

* OffScreenMomentOfAwesome: Spartacus's defeat of Glabrus; we only see its aftermath, with Glabrus's force already destroyed. Ditto the Battle of Metapontnum; we only see Spartacus's triumphant entry into the city.

* EatingTheEyeCandy: The Roman ladies who pick Spartacus and the others out for their entertainment specifically ask that the slaves be scantily clad.

'''Crassus:''' My robe, Antoninus. My taste includes both snails and oysters.

** The Roman Senator Gracchus is an InNameOnly composite of the famous Gracchi Brothers. This allusion is weird because the Gracchi were Tribune of the Plebes and ''not'' senators, furthermore they preceded the events of the film by some 60-70 years. Likewise the film paints Gracchus as a kind of cynical KnightInSourArmour with some PetTheDog moments mostly because he opposes the aristocrat Crassus. The real-life Gracchi were more or less WideEyedIdealist of mixed plebian-patrician stock, and their policies, while controversial in their lifetimes, informed later Roman politics and were at times supported by patricians, including Crassus himself (who aligned himself to the populares, albeit much after the events of the film).

* AnachronismStew:
** This isn't as bad as the historical liberties mentioned in VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory below, but it is present. Varinia is said to be from Britannia. Not only was Britain not a part of Roman dominion (and would not be for over a century after this time period), no Roman had ever been there, and would not until Julius Caesar landed there decades later.
** While it is possible (if far-fetched) that there would be British slaves in the Republic through trade with the Gauls, there is no such excuse for Crassus being shown wearing boots in the scene where he kills Draba.