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• Entertainment extra • 4/16AM thru 4/22/04
An epic about freedom
shines in a modem retelling
By Jacquetine Cutler
Ciaoilt
The first reaction one might
have to hearing about a classic
being remade is: Why?
Why tamper with a movie
such as ‘Spartacus,* Stanley
Kubrick’s 1960 epic that starred
Kirk Douglas and Sir Laurence
Olivier, and turn it into a TV
movie?
The answer is that some sto
ries are so important, they
deserve to be told again. Four
plus decades after the original,
USA Network’s miniseries,
"Spartacus,* Sunday and
Monday, April 18 and 19, revis
its the true story of a slave
revolt that shook the Roman
Empire.
"The slave rebellion under
Spartacus was one of the
biggest events in history,* says
Goran Visnjic (*ER”), who plays
the title character. "The slave
rebellion was so special in so
many different ways. How big it
was, how long they could defy
the Roman army, and the fact
that the Romans never took
any enemies. It was a major
event- in human history. Today,
we look at it completely differ
ently. For slaves to do that, it
was extraordinary.*
The first century before
Christ was an extraordinary
time, as Rome was wallowing
in its excesses of unchecked
aggression and acquisition.
Pillaging soldiers invaded
towns and took what they want
ed, which was often people,
and forced them into slavery.
Spartacus was a Thracian
who as a boy watched as his
father was crucified. Sold into
slavery, he was picked to
become a gladiator because of
his physical prowess, ft was
during a match that Spartacus'
life changed, according to
Howard Fast’s novel
•Spartacus,’ upon which the
movie is based.
Pitted against Draba (Henry
Simmons, *NYPD Blue*),
Spartacus lost. According to
gladiator rules, Draba must kill
Spartacus, but he refuses and
guards brutally slay Draba.
Realizing that he too would
rather die a free man than live
as a slave, Spartacus snaps
and the rebellion is born.
Spartacus and his troops
move up and down the
Apennines, freeing other
slaves. The revolt he leads
through the countryside sets
Rome reeling. The senators,
amid their usual conniving, dis
patch Crassus (Angus
Macfadyen, ‘Divine Secrets of
the Ya-Ya Sisterhood") to quell
the revolt.
The film does a good job of
showing the horrors of slavery
and why a rebellion was bound
to happen. Made in Bulgaria in
stifling heat, it is exquisitely
shot. The sets, particularly the
Roman Senate, are excellent.
Though it relies on a tired
cliche of a woman telling a
story to a boy, this device ulti
mately works because it shows
the characters before and after
slavery.
A major difference between
this version and the original is
the expanded role of Varinia,
Spartacus' wife.
"You really get the sense that
she is his fulcrum and spring
board, and gives him the fore
sight and encouragement to
embrace his talent,* Rhona
Mitra (“The Practice”) says of
her character. ‘She is this won
derful strength of feminine
power ... He embraces that,
and they have such a true part
nership.*
At the film's outset, Varinia is
seen frolicking on the grass,
until marauding soldiers seize
her and sell her into slavery.
Spartacus is plucked from the
gold mines to become a gladia
tor.
Potential owners inspect
them the way farmers examine
livestock. Are the teeth good?
Does she have good hips for
childbearing? To the
overindulged Romans, the
slaves are chattel.
Spartacus, however, never
loses his quiet dignity and out
rage. Visnjic is perfect as an
angry man who evolves into a
reluctant leader, but who
assumes that mantle with grace
and a ferocious spirit.
“There are very few men
who are men," Mitra says of
Visnjic. “He has humility and an
innocence about him, every
thing that is required of
Spartacus. You really need to
see that balance of masculine
power. He holds his ground and
really works his socks off ... He
was out there weapons training
every day with all the lads’
Simmons also put in plenty
of work. ‘Regardless of all the
physical exercise I put myself
Mt - ■ jK--■
IL
■
B K
■
Goran Visnjic stars as the title character and Rhona Mitra plays his wife, Varinia, in the miniseries
“Spartacus” Sunday and Monday on USA Network.
through, nothing can prepare
you for having a trident and a net
you swing over your head,” he
says. “You are out there fighting.
You try to put yourself in the mind
frame that you are fighting for
your life. After five minutes, you
are extremely tired. And the
mindset I had, the only thing I
have pushing me is I want to
live.”
Gladiators fought to the death
for the amusement of Romans.
The matches are terrific, and
director Robert Dornhelm (“Anne
Frank”) stages gruesome scenes
without them getting too bloody.
Visnjic does his own stunts
and takes swordplay seriously.
“In the Academy of Dramatic
Arts in Croatia, I had three years
of sword fighting," he says. Even
after fulfilling his requirements,
Visnjic kept learning. The proof is
in this movie, as he and other
actors adroitly wield ancient
weapons.
Initially, Visnjic worked with an
aluminum sword, “but I wanted
something heavier," he says. “So
they made me a steel sword,
sharp on the edges. Once you
have it in your arm, you use each
muscle."
Though Visnjic admits, “I hate
the gym,” he worked out three
hours a day, six days a week for
45 days to get in shape for this
role. Spartacus needs those
muscles because he and a group
of ragtag troops take on the
world’s best-armed soldiers.
In his final performance, the
late Sir Alan Bates shines as the
scheming Agrippa The only
unbelievable moments involve
Macfadyen (and he is on screen
far too often) in such an unctu
ous, over-the-top performance it
is hard to not long for Olivier
Still, this is a movie worth the
time commitment, for it never
hurts to be reminded of how
wicked men can be.