As a fan of PEPLUM cinema, I consider this scene iconic. It sums up pretty much the entire genre in one discussion. So I was quite shocked to see that this scene was cut from a new Italian copy I have in my collection. I watched it this weekend and I had to make sure I wasn't seeing (or not seeing) things. But in this copy, we don't see Spartacus giving in to Sabina. It just goes from him being a rebel to him bedding Sabina. It's a weird cut. Why would this scene be cut? Well, the scene is sorta racy. But it is in the US version...and god knows the US back then were touchy with racy scenes. But even in the US version a brief kiss (they kiss twice in the original cut) was removed from the US cut and it shows. The kiss was removed to build up tension between the two and it followed the translated dialogue in the US version with Sabina taunting Spartacus that every men would love to be in his position. The dialogue in the Italian version vs the US version is different but not by much. The thing I love about the Italian version is that Sabina gets excited after she kisses him for the first time and she loves to feel his body tremble with rage and hate. This dialogue was changed in the US version. It's still okay but at the very end of the scene, Sabina mocks Spartacus, claiming he'll always be a slave. In the US version the dialogue was changed, with Sabina claiming he was all hers and he would take care of him. The voices for the English versions are pretty good and suit the characters. Redubbing the movie with new voice actors would be a shame but the slight differences in dialogue favours the Italian version, but just so. Brilliant film by Riccardo Freda.
I love this movie. I have a French DVD and I'll have to check to see if the scene in question is included.
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