Spartacus (1960)

[Plain Old Tele]

I am Spartacus!

[Lordmandeep]

Not the epic that is Ben Hur but a great film with an epic action scene with a rather dark and sad tone that is different for these kinds of films. 

[bartonfink]

I really love the movie. Such an ambitious epic.

[Goffe]

I must say that these films are most definitely not for me, I mean, why Epics must always have so much bloated fat? Is it impossible to make one that tightly run under 2 hours? 

 

I loved the politics stuff, too bad we only get a lot of it towards the last hour, which is noticeably better than the ones that preceded it. 

 

Peter Ustinov was PERFECT in his role, I won't stand for anyone saying otherwise.

 

And the homosexual overtones were glaring, how did it get approved by Hollywood of that time?

[Plain Old Tele]

On April 3, 2016 at 8:46 PM, Goffe said:

And the homosexual overtones were glaring, how did it get approved by Hollywood of that time?

 

...because writers and directors and stars used to be very clever about knowing just how far to slip innuendo past the Hays Code.

 

Also, the version that's most often shown these days includes a deleted scene (where Laurence Olivier tries to seduce Tony Curtis) that was originally removed because it was considered too explicit. 

[Goffe]

Also, the version that's most often shown these days includes a deleted scene (where Laurence Olivier tries to seduce Tony Curtis) that was originally removed because it was considered too explicit. 

Oh that makes sense.

the seduction scene was great btw, glad they added it back.

[TalismanRing]

Goffe, have you seen Ben Hur?   In the great documentary The Celluloid Closet which explored homosexuality in film - text and mostly subtext -

 

 

Quote

The chat with Gore Vidal has already become famous. He recalls how he was hired by director William Wyler to do rewrites on “Ben-Hur.” One of the film's problems was that there was no plausible explanation for the hatred between the characters played by Charlton Heston and Stephen Boyd. Vidal's suggestion: They were lovers when they were teenagers, but now Ben-Hur (Heston) denies that time, and Boyd is resentful. Wyler agreed that would provide the motivation for a key scene, but decided to tell only Boyd, not Heston, who “wouldn't be able to handle it.”The film shows the scene, which plays with an amusing subtext.

 

http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-celluloid-closet-1996

Edited April 5, 2016 by TalismanRing

[Goffe]

On ‎05‎/‎04‎/‎2016 at 11:26 PM, TalismanRing said:

Goffe, have you seen Ben Hur?   In the great documentary The Celluloid Closet which explored homosexuality in film - text and mostly subtext -

 

 

 

http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-celluloid-closet-1996

No, I haven't yet, but I plan to at some point. That doc though, sounds very interesting, seeing it in the near future.

 

Isn't it funny that big movies back then were more obvious about this stuff than big movies in this day and age? you would be hard pressed to find a big film that is more explicit about one of the main characters sexuality than Laurence Olivier's in Spartacus.

[Lordmandeep]

It went over most peoples head at that time and even myself likely and is way more subtle then in Spartacus. 

 

When I was younger i always found it in Ben Hur how the guy got so bitter and angry at Ben Hur over not helping his career.

 

I always thought the two were old friends who had a falling out. 

 

I have to say a gusty move...

 

 

Edited April 10, 2016 by Lordmandeep