| The 13 Main Versions of Caligula-Film, Video, DVD |
| 1. May 1979- The Cannes Version- 210 Minutes- Mystery surrounds this cut of the film. Since Penthouse had not yet settled with either Gore Vidal or Tinto Brass at the time, we assume it carried the title of "Gore Vidal's Caligula". Lucky Fellows claims to have been at the screening. According to Noel Bailey, this cut also received some underground screenings in London. It has never been officially released, and no bootlegs are said to exist. 2. Dec 1979- The Italian Version, "Caligola", basically the same as the forthcoming American edit of 156 minutes, but minus 6 minutes to please the censors, which it didn't. Showed up on Video in 1985 and quickly with-drawn due to a law suit with Penthouse Vs. Rossellini. This video version is the elusive one! (Check E-Bay!) 3. Feb 1980- The American Edit, "Caligula", the same as the Italian edit, but runs a full 156 minutes. Released on Video in the USA in January 1984, with a compressed running time of 148 minutes, even though the box says it runs 143 minutes. This version was billed as "unrated". As well, this is the version that was re-issued in 1991 on VHS as the "Special 10th Anniversary Edition", with the correct running time of 148 min. These liner notes on the 1991 VHS ended up on the 1999 DVD. 4. Oct 1980-The full uncut version was brought to the UK in the fall, only to be seized by British Customs who declared it obscene. However, Guccione's lawyers asked for the film to be certificated so the British Board of Film Classification set about to cut the film to make it "releasable". Originally 10:28 minutes was cut, but then a further 4 minutes had to also be cut. The editors added 4 minutes of "softer" footage to bring the time back to 149.34 minutes. The film was granted a theatrical X certificate, and had a lengthy run at the Prince Charles Cinema in London. It was issued by Electric Video about 1982 as the 2 1/2 Hour version, but was deleted in 1984 by the Video Recordings Act which got rid of video "nasties". It wasn't until 2002 that this version of the film was shown on TV by Channel 5. 5 Nov 1981- The American R-Rated Edit- This version was edited back to 103 minutes, but featured different camera angles some some different footage at the end of the Imperial Bordello Scene. The 1984 Vestron Video release was time compressed to 101 minutes. At the end of this version, Bob Guccione in an afterword urged viewers to purchase the un-rated version. This version was issued on Laserdisc in 1988. Version #5 was the video version I first saw in 1990, and the theatrical release was the one I was supposed to see on my 1982 History class, but never got to. I also think that the Soundtrack, which was issued in June 1981 by mail order, and then in stores by Christmas 1981, was to tie in with this version and the one below. Read my notes on the 1984 Vestron Video HERE! 6. 1981-UK-98 minutes. Just as Penthouse created a short version of Caligula for the American market, so they did for the UK market. While version #4 played in London, a massively trunicated (but still rated X) print did the rounds in the Provinces. It turned up on video in 1990, carrying an "18" certificate and billed as the "1 1/2 Hour version. It was issued on DVD in the UK, and is available from Amazon.co.uk, but no one in thier right minds would want to own it. The film is butchered, and the sound and picture quality are apalling. This is the only version commercially available in the UK. It is thought that #5 and #6 are identical, but I will keep them separate for the fact that #6 will be a PAL format on video, and UK packaging. 7. May 1984-The Italian Rossellini Edit, "Io Caligola", which ran about 84 minutes. This may have featured new music and was dubbed from the English to Italian. 8. 1985-The re-release of the Rossellini Edit, which boasted "Scenes never before scene", and ran 129 minutes. This re-cut version was edited by Enzo Micarelli. The film's opening is restructered and the Killing Machine sequence is restored in full. Micarelli deleted the Lesbian tryst between Anneka and Lori, but retained almost all the hardcore Ship Orgy footage. This was issued on VHS in 2001, and the widescreen DVD (marred by poor sound and picture quality) in 2003. The PAL-video version ran 124 min. This was also dubbed in Italian, and featured new music by Enzio Rossellini. 9. 1988-USA-148 Minutes. Like the 1984 VHS release (Version #3) this unrated Laserdisc is 148 minutes in length, but credited to 143 min. Nevertheless it's a slightly different cut of the film featuring extended explict footage in the Harem Monsters Orgy in Tiberius' grotto which has been described as "disgusting" by some viewers. This cut was also released in Russia on VHS in 1990. 10. Sept 1999- The 162 Minute American DVD release which ran at 156 minutes at the PAL speed. It's a little different than version #3, being a pre-release print. The DVD also included the "Making of Caligula", a little piece of Penthouse Propaganda. This version sells at Amazon for a very reasonable price. Unrated DVD, released by Image Entertainment in widescreen and full surround sound. Also released on Region 2 format in 2001 by Dutch Filmworks in a cleaner print. 11. Sept 1999-Image Entertainment produced an R-Rated version (The Red DVD) as a companion to the Unrated version above. This is different to and less interesting than the orginal R-rated version (#5) but at least it's in widescreen. Metropolitan Films in France have recently produced an edited version of the film (The White DVD) described as the "Edition Prestige" which is of similiar length. 12. Nov 1999-UK-137 Minutes. Frusterated by the lack of a decent version of Caligula available in the UK (See version #6 above) and convinced that Guccione's interference had ruined the film anyway, a team from Film 4 set about creating a new cut of the film. Working from the banned uncut print, the Film 4 tea, deleted all footage shot by Bob Guccione (except for a few brief Ship Orgy shots) and restored sequences shot by Tinto Brass which had previously been deleted by the British Censors. However, unlike Version #8, they made no attempt to re-arrange the displaced scenes. This version was called "The Directors Cut" even thought Tinto Brass had nothing to do with it! However, both Helen Mirren and Malcolm McDowell both expressed thier support for Film 4's work. However Bob Guccione was not pleased, and made some angry phone calls! This version had it's debut on UK TV in November 1999. 13. April 2003-Metropolitan Films of France have released this deluxe issued a PAL DVD edition of the film, described as the "Version Integrale". This version is superior to the 1999 and 2001 DVD's. The title graphics are improved and the image quality is richer and brighter than any other previous DVD release. This version is time compressed, and the Celebration Feast scene is slightly cut. This double DVD features lots of cool extras, and runs 148 minutes. It is available from Amazon.fr Ciao! (And a huge thanks J.E. Chaffin & Ranjit for thier help on this!) added May 9th 2003 edited Nov 11th 2003 Back to Main Page |
| No complete or satisfying version of the film has yet been seen. What we've listed below are the 13 most significant versions (Primarily Italian, US, and British) in chronological order. If you want to know which versions of Caligula to get, which ones are worth a look, and which ones should be avoided at all costs, then this list is for you. J.E. Chaffin 2003 |