Just perfect...

best movie i've ever seen.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

The movie Spartacus is a great movie about love and struggles. Why struggles you may ask? Because in this film, Sparticus is taken in as a slave along with hundreds of other men (called gladiators) and women who have to fight to the death, just for entertainment of the people in the city. And while in captivity he finds a women who he comes to love and eventually marries. Later in the movie, one day the enslaved men come together one day after getting tired of training day in and day out and fight against the guards, killing them all, and fighting any army that gets in their way, because they want to earn their freedom. The message gets all over the country, and all the enslaved people fight their owners to join Spartacus' army. But in the end the gladiators army begins to fall apart, and that is when their efforts to fight for freedom falls too. Although they finally get their freedom but only a few lived on not including Spartacus's, but his wife and child survived.

I happened onto this miniseries on the History Channel and became enthralled immediately. I stayed up late into the night to watch it because I could not turn it off. It is very well acted. Goran Visnjic was perfectly cast as Spartacus, the Roman Slave turned Gladiator who leads a slave revolt that shakes the foundation of the Roman empire. His chemistry with Rhona Mitra was palpable. The love affair between the two was expanded in this adaption and really added to the poignancy of the story. The cinematography and the costumes were also good and the fight scenes were very believable. I think that I actually enjoyed this version better that the Kubrick classic.

Spartacus was of course a historical figure on who there are not that many details. I saw a Discovery Chanel feature a while back which had just the dry historical facts. However, as a figure that has inspired many,(the guy was a favorite of Marx) particularly because its' a story of the oppressed rising against the rich. Therefore many people have taken the skeleton of what's known and added their own fictional meat.There is an old book by an Italian, Raffaelo Giovagnoli which I read as a kid and really loved. It has Spartacus falling in love with Sulla's wife Valeria, and he has a son and so on. Then there seems to be the Howard Fast book which I haven't read.Kubrick's is but another interpretation of that story, and a very Hollywood one at that, with the positives and negatives that entails. For some reason, many people on this board seem to associate the name Spartacus only with Kubrick and Douglas and assume this is a remake. It's not. It uses the base of what is known about Spartacus and adds fiction like the girl (by the way, I'm a big Rhona Mitra fan, she is sssmokin'), and the love story and so on. I don't know if that is taken from the H. Fast book or not but if this series is treated as another re-interpretation of the story rather than a remake of the old movie I think people would enjoy it a lot more.That said, I thought that this series is really well done, as are many mini-series of this kind such as the Dune ones or Merlin. The actors are very solid and many are British which is always a good thing in my book. For some reason there seems to be a rule that in every historical movie the cast has to be predominantly British and they all make sure they speak with the appropriate accent.Altogether a good 3.5/5 with gusts up to 4.5 depending on how much of a fan you are of a) historical movies; b)Goran; c)Rhona Mitra; d)the strong supporting cast: Macfayden, McNeice, etc.

You will not find one Gladiator from the Bronx, like the Tony Curtis character in the Kirk Douglas version, saying "I luv ya Spa-da-gus." Instead this excellently acted version of Spartacus is compelling and realistic. It follows the history of the real Spartacus more closely than the Hollywood version. Goran Visnjic's portrayal of Spartacus is the best. He is so convincing as warrior, leader, and lover. The rest of the cast gives top notch performances as well. The love story is heart warming and tender with great chemistry between the lovers. PLUS, the lead role gladiators all did their own stunts in the gladiatorial arenas and on the battlefields -- loved the "twirling sword" action (like twirling a six gun.) There was a second airing a few days back and I watched it again. I hope they release the DVD soon.