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| Caligula [1979] (Imperial Edition) | ![Caligula [1979] (Imperial Edition)](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51nUfDVGsHL._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Director: Tinto Brass
Actors: Malcolm Mcdowell, Helen Mirren, Peter O'toole, John Gielgud, Teresa Ann Savoy
Studio: Arrow Films
Category: DVD
List Price: £24.99
Buy New: £11.79
You Save: £13.20 (53%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from £11.79
Avg. Customer Rating:  (3 reviews)
Sales Rank: 1662
Format: Box Set, Pal
Language: English (Unknown)
Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
Media: DVD
Running Time: 156 minutes
Number Of Items: 4
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.6 x 0.8
EAN: 5027035004297
ASIN: B001CMV1MG
Release Date: September 29, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Good, bad and funny November 29, 2008
I have to 'admit' that i saw this when i was a student when it first came out at the Prince Charles theatre, Leicester square. As an 18 year old i was only really interested in the s-e-x and was inevitably disappointed by the lack of it in the edited version of the time. Now seeing the full uncut version that probably would have made me see it again and again hehe. Its certainly more explicit in terms of mainstream cinema than anything ive seen anywhere else. Not a great film by any means but the 'storyline' and depiction of Rome at that time probably is fairly faithful. The acting of all the leads is good and the script for the most part isnt bad at all. And lots and lots of humour. As for the reviewers who suggest it is 'well known' that the actors didnt know what they were letting themselves in for, yes they did! Both the audio commentaries by Malcolm McDowell and Helen Mirren confirm that they were well aware that it would have a lot of sexual content - the scenes they were in also confirm this (they both get their kit off - as both of them had done in films before and since). And both dined out with the Penthouse 'pets' - it wasnt a secret at all! And according to McDowell, Gieldgud 'loved' the film. Overall, worth buying for the audio commentaries and the interview with Tinto Brass. Dont bother watching the theatrical version - its too heavily edited and the sound continuity is destroyed because of this. The 'alternative' version - which is also the one the actors comment over if you want to hear them -well worthwhile - is the best compromise - still very explicit in parts, but not as hardcore as the uncut version.
 A mediocre film, now with extra nudity. November 4, 2008
It's a film which could only have happened in the 1970's; Bob Guccione, owner of Penthouse magazine and flush with wealth after riding the sexual license of the preceding decade set out to remake himself into an artist. He certainly succeeded in creating a film which maintains a reputation thirty years on (and how many do that?), but what reputation? And did he create art? Not a chance.
On paper, Caligula has a lot going for it; the sets and visual design are sumptuous and must have cost a fortune and the casting is a list of a-class thesps including John Gielgud, Maccolm MacDowell and Peter O'Toole. The only thing that lets it down is that it really isn't a very good film. Guccione brought everything he'd learned from making porn movies to a big budget production and it shows. The script is wooden and the dialogue leaden; instead of any sort of insight into what made Caligula into the deranged dictator he was we instead get scene upon scene of bacchanalian excess with occasional moments of plot - for example, the decision to murder Caligula is a couple of lines in the middle of a 20-minute orgy scene. The quality of the scripting is such that if a washing machine repairman appeared with a 'large tool' and offered to Druscilla to 'clear her pipes' I wouldn't have been overly surprised.
Needless to say, historical accuracy is jettisonned to make room for plot-vital extra shots of ladies in the altogether.
It's common knowledge that the a-listers on the cast didn't know what they were getting themselves into and were unaware that Guccione was sneaking back onto set at night with some porn actors to film some explicit sex scenes which were then edited into the film later - the Imperial edition is the first UK release with these scenes inserted (as it were) and they really don't add much. I suppose if you have a thing for 70's Romano-porn they could be for you but at the end of the day, Caligula is little better than a curiousity. It's that film that John Gieldgud and Peter O'Toole were tricked into appearing with a lot of willies; it's all very pretty with great sets, but you won't want to watch it more than once unless your tastes are quite specialised.
The Imperial Edition August 23, 2008
37 out of 38 found this review helpful
You cannot defend 'Caligula'. It is a monstrous epic of over excess in almost every way possible. Useless porn spliced into an already labyrinthine production, oppulent sets, brilliant ideas, twisted imagery, crazed camerawork, hysteria and madness. It's closest cousin - bizarrely - is Gibson's 'Passion' in the sense of it being a film you admire for its balls, but don't necessarily approve of. And yet, 'Caligula' is fascinating. Perverse for all the wrong reasons and yet - genuinely - bordering of maniacal, bloody insane genius. The fact that it fails so magnificently is fitting for the production. A weak-kneed, boring film would have been a disaster. Okay, 'Caligula' might veer towards boring in some places (usually involving the 'Penthouse pets') but it is also the stuff of cinematic legend, graced with some of the finest British actors of the time.
This version is similar to the US 'Imperial Edition' except you have an extra disc (and I presume it is the cut to pieces version, which is going to stay in the box and never see the light of day). Like the 'Imperial Edition' you get the full, uncensored version (with lots of hardcore porn - working in the boat orgy and in the pleasure palace of Tberius, but nowhere else) and a rough edit with different and extended takes and really badly filmed inserts of softcore porn, shot on a different film stock. This cut on the US disc has 2 commentaries by Malcolm McDowell and Helen Mirren. The track with McDowell is an absolute blast.
The disc of extras has various documentaries and interviews that veer from genuinely interesting to late 70's promotional blag.
I agree with Mark Kermode that there is 'a bloody good film somewhere in Caligula' - at least you have the opportunity (at long last) to judge for yourself and quite possibly enjoy one of the most controversial films ever made. Don't get me wrong, it's a piece of sh*t, but it still stands head and shoulders above the growing, disposable dung heap of contemporary cinema.
Uncut? Or Unfettered? August 20, 2008
39 out of 41 found this review helpful
Ah, "Caligula"... Is it Hardcore drivel, or a highbrow masterpiece on a level with "I, Claudius"? (With Hardcore drivel inserted, of course). Whatever your opinion, it can only be surmised that all participants hadn't a clue what they were getting themselves into. The director(s), the actors, even the editors seem like innocents here; and the story behind it is one that can hardly be believed, in the context of the modern esteem "period" works are held.
Bob Guccione, Penthouse Scion and overall Peddler of Smut had dreams of producing something that would survive the ages and be held as a work of high regard (with hardcore bits in it). Hence, erotic director Tinto Brass was hired for the job - and somehow Guccione and Brass persuaded some of the greatest British Thesps of the period to sign on to acting in it. How? simple. NONE of them had any idea of what they had gotten themselves into. Had Brass been given Final Cut them perhaps their sensibilites wouldn't have been too scorched, but Guccione, horrified with the film that Brass had presented, locked the poor hack out of the editing room, re-cut the film with a blunt instrument (resembling a dirty spoon, most probably) and added many hardcore inserts. Hence, a Legend was born - a near-pornographic epic with John Gielgud in it. Only in America...
Over the years, the film has been presented in many truncated forms; in 1979 the BBFC massively cut the film down to 1 Hour 42 minutes from it's original 2 Hours 36 minutes. But now, for the first time in this country we can see the full film in all it's (smutty) glory. The set includes 4 discs - The original UK version, the uncut version and an "Alternate" version that is 2 Hours 33 Minutes long, but with the smut "covered up" by alternate camera angles and differing sequences and the like. The 4th disc is comprised by a lavish set of extras, such as interview, press notes etc. So, what's not to like? Even if such a film offends your "Stiff Upper Lip", at least you now have the option to actually SEE it. Thanks, BBFC!
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