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The Julius Caesar that appears in the movie Spartacus is very different from the Caesar that appears in other movies. This is mainly because he is young. The story of Spartacus takes place early in his life, in 73, just after he had been elected into the Senate. In some ways the film takes this into account, by making its Caesar not quite as powerful as he would become. He seems a bit rash, but maybe that is supposed to hint at his 'true' nature beginning to show.
The clip above takes place early in the movie. Pompey and his legions had failed to stop Spartacus's gladiator army. Caesar half whispers a reply to Gracchus, who tells him it's foolish. It is obvious that this Caesar is not very politically savy. If Gracchus had not stopped him he might have proposed his idea to the Senate. Also he seems antsy to go to war. From that clip alone it is easy to tell that he is brash and thinks highly of himself.
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Gracchus and Caesar - Teacher and Student
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In the movie Crassus, Gracchus's main political rival, is given the authority of dictator to get rid of Spartacus's army. It does not take long for Caesar to switch to Crassus's side. After all, the way that Crassus is doing things, taking things by military force, is not far from Caesar's comment in the last clip.
In the next clip, Caesar, now in a military uniform, takes Gracchus in to Crassus for questioning. This is the first mention of Caesar as a student of Gracchus. This is also the first mention of Caesar joining Crassus.
Caesar announces that the motivation for his actions is Rome, but Gracchus is not convinced. That Caesar so readily gave Gracchus up to Crassus shows that he is not quite trustworthy.
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Later in Spartacus it is shown that Caesar has completely joined Crassus's side. From the time of the clip above on, if Caesar is shown at all, he is always with Crassus. He goes with Crassus to watch Spartacus and Antoninus fight. The only move he makes to making Crassus stop the fight is reminding Crassus that the next day the people of Rome are expecting to see the fight.
The relationship between Caesar and Crassus is not the teacher and student relationship Caesar had with Gracchus. Crassus sees him as an equal, which is evident in the clip below.
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Crassus and Caesar - War Buddies
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The story of Caesar in Spartacus is about him falling from the political ideals of Gracchus to belief of that dictator like Crassus to rule. Caesar is portrayed as reckless, conceited and untrustworthy along the way.
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