The film opened to the public on October 6, 1960, at the DeMille Theatre in New York City after four days of invitational previews.[47] It played just 188 theatres in the United States and Canada in its first year and played for over a year at the DeMille before moving to the RKO Palace and opening in the New York circuit theaters around Thanksgiving 1961.[48][49]
The film was re-released in 1967, without 23 minutes that had been in the original release. For the 1991 release, the same 23 minutes were restored by Robert A. Harris, as were another five minutes that had been cut from the film before its original release.
1991 restoration
The idea for the film's restoration came about after the American Cinematheque asked Universal Pictures for a print of Spartacus following their then-recent tribute to Kirk Douglas. They were later informed that the original negatives had been cut twice and the colors were badly faded.[50] Steven Spielberg gave his backing to the restoration effort and recommended that Stanley Kubrick be informed of the project. Kubrick, who had disowned the film, gave his approval to the effort and participated by providing detailed instructions through long-distance communication via phone and fax machine from London.[50] Kubrick's print of the film, which was donated to the Museum of Modern Art, could not be used for the restoration because it was considered archival. The original studio black-and-white separation prints, used as a backup in 1960, were used, though the processing lab had to develop a new lens capable of printing the Technirama frame without losing fidelity. The restoration cost about $1 million.[51][52]
A team of 30 archivists restored several violent battle sequences that had been left out because of the negative reaction of preview audiences. Among the deleted footage was a bath scene in which the Roman patrician and general Crassus attempts to seduce his slave Antoninus, speaking about the analogy of "eating oysters" and "eating snails" to express his opinion that sexual preference is a matter of taste rather than morality. The four-minute scene had been removed following an objection by the National Legion of Decency.[10] When the film was restored (two years after Olivier's death), the original dialogue recording of this scene was missing; it had to be redubbed. Tony Curtis, by then 66, was able to re-record his part, but Crassus' voice was an impersonation of Olivier by Anthony Hopkins,[10] who had been suggested by Olivier's widow, Joan Plowright. A talented mimic, Hopkins had been a protégé of Olivier's during Olivier's days as the National Theatre's artistic director, and had portrayed Crassus in the Jeff Wayne musical album. The actors separately recorded their dialogue.[51]
For the 1991 theatrical re-release, Universal Pictures partnered with the American Film Institute, in which the restored film premiered at the Directors Guild of America Theater in Los Angeles on April 25, with the proceeds going towards the AFI Preservation Fund and the Film Foundation. The general release began in Los Angeles, New York City, and Toronto on the following day. On May 3, the release was expanded into an additional 31 cities in the United States and Canada.[50]
Home media
The film was first released on VHS in 1985 by MCA Home Video[53] in a reconstructed version that reinstated most of the footage cut from subsequent reissues.[54] The restored version was released on VHS by MCA/Universal in November 1991,[55] and was subsequently released on LaserDisc by The Criterion Collection the following year.[56] Criterion would later release the movie on DVD in 2001.[57]
The film was released on Blu-ray in 2010 by Universal Pictures, but this release was panned by critics and fans alike, mainly due to the lackluster picture quality and sound. As a result, this release was highly controversial and did poorly in sales.[58]
In 2015, for its 55th anniversary, the film went through an extensive 4K digital restoration, from a 6K scan of the 1991 reconstruction of the film, in which Robert A. Harris served as consultant.[59] The 2015 restoration is 12 minutes longer and the original, six-channel audio track was also remixed and remastered in 7.1 surround sound. The film was re-released to Blu-ray Disc on October 6, 2015, featuring a 1080p transfer of the 2015 restoration in 2.20:1 aspect ratio and 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio surround sound. Special features include a featurette on the 2015 restoration, a 2015 interview with Kirk Douglas, and several features from the Criterion Collection DVD.[60]
On July 21, 2020, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment released the film on UHD Blu-ray.[61]
The 2015 restoration had originally been scheduled to have its theatrical premiere in March 2015 at the TCM Classic Film Festival,[62] but was pulled from the festival,[63] and from a July 2015 engagement in Chicago, because the restoration had not been completed in time.[64] The DCP version of the restoration played at Film Forum in New York City, November 4–12, 2015.[65][66]
