What do you think will sell more DVD machine this or Titanic?
Re-release of "Caligula" Will Stir Up New Controvery Over Sexually Explicit Film That Depicts the Reign of the Infamous Roman Emperor for 30th Anniversary Year of Penthouse Magazine
NEW YORK--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--Sept. 14, 1999--
Bob Guccione's 1979 Classic Film to be Re-issued in Digitally Re-mastered Dolby(TM) Sound Versions for Theaters in September and in
DVD and Video Versions in November
When four of the most widely respected actors of their generation played starring roles in a sexually explicit film 20 years ago, the entertainment world was stunned. Now the re-release, in selected theatres and in new 20th Anniversary Special Edition DVD and video versions of Bob Guccione's controversial "Caligula," is likely to have an equally dramatic impact.
"Caligula," which runs 148 minutes, will be distributed to theaters by Independent Artists Company in a limited run starting September 17th at both The Village East and The City Cinema Sutton in New York City. Some of the exhibiting markets will also include Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and St. Louis. A new 20th Anniversary Special Edition video and DVD will be available on November 23rd in stores across the country and through select online outlets which will be posted on www.penthouse.com/caligula.
Starring Malcolm McDowell, Sir John Gielgud, Helen Mirren and Peter O'Toole, "Caligula" is definitely not for the squeamish, or for those who do not wish to be aroused by a movie. In depicting the degradation of Rome in the first century, Guccione and co-producer Franco Rossellini meticulously followed the record set forth by contemporary writers. In doing so, they set off a raging controversy over whether their movie had gone too far.
"Caligula" spares nothing as it takes the viewer deep into the degeneration that was Rome, with shockingly realistic dramatizations of the sexual orgies and wanton cruelty in the courts of emperors Tiberius and Caligula. When the film first opened in February 1979 on the East Side of New York City, authorities tried - unsuccessfully - to close it.
The new "Caligula" has been digitally re-mastered and the sound track, featuring the dramatic works by Prokofiev and other classical composers, has been enhanced with Dolby(TM) stereo. The performances by the famous stars stand up well two decades later, as does the screenplay by Gore Vidal. The re-release is one of the events marking the 30th anniversary of the launch of Penthouse magazine in the U.S., which made its debut in September 1969.
"'Caligula' has become a cult film with its own loyal international following," Guccione notes. "Never in the 20 years since it was released has an adult film of this caliber been duplicated. Everything about it was, and still is, controversial, from Gore Vidal's screenplay, to the world-class actors who portrayed their roles so masterfully, and, of course, to the subject matter itself. It was a perfect project for Penthouse Films." Indeed, the film broke box-office records and continues to sell thousands of copies a month in video.
"The critics at the time loathed this film," Guccione recalls. "We didn't have press screenings so the reviewers had to stand in line like everyone else to see it and buy their own tickets at the then astounding price of $7.50. They were further annoyed because the temperature on the opening day happened to be 11 degrees. Of course, they were also upset that the publisher of Penthouse was trying his hand in a new medium and because, frankly, I shot my mouth off about making a blockbuster landmark film that would fundamentally change the theater-going public's perception of motion pictures. In fact, it did just that."
Among the most spectacular aspects of the film are its sets, designed by three-time Academy Award winner Danilo Donati. These include Caligula's stadium, which spanned the size of three football fields and incorporated a terrifying "killing machine," which historians say Caligula employed literally to mow down the heads of his detractors. The props also included a full-scale "brothel boat" on which Caligula held orgiastic banquets.
Guccione says that the more notorious the movie became and the more critics assailed its alleged pornographic content, the more popular it was with the public. "The lines outside the theaters showing the movie grew longer every time the papers told their readers how odious and decadent the film was," he remembers.
The making of the film was also controversial. Guccione and Rossellini battled with the director, Tinto Brass, who was subsequently fired. Vidal and Brass were at war during the shooting. The film production -- with its rumors of naked stars, lush and explicit sex scenes and spectacular sets -- became one of the most talked about in modern cinema history. Guccione and filmmaker Giancarlo Lui actually had to finish shooting some of the scenes themselves in the dark of night to circumvent Brass.
At the time of the release, Guccione declined to submit the film to the Motion Picture Association for a rating because, he said, "they can only give it an 'X,' and an X rating would be demeaning and unfair to 'Caligula.'" He assigned his own rating to it - "MA" for mature audiences.
Transparencies of scenes from Caligula are available on request.
CONTACT:
Jackie Markham or Heather Krug |
