Caligula (1979) (The Imperial Edition)

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by nekromantik

im shook after all this time there is no distributor for home video.
would have thought companies like Shout or Arrow etc would be chomping at bits

This has got Vinegar Syndrome written all over it, but i don't know if they could afford the rights to it. Maybe VS isn't a big enough distributor to them and they want a wider/bigger release?

[snipemonkey]

Gotta admit I was dubious about this one, but I'm getting more and more stoked the more I hear...

[nekromantik]

Originally Posted by mar3o

This has got Vinegar Syndrome written all over it, but i don't know if they could afford the rights to it. Maybe VS isn't a big enough distributor to them and they want a wider/bigger release?

yeah lets hope they can get it

[sb5]

https://variety.com/2023/film/global...ms-1235617481/

’Caligula’ Director Tinto Brass Slams ‘Caligula – The Ultimate Cut’ Screening in Cannes, Says He Is Taking Legal Action Against Penthouse Films

More that forty years after his bitter battle with Bob Guccione over cult classic “Caligula,” Italian director Tinto Brass is still fighting.

Just as Penthouse Films International has unveiled a new cut of the raunchy 1980 epic about the fall of the Roman ruler titled “Caligula: The Ultimate Cut” – that screened on Wed. in the Cannes Classics section with Helen Mirren on hand – Brass has issued a statement distancing himself from this new version of the film and announced that he is taking unspecified legal action.

“After numerous and fruitless negotiations that have followed over the years, first with the Penthouse and then with other unclear individuals, to edit the material that I shot and which had been found in the Penthouse archives, a version has been created on which I did not take part and which I am convinced will not reflect my artistic vision,” Brass, who is 90, said in the statement.

“As is well known, the editing process is what shapes my very personal directorial style. If I can’t edit a film, I don’t recognize it, and I have not acknowledged authorship [of the new ‘Caligula’ cut]. There are numerous versions of ‘Caligula’ edited by others, including Bob Guccione. But none of them correspond to my original project. The Cannes audience will therefore be misled by the arbitrary use of my name,” the director, who is 90, went on to note.

The statement ends with :”For now I won’t add anything else. My lawyers are dealing with the matter.”

There was no immediate comment from Penthouse Films International to whom Variety reached out through the new “Caligula” cut’s publicist.

The big-budget “Caligula” was self-financed in 1980 by Penthouse founder Bob Guccione who after fighting with Brass and screenwriter Gore Vidal wrested control of the project ad tossed out the script, adding adult content that he shot after the actors – who besides Mirren included Malcolm McDowell, John Gielgud, and Peter O’Toole – had finished their shoots. The addition of porn prompted Brass and Vidal to sue to have their names removed from the picture.

Regarding the new dispute one thing is sure, “Caligula: The Ultimate Cut,” which runs 157 minutes and was made using 96 hours of Brass’ original footage, is very different from Guccione’s cut. The revived film’s producer Thomas Negovan “Approached this new version from a neutral perspective,” say the production notes.

“His desire to elevate the actors gives greater strength to the narrative and provides a new approach to the Emperor Caligula’s madness,” they add and go on to point out: “Another feat is that not a single shot from the original film was used, which makes “Caligula – The Ultimate Cut” a completely new feature film.”

[cake545]

Bummer

[sb5]

I don’t know if he has any power to stop anything legally - it may just be a matter of removing his name in any sort of promotional/selling point of this version.

[GasmaskAvenger]

I guess that ruled out Brass declining involvement out of poor health if he's well enough to take legal action...unless its not Brass but rather his family fighting on his behalf.

[agenda]

Oh Jesus Christ, here we go again. This is unbelievable. To be perfectly honest, that is something that I didn't expect in any form...ever again. Wow! Personally, I hope from my heart that The Ultimate Cut will ultimately appearing on Blu-ray without anymore bullshit barricades so that we, as an audience, can see it, enjoy it and "judge" it the way it is.

[bigshot]

He's right. Editing is half what a director does. This movie has always been completely undirected when it comes to editing. And this tells us that the people making this version are more than willing to lie about the reason for Brass's lack of involvement.

When you work with directors, you know how they operate. From the beginning, this project has seemed like something Brass would not approve of. If they just had waited until he was dead, they probably would have gotten away with it.

When he was making films, Tinto Brass was a pretty radical and unique film maker. He wasn't John Ford or C. B. DeMille or David Lean making respectable epics. I think Guccione was probably working from Brass's select takes, which at least would have indicated what he wanted in the way of performances. The new version probably tries to round off all of Brass's corners and make it seem more like a PBS miniseries. If that's the case, Guccioni's version will likely be closer to Brass's intent than this new one.

[dallywhitty]

Originally Posted by bigshot

Guccioni's version will likely be closer to Brass's intent than this new one.

He edited scenes in the wrong order, left entire character-focused sequences on the cutting room floor, and inserted hardcore porn which he'd shot behind everyone's backs. How could the theatrical version possibly be closer to Brass' intent than The Ultimate Cut?

[bigshot]

On my blu-ray, there are no porn scenes and the opening bit was moved back to the middle where it belonged. That version plays fine. Guccioni's whole cloth "contributions" aren't that difficult to correct. I think the claim that they're "focusing on the actors" by using only non-select takes means that they are undirecting the film. At least Guccioni used the takes Brass chose to print.

[letthemeatcake09]

Can someone explain why this movie looks like it does?? it is so badly shot, the image looks A LOT of generations removed from ocn and very badly lit.

[dallywhitty]

Originally Posted by letthemeatcake09

Can someone explain why this movie looks like it does?? it is so badly shot, the image looks A LOT of generations removed from ocn and very badly lit.

It's a combination of the camera crew having a relaxed approach to focus, and the HD master that's most widely available being shit. It was touted as being a brand new transfer when the Imperial Edition came out but I'm convinced it was something they had lying around from the early DVD era. Some European BDs are sourced from a different scan entirely (I've got the German disc and it's a solid upgrade). The upcoming Ultimate Cut is from the OCN.

[letthemeatcake09]

Originally Posted by dallywhitty

It's a combination of the camera crew having a relaxed approach to focus, and the HD master that's most widely available being shit. It was touted as being a brand new transfer when the Imperial Edition came out but I'm convinced it was something they had lying around from the early DVD era. Some European BDs are sourced from a different scan entirely (I've got the German disc and it's a solid upgrade). The upcoming Ultimate Cut is from the OCN.

I don't mind old masters from the early dvd era. Some have leaked thanks to streaming services and they look absolutely fantastic. They look like films looked at the theater even with dust speckles and they are how these films should look. Caligula doesn't look like that at all, it looks like the problems are in camera, in others words maybe the ocn looks like that too? I recall reading that the director of photographer worked measuring the light on his skin?? I don't know, I also rewatched it in anticipation of the ultimate cut and was shocked at how poor and sparse the sets were.

[GhastlyGraham]

NSFW

Trailer for the upcoming new cut of Caligula!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adPyHUetmGY

[Surge92]

Originally Posted by GhastlyGraham

NSFW

Trailer for the upcoming new cut of Caligula!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adPyHUetmGY

I seriously doubt it's going to play in a theater by me, but I'm totally stoked about the blu-ray or better yet, the 4K UHD.

[russweiss1]

For those in the Los Angeles area there will be a screening of the Ultimate cut on September 29th.

https://beyondfest.com/2023-films/

[Taylor3978]

Originally Posted by GhastlyGraham

Trailer for the upcoming new cut of Caligula!

Whoa, endorsed by Malcolm McDowell.

[bigshot]

When Caligula was being shot, the trend in cinematography was to embrace the things that earlier cinematographers would have called mistakes... like lens flares, shifting shallow focus, gauzy diffused looks, etc. The idea was to create a mood that felt present and immersive, rather than carefully documenting the action with the camera. The major proponent of this was Conrad Hall (Butch Cassidy, Fat City, Marathon Man, Day of the Locust) and it spread among a lot of films at the time. There's an interesting interview with him in a documentary called Visions of Light where he talks about this.

[jackmovie]

from the guy who worked on the restoration

https://old.reddit.com/r/boutiqueblu...nment/kqu3xxm/

There are announcements coming soon; to be honest I’m surprised the US distributor hasn’t already made one. I can say both the US and UK are getting theatrical releases this year before 4k releases, and that the US 4k release should have a bunch of cool stuff on it.