The end result is such a disturbing mess that Vidal sued to remove his name from the film, and almost everyone involved immediately distanced themselves. Given the resulting media frenzy over the film’s sex and violence, Caligula was a box office hit.
Now comes Caligula: The ultimate cut, obviously a labor of love for filmmaker and art historian Thomas Negovan. It is a complete redesign of the film and a restoration in 4K Ultra High Definition. Caligula: The ultimate cut was presented in Cannes last year.
Would a review of this careful remake of the film be complete without comparing it to the 45-year-old version? We should hope so, because your humble correspondent, having seen the new version, will not be able to sit through the three hours of the original release. Even Roger Ebert, as he confessed in his 1980 review, could not bear to watch the first Caligula beyond the two hours; what he saw before leaving the film he described as disgusting, repulsive trash.
We just believe him.
This ultimate abridged version of Caligula follows the emperor’s journey from eager young man madly in love with his sister to mad head of the Roman Empire. Along the way there are sumptuous costumes and fabulous sets and countless orgy scenes, all surprisingly boring. It’s a pretty tedious film.
We meet Caligula (McDowell) in bed with his sister Drusilla (Teresa Ann Savoy) after awakening from a nightmare in which his family is killed by Tiberius.
Caligula visits his elderly relative Tiberius (O’Toole) at the pool, where naked bathers commit various perversions and lots of babies cry – it’s all a bit confusing – but various people are poisoned or otherwise killed, and now Caligula is finally the emperor. Yay!
Caligula throws an orgy to find a wife and marries Caesonia (Mirren). As a sign of his increasing madness and debauchery, he rapes a virgin on her wedding day and then the unfortunate groom. Now people are really afraid of Caligula.
His downfall continues: he makes a mad attack on what Caligula believes to be Britain, invents a bizarre new method of marching, proposes a wine tax, organizes an imperial brothel, and bestows honors on his horse; all the while, many, many, many more orgies take place.
Who would have thought it could all be so mechanical, sexless and repulsive? And what is the plural of “opening”?
Undoubtedly, one could argue that Caligula: The ultimate cut as a fascinating piece of film history; it’s also a pretty compelling piece of human history for anyone interested in what people look like without implants or airbrushing and with pubic hair.
And it’s wonderful to see the very young Mirren and McDowell here, although their youth does give the impression that you’re watching a student production.
Caligula: The ultimate cut. Written by Gore Vidal and directed by Tinto Brass, completely re-edited by Thomas Negovan, with new music. With Malcolm McDowell, Helen Mirren, Peter O’Toole and John Steiner. Theatrical release: Friday, August 16th, also available for home viewing from September.
