Caligula: The Ultimate Cut, This Time Its More Respectable

As a boy, the future despotic emperor Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus was nicknamed “Caligula,” meaning “Little Boots.” You could say he was the original “Kinky Boots.” This time, however, he is a little less kinky. The 1979 historical drama sort of directed by Tinto Brass was fatefully financed by Penthouse publisher Bob Guccione, who notoriously added excessively graphic scenes of sex and violence. As a result, Brass and most of the cast disowned the grotesque final product. Years later, Thomas Negovan reconstructed an entirely new cut that more closely follows Gore Vidal’s original screenplay. Consisting of alternate takes and outtakes, 100% of Negovan’s edit never appeared on-screen before (having duly jettisoned all of Guccione’s footage). It is still very mature, but the viewing experience is more coherent when Caligula: The Ultimate Cut opens this Friday in theaters.

Guccione spared no expense, hiring Peter O’Toole and Sir John Gielgud for roles the great actors were probably grateful were mercifully short. O’Toole plays Emperor Tiberius, Caligula’s STD-riddled great-uncle, who has reluctantly groomed the orphan to succeed him. Following in the time-honored Roman tradition, Caligula decides to succeed him earlier than Tiberius intended, but he needs the ambitious Macro to do his dirty work. Of course, Caligula realizes anyone willing to kill one emperor is capable of killing two.

Some things have not changed, definitely including Caligula’s incestuous relationship with his sister Drusilla. However, she is shrewd enough to insist her brother wed a proper, socially elite wife. Almost perversely, he chooses the scandalous Caesonia, who rather turns out to be a good match for him. They both have their appetites. She also learns to live with his lunacy and fits of rage, even when they start to interfere with his ability to rule the empire.

It is still pretty mind-blowing to see Dame Helen Mirren participating in a threesome with Malcolm McDowell (who currently plays a grouchy grandpa on Son of a Critch) and Teresa Ann Savoy, but judging from the 1979 film’s reputation, a great deal of the erotic content has been toned down, particularly in the second half. It is still more explicit than Those About to Die, but most viewers will not feel unclean after watching Negovan’s cut.

It is too bad Guccione’s edit became what it was, because when seen in the proper light, McDowell’s gloriously unhinged performance should have solidified his reputation as the boldest thesp of his generation. Supposedly, the new reconstruction better illustrates Lord Acton’s maxim of absolutely power corrupting absolutely, but there is not much of a slide into corruption. McDowell’s Caligula arguably starts at deranged and tyrannical—and steadily grows more intensely so.

One of the real discoveries is the performance of Savoy as Drusilla. Originally, Maria Schneider had been cast in the part, but she exited due to the sexually charged content. She clearly did the right thing, especially considering her troubling memories of Last Tango in Paris. Nevertheless, Savoy probably served up the performance of her career as the ruthless shrewd but ambiguously sensitive Drusilla. It is also nice to fully see John Steiner (the English actor who was a mainstay of Italian genre cinema for years) scheming as Longinus, the chancellor of the treasury.

There is still a fair amount of disturbing and exploitative material in The Ultimate Cut. Reportedly, the “wedding scene” is just as bad, or worse. However, the last thirty minutes or so truly take on the look and tone of grandly classical tragedy. The set and art design aptly suits the feverish vibe, blending the stately with the surreal.

It is also fascinating to watch an entirely different film crafted out of the ashes of an infamous cinematic train-wreck. There will probably never be a cut that satisfies all parties involved (and their heirs), but Negovan’s reconstruction is likely as good as it will ever get. This Caligula remains a strange film, but now it is often strange in interesting and distinctive ways. Recommended for fans of McDowell and as a unique cinematic novelty, Caligula: The Ultimate Cut opens this Friday (8/16) in New York at the IFC Center.