When they announced back in 2019 that there was BIG news in the world of ‘Caligula’ (and believe me…there is RARELY. ‘BIG NEWS’. in the world of ‘Caligula’) I dont think many were expecting the announcement that was given. That after years of fearing it destroyed (and even an ‘on and off’ attempt by Tinto Brass and his archivist to refilm large chunks of it.) that over 90 hours of original rushes from the labourious shoot that was this movie BEFORE Guccione got his dirty porny hands on it. Had not only been recovered, but that enough footage had been found to successfully restore the film to a *roughly* 99% approximated version of the original cut BEFORE penthouse messed with it.

Needless to say, I was excited…Then the pandemic happened.

And, everything went quiet for quite a while, then in 2023 completely out of left field and with no build up, ‘Caligula: The Ultimate Cut’ was dropped into Cannes unceremoniously, THEN it VERY quickly did a VERY limited theater run (that didnt include ANY screens in the UK even REMOTELY close to me) and then it vanished again.

And even NOW, its STILL not readily available in the UK or Europe, with only ‘Umbrella Entertainment’ (an australian company) releasing the film for ALL of europe (its bloody expensive for what it is)…And ‘Drafthouse Films’ releasing it in the US, with controversy swirling around it because the ‘Theatrical cut’ which was billed as ‘uncut’ was in fact missing 6 minutes of footage.

So faced with bankruptcy, or an inferior release, I chose the inferior release. MAINLY because, I already own the uncut ‘theatrical’ version on bluray from Arrow, and I didnt need a box the size of a loaf of bread taking up shelf space on my film shelf…letalone having to pay between $30 and $50 for the privilage. And…well…was it worth the 4-5 year slow build wait for this to see the light of day? Well…I know a lot of folks wernt particularly ‘impressed’ But y’know what? I had an actually pretty good time.

This new cut of the film essentially removes all the hardcore sequences, leaving only softcore erotica and a few genitle shots, but no penetration or ‘spooge’. There are neumerous new scenes inserted, some extend sequences from the theatrical cut, some hadnt been seen in 40 years.

They rejig the sequence running order, reframing the narrative and allowing for a much MUCH slower burn (the theatrical cut is about 2 hours and 40 minutes, whereas the ‘Ultimate cut’ is basically 3 hours long). They COMPLETELY redid the sountrack to something more ‘earthy’, orchestral and period appropriate. and they’ve added some very light cg elements here and there in the form of artificial smoke, slickers of hot ashes, light digital pans or zooms on shots.

Essentially, the aim was to reimagine the film, moving it away from its seedy, campy and exploitational roots, and instead presenting the work as a more serious ‘flawed character’ period piece that doesnt shy away from the full decadence of the ‘peaks’ of rome. and…with that brief, I feel that really kind of succeed what they’re trying to do here.

I’ll get my biggest gripes out of the way up front, I feel like this re-edit is HORRENDOUSLY over long. I know they’re striving for the feeling of an ‘epic’ and I will say that it doesnt ‘feel’ 3 hours long to me, but it still DOES feel overlong, and with it almost pushing 3 hours, I almost certainly wont be able to rewatch this one again in a hurry…purely from a logistical standpoint.

The pacing is a bit patchy here and there, I feel like the re-edit has added a lot more pathos and complexity to the characters all involved. But it still feels a little rushed on the ‘Caligula is fine/Caligula is now doing boat orgys with the senators wives’ piece. It would have been nice to have that madness more gradually creep in, because here, it feels like a switch goes off just over halfway into the 2nd act and we dont really come back from it.

I feel like the reordering of the sequences however DOES improve the overall flow of the film as a serious work. But I’d be lying if I said I didnt miss the slightly more thrown together, campy, overt horniness of the theatrical cut. The tone is much less scattershot when compared to the theatrical cut, which is nice…But at the same time kind of left me wishing things would just lighten up a bit more.

As for the new footage itself? Its amazing to see it honestly, and the alternative takes, alternate angles and extended sequences I think have been VERY masterfully curated to help enhance the narrative without stealing the show.

Its just lots of little things (mild spoilers for this paragraph so scip to the next break to avoid) like how they use an alternate angle of the murder of Caligulas daughter. I always howl in the theatrical cut, as they clearly just smash a jam smeared mannaquin onto the steps, but here, they use an alternate angle from further away which is much more effective. the boat orgy sequence is dragged from seedy ‘porn’ flick to ‘tasteful erotica’ terratory. the murder of caligula himself is done in a much more toned down, but effective way.

Honestly? I really quite like how they’ve managed to take these rushes and, using modern editing tools combined with ‘period authentic’ editing techniques, they’ve managed to create something that feels like it was just waiting to be scanned from a 1980’s film print. in fact barring the new titles and credits, which feel VERY out of place for a film shot in the 70s. I can say that on a technical level, given this was strictly a ‘reconstruction’ job, they’ve been pretty excellent honestly.

The new footage doesnt really change my opinion of the performances, I think McDowell and Helen Mirran here are astoundingly good, and while the theatrical cut focussed more on the campy and bizarre, this cut gives them much more time to breath and we get some really nice pieces that do showcase not just how good Vidals original script was at giving these characters a bit more complexity…But just how talented these performers were in their prime. The lack of grotty grotty porn here too allows our supporting cast more time to really shine and define themselves. Which added a whole new layer to my feelings about there characters and performance choice.

Which…leads me to my only other gripe here, the score. Now…in the context of it scoring the film itself, its pretty solid. I actually think it suits the tone of the film moreso than what was used to score the ‘Theatrical’ cut. The issue? it sounds SO dull on its own. the drafthouse release contains the new soundtrack in its entirity, and, to me? it was basically unlistenable. Im smitten to the theatrical soundtrack, I think it works with the film, as much as it works blasting out of my car stereo as I head to the supermarket. The ‘ultimate’ score is too cool for its own good and, for me, is a flat experience outside of this production.

It would also be amiss of me not to mention that Tinto Brass has sworn off this film, claiming its a compromised vision due to his lack of involvement in the restoration. Information about his EXACT involvement with this production is scarce, with Tinto claiming noone contacted him until the edit was basically complete, and that they were basically looking for a ‘signature’ to put his name on someone elses work. While the production argue they reached out multiple times to him to ask him to help advise (but not have final cut) on the production, which he refused to do.

Having watched this cut now, it DOES feel a LOT more like Tintos work in the early 80s (‘The key’ specifically springs to mind) than Tinto would probably like to admit. But I feel its a real shame that he had limited/no involvement in this restoration. As it was one of his (self proclaimed) greatest achiements…Its one thing to be cut out of the editing process once…but to have it happen twice is unforgivable frankly.

In the end, I think I like the ‘Ultimate’ cut about the same as the ‘Theatrical’ cut. But they both have VERY different tones and vibes and i’d need to be in a specific mindset to watch this version again.

The work they’ve done here is very impressive, they’ve managed to really blow the cobwebs off this production and presented a crisp, technically delightful production that feels WAY more on brief than what the original production spat out. and I really REALLY like it for that.

However, that 3 hour runtime, the lack of tinto and the scoring issues hold this back from really *truely* being something I could love. If you’ve seen the ‘Theatrical cut’ or you’ve been put off by how ‘porny’ this film has sounded, the ‘Ultimate’ cut offers a viewing experience that I feel is much more palettable to contemporary audiences.

However, if you only like Caligula for the graphic boat orgys, mutant sex scenes and mannaquin Jam smashing…you likely WILL be quite dissapointed.

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/caligula-the-ultimate-cut/