Spartacus (Spartaküs)

Spartacus is a 1960 American epic historical drama film directed by Stanley Kubrick. Starring Kirk Douglas in the title role, it tells the story of a slave and gladiator who leads a rebellion against Rome during the Third Servile War. Dalton Trumbo adapted the screenplay from Howard Fast's 1951 novel of the same name. Laurence Olivier plays Crassus, Jean Simmons plays Varinia, and Peter Ustinov portrays the gladiatorial school owner Batiatus.

Produced by Douglas's company Bryna Productions, the film saw original director Anthony Mann removed in the early weeks of shooting and replaced by Kubrick; it remained the only Kubrick film where he lacked complete artistic control. Douglas's public announcement that the blacklisted Trumbo wrote the screenplay helped end the Hollywood blacklist. The film won four Academy Awards from six nominations and was selected for the United States National Film Registry in 2017.