Caligula (1979)

2/10. I hated this movie. I couldn't even finish it.

Gore Vidal knows his Romans, and Tinto Brass knows his erotica. Unfortunately, the socio-political intrigue of the imperial court doesn't mix well with the sexual exploits of it's emperor. At least not when the founders of Penthouse magazine are doing the editing.

I didn't even watch the X-rated version with the hardcore sex scenes and yet it was almost too much to handle. This was the recently re-released R-rated version, but there's so much nudity and fornication that you begin to become desensitized to it. In reality, they weren't just doing it all the time in Rome, they did have an empire to run.

I think I may have not given it such a low score, save for the fact that the set design and lighting were too impressionistic. That's something I have little patience for, at least when dealing with historical subject matter. I imagine Hell could look something like these garish sets. And the devil may act somewhat like Peter O'Toole's over the top performance. As an avant-garde art film, I guess you could call this a win, but the sexualization of every little aspect is too much for my puritanical American mores.