Corrected entry: Crassus, when talking to the man he makes the head of the Roman Garrison, says that the reason he is doing this is to 'checkmate' his senate opponent. 'Checkmate' is a chess term and as such would not have been used by a Roman in the 1st Century BC as the game wasn't invented until at least the 6th Century AD in India.
Tailkinker
21st Dec 2008
Spartacus (1960)
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Correction: As is standard with historically-set films, the language and terminology used has been updated to be understandable to a present-day audience. This is a standard movie convention and is not considered a mistake.
Tailkinker ★
I've never heard it said that anachronistic language is not a mistake, and should not be counted as a mistake here. The fact that they speak English, not Latin, is the cinematic convention. Not that they use figurative language that only makes sense in a future context.
DavidK93
It's a grey area, but there's a case to be made that like the language being updated to be understood by audiences rather than subtitled Latin, the same is true of analogies, etc. They could have made reference to a game of the era, but then nobody watching would know what they were talking about and it would need a clunky explanation. As I say though, a grey area, because a clearly modern reference would be a mistake.
Jon Sandys ★