One of the strangest conversations I ever had in my teens with my mother was over Roman emperors. Having powered through Robert Graves’ I, Claudius (I was and continue to be a nerd, as you may have noticed), I mentioned how fascinated I was by the Emperor Caligula. Did he really start a war with Poseidon? Did accidentally consuming lead make him mad? My mom let me know that in the 1980s a rather insane movie from Penthouse covered Caligula, but that it was probably better if I never watched it.
The new Caligula: The Official Story of the Film is a beautiful art book that discusses the creation of difficult and controversial film, from the original screenplay by Gore Vidal to the push to add hardcore sex scenes from Penthouse Pets filmed separately from the film as a whole. This retrospective is written by Aaron Shaps, editor of the 2023 Ultimate Cut of the Caligula.
The film follows the Emperor Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, known colloquially as Caligula meaning “Little Boots” in Latin, and his notorious and violent reign. Set in 37 A.D, Tinto Brass directed the epic starring Malcolm McDowell, Peter O’Toole, and Helen Mirren. One hell of a cast, all with their own thoughts about the production as you’ll see in this book. The major problem was as the film was set to be released in theaters in 1980, it was altered in post-production with those infamous sex scenes thrown in by Bob Guccione of Penthouse Magazine, the producer and man with creative control of the film. Judged so obscene the film could not be shown in mainstream theaters, the film lingered like a mysterious specter just out of view of the curious and played on late night premium cable.
This book is full of letters sent from Vidal to the team with suggestions that were often ignored. Be advised there are also a few behind the scenes shots that could also double as a more tasteful spread in Penthouse, so if you’re wanting to avoid nudity this book isn’t for you. To be fair though, if you’re reading a book on the Caligula film chances are you don’t mind a little nudity.
Caligula: The Official Story of the Film is a beautifully stunning book with behind-the-scenes photos and stories of how a film of “paganography” became infamous. It is now available from Titan Books.
