Reviewed by Johnny McNair

Starz/Anchor Bay – 640 mins – 2010 – Unrated – 1080p Widescreen 1.78: 1 – Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Audio – 4 Discs

The name Spartacus for most of us instantly relates to the 1960 Stanley Kubrick classic with Kirk Douglass in the leading role. There have been films such as Gladiator and 300 that did a good job at capturing the sword and sandal epic action of the glory days of Hollywood, but there options for something equal on TV have been slim. The Starz cable channel has taken a shot by re-imagining the gladiator genre with the series Spartacus: Blood and Sand, which literally pushes the boundaries on what you can get away with on TV. Season one is now available on Blu-ray in a four-disc set from Starz/Anchor Bay ready to take you back to the time when the Romans ruled the planet.

THE SERIES

Taking place around 109 BC, a Thracian, later to be known as Spartacus (Andy Whitfield), is double-crossed by the Roman army who he fought alongside with, and he and his wife Sura (Erin Cummings), are captured, separated and sold into slavery. The Thracian warrior is placed in a training camp for gladiators and given the name Spartacus. At first he resists this way of life, but the master of the camp Batiatus (John Hannah), cuts him a deal saying he will help him seek and reunite him with his wife, but only if he constantly wins battles in the gladiator arena.

This gives Spartacus the will to stay alive, making himself stronger and perfecting his fighting skills to move up the ranks of the other gladiators in the camp, in particular his rival and current champion Crixus (Manu Bennett). While there are constant battles in the arena, there is also intertwined chaos behind the walls as Batiatus and his wife Lucretia (Lucy Lawless), are making their own plans to gain power in the Roman Empire thorough acts of murder, betrayal, blackmail, and any other forms of deception that can be unleashed.

On the surface, and the way it was originally advertised, Spartacus looks like a TV series attempting to capitalize on the success of the movie 300. And in many was it is and uses some of the same shots, and even has a few of the same actors from that film. But if you give it a chance Spartacus: Blood and Sand begins to take shape and becomes very addictive, even if as only a guilty pleasure. Co-Produced by Sam Raimi, who’s no stranger to this genre after the successful TV shows Hercules and Xena: Warrior Princess, but this time there are practically no limits with the nature of the content.

The Roman era was one of the most brutally violent and sexual periods of history, and Spartacus highlights this. The series shows incredibly gory violence with body parts galore flooding the battle arena. And forget watching Skinemax, because Spartacus pushes the laws of TV censorship to the limit with constant full body nudity and borderline hardcore sex scenes that will definitely hold your attention. And all you Xena: Warrior Princess fans who always wanted to know what Lucy Lawless looked like without her battle fatigues will finally have their prayers answered. Lawless plays the vixen-bitch role so perfectly that she steals every scene she’s in.

The first season consists of 13 episodes, and though plans for a second season was greenlit, the production was temporary postponed when lead actor Andy Whitfield was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and began treatment. While Whitfield waits for a clean bill of health, the makers of the show chose to keep fans happy by making a prequel to the Spartacus storyline. Whether or not this will work remains to be seen, but fans will be curious to see the outcome.

VIDEO

Spartacus: Blood and Sand looks great on Blu-ray, featuring a full 1080p image in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. You will be reminded of the visual style of the film 300, but this is intentional, and makes the show feel more epic and big budget. Being that practically all of the shots are visually enhanced via CG, the transfer is so crisp that the image literally pops off the screen. The details are near perfection, displaying every sweaty muscle, severed body part, and perky breasts. The color tone is purposely on the brownish end to give the picture an antique look. This one is definite showroom material, complete with the bright red CGI blood.

AUDIO

Not many TV shows are worth cranking up your home theater speakers for but Spartacus, boasting a Dolby Digital TrueHD 5.1 audio mix, changes all that. The battle scenes alone offer killer surround sound on Blu-ray, highlighting clanging swords, painful screams of warriors as they are sliced in half and the roar of the crowd as they cheer on death. Dialogue is clean, yet at times sounds muffled and echo-ish, but nothing that brings down the quality of the mix. For a TV show this is a very impressive audio design that rivals most big screen movies.

EXTRAS

Spartacus: Blood and Sand The Complete First Season comes to Blu-ray in a four discs set that features extended and enhanced versions of certain episodes.

Four episodes on the discs are extended versions that weren’t aired on TV. The extended episodes are “The Red Serpent,” Sacramentum Gladiatorioum,” “Mark of the Brotherhood,” and “Delicate Things.”

The four-discs set splits up audio commentaries for specific episodes, pairing the actors and director for the selected episode. The episodes highlighted are “The Red Serpent,” “Shadow Games,” “Whore,” and “Kill Them All.”

‘Blood and Sand – Behind the Scenes’ is a fifteen-minute look at the making of the production, which includes interviews with the cast and crew.

‘Gladiator Boot Camp’ is a quick five-minute piece on how the actors trained for the physical role.

‘Spartacus: Battle Royale’ is a seven-minute gore fest that displays all the battle arena sequences in al their bloody glory.

‘Andy Gets Plastred’ is a short clip displaying Spartacus star Andy Whitfield getting a molded body cast.

‘Oh, Those Randy Romans’ looks at how the Romans used sex for power and pleasure, and how this was fused into the show.

‘Shooting Green: The Shadow of Death’ shows how most of the sequences were shot with green screen backgrounds and CGI added in the rest of history.

‘Exposing Your Ludus’ is a five-minute blooper reel.

BOTTOM LINE

Spartacus: Blood and Sand is a guilty pleasure, but coming from one of the produces of Hercules and Xena:Warrior Princess, it’s enjoyable to watch. Yeah, it’s a mash-up of the films Gladiator and 300, but it has enough to stand on it’s own. The Blu-ray offers superior image and sound, and the bonus features including the extended episodes make it worth watching. Because of actor Andy Whitfield’s health, it has not yet been determined if the series will continue after the prequel airs, but let’s hope Whitfield has a full recovery either way. If you’re looking for another TV series to add to your collection, and never got a chance to see it when it was on Starz, then Spartacus: Blood and Sand is a bloody good time.

SCORES (out of 5):

The Series: 4.0

Video: 4.5

Sound: 4.0

Extras: 4.0

Bottom Line: 4.0