Saturday, May 19, 2012

Behind the Scenes

Behind the scenes photo from SPARTACUS of the controversial moment which was cut and only restored over a decade ago. Laurence Olivier is being massaged/cleaned by Tony Curtis and the two talk about snails and oysters. So much furor for nothing.

4 comments:

jim said...

There were some scenes restored to
Spartcus where the original soundtrack was lost.

Tony Curtis was still alive then
& dubbed his own dialog, but
Anthony Hopkins filled in for
Laurence Olivier. I believe this
may have been one of those scenes
that needed to be re-dubbed.

Anonymous said...


In effect, the master is trying to groom the slave into have sex with him. The slave gets out of that situation quick smart.

Anonymous said...


Crassus: Do you eat oysters?

Antoninus: When I have them, master.

Crassus: Do you eat snails?

Antoninus: No, master.

Crassus: Do you consider the eating of oysters to be moral and the eating of snails to be immoral?

Antoninus: No, master.

Crassus: Of course not. It is all a matter of taste, isn’t it?

Antoninus: Yes, master.

Crassus: And taste is not the same as appetite, and therefore not a question of morals.

Antoninus: It could be argued so, master.

Crassus: My robe, Antoninus. My taste includes both snails and oysters.

Anonymous said...


Marcus Licinius Crassus : Antoninus, look. Across the river, there is something you must see. There, boy, is Rome. The might, the majesty, the terror of Rome. There is the power that bestrides the known world like a colossus. No man can withstand Rome. No nation can withstand her. How much less a boy? There's only one way to deal with Rome, Antoninus. You must serve her. You must abase yourself before her. You must grovel at her feet. You must - love her. Isn't that so, Antoninus? Antoninus! Antoninus?