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"The most notorious Emperor in history returns..." Drafthouse Films has unveiled a new official trailer for Caligula: The Ultimate Cut, a 4K restoration of the infamous erotic classic. The epic Italian film follows Caligula as he kills his devious adoptive grandfather and takes control of the decadent Roman Empire, soon spiraling into depravity, devastation, and utter madness. "Drafthouse Films is a beacon of excellence and taste in independent cinema, and in the 3 years while I was constructing the film I hoped that they would be involved in bringing Caligula: The Ultimate Cut to American audiences," states producer Thomas Negovan. This brand new "Ultimate Cut" is a completely fresh reconstruction based on tons of footage found in the Penthouse archive. They removed all the depravity that was controversially added during the first release, and it has been restored to what should've been all along. "Graphic artist Dave McKean added a prologue...

In “Caligula: The Ultimate Cut,” absolute power corrupts absolutely, but even using absolutely all of the footage shot for the notorious production back in 1976 does not necessarily result in a better film. The most expensive independent film ever produced until that time, “Caligula” was conceived by late Penthouse founder Bob Guccione as a sexually explicit film that also featured real actors and high production values; hiring bestselling author Gore Vidal to write a script for Italian avant-garde director Tinto Brass (“Salon Kitty”), Guccione subsequently attracted such respected thespians as Malcolm McDowell, Peter O’Toole, John Gielgud and Helen Mirren to star. But after disputes between Brass and Vidal prompted the author to sue to remove his name from the film, Guccione commandeered final cut and inserted shots of graphic sex and violence, prompting cast and crew alike to disavow the film.

Devoting a substantial portion of his adult life to “Caligula...

Caligula

Stars: Malcolm McDowell, Teresa Ann Savoy, Helen Mirren, Peter O’Toole, John Geilgud | Written by Gore Vidal | Directed by Tinto Brass, Bob Guccione

Where to start with Caligula? The story of rise and fall of Rome’s most infamous Caesar, the film is as infamous as the life of the character it depicts. Produced by Penthouse’s Bob Guccione and starring some of Britain’s most well-respected thespians, Caligula is a strange beast, mixing period drama with dollops of sleaze and hardcore sex!

Over the years, the film has built up a reputation in the UK on the back of a massively cut 102 minute version of the film, however this disc from Arrow Video presents the film in it’s original 156 minute form, complete with hardcore inserts featuring all types of sex – oral, anal, gay, lesbian, straight, etc., wierd sexual fetishes and a ridiculously over the top orgy that punctuates the films denouement.

Tinto Brass has always had a touch for making exploitative movies that look like real movies. This is not an insult. It is the truth. His command of sleazy grandeur is probably why Bob Guccione handed him the reigns to Caligula. A new uncensored cut of Brass' Salon Kitty (1976) from Blue Underground shows the director near the height of his filthy powers. This isn't just regular trash. This is really artful trash. 

Kitty Kellerman (played by Ingrid Thulin) runs Salon Kitty -- a brothel where the German elite come to relax. An amorphously perverse Nazi general named Wallenberg (Helmet Burger) forces Kitty to move to a new building, which is wired for spying, and swaps out her trusted stable with a bunch of SS spies. In the middle of all of this scheming is a committed Nazi concubine named Margherita (Teresa Ann Savoy).

Salon Kitty is based on a non-fiction book by Peter Norden.

DVD Playhouse—November 2010

By Allen Gardner

Paths Of Glory (Criterion) Stanley Kubrick’s 1957 antiwar classic put him on the map as a major filmmaker. Kirk Douglas stars in a true story about a French officer in Ww I who locks horns with the military’s top brass after his men are court-martialed for failing to carry out an obvious suicide mission. A perfect film, across the board, with fine support from George Macready as one of the most despicable martinet’s ever captured on film, Ralph Meeker, and Adolphe Menjou, all oily charm as a conniving General. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Audio commentary by critic Gary Giddins; Excerpt from 1966 audio interview with Kubrick; 1979 interview with Douglas; New interviews with Jan Harlan, Christiane Kubrick, and producer James B. Harris; French television documentary on real-life case which inspired the film; Trailer. Widescreen. Dolby 1.0 mono.

Winter’S Bone (Lionsgate) After her deadbeat father disappears,...