Spartacus (1960)

Directed by Stanley Kubrick

A huge blockbuster success at the time of it's release and when it was re-released in 1967, you could say it has something of a slightly diminished status today.  It's shelved under that dust covered category known as "classic film" and not much thought of anymore.  This is unfortunate because this is one of the original action filled epics that many others are modeled on.  Watching it today it really doesn't seem dated, everything in the movie looks fantastic, the scenes have all the appropriate impact.  It compares quite favorably to modern films in the epic genre.

Stanley Kubrick had a particularly difficult time working with Kirk Douglas on this film (who was also the producer).  He felt his work was being compromised, and as a result had a sour feeling about the project forever after.  Because of this it is often left out of retrospectives and collections of the director's work.  This is really too bad, it may not be a work of pure vision by Kubrick but it is still an excellent film.  Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov, and Laurence Olivier all turn in fantastic performances (Ustinov won a best supporting actor Oscar).

So yes, the movie is missing some of the Kubrick style, particularly the script which is what Kubrick had most contention with, but his stamp is definitely evident.  Kubrick's eye for period detail is what really comes through.  The final battle scene is literally awesome. The long shot of thousands of soldiers marching over the hill is very very impressive (especially when seen in a theater with a really big screen). A very good job was done to give the impression of the Romans as the evil empire with a lot of help from Olivier's General Crassus. You can see the influence of this movie on a lot of later big blockbusters like Braveheart, Gladiator, and Conan The Barbarian.

Doctor Zhivago (1965)

Directed by David Lean

Although perhaps the weakest of David Lean's famous epic's such as Lawrence of Arabia and Bridge on The River Kwai (technically not an epic but clearly a precursor to his later style), it is nevertheless a film that must be seen for it's stunning cinematography and stirring recounting of history. Get your popcorn, you're going to be sitting there for a while, but it is ultimately an entertaining and worthwhile piece of cinema.

Doctor Zhivago is a love story that takes place against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution. As a historical epic it is a grand and majestic depiction of events full of beautiful imagery and roiling drama. Unfortunately, as romance it's less successful. The problem is that we are never shown just WHY these two are in love. After spending some time together, all of a sudden they profess their love for each other and without any evidence to the contrary we just have to take their word for it. The romantic leads don't display much in the way of tender moments or anything that might be called chemistry. This being the heart of the film, it makes the proceedings overall fall a bit flat.

It is well known that Doctor Zhivago is a very long movie. While everything in the movie seems to be fairly worthwhile viewing, the time is not used to imbue the film with an emotional resonance appropriate to the time we are asked to invest. So fair warning, don't hold out for some "big payoff", it's not coming. Just sit back and enjoy the view.

Make no mistake there's nothing mediocre about this movie, it's just that in it's breadth and scope it clearly aspires to be one of the greatest movies but is only merely good. It's strength is clearly in the smaller historical vignettes that serve to provide the setting in which the movie takes place: the violent suppression of a political demonstration, a mob of deserters leaving the eastern front to join the revolution, a train of exiles being sent to the Urals. This is the real reason I would recommend this movie. It's billing as a great romance doesn't ever truly pay off.