Spoiler Alert: Spoilers follow for Spartacus

Swords-and-sandals epics have been crowd favorites for decades now, and the original Gladiator’s surprising success reminded audiences why. It was a rousingly old-fashioned blockbuster that delivered the goods in its action sequences while also delivering a strong emotional hook. Maximus, a former Roman general seeking revenge for the death of his family, rises through the ranks of the gladiatorial arena, and because the odds are so stacked against him, he gives the film the key ingredient to a great swords-and-sandals epic: a hero viewers could root for.

But maybe the most important film in the genre still stands as the standard-bearer today, even after 64 years. Without Stanley Kubrick’s Spartacus, Gladiator might not have even come to fruition; it simply codifies virtually everything one could expect from a swords-and-sandals epic. As such, with the long-awaited Gladiator II finally hitting theaters in less than two weeks, now’s the perfect time to see why it remains so revered to this day (and if you’ve already seen it, why it’s time to rewatch it).

Release Date October 6, 1960 Cast Kirk Douglas , Laurence Olivier , Jean Simmons , Charles Laughton , Peter Ustinov , John Gavin , Nina Foch , John Ireland Runtime 197 Minutes

Spartacus Set the Standard for Gladiator to Follow

The film, set during the height of the Roman Republic, has a now classic setup. The title character (Kirk Douglas) begins the movie as an enslaved person before being purchased by trader Lentulus Batiatus (Peter Ustinov, who won an Oscar for his performance), who forces him and his fellow slaves to train and fight as gladiators. During a fight staged for corrupt Roman senator Marcus Licinius Crassus (Laurence Olivier), Spartacus leads a revolt and escapes to the country with many of his fellow gladiators.

Rapidly, word of Spartacus’s rebellion travels across the Republic, and his army grows in size to the hundreds, with new additions to his ranks, including fellow slaves Varinia (Jean Simmons) and Antoninus (Tony Curtis). All the while, Crassus makes an effort to quell the uprising, knowing he can potentially use a victory against Spartacus to increase his political stature. Thus, when the now iconic “I am Spartacus” moment arrives, it’s powerful because we see the solidarity that has formed around what the title character has set in motion.

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Obviously, the parallels with Gladiator speak for themselves, most notably in how one man’s quest for vengeance ignites the spark for a much bigger movement. In both films, the excitement comes less from the action sequences (though Gladiator delivers on those in spades) and more from the political intrigue fueling everything. But while Spartacus escapes his gladiator chains early on, Maximus instead uses them to his advantage, winning favor from crowds after winning fights. Thus, the villainous emperor Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix, in one of his best performances) knows that killing him directly risks turning him into a martyr, especially since many of his fellow senators are still loyal to Maximus.

Yet, while Gladiator may not follow many unexpected story beats, it hits nearly all of them with aplomb and nails the story and character fundamentals, proving that tropes can be tools if one understands why they work. Nonetheless, it’s hard to imagine Ridley Scott’s film even having that setup without the foundation Spartacus laid down so effectively.

Spartacus Had a Surprising Political Allegory

But maybe the most fascinating thing about Spartacus, and what Gladiator admittedly lacked, was its political commentary. The film was released in 1960, near the tail end of one of the darkest chapters in the history of the film industry: the blacklist. At the start of the Red Scare, people around the world were terrified of the spread of communism. In Hollywood alone, countless actors, directors, and screenwriters were refused employment because of membership in the Communist Party or even because they had sympathies with the Party.

Spartacus’s screenwriter, Dalton Trumbo, who Bryan Cranston played in a 2015 biopic, was one of the most notable casualties of this time period. While he continued to write scripts (and this was the first he received credit for after his blacklisting), he was forced to do so either under a pseudonym or to go uncredited. Despite the fact that two of his screenplays, Roman Holiday and The Brave One, won Oscars, he only received credit for winning the latter a year before he died. In another strange twist of irony, Howard Fast, the author of the original novel, was also a member of the Communist Party, and he was arrested for refusing to cooperate with the investigation (he began writing the book while in jail).

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As such, Spartacus has often been read as an allegory for the Red Scare and the hearings held by the House of Unamerican Activities (or HUAC), which were meant to scare witnesses into naming known or suspected communists. The revolutionary parallels become most explicit in the film’s climax, shortly after Crassus and his men have defeated Spartacus’s slave army. Under threat of death, Crassus orders the imprisoned slaves to give up their leader in exchange for a pardon, and this leads to the most famous moment in the film. The parallels couldn’t possibly be more obvious.

Since 1960 coincided with the civil rights movement, several notable film critics, most notably Roger Ebert, picked up on these parallels (ironically, Ebert didn’t like Gladiator). In his review, he commented, “Perhaps the most interesting element of Spartacus is its buried political assumptions. The movie is about revolution, and clearly reflects the decadence of the parasitical upper classes and the superior moral fiber of the slaves.” He also picked up on how Kubrick was less interested in the action than in the ideas behind the story: “It was hailed as the first intellectual epic since the silent days… the crucified hero is denied a conventional victory, and has to be consoled with the hope that his ideas will survive.”

Spartacus Is a Perfect Appetizer Before Gladiator II

Even over half a century later, Spartacus still holds up remarkably well, and considering how well it handles both the political intrigue and action sequences, it’s no wonder that it still stands as the standard-bearer for its genre. Like all the best swords-and-sandals epics, it’s both exciting and inspiring in its heroism, and it’s a testament to Ridley Scott’s talent that he also perfected that combination with the first Gladiator.

If the positive early buzz is any indication, we’re growing impatient for Gladiator II, and if you are too, hopefully Spartacus can hold you over until then. Spartacus is available to stream on Prime Video, while Gladiator II hits theaters on November 22.