It's been a while since the first time I saw this controversial and fascinating film. Even today, twenty plus years hence its original release, it is easy to imagine how the marketers state on the cover "The Most Controversial Film of the 20th Century." But more than that, it's also a good movie, with a stellar cast starting with Malcolm McDowell, Peter O'Toole, John Geilgud, Helen Mirren, and Teresa Ann Savoy, to scratch the surface. Produced by Penthouse Inc. the movies greatest flaw is it's occasional gratuitous sex scenes. They are flat, and in at least one instant, pointless. Having said that, I'm not talking about all of the sex in the movie. The pervasive presence of all things sexual generally supports the plot and script with stunning effect.
The first thing you see in the film is this quote: "What should it profit a man, if he should gain the whole world and lose his own soul." Mark 8:36. A simple summation of the life of Caligula, or at least the 4 years depicted in this movie (37AD - 41AD). Everyone should find a way to see this one at least once.
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