Spartacus (film) eclipse him. Gracchus, having seen Rome fall into tyranny, commits suicide. Before doing so, he bribes his friend Batiatus to rescue Spartacus's family from Crassus and carry them away to freedom. On the way out of Rome, the group passes under Spartacus's cross. Varinia is able to comfort him in his dying moments by showing him his little son, who will grow up free and knowing who his father was. The development of "Spartacus" was partly instigated by Kirk Douglas's failure to win the title role in William Wyler's "Ben-Hur". Douglas had worked with Wyler before on "Detective Story", and
Spartacus (film) July 2015 engagement in Chicago, because the restoration had not been completed in time. The DCP version of the restoration played at Film Forum in New York City, November 4–12, 2015. In June 2008, American Film Institute revealed its "10 Top 10"—the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. "Spartacus" was acknowledged as the fifth best film in the epic genre. AFI also included the film in AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills (#62), AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains (Spartacus #22 Hero), AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) (#81), and