Caligula: The Ultimate Cut

The last cut is the deepest

Yes, Caligula is a polarizing film. On the one hand, this epic-scale production from Penthouse magazine publisher Bob Guccione is a graphically explicit telling of a story whose roots are deeply sunk in the intersection of sex and privilege. That said, just how explicit depends on the version you’re watching; there have been several since the notorious movie first was released (in Italy in 1979, the U.S. in 1980). And now there is one more: Caligula: The Ultimate Cut, a new reconstruction — complete overhaul, really — that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last year and has now made its way to home media.

So much has been written about Caligula that I barely know where to start. It’s been condemned as an assault on moral decency and praised as a fearless investigation of the power dynamics of human sexuality. Me, I’m inclined to the latter, with kudos to Lord Acton (1834-1902), who observed that “power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Can’t really argue that, and it’s definitely part of what Caligula is all about. Over the years I’ve seen many variations on its theme, but while details come and details go, the framework remains the same.