Rating: 
Summary: Caligula -- still hot and controversial
Review: Caligula is a truely hot film! I saw it years ago on VHS and then in a theatrical release about four years ago.This is not a truely historical film, nor yet is it stricly speaking a sex film or "porno". Much of the film is based on actual history, but it is not pure history. I would tend to label it as a spectacle. There is plenty of nudity, to be sure. There is some explicit sex. It is by all accounts oddball. There is drama and some history thrown in, but don't expect a true to life blow by blow account of the life of Caligula. When you see it, you are not going to see a real life portrayal of ancient Rome. It is more like a fantasy based on ancient Roman themes. If you are looking for stricly historical film about Emperor Caligula, then the series "I Claudius" would be more of a better treatment. Watching the film is like watching a dream -- like one is entering the mind of the mad man. It is often highly erotic filled with the rich texture of nude human flesh and sexuality and at other times horrifically violent, cruel, and disturbing. Some scenes, including a mutilation scene are hard to take, but this does not detract from the overall richness. It is not your ordinary breed of film. (Another similar film with plenty of nudity but without sex is "Prospero's Books".) If you like unusual films with a lot of nudity, sex, exotic scenery and a bit of drama and history thrown in, then Caligula is for you. But if you are put off by nudity, explicit sex, violence and the unusual, then you will hate it.
Rating: 
Summary: Borderline X-Rated!!
Review: Awesome movie!! I purchased this "unrated" version of Penthouse's Caligula simply because I watched the R rated version many years ago, and thought the R rated version was spicy, but not really worth gloating about -- unless, of course, you was just interested in the theme of the movie. Anyhow, I was surfing Amazon.com's web site for the version I first became acquainted with, simply for nostalgic reasons, when I just happened to notice the rendition labelled "Unrated", and decided to purchase it, instead, out of curiosity of what I may have missed. Wow! I'll tell what I missed...quite a bit!! Going into detail would render this post about the movie unpublishable, so I'll put it to you plain and simple: It's an excellent movie, as far as the storyline is concerned -- no problem there -- and the erotic scenes in the movie (which there are plenty) leave ALMOST NOTHING TO THE IMAGINATION (literally). This movie is definitely NOT recommended for those who may be offended by graphic scenes of a sexual nature!I'm very pleased that I purchased this version of Penthouse's "Caligula". I think I will enjoy it for many years to come. The only reason I gave this DVD 4 stars, instead of 5, is simply because some of the early footage of this movie is sort of grainy -- like watching a really old movie. But, nonetheless, the movie is enjoyable, and much of the later footage is of relatively good quality. I recommend this movie for anyone who would enjoy a borderline X-rated movie built around a good storyline (2 thumbs up!).
Rating: 
Summary: Not Bad, Not Great
Review: Any book or film purporting to examine the life of the Roman Emperor Gaius (Caligula) must necessarily look deep into a tormented soul. Caligula (which means "Little Boots," a nickname the future emperor picked up in the army camp of his famous father Germanicus) ruled for a mere four years, from 37 to 41 AD, but managed to alienate almost every member of the Roman government during that time. What we do know about Caligula, which is actually very little, comes from Suetonius, a historian in the employ of the Emperor Hadrian nearly 100 years after Caligula's reign. Suetonius paints a picture of an insane tyrant, a power mad figure that murdered, tortured, tormented, and flaunted his unlimited power over the Roman Empire until his brutal assassination. Unfortunately, the historian Tacitus's treatment of Caligula's reign was lost to the ages long ago, leaving us with little else to go on concerning this interesting man from eons ago.In the 1970's, Bob Guccione, the publisher of Penthouse magazine, got together with writer Gore Vidal and film director Tinto Brass to create a film version of Caligula's life. This film was not going to be a whitewash, but an attempt to create a version of life in Rome true to the historical accounts, a movie unflinching in its portrayal of the violence and decadence of that ancient empire. There are various cuts of "Caligula" floating around in video store limbo, but the unrated version is the one you need to get in order to see all of the ubiquitous grotesqueness. An added extra on the disc, a "making of" documentary about the film, is immensely interesting to watch because it shows you the beginning of the controversy that eventually plagued the film. According to this behind the scenes footage, the original name of the film was "Gore Vidal's Caligula," a title changed after Vidal's arguments with Brass and Guccione over some of the explicit content became irreconcilable. The interviews with the three principals reveal the beginnings of this argument. It is a nice for a film buff to see a record of this titanic clash of egos. Completely apart from the disagreements over the content of the film, this DVD extra does a great job of showing how the craftsmen made the excellent set pieces for this epic film. As most people know, the film stars some of the biggest names in Hollywood, including Sir John Gielgud as Nerva, Peter O'Toole as the Emperor Tiberius, Helen Mirren (kept on a strict leash, so to speak), and Malcolm McDowell as the deranged Caligula. Almost all of the stars distanced themselves from the movie after its release, probably due to Guccione and Brass's instance on inserting decidedly indecent scenes. While none of the stars appear in these explicit inserts, the repugnance of these images would send any mainstream actor shrieking for the door. In short, the film is pornographic and therefore potentially damaging to big name thespians. Opinions about this movie tend to be polarized: some love the dramatic set pieces, the over the top acting by McDowell and O'Toole, and the atmosphere of a time long gone. Others see "Caligula" as total trash, full of bad acting, an overlong running time, and disgusting imagery. I think the response to this epic should lie somewhere in the middle, that McDowell does occasionally rise to grandeur in his depiction of this unsettled figure. At other times, his performance seems forced and grating. Witness his "crazy" laughter on the beach while the legions collect seashells. I laughed aloud at his pitiful attempt to portray a delusional madman in this scene. O'Toole and Gielgud do a good job with what they have to work with, and die off quickly enough to protect themselves from most of the critical backlash. I enjoy films about the Roman Empire, with a few notable exceptions. The lessons learned about the dangers of unlimited power concentrated in the hands of one man should continue to serve as warnings for rulers throughout the ages. If this film helps to teach that lesson, all to the better. I suspect it won't, though, because it is difficult to take "Caligula" seriously at times. I recommend reading Suetonius; his biographical sketches of emperors from Julius Caesar to Domitian provide a much more helpful account of power run amok than this film does. He also includes sordid details too outrageous for even this movie. Moreover, a reading of Suetonius's sketch on Caligula reveals some possible motives about why Caligula acted as he did, something the movie does not do as well. Give it a shot if you must, but be ready for gratuitous violence and highly charged eroticism. By the way, the picture quality leaves a lot to be desired. It is grainy at times and is not the best transfer job ever done for a film.
Rating:
Summary: More disturbing than anything
Review: This film doesnt have much of a storyline, almost no historical accuracy, and pretty cheesy set designs. There are disturbing themes of incest and sex, and downright nauseating violence. But despite the odditty of this film it can be really intersting to watch. It is more a curiosity than anything else. It can be almot painful to sit through but the unusual style of filmaking is worth watching.
Rating: 
Summary: So Filthy it should be illegal
Review: This film was so sexually explicit that I broke down and cried several times during the viewing. How am I supposed to be a good, patriotic, sexually repressed American when such filth is in my DVD library. I am shocked that Bob Guccione would produce a film with so much nudity. I thought he had class. I guess I expected more of a light-hearted romantic comedy with a little bit of Roman Empire thrown in.
Rating:
Summary: Campy, sexy 70's movie
Review: The acting is both tremendous and pathetic. The sets are flat-out amazing and cheesy. The characters are deep and shallow. There are both sex and violence in spades. If you want a campy, sexy (even hard-core at moments), crass look back at the Roman Empire then this movie could very well be your cup of tea. M. McDowell is his usual shining self, even when direction seems to fail him. Other stars seem to mail in thier performances. Nevertheless, the movie, when viewed as a 70's Penthouse production, is pretty darned good. The story is really quite good. And the sex scenes certainly don't hurt!
Rating:
Summary: From a good script by Gore Vidal to this trash
Review: Caligula started out as a good script by Gore Vidal (he went to court to have his name removed once he saw the result). Guccione hired an art deco designer, some great actors, a director who couldn't speak English, and some of the best looking naked bodies around to film this mess. Guccione focuses on the evils of Caligula and portrays them exfcessively, graphically, and disgustingly. He ignores all of Vidal's lessons about politics, the evils of power being concentrated in one hand, etc. The result is creepy, sick, an anti-aphrodisiac.
Rating:
Summary: Caligula
Review: Mad, over the top and ridiculously extravagant, I loved every minute of it and highly recommend the film to lovers of the bizzare and extreme. For all those who always wanted a Roman epic to tell like it really was, this is a must see.
Rating:
Summary: Controversial, Purile, Revolting - and boring......
Review: I saw Caligula when it was first in theaters. It was one of those movies that all my friends said we had to see, because it was so controversial. Controversial it is. Good it is not. I've heard through the years that Sir John Gilgud did not know that the part he was playing would be in a film showing explicit sexual acts and degredation. I find this hard to believe, given the producer of the film - it was Penthouse magazine. That said, Caligula is dull, dull, dull. It is only the scenes of horror and sexual predation that make this film rise above the sublimely mind numbing - and that's really sad. You know you're going to watch it, because you're curious, but just know this: after you watch this repugnant film, if you're anything like me, you'll want to bathe afterward. It's really a creepy gross film.
Rating:
Summary: UGGGHHHH!!! GIVE ME BACK MY STAR!!!!!
Review: Incest, bestiality, homosexuality, lesbianism, fisting, all wrapped up in an absolute mess of a movie! I'm no prude when it comes to sex and violence, but this is way over the top. Bought it simply out of curiosity...what a disappoinment..If you have any interest at all in the history of ancient Rome, buy the series "I, Claudius". DO NOT be taken in with all of the hype being made here over this movie! DVD picture is grainy and dark at best.
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