Caligula (1980)

I AM ALL MEN AS I AM NO MAN AND SO..........I AM GOD

The opening credit I typed is spoken brilliantly by Malcolm McDowell as the title character CALIGULA. In this we follow Caligula and his HORRORSHOW ways of torture-incest-decapitation/castration & bloodletting,there is also lots and lots of sex!!! This being a Penthouse film release one would expect that but this is much more then just a porn film. It is the first and only porn film I have seen(and friends I have seen a lot "COUGH")that actually tells a story. We follow Caligula on his quest for power and all the while he and his sister showing MUCH admiration for each other. This has beautiful music and great acting by not only its stars but supporting cast as well. The set design is awesome and for 1976(when it was filmed) you can really see the $17.5 million dollar production. Caligula is by no means for everyone and even the heavy-cut R presentation could make one mutter...OH! PLEASE! PLEASE STOP IT NOW!!!! The HORROR film CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST has been called THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL FILM FOR ALL TIME. Well I am here to say CALIGULA gives that statement a run for its $$$. Worth a watch for the open minded.

OPEN YOUR EYES EVELYN! September 12, 2008

Sex, Nudity, Death....

Kind of like Roman History turned into a Rock N' Roll Music Video. Big name stars, lots of dancing, naked women, costly sets and, yes, a horse. Not for kids. Let's face it, a unrated movie, in which Penthouse took part in making is not something some adults should see. And DON'T even pretend you're watching it for the history. HBO's ROME kind of gets some of it right, when it comes to daily life. But this movie is like using the Smurfs to explain the Dark Ages. Don't even pretend it has anything correct. Just watch it. Enjoy it. And don't think too much about it. September 11, 2008

Caligula (Three-Disc Imperial Edition) worth buying

The hundreds of different reviews of the movie Caligula are mixed, but everyone must admit one thing: there has never been a movie like it made. In the late 1970s, Penthouse Magazine came up with an extremely original idea: let's make a movie that has legitimate, mainstream actors in it and also pornography. In the 30 years since Caligula first came out, I can't think of another movie that has even attempted to do such a thing.
Even if you've seen earlier, 1980s editions of Caligula, you haven't seen the whole story contained in this Three-Disc Imperial Edition. This edition contains scenes that were cut out of prior editions. It even contains a re-edited version that contains Director Tinto Brass's original vision of the film, with the scenes Guicionni added in post-production left out.
Some of the never-before-seen scenes in this edition were never totally edited for completion, so some of them have video but no audio, I believe some of them are even in black and white. But there are also never before included scenes that are complete.
Caligula is considered one of the most controversial films ever made. When the film first aired at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival, it is believed this original version was over three hours long, and that some of the scenes shown at that festival were cut out and probably destroyed. This Three-Disc Imperial Edition doesn't contain all of these lost scenes, but it is the closest to the original you can get. [...] But this website is for mature audiences only (but then again so is the film).
By the way, there's another video called "Caligula: The Untold Story." Don't get that DVD, it sucks. September 7, 2008

The way it really was

Dispite what many have written, this movie is authentic and great pains went into the details. The death machine itself cost millions to make and is accurate down to the last detail. The depravity in Nero's court is right on spot, as is the "Royal Bordello" that Calligula created. I read articles on this detail when it was first released. This authenticity is the only reason such well respected actors partook of it. They felt the message was most important. Yes, there is some porn and a lot of nudity. Absolutely tame when compared to what's available free on the Internet today. Hard to believe it was actually banned at X rated "art" houses.

I've always felt this movie should be required viewing for high school seniors as a great way to illustrate the depravity of man, (just like the Bible says) and how low he will go when left unchecked. A great primer for American politics, if you will...

The DVD itself is really good. The video is pretty good, but the sound is awesome! Crank up the home theatre for this one. I highly recommend it. September 7, 2008

Caligula reassessed

It's nearly 30 years since Caligula was released onto an expectant, or is it more correct to say an unexpectant, global cinema audience. And they were not to be disappointed. Stage and cinema royalty including Sir Peter O'Toole, Sir John Gielgud and Dame Helen Mirren (only Gielgud was knighted at the time) joined Malcolm McDowell and a collection of Italian and European actors in an orgy of violence and sex which included graphic XXX pornography taken directly from the pages of Seutonius' chapter on Caligula in the second century book The Twelve Caesars.

This marvellous 3 disc DVD set contains fascinating documentaries featuring extensive interviews with producer Bob Guccione and writer Gore Vidal shot at the time of production. The full uncut 156 minute version features on the first disc. The second disc has a shorter version which has wonderful commentary tracks by Mirren and McDowell. Alas, the 200 plus minute Guccione edited version, which was rumoured to have been shown to preview audiences in Italy, is not included in this set and in fact may no longer exist.

It is now well known that the film that Vidal wrote and Director Tinto Brass shot are not what was finally released after Guccione took control of the editing and shut Brass out of the production. To bridge huge continuity gaps Guccione and his editors extensively used out-takes and rehearsal footage rescued from rubbish bins. The documentary material provides fascinating information about what might have been a masterpiece had Brass been allowed to edit the film he shot and do pick up shots, retakes and the shooting of much needed new scenes which would become self evident in the editing stage.

Thanks to the documentary material, we get to fully appreciate the incredible production design, the magnitude and details of the various sets and the beautiful costumes made by Production Designer Danilo Donati and his team. This is not always evident in the finished film.

There is a wonderful interview with the very erudite John Steiner, a British actor who built a short but spectacular career in Italian exploitation films in the 1970s. Steiner shaved his head to play the slimey Longinus character. Now a real estate agent in England, Steiner's witty comments about the making of the film are worth the price of the DVD set alone.

As time goes by Caligula will continue to be restudied and reassessed. No doubt it will gain in stature but unlike the other Caligula film of cinema legend, the `lost' 1937 I Claudius featuring Charles Laughton as Claudius and Emlyn Williams as Caligula, we have ample material to study and assess thanks to this excellent DVD collection.

September 1, 2008

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