What would you have done if you had been given the absolute power of life and death over every person in the known world? In 1976, the founder and publisher of Penthouse magazine, Bob Guccione, prolific American author, Gore Vidal, and acclaimed Italian director, Tinto Brass, set out to explore this concept and in the process, expand the sensibilities of the cinema-going public. In the wake of the "porno chic" movement of the early 70s, they thought the film industry suitably mature and ready for what they considered the next major step in the evolution of the medium. Spurred on by adult film phenomena such as Deep Throat and Behind the Green Door, they reasoned that the taboo regarding realistic on-screen depictions of sex and sexuality was finally ready to be dispelled forever. The filmic vehicle that would perform this function was the sumptuous Roman epic, Caligula - a production on a scale reminiscent of some of Cecil B DeMille's more spectacular efforts.
The film dramatises the relatively short time period between the rise and fall of the infamous Roman emperor, Caligula. It stars, among others, Malcolm McDowell ("A Clockwork Orange", "Wing Commander", "Gangster No.1") as Caligula and Peter O'Toole ("Lawrence of Arabia", "Troy") as Emperor Tiberius Caesar. It pays particular attention to the sexual (and other) perversities of Caligula and his contemporaries, which it depicts in a level of detail never before (and perhaps not since) seen in such a large scale film. In the process it acts as a modern day tale of morality, demonstrating that, indeed, absolute power corrupts absolutely. It asks the question, "What would you do if you were considered a god beyond the laws of men?”. It is also one of the most misunderstood and lambasted films of all time. As a consequence, it has developed a legacy of mythic proportions, one from which it is difficult to separate fact from fiction.
The Real Caligula
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (August 31, 12AD – January 24, 41AD), more commonly known as Caligula (after a type of Roman infantrymen's sandal), was the third Roman emperor. He ruled from 37AD until 41AD, and cemented his infamy through acts of extreme cruelty, eccentricity and extravagance. However, there is no credible evidence for the majority of his extreme actions, such as appointing his horse to the senate, or that he had an incestuous relationship with his three sisters. Most of these events are anecdotal in nature, and thus should be treated with caution. What we do know about him is that he came to the throne young and ruled for a mere four years before being assassinated by his own guard under the justification of his supposed despotism.
When Caligula first took the throne, he garnered much praise and adoration for his initially generous acts such as tax cuts and spectacular public spectacles. However, in 39AD things took a turn for the worse when Caligula publicly ran afoul of the senate. It was around this time that the public's perception of their beloved ruler began its steady decline to that of a tyrant (it has been said that Caligula’s behaviour took a turn for the worse after battling a severe illness that left him forever altered, despite his recovery).
One of his many audacious acts was to reinstate the Cult of the Deified Emperor (which had fallen apart under the reign of the previous emperor) on a new, unprecedented scale. He dedicated the cult to himself and often appeared publicly as a god. Thus, the cult changed from one dedicated to worshipping the spirits of the emperor and his family, to one directly worshipping Caligula as the embodiment of the gods.
On the 24 January 41AD, the consequences of Caligula's actions caught up with him. He was assassinated as part of a conspiracy that likely included his personal guard and high ranking senate members.
As the saying goes, "history is written by the victors". One must bear this in mind when considering the case of Caligula, as history’s unpopular rulers often have their deeds blown out of proportion and falsified. In this case much of what we know regarding Caligula and his reign comes from the gossip and heresay committed to the pages of ancient texts.
Clash of the Creatives
The four year long production of Caligula the film began in 1976. It had an initial budget of US$17.5 million, but ended up coming in over budget at around US$22 million. The vision held by Vidal and Guccione called for suitably impressive settings in order to convey the grandeur and opulence that surrounded the seat of the Roman Empire. Enormous, larger-than-life sets were built outside Rome, Italy to fulfil this vision, with some sets taking many months to construct from the ground up and involving the workmanship of hundreds of artisans. The film even boasted the largest prop ever built for a film at the time - a full size replica of a Roman ship.
The production was plagued by many upsets, primarily within the creative team. Initially, Vidal was brought on board to write the script which Brass was to direct. However, the script underwent several rewrites after Brass and McDowell disagreed with Vidal's interpretation of the Roman emperor. In addition to the numerous script rewrites, near the end of production, Guccione and his friend, Giancarlo Lui, both filmed additional scenes in an effort to spice up Vidal's vision. An example of this is a rather flimsily justified lesbian scene, which upon subsequent views seems transplanted into the film (as was the case, with Guccione and Lui's stated intention being to 'sex up' the film). If the script rewrites and filming of additional scenes were not enough, the film was also re-edited many times, with scenes being chopped up and shifted around in the narrative. This lead to instances where scenes were split into pieces, with different pieces being used at different stages of the film to support independent plot threads. The end result was a mish-mash of creative intentions, making it difficult to distinguish any single contributing vision. As such, the film is not based on any one consistent vision, which lead to Vidal and Brass both disowning it at various stages after its release.
Courting Controversy
While the budget and scale rivalled that of many blockbusters of the time, it was the film's controversial nature that set it apart from its contemporaries. Many films up to that point had chosen not to shy away from graphic violence, but until Caligula, very few serious, big budget films had gone the route of depicting realistic sex scenes on screen instead of alluding to or simulating them ("In the Realm of the Senses" comes to mind). However, the film makers decided that in order to fully convey the depths of depravity and reality of the events that supposedly occurred, these scenes would have to be shown in a full, unflinching fashion. How else was one able to truly comprehend the impact of Caligula's actions? Certainly not through dry descriptions contained within a text book. Having made this decision, no taboo was overlooked (all drawn from the original source material of course). Highly sexually explicit and uncompromisingly violent scenes were included in the film such as a real giant orgy (good fun according to actress Helen Mirren), masturbation, fellatio, cunnilingus, simulated anal fisting, male and female homosexuality, cross-dressing and transvestism, sibling incest, rape, allusions to paedophilia, female urination and penile castration - all leaving little to the imagination.
As one would expect, the laundry list of explicit acts mentioned above proved too much for most distributors and censorship boards. This, along with the battle for artistic direction between the writers, directors and editors, lead to an unprecedented 13 different versions of the film being produced. The various versions range from the heavily butchered and sanitised (although still R-rated) 98 minute UK version, all the way through to the legendary 210 minute version that was only shown at the Cannes Film Festival in 1979 (and which was never released commercially, nor are any bootlegs known to exist).
Critical Fallout
Caligula consistently makes it onto the list of most controversial films of all time, with famous film critic, Roger Ebert, giving it two thumbs down at the time and describing the film as, "sickening, utterly worthless, shameful trash". Both McDowell and O'Toole have subsequently voiced regret in appearing in the film. Along with other films of the period that pushed the boundaries of the medium (such as Cannibal Holocaust or I Spit On Your Grave – both very different films), Caligula became the poster child for the so called "Video Nasties" bill in early 1980s Britain. The bill’s aim was to protect the public at the time of the home video explosion from the corrupting influence of films deigned too graphic and without any redeeming artistic value.
Legacy
In hindsight, it appears as it Guccione and Vidal misjudged the cinema-going public. What they considered to be their magnum opus - the film to usher in a new generation of cinema - was in fact shunned by most at the time of its release, and may have actually contributed to the conservative backlash in cinema felt in the 1980s. Even today, few people are aware of the Roman epic, Caligula. Mentioning it will more often than not elicit a blank stare. Despite this, for better or worse, it stands as a testament to the unexplored boundaries still inherent in the medium - boundaries that, to this day, have seldom been tested.
Sources: Wikipedia, The Ultimate Caligula Film Resource, The Making of Caligula
Further reading
Caligula the film (Wikipedia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caligula_(film)
Caligula the film (IMDB)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080491/
Caligula the man (Wikipedia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caligula
Tinto Brass (Wikipedia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinto_brass
Bob Guccione (Wikipedia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Guccione
Gore Vidal (Wikipedia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gore_vidal
Malcolm McDowell (Wikipedia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_mcdowell
The ultimate Caligula film resource
http://www.caligulathemovie.com
"Video Nasties" (Wikipedia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_nasties
Cannibal Holocaust (Wikipedia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannibal_Holocaust
Deep Throat (Wikipedia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Throat_(movie)
Behind the Green Door (Wikipedia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behind_the_Green_Door
"Porno Chic" (Wikipedia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porn_chic
Time.com: "That Old Feeling: When Porno Was Chic"
http://www.time.com/time/columnist/corliss/article/0,9565,1043267,00.html
In the Realm of the Senses (Wikipedia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Realm_of_the_Senses
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