Featured on commentaries were Howard Fast, who wrote the novel the film is based on, and who was going to write the screenplay, but was replaced by Dalton Trumbo(also on commentaries) as apparently he was not working fast enough. Meanwhile, there was drama with Trumbo, who had been blacklisted and working under a pseudonym, but used his real name here at Kirk Douglas' insistence. Meanwhile, the film was originally directed by Anthony Mann, but was fired by Douglas after a week and replaced by Stanley Kubrick. Whew!It was interesting listening to Fast and Trumbo, who both had negative things to say, as Fast was fired, and apparently a lot of Trumbo's ideas were nixed. Trumbo even went off on Tony Curtis, calling him a "nothing"! While I'm not a Tony Curtis fan, I found that a little harsh.
All that aside, the movie is greatness. Spartacus, with nothing to lose, leads a slave revolt against Rome. It's thrilling, with a great score. The Big Three, Laurence Olivier, Charles Laughton and Peter Ustinov are a joy to watch. Jean Simmons is lovely.
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