During his controversial film appearance between 1979 and 1981, Caligula was presented in a plethora of different montages depending on the country. And for good reason: producer Bob Guccione, founder of the magazine Penthouseunbeknownst to his colleagues, added sequences of explicit sexuality. Director Tinto Brass and actors Malcolm McDowell and Peter O’Toole disavowed the film. Actress Helen Mirren took it with more humor, describing it as “an irresistible mixture of art and genitals.”
Qualified by Variety “moral holocaust” upon its release, Caligula was completely re-edited, without the porn scenes, from unused negatives found in the archives of Penthouse. The result, Caligula: The Ultimate Cutis released at the Parc cinema on Friday, after being unveiled in Cannes in the spring.
This new version, which took no less than three years of meticulous work, was created by author and art historian Thomas Negovan, a specialist in the film. Caligula: The Ultimate Cutwhich lasts 178 minutes, does not contain any shots present in previous cuts, including Bob Guccione’s original theatrical version, which lasts 156 minutes.
Longer, but less dirty: the emperor was naked, now he is dressed again – a manner of speaking, male and female nudity remaining plentiful. Like the ambient decadence, between orgies, threesomes and beheadings.
At the time, Tinto Brass shot over a hundred hours of material. After a careful review, Negovan selected alternate takes and unreleased sequences. Exit the explicit ones, shot in haste by Guccione (and director Giancarlo Lui). Among other points of reference, Thomas Negovan used the original screenplay by Gore Vidal. Hence the addition of this prologue, scripted but never filmed, directed in animation by Dave McKean.
It should be noted that even before the release, Vidal sued Guccione so that his name would not be in the credits. Editor Nino Baragli and composer Bruno Nicolai also had theirs removed.
The story, the rise, reign and fall of Emperor Caligula (Malcolm McDowell) against a backdrop of homicidal madness, debauchery, incest and other pleasant pastimes, has remained more or less the same. The central theme, namely the corrupting nature of power, has remained the same. The main difference is a rather radical change in focus.
A supplement from Mirren
So, after the focus had been on the titillating “spectacle”, it was now the dramatic arcs of the characters that took precedence, that of Caligula obviously, but also that of Caesonia. Played by Helen Mirren, Caesonia appeared for a total of less than half an hour in the 1979 version. In Caligula: The Ultimate Cutthe actress sees her presence more or less doubled (her character makes her entrance in the second act). This is to say that Caesonia gains in importance.
Now, not only did Thomas Negovan allocate more time to the performers, but he also chose takes where their acting is more nuanced (which saw the Caligula McDowell’s performance, which embodies an inherently excessive character, suddenly seems better modulated (in keeping with his Alex from Clockwork Orange). As for Mirren, she plays a score that is now more substantial with subtlety and sensuality.
Another significant change: the narrative flow is no longer interrupted by the pornographic asides, the film gains in cohesion, even in coherence. In this regard, it is worth noting that the original cut by Bob Guccione, a cult film for many cinephiles, is available on DVD, Blu-ray, and soon in 4K – so it has not been “canceled”.
In any case, the added fluidity has as a corollary an increased emphasis on the sumptuous (and naughty) artistic direction of Danilo Donati, veteran of Romeo and Julietby Franco Zeffirelli and Life is beautifulby Roberto Benigni.
As it stands, Caligula: The Ultimate Cut is certainly a more convincing — and successful — film than previous versions, including a shortened re-edit from which the pornographic scenes had already been removed. However, one should not expect a masterpiece finally restored. The film is certainly more refined than before (and still decadent as desired, rest assured), but Tinto Brass is no Luchino Visconti: the film has a kitsch side that has not aged very well.
Complicated Genesis
In Tinto Brass’ defense, the project proved complicated from the outset. Indeed, before approaching Gore Vidal, Bob Guccione had commissioned a first script, which he rejected immediately, from the renowned filmmaker Lina Wertmuller (Towards an unusual destiny on the blue waves of summer). Like John Huston (The African Queen), Wertmuler refused to make the film.
If Tinto Brass won the contract, it was thanks to Kitty Loungean erotic drama set in a Nazi brothel. After seeing the film, Guccione concluded that his designs for Caligula would be understood and shared by Brass. The latter accepted, on the condition that he could rewrite part of Gore Vidal’s script. Guccione agreed, especially since he found the original homosexual content too pronounced.
But Guccione and Brass’s respective visions never quite aligned. The producer originally wanted to create a film that was both explicit and artistic in a big way. The director, for his part, was uncomfortable with the “explicit” component, preferring simulated sexuality.
Incidentally, Tinto Brass, 91, is just as opposed to this “ultimate montage” as he is to Guccione’s. In short, whatever version is chosen, Caligula is the very definition of a cursed film.