Spartacus [SteelBook] [Includes Digital Copy] [Blu-ray] [1960]

This version of Spartacus is very good. I ordered this one recently after owning the criterion dvd version for the extras years ago. The video and audio are from a very good source transfer and the packaging is excellent. I gave it four stars only due to the criterion blu ray being available with more detail and for the work (restoration) that was done to clean up any debris from the gate / original source transfer (digitization) along with the abundance of extras. Enjoy Kirk Douglas in one of his best and most known / quotable roles.

Congratulations to Universal on yesterday’s release of Spartacus (1960) in 4K UHD. Coming so soon after last week’s viewing of Sony’s Lawrence of Arabia, I had high hopes and it didn’t disappoint. Kirk Douglas and Stanley Kubrick would be proud. And a special kudos to Robert A. Harris who meticulously restored the film back in the early 90s (where 12 minutes of scenes were edited out to satisfy censors were restored) when he was able to consult with both Kubrick and Douglas. Nothing more needs to be said about the actual film which hasn’t been said. The cast alone: Douglas, Olivier, Laughton, Ustinov, Tony Curtis, Jean Simmons with support from John Gavin, Woody Strode and Herbert Lom warrants praise. Douglas hired Kubrick (after working with him on Paths of Glory in 1957) after firing the film’s first director, Anthony Mann. Kubrick was only 30 at the time and had been thrust into a situation where he had to direct and tolerate the egos of some of cinema’s greatest English actors - particular Olivier and Laughton who both purportedly loathed each other. And Laughton........Let’s just day screenwriter Dalton Trumbo’s (who was finally publicly given screen credit for the first time since being blacklisted by HUAC) dialogue served him well!

This classic looked and sounded amazing in Dolby vision and DTSX. The 2015 restoration was run through a 6k processor. Converted down to a "true" 4k reproduction. One of the greatest 4k disc I've ever seen. Most people have not seen this movie. Highly recommended!

Great classic movie.Brilliant 4k resolution.Great acting based on a true story.

Great perfect quality picture, item arrived fast and in great shape.

Rating is for the shipping quality and not the film. The film itself is hands down one of the best 4k films out there! The Steelbook showed up damaged unfortunately.

There's really nothing new to be said about Spartacus - us old-timers love to revisit it, and for people who have yet to see it, I envy you the first-time experience! As for the steelbook, the image is taken from either a pre-production painting or one of the dozens of posters that were used around the world to advertise the movie. A very idealized look at the battle between Spartacus (Kirk Douglas) and Draba (Woody Strode) - it brings to life the majesty that you feel when watching this amazing spectacle of a movie! I bought it the day it was released and watched it again that night. I never get tired of it!

It's easy to see why Spartacus is so influential and considered "genre-defining" - it's as grandiose and melodramatic as one could expect an event film of yesteryear can be. It's also the least Kubrickian of Kubrick's works I've so far enjoyed; one can spot his visual signature in certain set designs and shot compositions, otherwise it plays far more like the work of Cecil B. DeMille than the director of Dr. Strangelove or 2001. The restoration, without hyperbole, is PRISTINE, so really I couldn't have picked a better opportunity to finally watch this.