I had preordered this 4 disc boxset because I naively believed it would contain "the ultimate version" of Caligula. Logical, hmmmm? Instead I found it to contain a lot of disappointment.
"I have existed from the morning of the world and I shall exist until the last star falls from the night. Although I have taken the form of Gaius Caligula, I am all men as I am no man and therefore I am a God."
The Caligula movie was haunted by a crazy past of controversy and I will spare you for the details here. The movie tells the story of the rise and fall of Caligula, who becomes an Emperor God wielding ultimate power and madness, only to unsurprisingly be murdered later on by those men near to him. Caligula was a man who did whatever and whoever the fuck he wanted to including his super hot sister, played by Teresa Ann Savoy.
It ended up being released in an "Unrated Uncensored" version that I've owned on DVD for many years. I love the "Unrated Uncensored" version. It is a bit long, running for about 150 minutes, but that is not a problem at all. It has a great pace and never really a dull moment. It has great acting by Malcolm McDowell as Caligula and it includes a lot of explicit violence, nudity and hardcore porn scenes. It is not for the weak or easily offended but that is exactly what made it so great and different.
Caligula has previously been released in tons of censored versions in countries that are super afraid of explicit sex and violence. I thought this new "Ultimate Cut" would be free from censorship, but boy was I wrong. It is in fact a completely shitty, near-puritan, weak, watered down, drawn out, snail-paced, sleep-inducing pile of crap that has a running time of more than 170 minutes. Who fucking cares about 4K and Dolby Vision when the version bloody stinks?
What they have done with The Ultimate Cut is to draw out every scene with extra alternate footage, added lots of scenes that were left out of the "Unrated Uncensored" version for good reasons, removed all the hardcore porn and a lot of the nudity and sex. Most of the violence now happen off-camera or not at all. Yes, you get a lot more of Helen Mirren's character Caesonia, but for no good reasons. Most of the added scenes are a waste of time and kills the pace.
Hey wait, the 4 discs also contain the "Unrated Uncensored" movie, right? Then all is good, that is logical, is it not? Hell no, it is not! The "Unrated Uncensored" version is the only disc that does not have fucking subtitles, pretty much ruining the movie for me. I'll prefer to watch my old subtitled DVD copy instead.
The discs also contain a lot of extra material, but right now I am so fucking angry and disappointed with the movie content in this boxset that I can't be bothered to check it out. Maybe I will one day when I am less furious. "Ultimate" version, my fat ass.
Rating: 
Movie Title: Caligula - The Ultimate Cut
Director: Tinto Brass
TrackList:
4K bluray - 4 disc release, featuring:
- Ultimate Cut (4K UHD 173mins, Dolby Vision, English subtitles)
- Unrated Uncensored Cut (HD 156mins, No subtitles!!)
- Io, Caligola: The Italian Cut (HD 124mins)
- Australian Rated Cut (SD 102mins)
- Caligula: Pre-release cut (HD 153mins)
First Release: 1979
This Release: 2024
Genre: Drama
RunTime: 173
Actors: Malcolm McDowell, Peter O'Toole, Helen Mirren, Teresa Ann Savoy, John Steiner, Paolo Bonacelli, Giancarlo Badessi, John Gielgud, Guido Mannari
Movie Format: 4K Ultra HD Bluray
Movie Label: Umbrella
Content Type: Movie Review
Language: 
Updated: 2024-10-17 20:15
Created: 2024-10-17 19:46
