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Title: Spartacus
Stars: Goran Visnjic, Sir Alan Bates, Angus Macfadyen, Rhona Mitra, Ian McNeice, James Frain, Henry Simmons, Ross Kemp, and Ben Cross
Writer: Robert Schenkkan
Based on the book by: Howard Fast
Director: Robert Dornhelm
Executive Producers: Adam Shapiro, Robert Schenkkan, and Angela Mancuso
Languages: English, French, and Spanish Language
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Subtitles: English Captions and French and
Spanish Language Subtitles
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Chapter Stops: 40
Extras: Deleted Scenes
Running Time: 2 hours and 57 minutes
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Year Of DVD Release: 2004
Home Video Distributor: Universal Studios Home Video
Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera
The hardest thing to do
while watching this 2004 miniseries remake of “Spartacus” is to not compare
it to the classic 1960 feature film directed by Stanley Kubrick and starring
such heavyweight Hollywood stars as Kirk Douglas, Sir Laurence Olivier, Jean
Simmons, Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov, and Tony Curtis. So the best thing to
keep in mind for those who have seen the original theatrical adaptation is that
this is a different dramatization told more the forty years after the original
and simply not to expect the exact same thing.
In that respect the TV
miniseries version of “Spartacus” gets away with more scenes of brutality
and some very brief though tastefully handled nudity. The scenes where the
gladiators witness people being burned alive for the bloodlust of the crowd or a
man forced to bare himself in front of several Roman nobles because the female
Roman aristocrat is curious about what a circumcised penis looks like actually
helps to add to the building tension that leads to the fictitious slave revolt
that comes to fruition after Spartacus (Goran Visnjic) witnesses the cruel death
of the Nubian gladiator at the feet of the maniacal Crassus (Angus Macfadyen.)
Ian McNeice adds fuel to the fire as the slave owner Batiatus, who beats and
rapes the soon to be love interest of Spartacus played by Rhona Mitra. These
combined atrocities have to take place so that the viewer can then feel the
butchery and barbarism that comes with the ever increasing though politically
fragmented slave revolt lead by Spartacus. Otherwise the action would seem
unjustified.
The subplot regarding the
political manipulations of Agrippa (the late Sir Allan Bates) and Crassus
against each other on the floor of the Roman Senate adds to the intrigue as we
witness the waning days of the Roman Republic. Though this is a TV miniseries
remake, there is enough of a difference in the action to make it worth watching
and as far as TV miniseries go, I’d say this is definitely one of the better
ones and surprisingly the CGI scenes are kept at a minimum so when you see the
Romans fill the screen, you are seeing real men and not computer generated
extras.
The soul of the story is
kept intact and in some ways there is an added dramatic effect to certain
instances that the original film did not have and of course there are
differences where it is clear the feature film had a greater emotional impact
over he miniseries. These sorts of things happen all the time when it comes to
remakes, but it seems like the filmmakers had their hearts in the right place.
The miniseries is dedicated to the memories of the late Sir Allan Bates and the
late Author Howard Fast, whose book provided the inspiration for the 1960
feature film and this 2004 remake. “Spartacus” is presented in an anamorphic
widescreen (1.78:1) aspect ratio
and it looks great. Enveloping English, French, and Spanish Language Dolby
Digital 5.1c Surround Soundtracks are provided along with English Captions and
French and Spanish Language Subtitles encoded onto both sides as options.
A reel of 15 deleted scenes
(10:12) is also included. The running time on side one is 87 minutes and 52
seconds while the running time on side two is 88 minutes and 7 seconds. The
menus are standard interactive still frames that are easy to navigate.
“Spartacus” is available on DVD-Video now at retailers on and offline
courtesy of Universal Studios Home Video.
© Copyright 2004 By Mark
A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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