Spartacus

Legends of the Silver Screen, Ltd.

Spartacus

"The Might, the Majesty,

the TERROR of ROME!"

A little over four decades ago, Mr. Kirk Douglas mad a truly inspired drama. He would put on the motion picture screen the imperishable drama of the life and times of Spartacus - slaves, gladiator, rebel - who more than twenty centuries ago, had challenged the awesome might of the Colossus which bestrode the world: Imperial Rome.

The result of the decision was the assembly of one of the finest casts in the history of the cinematic art - Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, Tony Curtis, Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov, John Gavin as the stars - and the creation of the most expensive motion ever made in Hollywood.

"Spartacus" set every record for domestic filming and employment. With the exception of battle sequences photographed in Spain, every foot of film was exposed either on the Universal lot or at nearby locations. This is rare for a movie of such magnitude. But, for Kirk Douglas, the uncommon is a commonplace. As CEO of Bryna Productions, the actor-legend one braved Norwegian fjords and the tantrums of his financial advisers when he went well over budget to make "The Vikings" now considered a classic.

Mr. Douglas' concept of "Spartacus" became Bryna's conviction: Story, not mob scenes and backgrounds, is the life blood of the film. Since the story from the Howard Fast novel was to be told through a preeminent cast and the revolutionary camera techniques of director Stanley Kubrick, Hollywood know-how, and Mr. Douglas' "passion" comprised the picture's most valuable assets. Despite spectacular scenes of beauty, grandeur and bloodshed, the objective was to emphasize characters, not sets or crowds, although no expense was spared to provide these in the proper proportion. Looking back forty years later, it is clear that Mr. Douglas masterfully succeeded.

Lest We Forget

Just as the Romans were our "to kill the legend of Spartacus," we, at Conte Collectibles, are out to commemorate the motion picture, the historical character and the message of the story.

More specifically, our aim is to pay tribute to the efforts of Mr. Kirk Douglas for bringing to "all of us" this classic film's commanding and timeless message about the eternal struggle for freedom and human dignity. The lessons set forth in "Spartacus" remain as important as ever.

Our "efforts" are also intended as a most heartfelt "thank you" to Mr. Douglas for being both mentor and role-model for every one of us both in his "real life" and "up there on the Silver Screen."

All profits from the sale of our extensive "Spartacus" range are proudly being donated to charity in Mr. Douglas' honor. Mr. Douglas is graciously donating his portions of the profits to charity as well. Thank you, Mr. Douglas!

Spartacus: Legionnaires

"Rome...

No matter how many times we've beat them, they...

they still seem to have another army to send against us.. and another...

it seems like we've started something that has no ending."