Caligula: The Ultimate Cut

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Caligula: The Ultimate Cut

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2h 52m

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Now, 43 years after the 1980 release of historical epic CALIGULA, producer and reconstructionist Thomas Negovan has realized the creators' original vision with CALIGULA: THE ULTIMATE CUT, a version comprised of entirely never-before-seen footage shot in 1976. Shadowed by the murder of his entire family, the young, wary Caligula (Malcolm McDowell) eliminates his devious adoptive grandfather (Peter O'Toole) and seizes control of the declining Roman Empire, descending into a spiral of depravity, destruction, and madness. A treatise on the corrupting influence of power, this extensive reconstruction of the notorious 1980 spectacle, CALIGULA: THE ULTIMATE CUT restores the complete performances of McDowell and Helen Mirren, as the promiscuous 'Caesonia', from an unprecedented amount of never before seen footage. Sumptuous set designs by two-time Oscar winner Danilo Donati.

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Critics Consensus

Restoring the originally intended Caligula at long last, this new cut doesn't elevate the notorious epic to greatness but goes a long way towards vindicating its artistic vision.

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Kyle Smith

Wall Street Journal

Caligula is still far from great, but it has risen to the level of an enjoyable, intermittently campy soap about ruthlessness, with one or two affecting moments.

Oct 17, 2024

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Richard Whittaker

Austin Chronicle

Everything is better, like Brass’ decision to cast the greatest British actors of the era as the imperial family.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 22, 2024

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Peter Sobczynski

RogerEbert.com

While “Caligula: The Ultimate Cut” is a marked improvement over the previous incarnation, it still has several fundamental problems so baked in that no revision can overcome them.

Rated: 2.5/4

Aug 16, 2024

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Maitland McDonagh

MaitlandOnMovies (Substack)

[O]utrageous, transgressive and by most people’s standards pretty raunchy. But in every single version I’ve seen, it’s also a film about the dead weight of the past, the way in which the current generation has to cope with the legacy of what came before

Jan 20, 2025

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Carmen Paddock

TAKE ONE Magazine

CALIGULA: THE ULTIMATE CUT revels in the moral rot and innate violence of unchecked power. If Brass and Vidal were unhappy with the first version for taming their extreme impulses, this should rectify their concerns.

Jan 6, 2025

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

It may be scandalously singular, a one-of-a-kind endeavor that will never be duplicated, but it’s still of decidedly minimal entertainment value.

Rated: 3/10

Dec 29, 2024

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Brian N

Two stars is a step up from my zero stars for the original version. Kudos to the team that went through 90 hours of footage to assemble this film. It is much more coherent and the performances seem more noteworthy, especially McDowell and Mirren. Still, the movie is overlong and some.if the soft core porn becomes a distraction.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

09/18/24

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Todd B

A movie about culture.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/28/24

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Pete S

Simply dreadful. Nothing more to say other than don’t waste your time.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/04/25

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Ricky T

Gielgud, O'Toole, Mirren and McDowell- what a great cast- problem is I chose this film to show to my grade 9 history class. Now, I'm looking for a new job- oh well.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/22/24

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Milos B

Stunningly re-imagined 3 hours of never-before-seen footage of the original 1979 masterpiece from director Tinto Brass. Modernized, polished and refined with CGI effects just the right measure, to make it more relevant to today's times. It is also interesting that during the montage this time, Gore Vidal's original script was followed, in contrast to the director and main protagonist Malcolm McDowell, who we know did not care much about it. While the original film deserved the highest marks, this production failed a bit in terms of the overall impression and the choice of shots, which is not surprising, because allegedly no original footage was used. Don't blame the author of the text for not being convinced of it immediately afterwards, before watching the original version again, it takes some time to digest this achievement, because it really leaves you breathless. Also, it is impossible to overemphasize McDowell's once masterful acting, even compared to John Hurt's inspired interpretation from the 1973 BBC series "I, Claudius", which preceded this film. An absolute must-see if you're a fan of the original.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/19/24

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John W

If you would like to see more human anatomy than is usual in a Roman epic, this film is for you. The sets were very theatrical and compaired un-favorably with those used for, "Carry on Cleo", which looked more authenticly Roman. What Caligula lacked in laughs, it made-up for in the amount of "Kensington Gore" that appeared in most scenes. Roddy McDowall was manic for most of the movie. Perhap Kenny Williams was the better Emperor; he had the best last line of all...

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

09/07/24

Full Review

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Tinto Brass

Director

Malcolm McDowell

Caligula

Teresa Ann Savoy

Drusilla

John Gielgud

Nerva

Peter O'Toole

Tiberius

Helen Mirren

Caesonia

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Synopsis

Now, 43 years after the 1980 release of historical epic CALIGULA, producer and reconstructionist Thomas Negovan has realized the creators' original vision with CALIGULA: THE ULTIMATE CUT, a version comprised of entirely never-before-seen footage shot in 1976. Shadowed by the murder of his entire family, the young, wary Caligula (Malcolm McDowell) eliminates his devious adoptive grandfather (Peter O'Toole) and seizes control of the declining Roman Empire, descending into a spiral of depravity, destruction, and madness. A treatise on the corrupting influence of power, this extensive reconstruction of the notorious 1980 spectacle, CALIGULA: THE ULTIMATE CUT restores the complete performances of McDowell and Helen Mirren, as the promiscuous 'Caesonia', from an unprecedented amount of never before seen footage. Sumptuous set designs by two-time Oscar winner Danilo Donati.

Director: Tinto Brass
Screenwriter: Gore Vidal
Distributor: Drafthouse Films
Production Co: Penthouse Films International
Genre: History, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 16, 2024, Limited
Runtime: 2h 52m

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