Spartacus [DVD] [1960]

This version of the 1960 production directed by the American director Stanley Kubrick, on a single region free 50gb Blu-ray disc finally gives a restoration of this film that it deserves using the cinema re-release’s from 1968 running time of 197 minutes which is restored using large format 35 mm original film elements with the 12 minutes missing from the DVD version released in 2000 which had a running time of 186 minutes.Comparing this to the DVD version to the Blu-ray even the opening credits are better and from the first scene the improvements in sound and picture are very evident with the flesh tones more convincing and the red of the Roman soldier’s capes are now popping from the screen there is also a wider range of blacks giving a greater sense of depth to the picture and the audio track reveals details in the music soundtrack and the sound effects such as the thud of the wooden swords and clang of the metal ones while the Gladiator’s train.This Blu-ray is in 1080p resolution using the codec MPEG 4 AVC in aspect ratio 2.22.1 the Original aspect ratio was 2.35; the original cinema version which was in Mono this Blu-ray’s audio track has been up-graded to DTS-HD master audio 5.1 48 kHz 24 bit there are also 14 sets of subtitles which include the following:- English for the hard of hearing, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Hindi, Icelandic, Norwegian, and Swedish.There are also soundtracks in French: DTS 5.1, German: DTS 5.1, Italian: DTS 5.1 and Spanish: DTS 5.1 this Blu-ray came with a UV digital copy (expired) and a Digital copy which is also (expired)The Ensemble cast which includes Kirk Douglas in the title role and the ever excellent Peter Ustinov as the owner of Gladiator school Batiatus and Laurence Olivier as Crassus being of note.

No I’m Spartacus! I’m Spartacus and so’s my wife..

An epic film, very well made and lovingly restored. Faultless transfer to Blu Ray which results in amazing colour rendition. You get everything here - great acting all round, beautifully filmed, excellent location photography and the most impressive battle sequences ever filmed. Thousands of extras were used to create an unforgettable final battle - no CGI used back in 1960. Finally you get Stanley Kubrick directing.

This is a classic film given a new leases of life in this 2015 restoration into high definition. Picture quality is excellent. The film has a wonderful screenplay by Dalton Trumbo who had just emerged from years of being black-listed by the McCarthy witch-hunt crew. The excellent script attracted top class actors such as Charles Laughton, Laurence Olivier, Peter Ustinov and Jean Simmons all of whom relish their parts. Directed by the brilliant Stanley Kubrick the end result is outstanding. An especially interesting extra feature is an interview with the star Kirk Douglas who is 99 years old. He gives a very interesting take on the making of the film of which he was executive producer. Of course, he can't resist ending the interview with the wholly appropriate quote: "I am Spartacus!".

HAS THERE EVER BEEN A GREATER STORY EVER TOLD ON THE SILVER SCREEN THAN THIS EPIC !?. IT IS ONE OF THE GREATEST FILMS EVER MADE AND STILL WILL BE IN 100 YEARS, ITS POWERFUL MESSAGE OF THE STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM FROM MANS INHUMANITY TO MAN AND HOPE FOR A BETTER WORLD HAS NOW BEEN FURTHER ENHANCED BY THIS BEAUTIFUL RESTORATION IN TO BLUE RAY. WHAT A FILM !!!!!.

An epic film. The storyline follows that of a novel based on true events of the slave revolt intertwined with a romantic sub-plot, the anti-slavery theme and Roman politics. Excellent star cast with Douglas and Olivier, as well as the supporting roles. The American Legion picketed theatres showing the film (those old McCarthyites); until JFK walked through the line to see it. Although an excellent film, albeit long, Kulbrick disowned it as he didn’t have complete artistic control. So, a great historical film, with an interesting history of its own.

One of the great movies of all time! Magnificent mixture of history and fiction. Differences between cultures shown at their cores, where Roman Empire based on nature's ruthless dominance by force has to give in to higher concept of human relations based on equality and brotherhood. The clash of those two is a central point of movie and shows the hero who is going to give his life for freedom of other men couple hundred years before Jesus, showing that this concept didn't appear as some philosophy, but as a vocation from man's heart. The final scene and a point of the movie when freed woman shows her dying on a cross husband their child saying that it is free, thus letting him know that he is not dying in vain is truly remarkable. On top of that star packed cast with Laurence Olivier as Crassus is such delight to watch.

just arrived and got it straight into player. Wow what a picture this 55th Anniversary release is quite something to behold. Played my 50th Ann copy for few minutes and then the new restored copy. Almost like watching new movie. Really impressed. Would recommend this to all film buffs.The colours are fantastic and sound good too. Buy this one folks. My 4k tv is really coming into its own now