The 1960 epic historical film directed by Stanley Kubrick, starring Kirk Douglas as the rebellious slave Spartacus, is Spartacus.
Kirk Douglas plays Spartacus, a Thracian who is enslaved and trained as a gladiator before leading a major revolt against the Roman Republic. The screenplay was written by Dalton Trumbo and adapted from Howard Fast’s 1951 novel. Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov, and Tony Curtis are among the other major stars.
The story draws on the historical Third Servile War, which lasted from 73 to 71 BCE. The real Spartacus led tens of thousands of enslaved people and defeated several Roman forces before Marcus Licinius Crassus crushed the rebellion.
Although Kubrick directed the film, Douglas was also its executive producer and helped bring the project to the screen. The film won four Academy Awards and is often distinguished from later gladiator movies such as Gladiator, which tells a fictional Roman story.