Spartacus (55th Anniversary) (Blu-ray SteelBook) (Zavvi Exclusive) [UK]

May 30, 2014
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Release date: 19th of October, 2015
Purchase link: Zavvi - Live Sep 20, 2015 18:00 UK time
Price: £14.99
Note: Limited to 1000 copies

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Whatever it is it's better than what we have now and will look better than the 2011 release which has also found its way into a digibook, a nice HMV 'window' slipcover edition as well as other editions.

Admittedly, this is quite an 'oldie' and was released before most of us were even born, or in some cases before our parents were born, but if you enjoyed the arguably superior 'Gladiator' you should enjoy this the daddy of gladiator movies :)
 
How long is a piece of string . . .?
No, seriously, I'm not afraid to say that if I had to spend an evening in the company of either 'Spartacus' or 'Gladiator' I'd choose 'Gladiator' without hesitation.
However, if it was a choice between 'Ben-Hur' and 'Gladiator' the choice would be a much harder one for me to make.

'Gladiator' has had its fair share of steelbooks and now we have a 'Spartacus' Limited Edition to 1,000 steelbook with re-mastered disc which is excellent news and I'm looking forward to receiving my copy next month :)

If I'm comparing steelbooks however I'd say that my 2009 'Gladiator' steelbook is far superior to this design-wise and that's despite the unfortunate haphazard custom of the period - 2008 & 2009 -of putting a blue banner across the top with "Blu-ray disc" and the Blu-ray disc logo on it.
 
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. . . or to put it another way, twice as long as it is from one end to the middle . . .

And as the story goes Kirk Douglas was offered the role of Messala (played by Stephen Boyd) which he turned down because he didn't want to play a second-rate baddie (or was it because of the gay sub-text ?). He wanted to play Ben-Hur but Charlton Heston had already been cast so Douglas made 'Spartacus' a year later in 1960 in response.
Apparently a 'BH' remake is coming in 2016 with Morgan Freeman somewhere in it . . .
"Loved him, hated Hur" - American critic Mort Sahl's infamously brief review of Ben-Hur.

Have a soft spot for my 'Ben-Hur' steel too, as well as for the others in the 'collection' (including 'The Maltese Falcon', 'Grand Hotel', 'Casablanca', 'The Treasure of the Sierra Madre', 'North by Northwest', 'Gone With the Wind' et al).
 
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i used to have 5 pages of pre orders at all times from Zavvi, but due to their decline in customer service, I now only have two steels on pre order with them; x1 copy of National Treasurer & NOW x1 copy of Spartacus! My Kubrick collection is taking form
 
i used to have 5 pages of pre orders at all times from Zavvi, but due to their decline in customer service, I now only have two steels on pre order with them; x1 copy of National Treasurer & NOW x1 copy of Spartacus! My Kubrick collection is taking form

Unfortunately artwork-wise the only truly decent U.K. Kubrick steelbook out of the half dozen released here is '2001: A Space Odyssey' (and maybe this one too).
The others are pretty dull and uninspired IMO.

The mind boggles when you have a re-seller offering 6 of these for GBP 27.99 when it's not yet OOP and available from source for GBP 14.24 . . .
Where do they find these people !?
 
A remake of Ben Hur?. Why, what is the point. The original is still a stunning piece of cinema!

Seriously no idea and I don't recognise any of the names of the leading cast members either (although Morgan Freeman is there in Hugh Griffith's role as the Sheik IIderim - for which H.G. won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor - and we'll see next year if lightning strikes twice LOL).
 
Unfortunately artwork-wise the only truly decent U.K. Kubrick steelbook out of the half dozen released here is '2001: A Space Odyssey' (and maybe this one too).
The others are pretty dull and uninspired IMO.

The mind boggles when you have a re-seller offering 6 of these for GBP 27.99 when it's not yet OOP and available from source for GBP 14.24 . . .
Where do they find these people !?

Well, I can't argue with you on the artwork, but they look good enough to me. Plus I'm trying to complete my Kubrick collection on steel, or at least blu Ray at this point.
image.jpg


Re seller's are like butt holes...everyone's got one :p
 
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Well, I can't argue with you on the artwork, but they look good enough to me. Plus I'm trying to complete my Kubrick collection on steel, or at least blu Ray at this point.
View attachment 188982

Re seller's are like butt holes...everyone's got one :p

Looking good :thumbs:

Does your Criterion also contain 'Killer's Kiss' like our U.K. Arrow Academy edition ?
That number "575" on the spine - is that No. 575 of a numbered collection ?

Nice to see a standalone 'Barry Lyndon' !
In the U.K. it's only available with six others of his on the "Visionary Filmmaker Collection' - though admittedly very reasonably priced on Amazon @GBP23.99 (GBP59.99 at Zavvi) - but of course the problem with such collections is that many will already have at least 2 / 3 of the titles included.
 
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Kind of amazed that this isn't sold out yet. Awesome movie with a remaster. I'm all over this, even if it is from Zavvi.

I'd be surprised if this sells out before release despite the ultra limited print run and re-mastered disc as 'oldies', no matter how good the film, are harder to shift and as myself and others have commented it's been around for ages in the U.K. in at least three different packages - although admittedly without the re-mastered disc - but then again how many of us have the latest TVs to enjoy the improvement ?
Ordered it yesterday however just in case :)
 
I'd be surprised if this sells out before release despite the ultra limited print run and re-mastered disc as 'oldies', no matter how good the film, are harder to shift and as myself and others have commented it's been around for ages in the U.K. in at least three different packages - although admittedly without the re-mastered disc - but then again how many of us have the latest TVs to enjoy the improvement ?
Ordered it yesterday however just in case :)
Its not a 4K Blu-ray
Its a 4K New Remastered transfer that's different thing to a 4K Blu-ray
This will be the best transfer to date you will see Spartacus on Blu-ray
 
The Spanish site, mubis.es, has an article on the new restoration, illustrated with screencaps which you can slide between the 2010 and 2015 versions.

I'm prohibited from directly linking to other forums but once you enter the site, you'll see an image of Kirk Douglas with the heading, Comparativo Espartaco. Immediately below the image, you'll see the heading, Comparativa de Espartaco en Blu-ray. Click on that and it will take you to the article. Should the site get updated and the home page changed, search instead for Espartaco.

The screencaps are a revelation.

PS @Noodles This might change your mind about upgrading your Digibook to the Steelbook.
 
The Spanish site, mubis.es, has an article on the new restoration, illustrated with screencaps which you can slide between the 2010 and 2015 versions.

I'm prohibited from directly linking to other forums but once you enter the site, you'll see an image of Kirk Douglas with the heading, Comparativo Espartaco. Immediately below the image, you'll see the heading, Comparativa de Espartaco en Blu-ray. Click on that and it will take you to the article. Should the site get updated and the home page changed, search instead for Espartaco.

The screencaps are a revelation.

PS @Noodles This might change your mind about upgrading your Digibook to the Steelbook.
I posted some Blu-ray 50th v 55th screencaps comparisons in the Spartacus steelbook Italy thread in August provided by Robert Harris you can see the difference there also but the Spanish site do yes provide lot more detailed comparison images and it looks great
 
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