Spartacus

Stanley Kubrick's Oscar-winning sword-and-sandal epic is still essential viewing. Kirk Douglas stars as the rugged gladiator who is inspired to lead his fellow slaves to fight for freedom, with loyal friend Tony Curtis and wife Jean Simmons standing by him till the bitter end. As the rebellion grows in strength, a ruthless Roman military leader becomes determined to crush the uprising utterly. But a scheming politician seeks to exploit the revolution to further his own causes. Suitably decadent Romans Laurence Olivier, Charles Laughton and Peter Ustinov steal every scene going between the three of them, while that famous moment (you know which one) still brings a tear to the eye. Also starring Woody Strode and John Gavin