The story of the making of CALIGULA is legendary. From battles behind the scenes, to censorship trouble there is enough going on to fill several books or a long miniseries. The films was written by novelist Gore Vidal who was so unhappy with what was being done he wanted his name removed. Tinto Brass the director did what he could, but was removed by producer Bob Guccione who chopped the hell out of the film and added a lot of graphic sex. It made a mint and so many people were curious that the film was recut into an R rated version.
In whatever cut you only saw a pale shadow of what Gore Vidal wrote and what the actors were doing. Recently filmmaker Thomas Negovan went back to the original footage and using Gore Vidal's script as guide assembled the almost 100 hours of alternate takes into a new version of CALIGULA what is minus anything the Guccione shot (there is graphic sex, but no penetration)
I'm a fan of the film. I've been in awe of the film since I first saw the R rated version in a theater four decades ago. My feelings are mixed up in the spectacle and the audacity of what is on screen. That the film was "Hollywood's" (albeit via an inde producer) attempt at integrating hardcore sex makes more sense when you look at the time than it does now, when you consider some of the serious porn films that were being made in the late 70's (see here for a brief discussion). The problem of course was that the graphic sex stopped the film dead and resulted in a ton of material being chucked out.
Like Negovan I always wondered what the film would have been like had it not been fought over and just a been the historical epic most people thought they were making. Having seen the ULTIMATE CUT, I now know and I am deeply impressed.
Frankly had this version been released 45 years ago the film would have been hailed as very good, and very adult epic. It's not for the squeamish or the prudish (there hardcore is gone but there is a lot implied). I am also certain that while the film would have developed a cult following, it would have been largely forgotten like so many films of the period. That isn't a knock on the film but a statement of truth.
The truth is that this restored version of the rise of Caligula is a revelation. It's a film that impresses with the spectacle but also with the depth of characters and the themes. Watching the full film I was struck by how much the film has to say about life today. Listening to Peter O'Toole's Tiberius rant about plots and how society is made it clear that he is a twin of a certain ex-president , demagogue and snake oil salesman. The portrait of cutthroat politics is what we are seeing in America now. One completely understands why John Gielgud's character kills himself rather than stay in the cesspool.
I know why Malcolm McDowell and the others would frequently speak of the lost masterpiece they thought they were making.
Is it that masterpiece? Probably not, but it is light years ahead of what was originally released. It's probably damn close to being that masterpiece and it's definitely worth seeing and re-evaluating.
Frankly if I was to say that there is any flaw in this film it's in that it only really uses alternate takes. While I know there are reasons for it, a couple of sequences seem less emotional, the death of the drunk soldier at the start and the death Caligula's son, for example, are less affecting.
Honestly if you love movies you need to see this, more so if you were either in love with this film or merely liked it. This cut will knock your socks off.
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