Spartacus Film Analysis

A gladiators life was far from easy. Most were slaves, prisoners of war, or hardened criminals, therefore they were not free men. Often times they were trained and forced to take part in the events, hoping for their freedom if

Another wrong in 300 is that that the Spartans did not own any slaves while in real Sparta they did. The Spartans and other Greeks were very like the Persians in that when they conquered a foe they made these conquered foes their Slaves. In the movie the whole Spartan economy could not survive because the Spartans had no slaves and the Spartan depended on slaves for everything ranging from agriculture, to masonry, to minimal tasks. One thing they actually got right in 300 is in the role of a Spartan woman in affairs. Distinct difference compared to other city-states the Spartan woman has many more rights, including but not limited to of advising the men, holding the household, and woman are even involved in sporting events. Another thing the creators of 300 got right was the cruel eugenics policy taken place in Sparta. Yes the Spartans would murder unfit or deformed babies. The last thing the movie got right is how the Spartan child is raised and how the child is taken from the mother at an early age of seven to be trained to fight like a Spartan warrior.

Maximus becomes enslaved in a foreign land and is forced to fight for his life as a gladiator. Maximus’ fame as a gladiator grew within Rome as his skill at combat became apparent. Commodus fears that Maximus will turn the Roman people against him and return rule of Rome to the Senate.

In Zack Snyder’s 300, the battle of Thermopylae, the life of the Spartans and the glory of war comes to life on the big screen for all audiences worldwide. The movie, 300, released in 2006 is based on the graphic novel written by Frank Miller, 300. The movie focuses on the use of the Classical past to portray everything from the upbringing of a Spartan to the bravery of King Leonidas and the 300 Spartans on the battle fields of Thermopylae against the mighty Persians. Unlike most Hollywood movies proliferated based on real events, the movie 300, keeps accurate to the novel and the events that occurred in history. Despite the minor alterations and exaggerations such abandoning body armor and over-glorifying the Spartans, the movie still remains faithful to both the novel and history by using the classical past to explore social norms, accurately depict the way of life, events that occurred such as the battle of Thermopylae and the nature of people during 500 BCE.

The Gladiator epic directed by Riley Scott (2000) is based on real life events of the Roman Empire, their society, as well as the role of gladiators. Scott tried to portray the Roman culture as accurately as he could, and even went further to ensure his authenticity by hiring several historians to do so . It is supported by the findings of historians’ research. The film is historically accurate in most parts, including the role of gladiators; gladiatorial games and the aspects of Roman society such as the religions and beliefs. Some characters such as Commodus, Lucilla and Marcus were loosely based on the real life characters. However some parts of the film were exaggerated such as the battles in the arena, where gladiators fought to

Spartacus: (c. 109–71 BC) One of the slave leaders who led a major revolt against the Roman empire, in the Third Servile War. Spartacus has become symbolic of

The book The Spartacus War by Barry Strauss is an in depth look at one of Roman history’s most legendary events, the gladiator revolt led by Spartacus. Spartacus has become a legend, creating a storyline that has inspired many movies and television shows, such as Stanley Kubrick’s epic Spartacus in 1960, starring the legendary Kirk Douglas. Spartacus has inspired a perfect mix of men over time with various backgrounds and beliefs, from Stalin and Marx, to Voltaire, and even to Ronald Reagan. How though, did Spartacus create a massive revolt of slaves that would create a massive problem for the mighty Rome? Strauss attempts to create a chronology of the Spartacus War using his vast knowledge of the Italian landscape, ancient documents, and

Spartacus, translating to “from the city of Sparta” in Latin, was a Roman gladiator who began as a “Thracian, born among pastoral nomadic people” according to Plutarch. This northern area of Greece that holds the title of Spartacus’ birth place was believed to be one of Rome’s earliest enemies. Historians suspect his birthdate to be around that of 109BC and know his date of death to be 71BC. This gives him a lifespan of around 37 years. Minimal information is documented prior to his rise to fame. One of the first pieces discovered about Spartacus timeline was in 78BC when he was incarcerated and forced to train as a gladiator. This enslavement was most likely due to either deserting his cause or committing a crime and sold as a slave as a form of punishment, although often the accusations that put people into slavery were unfair and biased due to aspects such as race and gender. Because of

The film Warrior was released September 9, 2011 by director, writer and producer Gavin O’Connor. O’Connor takes us through a story of two former MMA fighting brothers dealing with a harsh family past (“Warrior”). Gavin has also directed the 2000 film, Tumbleweeds, and the winner of the Best Sports Movie Award in 2004, Miracle (“Gavin O’Connor”). Tom Hardy (Tommy Conlon) was also featured in a major 2010 film, Inception, and This Means War in 2012. He also played one of the main roles in The Dark Knight Rises as villain Bane (“Tom Hardy”). Joel Edgerton is most recognized for his role as a main character in an Australian Television show, The Secret Life of Us, but is also famous for his role as Uncle Owen in Star

The “Lost Battalion” film was a great film about World War One. It showed a lot about the horrors of the war. It also brilliantly depicted the reality of the war.

They had to inspect the men just by looking at their bodies and making sure they were strong and healthy enough to purchase. “I did not pay good money for you, for your company. I paid it so I could profit from your death,” he said. These quotes show that no one cared about the gladiators because they were slaves. All they cared about was that they put on a good show.

By birth a Thracian, Spartacus was slaved by the Roman Army then trained as a gladiator. He served in an Roman auxiliary unit for some short time, vacated his duties and became an insurgent against the Romans. Upon his escape, he became the leader of 90,000 men in a revolt against Rome. The war started in 73 B.C., when Spartacus aided those in the Gladiator school to escape by utilizing kitchen utensils as weapons. The gladiators then took refuge on the side of Mount Vesuvius (which is near modern day Naples) led by Spartacus and his aides Crixus, Castus, Gannicus and

Gladiator is in the manner that the main characters became slaves/gladiators and the aspect of how “freedom” is earned. Maximus on the other hand, was a Roman General that refused to serve for the Roman new emperor, Commodus, who had murdered his father, Marcus Aurelius, in order to obtain control of the Roman Empire. The biggest difference between Gladiator and Spartacus is the manner in which their respective freedom is earned. Gladiators freedom is earned thru defeating Commodus, who sentences Maximus to be executed. The story begins after he escapes his captors and rides off to his farm. This is after he discovers that his family has been murdered by said King/Emperor Commodus. Maximus collapses from exhaustion and is then picked up by slave traders and sold to Proximo, thus leading to his voyage of becoming a Gladiator and his fight against the King. Another difference is that Spartacus is pressured into fighting the best gladiator of the Roman army, upon the conclusion of his training however, he is defeated. Afterward he becomes leader of the Army of Slaves and in an effort to gain the slaves freedom back, he leads them to battle. After being captured, Spartacus ultimately has to fight it out with a slave who is also captured and the winner will be crucified. In Gladiator, Gladiators from all over the Roman

In contrast to a utopia, according to the power point provided in class a dystopia is “an imaginary place where people live dehumanized and often fearful lives.” The movies The Matrix, 1999 and Avatar, 2009 overall seem to me as dystopian films. To show how each film portrays the different aspects of perspectives on the future, and a dystopia, I’m going to use the settings, actions, and outcomes of each film.

Brotherhood Family and Love: In the very beginning of the film when Spartacus is a miner it shows all of the slaves working with a zoomed out camera angle and depressing music, at this part of the film this theme is not evident. When Spartacus is at the gladiator training arena and the senator is drinking wine served by the slave woman with Gracchus the music is kind as Spartacus’ life is improving. Later in the movie when the senator is bathing he says to Gracchus “love and sex come with power” this shows the more corrupt sides opinion on