# Is Caligula really as horrible as it is hyped to be? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 11, 2006, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-caligula-really-as-horrible-as-it-is-hyped-to-be/352207 "2006-04-11T08:47:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-caligula-really-as-horrible-as-it-is-hyped-to-be/352207/1 "2006-04-11T08:47:10Z")
I am way too young to have seen this movie when it came out, but I know the reputation it carries around. I don’t think a completely uncut version of the film is available, but how many people here have seen it? Is it really as bad as its supposed to be. I don’t mean bad acting, but are the sexually explicit and violent scenes that bad by today’s standards. I’m thinking of ordering an uncut, but of course not completely uncut version just to see for myself. ---
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-caligula-really-as-horrible-as-it-is-hyped-to-be/352207/2 "2006-04-11T10:04:25Z")
It’s not exactly a heartwarming movie that you’ll watch over and over again, but it’s worth seeing once. I think _Caligula_ befuddles people because they expect it to be _Spartacus_ or _Gladiator_. It’s not. It’s a trashy porno with a big budget and a star-studded cast (Malcolm McDowell, Helen Mirren, Peter O’Toole, Sir John Gielgud) but a trashy porn nonetheless. You may find some of the more violent scenes disturbing (and you’ll never think of ‘dog food’ quite the same way again). ---
**Author:** ![Dusty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@Dusty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dusty)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-caligula-really-as-horrible-as-it-is-hyped-to-be/352207/3 "2006-04-11T10:04:49Z")
I’ve seen the unrated version. No, it’s not exceptional by today’s standards. The sex is mostly softcore stuff with a few gratuitous hardcore scenes spliced in rather randomly, and the the violence is… well, several effects made me laugh, so make of that what you will. (When I think of “execution”, even trying to be as outlandish as possible, being pelted with vegetables while being run over by a giant lawn mower never comes to mind.) It’s not a great film, by any definition of the word, but it is, rightly or wrongly, a legendary one–and that’s about all it’s got going for it. ---
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-caligula-really-as-horrible-as-it-is-hyped-to-be/352207/4 "2006-04-11T10:08:33Z")
Btw, definitely get the uncut version, the R-rated version cuts out nearly an hour and is practically incomprehensible. If you’re going to watch _Caligula_, you might as well go for the whole enchilada. ---
**Author:** ![koawala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bb73d2/32.png) [@koawala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koawala)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-caligula-really-as-horrible-as-it-is-hyped-to-be/352207/5 "2006-04-11T10:11:40Z")
It has been a long time since I saw the uncut movie. It was very graphic in its sex scences. If you are interested in good porn then it is worth watching the x rated parts. As for the rest of the movie I cannot remember too much. The movie does have some outstanding actors, but I just cannot recall whether the plot/script was any good. I do remember it being a overly long movie. I do strongly object to the way the actors were deceived during the filming and will not watch nor promote the watching it because of that. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-caligula-really-as-horrible-as-it-is-hyped-to-be/352207/6 "2006-04-11T10:43:41Z")
I have actually walked out on a movie in a theater exactly once in my life – that was for _Caligula_. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Clam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3bc359/32.png) [@Happy\_Clam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Clam)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-caligula-really-as-horrible-as-it-is-hyped-to-be/352207/7 "2006-04-11T11:49:40Z")
I can’t remember which critic said it, but it is true: “_Caligula_ is not a good film, nor is it good porn.” Seriously, don’t waste your money. If you want to watch a good historical drama, track down the BBC’s dramatisation of _I, Claudius_. If you want to watch a good porno…well, there are probably more tittilating things on offer at your local newsagent’s. The only reason to watch _Caligula_ is to find out what all the fuss is about, and at the end you’ll say “That really wasn’t worth it.” ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-caligula-really-as-horrible-as-it-is-hyped-to-be/352207/8 "2006-04-11T12:04:11Z")
I believe it was Roger Ebert who said the quote. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-caligula-really-as-horrible-as-it-is-hyped-to-be/352207/9 "2006-04-11T12:18:26Z")
Yes, it is. I saw it when it first came out, in the theater. the thing that strikes you most is that this is an awful waste of talent. Gore Vidal wrote the screenplay, fer cryin’ out loud. The guy who wrote **Julian** (proving that he can write about unusual Roman Emperors) and **Burr** and **Creation** – the historical novelist (and dramatist and screenwriter), rather than the author of Myra Brecjkenridge and Myron etc. – wrote the script. Then they got Malcolm MacDowell (fresh from a number of triumphs), John Gielgud, and Peter frickin’ O’Toole, and they wasted all that talent on this tripe. It’s got sex. well, it’s about one of the Roman Emperors who was notorious (through Suetonius’ account) for his depravity. If there’s one place you ought to be able to depict sex and claim that it’s relevant to the story, this would seem to be the place to do it. You’ve got the X rating, run wild. except the sex seems irrelevant, unconnected to what’s going on. Even the sadism seems completely random. Finally, the director thinks he’s Fellini. What the hell was the point of that exttravagant decapitating machine? You want Caligula, watch John Hurt do it in the BBC **I, Claudius**. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-caligula-really-as-horrible-as-it-is-hyped-to-be/352207/10 "2006-04-11T12:19:43Z")
It did have that line (I think Geilgud says it): “Well, he’s a god now.” Delivered in that perfectly dry way he has. It was hilarious. It’s definitely not something you want to buy, though. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-caligula-really-as-horrible-as-it-is-hyped-to-be/352207/11 "2006-04-11T13:15:49Z")
> [@Mississippienne](#): > > It’s a trashy porno with a big budget and a star-studded cast (Malcolm McDowell, Helen Mirren, Peter O’Toole …who always belonged in porno with a name like that. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-caligula-really-as-horrible-as-it-is-hyped-to-be/352207/12 "2006-04-11T13:43:15Z")
I own the DVD. Not all that extreme by today’s standards. If you hit the mute button, you can make up your own dialogue to go with the random action. As for the sex, about the only good scene is the encounter between Caligula, his sister, and his wife, while being watched by two Penthouse Pets who then do each other. The rest is blah. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-caligula-really-as-horrible-as-it-is-hyped-to-be/352207/13 "2006-04-11T14:27:13Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Even the sadism seems completely random. > > \*\*. Well yeah but the sadism under Caligula (the real one) WAS completely random. To some exent it was in ancient Rome in general. So to some extent it’s a documentary. A lot of that culture was bad porn. (And for all I know they really had that lawn mower decapitation thing. I wouldn’t put it past them.) When we have movies where people cut there own leg off…no, it’s not that extreme. But it’s pretty extreme. But probably accurate in a weird way. Probably be better if the actors knew what they were getting into. But what did they expect, it’s about Caligula. Pretty cheesy but I thought it was good porn at the time…probably because it was the first porn I ever saw …which is why I’m so warped now. I say rent it…probably not buy it. And yes I, Claudius is definatly a better movie. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-caligula-really-as-horrible-as-it-is-hyped-to-be/352207/14 "2006-04-11T14:32:28Z")
> [@koawala](#): > > I do strongly object to the way the actors were deceived during the filming and will not watch nor promote the watching it because of that. What happened? Never heard of this movie, so I don’t know any of the backstory. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-caligula-really-as-horrible-as-it-is-hyped-to-be/352207/15 "2006-04-11T14:36:31Z")
And anyway how can Malcolm MacDowell say he didn’t know what he was getting into after he shoved his hand up that guys ass (or am I giving away too much of the plot?) ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-caligula-really-as-horrible-as-it-is-hyped-to-be/352207/16 "2006-04-11T15:07:56Z")
> [@betenoir](#): > > So to some extent it’s a documentary. Oh, come on. A friend of mine used to make this claim. “But that’s what things were really like back then!”, he’d say. What, poorly photographed bad acting? I can almost guarantee that life back then was not dark, grainy, and underexposed. Really, it’s so poorly done as a film that the content was never an issue with me. It was painful to watch. It took me a week, and I still never got all the way through it. It was that bad. **pool** , you may be so curious about how bad it is that you’ll want to watch it just to find out. Don’t. Poop on your rug and stare at it for 3 hours instead. It’ll be time better spent. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-caligula-really-as-horrible-as-it-is-hyped-to-be/352207/17 "2006-04-11T15:12:05Z")
Technically it’s porn, but look elsewhere for whacking material. ---
**Author:** ![Dusty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@Dusty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dusty)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-caligula-really-as-horrible-as-it-is-hyped-to-be/352207/18 "2006-04-11T15:26:11Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Finally, the director thinks he’s Fellini. The Fellini-esque look of _Caligula_ is no coincidence, Danilo Donati was the art director. He worked on several Fellini films before it. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-caligula-really-as-horrible-as-it-is-hyped-to-be/352207/19 "2006-04-11T15:40:14Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > I have actually walked out on a movie in a theater exactly once in my life – that was for _Caligula_. So you sat all the way through **Zapped!** starring Scott Baio!? ---
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-caligula-really-as-horrible-as-it-is-hyped-to-be/352207/20 "2006-04-11T15:49:25Z")
Sadly I caught this movie on television as a kid. Do I need to say more? Anyway, there’s this scene in which Caligula approaches a newly wed couple who have been saving themselves for eachother. Caligula procees to rape both. This scene was so dreadful, so twisted and so disgusting. I immediatly turned the movie off but it was too late, all too late. My stomach started aching and my eyes started watering. Whenever see Caligula even mentioned I get reminded of that horrible day. Had I seen Caligula as an adult I would have just turned it off after ten minutes and reached for my I, Claudius box. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-caligula-really-as-horrible-as-it-is-hyped-to-be/352207.md?page=2)