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Several different versions of this movie have been circulated: (1) It was originally released in the U.K. with a running time of two hours and twenty-nine minutes, with the hardcore sex replaced by alternate footage inserted by the distributor. However, the latest U.K. release (and now legal version) has a PAL running time of one hour and thirty-eight minutes (approximately one hour and forty-two minute movie/NTSC) and is the same as the older R-rated version in the U.S. The original two hour and twenty-nine minute cut is now highly sought after. (2) A one hour and forty-five minute R-rated version was released in the U.S. in 1981. This version also used alternate footage and angles in the hardcore sex scenes and during scenes of graphic violence. (3) The official "uncut" version runs two hours and thirty-six minutes, and includes about six minutes of re-shoots by producer Bob Guccione. (4) In 1984, the movie was re-cut and re-released in Italy under the title "Io, Caligola". It ran two hours and thirteen minutes and was cut to two hours and three minutes by the Italian censors. When released on home video, some of the hardcore footage shot by Bob Guccione was reinserted into the movie. (5) The second (and current) R-rated version was released in 199, and used no alternate footage or angles, with the same shots repeating several times to mask the cuts in the movie. The rumors of a three hour and thirty minute version screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 1979 are untrue.
The childbirth scene where Caesonia (Helen Mirren) gives birth, was an actual childbirth, which was filmed in three takes using three different pregnant women extras and later edited together. Extras assisting the births were real doctors, who said they were indeed equipped with all the modern tools they would need to ensure safety for the women and babies despite in full ancient Roman clothing.
Dame Helen Mirren described this movie as "an irresistible mix of art and genitals". Although many actors would regret their involvement with the film, Mirren has remained proud of her role as "the most promiscuous woman in all of Rome", as she believed European Cinema was reaching a benchmark in sex positivity and "it was the time to do nudity". She was, however, taken aback with the film's hardcore footage.
Director Tinto Brass originally wanted to cast actual criminals in conditional sentence as the Roman Senators and ugly women in the sex scenes to shock the viewers. The result was producer Bob Guccione firing Brass.
Many years after the film's release, original negatives of the film have been recovered, which were sneaked out of Italy during production and contained over 90 hours worth of never before seen footage. In 2020, it was announced that a 40th anniversary version was in the making, produced by author and historian Thomas Negovan, which would be much closer to Gore Vidal's original script. Rather than using the new footage to expand certain scenes, the entire film was recut from scratch, creating a unique version while not leaving a single frame of the theatrical version in the film. During the process, visual effects were used to replace and expand the cheap sets and backgrounds, and AI technology was used to restore dialogue performances that were plagued with background noises. A great care has also been taken to select alternate footage of certain scenes to change their tone completely, and to replace the rather campy performances of the actors with ones that honoured their talents. Originally planned for a limited theatrical release in late 2020, this cut later premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023.
The scene where Caligula (Malcolm McDowell) endures a nervous breakdown during the thunderstorm was written by McDowell.