Spartacus

Kubrick actually proved a perfect choice to direct "Spartacus," bringing a sense of graphic realism that was ahead of its time. This applies to some of the acting choices and the way he choreographed his literal cast of thousands as well as such highly publicized restored sequences as Crassus' face being splattered with blood when he kills a slave and Spartacus chopping of a Roman soldier's arm during a battle.

While it's perhaps understandable that censors balked at the bloody violence Kubrick included, some other choices, moments that are back in this restored version, seem less reasonable. The infamous "snails and oysters" scene, wherein Crassus makes a veiled homosexual advance toward his slave Antoninus (Tony Curtis), actually helps us understand why Antoninus runs away from his plush surroundings and easy life. Later, a touching moment that shows grieving parents burying their dead baby during the slave army's long trek gives us a sense of the hardships suffered during that journey, which is otherwise largely absent.

The most thrilling moments, however, do not come from material restored to this film, but rather from sequences that simply lose power on a video monitor. The projection of "Spartacus" on the big screen is what lends depth to the action sequences, offering the kind of spectacle we see so rarely today.

The two most stunning examples are Spartacus' duel to the death with a fellow slave (Woody Strode) in the film's first half, as exciting a movie fight as any in the past 30 years, and the incredible march of the Roman soldiers on the slave army toward the end of the picture, which reaches a zenith as the slaves drag flaming logs through the enemy's ranks.

The performances here are uniformly excellent, but special mention should be made of the subtle scene-stealing that Ustinov and Laughton bring to their roles — triumphs of subtle acting from which modern thespians could learn much.

There was no rating system in 1960, but this restored version has received a PG-13 for violence, along with a couple of brief moments where Simmons is partially nude.