That scene, along with the famous line, rank among HollywoodвЂ™s most memorable. When Spartacus (Kirk Douglas) stood up, Antoninus (Tony Curtis) beat him to it and shouted, вЂњI am Spartacus!вЂќ Almost immediately, everyone followed one after the other, proclaiming the same, вЂњI am Spartacus!вЂќ and eventually sealing their fate. Asked to identify Spartacus so that they will be spared the painful death of crucifixion, the slaves made a startling gesture. Which leads us to one of the most memorable scenes in the movie. Captured, Spartacus and what remained of his army, awaited their fate. In 71 BC, they met defeat in the hands of Marcus Licinius Crassus (Olivier). Born in Greece, Spartacus led 78 gladiators in a revolt against their masters which ballooned to 90,000 as he roamed, freed slaves and recruited his army to fight the might of Rome. The story of Spartacus is indeed, born out of numbers. Phew! According to experts, if you make Spartacus today would cost in the vicinity of $110 million. Production notes that around 50,000 (maybe more) extras took part in battle scenes. In a battle scene shot in Spain, Kubrick made use of 8,800 Spanish army troops as Roman legion. 10,500 comprised the cast and crew, 100 major sets were made and 5,000 uniforms, 7 tons of armor and 27 tons of statues were borrowed from Italian museums. With a then unheard of budget of $22 million, the movie was shot in a span of 167 days. Spartacus was a very difficult movie to make. There apparently, a gladiatorial battle arena happening off camera. On the side, Charles Laughton was threatening to sue Douglas while Tony Curtis and Jean Simmons wanted a way out. Kubrick didnвЂ™t have the control he wanted and would later disown the movie.

But, who could blame him? Not when Laurence Olivier, Charles Laughton and Peter Ustinov consistently acting as backseat drivers. The director proved to be very difficult to work with and clashed with everyone from writer to actors to the crew. Based on a Howard Fast novel and written for the screen by then blacklisted Dalton Trumbo, Stanley Kubrick (only 32 at the time) was chosen to direct. He wanted to prove to the director that he too, can make an epic movie. Kirk Douglas made Spartacus after William Wyler chose Charlton Heston (this guy again) to star in Ben-Hur instead of him.

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