Alan Bates' Agrippa is about the only reason I'd recommend this edition of "Spartacus". Olivier's (1960) Crassus towers over the one dished up here, and Kirk Douglas' title role certainly dwarfs the one offered by Vlicisc Globvc. The scenery is good, though. Bates can't help but shine. He was a truly great actor. Too often, I found myself checking the clock to see how much longer the movie would last, and I really hated that, since my expectations were high, and I'm partial to historical films. This re-make reminded me of the similar attempt to reconstruct Orson Welles' "Magnificent Ambersons" a few years ago. The sets were great, but the acting was incredibly limp (Bates not included).
