Messalina, Empress of Rome (1977)
"Messalina, Messalina!" (original title)

Director:

Bruno Corbucci

Writers:

Mario Amendola (screenplay), Bruno Corbucci (story)

Stars:

Anneka Di Lorenzo, Vittorio Caprioli, Giancarlo Prete

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anneka Di Lorenzo	...	Messalina
Vittorio Caprioli	...	Claudius
Giancarlo Prete	...	Gaius Silius
Lori Wagner	...	Agrippina (as Lory Kay Wagner)
Raf Luca
Bombolo
Pino Ferrara
Salvatore Borghese
Alessandra Cardini
Luca Sportelli
Ombretta De Carlo
Primo Marcotulli
Viviana Larice
Lino Toffolo
Tomas Milian	...	Baba

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

sex | gore | nudity | italian sex comedy | unofficial sequel | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy

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Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

11 August 1977 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Caligula II: Messalina, Messalina

Filming Locations:

Dear Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Medusa Distribuzione

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Telecolor)

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was re-released a number of times in the 1980s as an alleged "sequel" to Caligula.

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Goofs

When the fly is buzzing around in front of the Roman guard's face (just before he eats it), if you look carefully, as it flies in front of his face, you can barely see the string holding up the fake fly being dangled in front of the actor's face.

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Connections

Featured in The Cinema Snob: Caligula II: Messalina, Messalina (2011)

User Reviews

Sloppy seconds

'Caligula' is without a doubt one of the most controversial films ever made. Like the man of the title, the history of how the project came to be is fascinating. It caused such an uproar that it was pulled from theatres, but wasn't forgotten. Before it's release though, something pretty strange happened. A film crew took some of the leftover sets, hired a few of the same actors and came up with a "sequel." If you've seen the first film, then you would probably expect more of the same. You'd be pretty much right, but the quality is quite a different story.

Pros: Game cast. Memorable score. Beautiful costumes and sets. Unintentionally hilarious. Steady pace. Crazy, blood-soaked finale.

Cons: Some awful dubbing. Threadbare plot. Choppy editing. Uninspired direction. Nearly all intentional humor falls flat. Story is all over the place. Anticlimactic.

Final thoughts: 'Messalina, Messalina' is not an easy film to review. The only reason it was made was to use the expensive sets from a film feared to never be released. In other words, this alleged sequel is totally superfluous. That being said, it can be enjoyed in a "so-bad-it's-good" way. If you need a few laughs this will do the trick.

My rating: 2.5/5