Caligula - The Imperial Edition

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Up Pompeii It's Not
Review added by
Mark Oates

Up Pompeii It Ain't
Certificate: 18
Running Time: 156min
Retail Price: 24.99
Release Date: 29/9/2008
Content Type: Movie

Synopsis:
The notorious and ludicrously opulent multi-million dollar 'porn epic' that sees esteemed British acting stars Malcolm McDowell, John Gielgud, Peter O'Toole and Helen Mirren being outrageously upstaged by graphic sequences involving anal fisting, explicit lesbian trysts, orgies and blow jobs (among other things), the uncut CALIGULA finally comes to DVD in September.

CALIGULA: THE IMPERIAL EDITION comes as a four-disc set that features three separate versions of the film including the complete, fully uncut and uncensored version that sealed this demented film's reputation as one of the most controversial in cinema history.

Initially hauled over the coals (and drastically censored) in 1979 on the grounds that it was indecent and potentially obscene, now, almost 30 years later, the uncut version of CALIGULA has finally been granted an 18 Certificate by the BBFC. Notable for being the only major motion picture ever to star esteemed British actors of the calibre of McDowell, Gielgud, O'Toole and Mirren alongside scenes of extreme violence and explicit hardcore sex, CALIGULA is a true 'porn epic', a veritable catalogue of depravity the likes of which have never been seen in one single film before or since.

A ridiculous and bombastic hymn to the decadence of the Roman Empire, this is definitely one movie that that has to be seen, if only to wonder, firstly, how the thing ever got off the ground, and secondly, how it was ever completed. Based on Suetonius's 'Lives Of The Twelve Caesars' and scripted by celebrated author and historian Gore Vidal, the film was produced by 'Penthouse' magazine publisher Bob Guccione, with the list of potential directors including the likes of John Huston and Nicolas Roeg. However, when Guccione chanced upon a preview screening of Tinto Brass's 'Salon Kitty', he knew he had found the right man for the job. Unfortunately, Brass and Guccione's respective visions of what the film should be were worlds apart and no sooner had shooting started than the 'artistic' bickering began with Vidal, Guccione and Brass all falling out with each other. Vidal was barred from the set and once principal photography was complete, Guccione banned Brass from the editing room and, after shooting extra footage of hardcore sex scenes, the 'Penthouse' boss set about editing the film himself.

The result is the stuff of legend - an insane, pornographic orgy of a film that details the rise and fall of the titular Roman Emperor (brilliantly played by McDowell), his sexual passion for his sister, his marriage to Rome's most infamous prostitute (Mirren), and his spectacularly inventive ways of dealing with his enemies, all garnished with the totally inappropriate sexual rompings of a dozen or so Penthouse Pets. If nothing else, CALIGULA truly is cinematic madness on the grandest scale.

Due to many varied censorship issues and legal problems, over the years since its completion CALIGULA has emerged in several different versions. The four-disc CALIGULA: THE IMPERIAL EDITION includes the three most widely known of these - the full, Uncut Version (2 hours 36 minutes), the UK Theatrical Version (1 hour 42 minutes) and the Alternative Version (2 hours 33 minutes), the latter replacing most of the more sexually explicit sequences with alternate scenes and alternate camera angles. The fourth disc of Extras features a variety of materials (documentaries, interviews, press notes, etc.) that provide a comprehensive background on the history and the making of this most remarkable film.

Special Features:
Caligula - The Uncut Version (2 hours 36 minutes)
Special Features: Dolby Digital 5.0 Surround Sound and Dolby Digital 2.0 audio options

Caligula - The Theatrical Version - 1 hour 42 minutes
Special Features: theatrical trailer; teaser trailer; North American R-rated trailer; North American bonus footage; behind the scenes footage.

Caligula - The Alternative Version - 2 hours 33 minutes
Special Features: Dolby Digital 5.0 Surround Sound and Dolby Digital 2.0 audio options; deleted and alternate scenes; audio commentaries by Malcolm McDowell, Helen Mirren and Ernest Volkman (Penthouse magazine's on-set writer and reporter).

Extras Disc
Making of Caligula documentary; Making of Caligula featurette; My Roman Holiday with John Steiner; Caligula's Pet: A Conversation with Lori Wagner; Tinto Brass: The Orgy Of Power; stills galleries. Additional DVD-ROM content includes press kit notes; cast and crew biographies; script; novelization.