SPARTACUS: WAR OF THE DAMNED (Anchor Bay, 2013) Creator: Steven S. DeKnight, w/ Liam McIntyre, Simon Merrells. Rating: NNNN DVD package: NN Rating: NNNN
All the graphic sex and violence you could want – the former spiced with kink and full-frontal nudity, the latter with cruelty and gruesome detail – are enough to make Spartacus: War Of The Damned gripping, dirty entertainment. Throw in an epic scope and emotional complexity and you have a brilliant series finale and something approaching a trash masterpiece.
The time is 73 BCE, and gladiator Spartacus (Liam McIntyre), who led the slave revolt begun in season one (this is season three), is pursued with his army by the even bigger army of the brilliant, wealthy and implacable Roman Crassus (Simon Merrells). Spartacus is plagued by dissension among his friends, pirates, food shortages and a spy, but Crassus has trouble with his two aides, adolescent son Tiberius (Christian Antidormi) and Caesar (Todd Lasance), both overeager for power and glory and hating each other.
The making-of docs are short (none is longer than seven minutes) and contain nuggets of information amid the usual gushing. They cover actors’ training, visual effects, costumes, writing.
EXTRAS Six making-of docs. English, Spanish audio and subtitles.
