Biographic - Sunday February 28, 2010 Comic Strip Licensing and Permissions

Transcript

Inspired by the real-life exploits of Gladiator who led an uprising of slaves in ancient Rome, the story of Spartacus was first brought to the Silver Screen by European Filmmakers in the silent movie era of the early 1900s and was revived in a couple of Italian movies during the 1950s. The tale provided the basis for a 1951 novel by Howard Fast, which was subsequently adapted for the 1960 movie "Spartacus," starring Kirk Douglas, who was also the film's executive producer, with a cast of more than 10,000. The big-budget production was helmed by 30-year-old director Stanley Kubrick. The stunning battle scenes in "Spartacus" were filmed outside Madrid using 8,000 spanish soldiers. The 76,000 spectators at a football game between Notre Dame and Michigan State were recorded shouting "Hail, Crassus" and the film's famous signature line "I Am Spartacus" the movie went on to earn four Academy Awards, including a best-supporting actor Oscar for Peter Ustinov. Three years later, bodybuilder Steve Reeves, famed for his portrayals of Hercules in low-budget Italian movies, took the lead in the similarly shoestring budget "Son of Spartacus." Croatian Goran Visnjic, star of medical drama "ER" played Spartacus in a 2004 TV movie that earned an Emmy nomination. The latest retelling of the legend featured Andy Whitfield as the fabled Gladiator. Opposite Lucy "Xena" Lawless, in the Starz original tv series "Spartacus: Blood and Sand."

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