The Emperor Caligula: The Untold Story (1982)

The mad Roman emperor Caligula romances a young Moor woman plotting to kill him while he continues his debauched lifestyle of sex and murder.

Director:

Joe D'Amato (as David Hills)

Writers:

Joe D'Amato (as David Hills), George Eastman (as Richard Franks)

Stars:

David Brandon, Laura Gemser, Luciano Bartoli

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Brandon	...	Caligula (as David Cain)
Laura Gemser	...	Miriam
Luciano Bartoli	...	Messala (as Oliver Finch)
Charles Borromel	...	Petreio
Fabiola Toledo	...	Livia
Sasha D'Arc	...	Ulmar
Alessandro Freyberger	...	Ezio (as Alex Freyberger)
Larry Dolgin	...	Cornelius
Gabriele Tinti	...	Marcellus Agrippa
John Alin	...	Tullio Gallio
Ulla Luna	...	Clizia
Michele Soavi	...	Domitius
Joan McCoy
Didi Franks
Giorgia Williams

Storyline

The deranged Roman emperor Gainus 'Caligula' (Little Boots) Caesar (12-41 A.D.) rules Rome with an iron fist and has anyone tortured and executed for even the slightest insubordination. Mostly set during the last year of his reign, as Caligula loses support due to his brutal and crazed excess, a young Moor woman, named Miriam, becomes his lover while plotting to kill him to avenge the murder of a friend which Caligula was responsible for. But Miriam is torn between her personal vendetta against Caligula and her own personal feelings towards him despite his madness and debauched lifestyle of orgies and bloody torture murders.

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Plot Keywords:

caligula | orgy | sex | horse penis | zoophilia | 

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Genres:

Adult | Drama | History | Horror

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

2 February 1982 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Emperor Caligula: The Garden of Taboo

Filming Locations:

Anzio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metaxa Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min 125 min (hardcore)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in The Cinema Snob: Caligula: Part I (2010)

User Reviews

D'Amato was a man with a vision.

If someone asked me if I was a fan of Aristide Massacessi, I'd probably laugh mockingly into their hurt faces. Yet when I look at the comments I've written for the IMDB, I've reviewed FAR more of his films than anyone else's! Say what you like about the man, but he really knows how to deliver utterly unpredictable and hilarious sleaze when you least expect it- which is probably why I keep finding myself attracted to his films!

CALIGULA: THE UNTOLD STORY is a superb example of this. What possible commercial motivation (other than ripping off the original CALIGULA, obviously) could there be for a movie like this? Within the first few scenes, Michele Soavi has had his tongue graphically cut off, and the fun pops up at regular intervals from there. Unexpected hardcore sequences and yet MORE scenes of equine masturbation (what WAS Massacessi thinking when he thought such scenes could add something to his movies?), plus sleazy violence, come thick and fast. However, unlike Massacessi's other weird attempts at fusing genres (see EMANUELLE IN AMERICA, PORNO HOLOCAUST etc for examples), CALIGULA: THE UNTOLD STORY is actually quite watchable. This is probably because he chose to throw the sleaze into a reasonably interesting (if hideously inaccurate!) historical story, rather than just into a flaccid soft sex film like he normally would.

I can't help but love this. Sure, it's not actually GOOD, but just when you think the film might be going downhill, you get a screen-full of a man being speared to death through his rectum. I have no idea what audience demographic Massacessi was thinking of when he made this, but I can assure you that it comes highly recommended.