New comment on your post "The virtues of Caligula"
Author : Rufus F. (IP: 76.71.52.214 , bas7-hamilton14-1279734998.dsl.bell.ca)
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Comment: 
Like others have noted, one of the most puzzling things about Caligula is how it just doesn't work. There seem to be three or four movies happening at once and the end result is that you have these wonderful actors standing around looking embarassed. I actually think Malcolm McDowell is great in the movie and generally enjoy all of his performances from this era, and like you said, the film really does capture something about a power-mad tyrant. There's no scene in which we're expected to feel bad for Caligula- he's just a monster, and I think that probably comes from the Gore Vidal script. I love the "I have existed since the beginning of time..." speech. But, for me, nothing else works. Tinto Brass tends to make corny adult movies and should never have been hired to direct something like this, none of the other actors seem to be enjoying the experience at all, and the pornography that Guccioni tacked on tends to bring the film to a screeching halt. I think it's possible to include sexually graphic material and not kill a film, and there are directors who are doing so now, but it has to enhance the storyline and not amount to, "Hey, check this out over here!"

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