![]() As well as Mirren and O'Toole, we also get a cameo from British thespian John Gielgud, who was obviously convinced that some kind of high-brow movie was being filmed and not just a cheap exploitationer. Top-notch support comes from Helen Mirren, who also excels as Caesonia, Caligula's arranged wife and a former prostitute who stands by him until the end Peter O'Toole also appears as a madman, Tiberius, the former Emperor. Instead, he's just believable, underplaying it to the point in which you understand his motivations and actions. This is a very scary man who convinces you that he's insane and McDowell's turn is commanding without being over-the-top or hammy. ![]() The inimitable Malcolm McDowell takes the lead role of Caligula and puts in his trademark intense performance. It's also not as violent as I had expected, with only two scenes of graphic bloodshed which really stand out - the first is an offbeat interlude involving an incredible "decapitation machine" which rolls along and chops off heads sticking from the ground with huge metal pincers the second, the film's grisly close. Despite the incredibly long running time, it doesn't really drag much, even when nothing is happening, which can only be in the film's favour. Cheap, tawdry, with poor costumes, and not at all the expensive production I had expected it to be beforehand. Sadly, despite some impressive sets, the movie just looks cheap all the way through. the epic Roman orgy which is probably the closest filmed to how it really happened back then. ![]() ![]() Only one or two scenes (the lesbian interlude in particular) seem to have been clumsily inserted into the movie by Tinto Brass and generally the rest of the sex fits the story and adds to the realism of the times, e.g. Be prepared for acres of heaving flesh throughout the film's course. ![]() A film financed in the US by Playboy, made in Italy with a cast of British leads, this was hugely controversial back on its release due to the explicit scenes of sex which litter the production. Here's a historical film that's epic in length, if not in production values. Reviewed by Leofwine_draca 6 / 10 Flawed would-be Roman epic ![]()
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