Malcolm McDowell
Caligula
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Caligula: Directed by Tinto Brass. With Malcolm McDowell, Teresa Ann Savoy, Guido Mannari, John Gielgud. A dramatization of the ascent to Caesar and subsequent reign of Caligula, one of the most notorious leaders of ancient Rome.
- (38.4K)
- Tedg
- R
- Tinto Brass
Mar 2, 2021 · And a 31-year-old Helen Mirren put modesty (and common sense) aside to portray Caligula’s libertine, sex-starved wife Caesonia. Mirren would later jokingly refer to Caligula as “an ...
- Plot
- Production
- Soundtrack
- Release
- Legacy
- External Links
Caligula is the young heir to the throne of his great-uncle, Emperor Tiberius. One morning, a blackbird flies into his room; Caligula considers this a bad omen. Shortly afterward, one of the heads of the Praetorian Guard, Naevius Sutorius Macro, tells Caligula that Tiberius demands his immediate presence at Capri, where the Emperor lives with his c...
Development
The men's magazine Penthouse had long been involved in film funding, helping invest in films made by other studios, including Chinatown, The Longest Yard and The Day of the Locust, but it had never produced a film on its own. The magazine's founder Bob Guccione wanted to produce an explicit adult film within a feature film narrative that had high production values; he decided to produce a film about the rise and fall of the Roman emperor Caligula. Development began under producer Franco Rosse...
Themes
The film's primary theme is "absolute power corrupts absolutely". Vidal's script presented Caligula as a good man driven to madness by absolute power; Brass's screenplay envisioned Caligula as a "born monster". In The Encyclopedia of Epic Films, author Djoymi Baker describes Brass's screenplay as "an antiepic with an antihero, on a path of self-inflicted, antisocial descent".Guccione said this final draft was more violent than sexual, stating, "I maintain the film is actually anti-erotic ......
Casting
Orson Welles was initially offered $1 million to star as Tiberius, a figure which would have been his highest ever salary, but he refused on moral grounds when he read the script. Gore Vidal expressed disbelief that this could have ever been the case as he felt that Welles could not have portrayed Tiberius, but then recalled Kenneth Tynan remarking to him at the time that Welles was "upset" by the script. Renowned actors who did accept roles in the film included Malcolm McDowell, Helen Mirren...
The film was scored by Bruno Nicolai under the name Paul Clemente. According to Kristopher Spencer, the score "is gloriously dramatic, capturing both the decadent atmosphere of ancient Rome and the twisted tragedy of its true story". The score also featured music by Aram Khachaturian (from Spartacus) and Sergei Prokofiev (from Romeo and Juliet). In...
An edited version of the film had a limited run in a small town near Forlì, Italy before opening in Rome on Sunday, November 11, 1979. In Rome, it was the highest-grossing film of the weekend, with a gross of $59,950 (equivalent to $251,670 in 2023) from 6 theaters. The film was confiscated by Italian police on November 15 with the Pubblico Ministe...
Several films were released in the following years as attempts to cash in on Caligula's reputation, including Caligula and Messalina (1981), directed by Bruno Mattei and Caligula... The Untold Story (1982), directed by Joe D'Amato. Like Caligula, D'Amato's film exists in several softcore and hardcore versions. In 1985, the hardcore version of Calig...
Quotations related to Caligula (film)at WikiquoteCaligula at IMDbCaligula at AllMovieCaligula at Rotten TomatoesJan 23, 2023 · Even its star-studded cast, led by McDowell and including Helen Mirren, John Gielgud, and Peter O'Toole, ... Caligula and Caesonia (Helen Mirren), were due to conceive. It comes as no surprise ...
98. 22K views 2 months ago. Directed by Tinto Brass. With Malcolm McDowell, Peter O'Toole and Helen Mirren. Caligula Ultimate Cut Blu-ray : https://amzn.to/4bgoixY Caligula DVD :...
Dec 13, 2017 · Directed by Tinto Brass & Bob Guccione. With Malcolm McDowell, Peter O'Toole and Helen Mirren.Caligula DVD : https://amzn.to/4cuW5oxCaligula Blu-ray : https:...
May 17, 2022 · A dramatization of the ascent to Caesar and subsequent reign of Caligula, one of the most notorious leaders of ancient Rome. We see his ambition, his schemin...
