CULT MOVIE: CALIGULA (1980)

For all the furore surrounding this movie, the end product is less entertaining than the documentary The Making Of Caligula, which is included on the DVD re-release, and nowhere near as strange as the real emperor's four-year reign. The chaos surrounding this film, Penthouse publisher Bob Guccione's bid to prove that porn really is an art form, can be seen from the credits (which say it is "adapted" from Gore Vidal's screenplay) and from the plethora of versions. The original unrated version lasts 156 minutes, an R-rated cut on video is 41 minutes shorter( minus most of the sex scenes), a 210-minute version was shown at Cannes while the original UK cinema version lasted 150 minutes. Confused? You will be because two completely different versions are now available on laser-disc and DVD. Guccione says the new DVD version will change the way people think about movies. But it won't change the way most of us feel about this particular movie or the acting.
Director: Tinto Brass Cast: Malcolm McDowell, Teresa Ann Savoy, John Gielgud, Helen Mirren, Peter O'Toole

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