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Caligula: The Ultimate Cut seems to be Negovan’s attempt at giving the controversial film another shot. First released in 1979, it was just so hot, so messy, and so full of stuff that it was hard to make sense of most of it. It did feel like they were just throwing everything on the wall with crazy ideas and just went with whatever stuck.

But Negovan saw something in there somewhere. Like I imagine a music teacher must feel when they get their hands on a really talented student’s composition but it’s all over the place. They can hear the good parts underneath all the noise.

So Negovan went through and cleaned it up, took some of the more “colorful” stuff out so the actual story could shine through. This “Ultimate Cut” gives more character focus among many and just what the film really says about power and humanity.

Plot: Tormented by the murder of his family, the young, wary Caligula eliminates his devious adoptive grandfather Tiberius and seizes control of the declining Roman Empire as it descends into a spiral of depravity, destruction and madness.

Review: One of the most infamous movies of all time, Caligula has long been one of the most intriguing projects in cinema history. Developed and produced by Penthouse founder Bob Guccione, Caligula was the most expensive independently produced film upon its release. From filming to release, Caligula took four years and included the departure of screenwriter Gore Vidal and director Tinto Brass and the addition of explicit pornographic material by Guccione, which resulted in a critical drubbing and countless legal proceedings taken against the film. While restorations have been attempted before, producer Thomas Negovan’s ultimate cut of the film pored over almost one hundred hours of footage to compile a vision of Caligula,...

Update: A trailer for Caligula: The Ultimate Cut has been unveiled and can be seen at the top of this article. Graphic artist Bill Sienkiewicz has also created poster art that can be seen at the bottom of this article.

Directed by Tinto Brass from a screenplay by Gore Vidal (which many people tinkered with while bringing it to the screen), the 1979 film Caligula was the most expensive independent film in cinema history – but the story told in the film was overshadowed by the behind-the-scenes story. As a press release notes, “Penthouse founder (and the film’s financer) Bob Guccione seized control of the negative, randomly inserting graphic scenes of unsimulated sex and gratuitous violence. The cast and film team disavowed what had become a blatant desecration of Vidal’s themes, and Vidal sued to have his name removed from the project. The extensive coverage of behind-the-scenes notoriety also had...

"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...

Exclusive: Drafthouse Films has acquired Caligula: The Ultimate Cut, the 4K Ultra HD reconstruction of the notorious Tinto Brass movie.

This latest presentation of the famous movie made its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023 and includes never-before-seen footage and alternate takes and camera angles.

Drafthouse will release the film theatrically across North America in August 2024, followed by a streaming and 4K Uhd Blu-ray release. The Uhd Blu-ray will have new interviews with star Malcolm McDowell and the film’s reconstructionist, art historian Thomas Negovan.

Initially Released in 1980, Caligula was one of the most expensive independent films to date but had a tumultuous journey to screen. Written by Gore Vidal and starring Malcolm McDowell, Dame Helen Mirren, Peter O’Toole and Sir John Gielgud, Penthouse founder (and the film’s financer) Bob Guccione seized control of the negative and made significant changes to the movie, including the addition of...