Year 72 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Publicola and Lentulus. The denomination 72 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years
Spartacus is a 1960 American epic historical drama film directed by Stanley Kubrick and starring Kirk Douglas in the title role, a slave who leads a rebellion against Rome and the events of the Third Servile War. Adapted by Dalton Trumbo from Howard Fast's 1951 novel of the same title, the film also stars Laurence Olivier as Roman general and politician Marcus Licinius Crassus, Charles Laughton as Sempronius Gracchus, Peter Ustinov as slave trader Lentulus Batiatus, and John Gavin as Julius Caesar. Jean Simmons played Spartacus' wife Varinia, a fictional character, and Tony Curtis played the fictional slave Antoninus.
Sword-and-sandal, also known as peplum, is a subgenre of largely Italian-made historical, mythological, or biblical epics mostly set in the Greco-Roman antiquity or the Middle Ages. These films attempted to emulate the big-budget Hollywood historical epics of the time, such as Samson and Delilah (1949), Quo Vadis (1951), The Robe (1953), The Ten Commandments (1956), Ben-Hur (1959), Spartacus (1960), and Cleopatra (1963). These films dominated the Italian film industry from 1958 to 1965, eventually being replaced in 1965 by spaghetti Western and Eurospy films.
The Third Servile War, also called the Gladiator War and the War of Spartacus by Plutarch, was the last in a series of slave rebellions against the Roman Republic known as the Servile Wars. This third rebellion was the only one that directly threatened the Roman heartland of Italy. It was particularly alarming to Rome because its military seemed powerless to suppress it.
Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Vatia was the Roman owner of a gladiatorial school in ancient Capua. It was from this school that, in 73 BC, the Thracian slave Spartacus and about 70 to 78 followers escaped. The breakout led to the slave rebellion known as the Third Servile War.
Riccardo Freda was an Italian film director. He worked in a variety of genres, including sword-and-sandal, horror, giallo and spy films.
The Gladiators (1939) is the first novel by the author Arthur Koestler; it portrays the effects of the Spartacus revolt in the Roman Republic. Published in 1939, it was later reprinted in other editions.
Spartacus is a 1951 historical novel by American writer Howard Fast. It is about the historic slave revolt led by Spartacus around 71 BC. The book inspired the 1960 film directed by Stanley Kubrick and the 2004 TV adaptation by Robert Dornhelm.
Spartacus is a 2004 North American miniseries directed by Robert Dornhelm and produced by Ted Kurdyla from a teleplay by Robert Schenkkan. It aired over two nights on the USA Network, and stars Goran Visnjic, Alan Bates, Angus Macfadyen, Rhona Mitra, Ian McNeice, Ross Kemp and Ben Cross. It is based on the 1951 novel of the same name by Howard Fast.
Spartacus was a Thracian gladiator (Thraex) who was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprising against the Roman Republic.
Sheba and the Gladiator or Sign of the Gladiator is a 1959 historical drama film loosely pertaining to the Palmyrene Empire and its re-annexation back into the Roman Empire.
Gannicus was a Celtic slave, who together with the Thracian Spartacus, Crixus, Castus and Oenomaus, became one of the leaders of rebel slaves during the Third Servile War. In the winter of 71 BC, Gannicus, along with Castus, broke off from Spartacus, taking a large number of Celts and Germans with them, marking the second detachment of the rebellion. Gannicus and Castus met their end at the Battle of Cantenna in Lucania near Mount Soprano, where Marcus Licinius Crassus, Lucius Pomptinus and Quintus Marcius Rufus entrenched their forces in battle and defeated them.
The Slave is a 1962 Italian peplum film directed by Sergio Corbucci and starring Steve Reeves and Gianna Maria Canale. It is an unofficial sequel to Stanley Kubrick's 1960 film Spartacus, as it includes a mention of the character Varinia, who was specifically created for the novel template for that film. The running time was 100 minutes.
The Gay Swordsman is a 1950 Italian historical adventure film directed by Riccardo Freda and starring Carlo Ninchi, Gianna Maria Canale and Franca Marzi.
Guarany is a 1950 Italian film directed by Riccardo Freda and starring António Vilar, Mariella Lotti and Gianna Maria Canale.
See Naples and Die is a 1952 Italian crime-melodrama film directed by Riccardo Freda.
The Magnificent Adventurer is a 1963 adventure film directed by Riccardo Freda. It is loosely based on real life events of Benvenuto Cellini.
Gold for the Caesars is a 1963 peplum film starring Jeffrey Hunter and Mylène Demongeot. Originally planned as an American production, the film later became an Italian-French international co-production after the poor box office return of King of Kings. It was shot in Italy in 1962. The film is credited to Andre de Toth in the United States and both de Toth and Sabatino Ciuffini in Italy. Second unit director Riccardo Freda has claimed to have shot the entire film, while De Toth biographies make little input regarding his work on the film. Actress Mylène Demongeot has also backed up that Freda had taken charge on the films set.
The Iron Swordsman is a 1949 Italian historical drama film directed by Riccardo Freda and starring Carlo Ninchi and Gianna Maria Canale. It is loosely based on real life events of Ugolino della Gherardesca.
The Battle of Picenum was one of the major battles of the Third Servile War, between the slave army of Spartacus and the combined consular forces of the Roman Republic led by the two consuls Lucius Gellius and Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Clodianus. It took place in Picenum region in 72 BC. It was a victory for Spartacus, and it proved to be his greatest triumph of the war.
