DVD Pick of the Week - Caligula: Three-Disc Imperial Edition
Caligula: Three-Disc Imperial Edition
I’m beginning to feel as though I’m too often feasting on my own words with regard to double-dipping; a number of my picks over the past several months have been re-releases of stuff that’s already out in non-vanilla editions with decent extras. Sometimes, though, when the circumstances are right you just can’t deny the value in an upgrade, and this week’s triple-disc reissue of Caligula is a prime example.
Three years in production, the 1979 film centered on Gore Vidal’s screenplay about the notoriously debauched Roman emperor of the title was plagued by production problems and remains one of the most con troversial films of all time. Forced to secure financing from Penthouse publisher Bob Guccione, the film went forward at the hands of Italian erotica auteur Tinto Brass under the proviso that explicit sex scenes be added; when they weren’t explicit enough for Guccione’s liking, he later shot straight-up porn sequences that were edited into the film, causing Brass to remove his credit. (It was later re-instated.) Vidal fought with Brass over the script, and Maria Schneider – originally cast as Caligula’s sister and lover Drusilla – dropped out over the sex scenes. (Ironic, coming from the star of Last Tango in Paris.) When it was finally released, critical response was vicious across the boards, yet in subsequent years the film has taken on an unparalleled status as a cult classic for essentially being a magnum opus of sex and violence that also happens to star major thespians the likes of Malcolm McDowell, Helen Mirren, Peter O’Toole and John Gielgud.
The previous 1999 DVD release included the unrated version with all of Guccione’s hard-core footage and a mediocre making-of shot during production; this week’s new release makes for vital viewing thanks to a radical re-vamp of the bonuses that promises to reveal much more about the conflicts of the shoot as well as the reflections of those involved. Both McDowell and Mirren recorded commentary tracks (gosh, I hope Helen makes some choice wisecracks about the porn!) and there’s also commentary with on-set writer Ernest Volkman, comprehensive documentaries and interviews with Brass and the cast and crew, and hundreds of production stills and promotional materials. To say it’s an essential eye-opener is putting it mildly.
Also recommended this week: Bram Stoker’s Dracula: Collector’s Edition; Entourage: Season 3.2; Funny Face: 50th Anniversary Edition; Jindabyne; The Jungle Book: Platinum Edition; Prom Night; The Sarah Silverman Program: Season 1; Star Trek: The Next Generation; The Complete Series; Ken Burns’ The War
— Nicole Campos
