Caligula: Living or Dead?

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Which cast and crew of 1979 film by Tinto Brass Caligula are living and who are dead?

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By Botty Snyder

Updated 18 March 2023

Image info

Artist	David Shankbone
Credit	Photographer's blog post about the photo and event
License	cc-by-3.0
Desc	Gore Vidal at the Union Square Barnes & Noble to be interviewed by Leonard Lopate to discuss his life and his photographic memoir, Gore Vidal: Snapshots in History's Glare
Usage	Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Image info/credit

1979 film by Tinto Brass

Caligula

Released	1979 (43 years, 9 months ago)

Director	Tinto Brass
Duration	156 minutes
Genre	exploitation film, Porno, erotic film, biographical film, drama film and LGBT-related film
Composer	Bruno Nicolai
Production company	Penthouse
Country of origin	United Kingdom, United States of America and Italy
Screenwriter	Gore Vidal, Masolino D'Amico, Bob Guccione, Malcolm McDowell and Tinto Brass
Producer	Bob Guccione and Franco Rossellini

About Caligula

Caligula: The Most Controversial Film of All Time

In 1979, director Tinto Brass and producer Bob Guccione released Caligula, a historical drama that depicted the life of the infamous Roman emperor. The film starred Malcolm McDowell as Caligula, and featured an all-star cast including Helen Mirren, Peter O'Toole, and John Gielgud.

However, Caligula was not your typical historical drama. The film was filled with explicit sex scenes, graphic violence, and disturbing imagery. It was also notorious for its troubled production, with rumors of on-set conflicts and Guccione's interference in the editing process.

Despite the controversy, Caligula was a financial success, grossing over $23 million worldwide. However, it was widely panned by critics, with Roger Ebert calling it "sickening, utterly worthless, shameful trash."

Today, Caligula is remembered as one of the most controversial films of all time. It has been banned in several countries, and remains a cult classic among fans of exploitation cinema.

References:

- Ebert, Roger. "Caligula." RogerEbert.com, 1980.

- Kermode, Mark. "Caligula: The Most Controversial Film in History?" The Guardian, 2018.

- Murray, Noel. "Caligula: The Rise and Fall of the Most Controversial Film in History." The A.V. Club, 2015.