![]() Highly recommended for the discerning moviegoer, filmmaker or cultural theorist, and a good conversation piece for everyone else. O'Tool is a particular treat in the role of Tiberius and one cannot help seeing McDowell's Caligula as a matured Alex from A Clockwork Orange. The cuts switch between images of arousal and disgust with a balletic beauty climaxing in the beatific portrayal of Caligula's inevitable demise. Sex, mortality and addiction to power are the overriding themes presented in such a way as to implicate the viewer in this daring and unique cinematic experiment. Burroughs will help you to fully appreciate the experience. A taste for the sophisticated discourses on power and desire found in Passolini's Salò, the gaudy theatrics of Ken Russell's The Devils, or the humour and obsessive gratuity of William S. ![]() ![]() Likewise if searching for historical accuracy, this is not what the film is about. (I'm reviewing, of course, the 1h55m unrated cut of the film) If you're looking for a bit of porn there are far better places to go. Many of the films deriders seem to be confused by the explicit sexual content and approach it as pornography, criticising the unattractiveness of the cast for spoiling their experience. Caligula is a tour de force of powerful, visceral film-making. After reading the few positive reviews for Caligula (which generally run along the "so bad it's good" line) I feel compelled to add my own critique.
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