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A fact I would never admit to people I want to like me, I am a fan of Joe D'amato flicks. Here he is up to his old tricks; offering over the top blood shed, pointless plotting and (depending on which version you have) some X-rated sex scenes.

If you know anything about history, then there is no point in going through the plot. For those unaware, Caligula was a Ceaser and emperor of Rome. He was also generally regarded as the most brutal, demented ruler the empire ever had.

Joe D'amato strings together a lose revenge tale around his favorite leading lady, 'Black Emmanuel' Laura Gamser (funny, she's Asian). Her friend is killed by the diabolical Emperor in a botched rape attempt and she goes undercover into the place to get vengeance. Along the way we see three-ways, four-ways, prostitute training, a man impaled on a spike, the list just goes on. The coup de grace is a party scene in which we are treated to gladiators killing each other, a horse (yes, I said horse) hand job, and a long (if you have the real unedited version, which to my knowledge is out of print) orgy with all the X-rated trimmings.

D'amato flicks are most certainly an acquired taste. Most will find this to be filth, but if you have the mind for it, then this is one of the sleaze master's best.

6/10

The director of this film is a favorite of eurotrash and an advance in the fact of presenting perfect films for the most universal male palate. In this sense, we have a work about one of the most popular Roman emperors with the support of a production superior to the rest of the work of Aristide Massaccesi and a cast that with great care makes us immerse ourselves in the thickest exploitation based on extreme trends. Of Caligula. The film is not suitable for all audiences but it is shorter than that of Tinto Brass and has less pretense, which makes it in a certain sense a little more tolerable. It is not a great film but for every fan of the director it is a must.

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.

I'm probably one of the few people in the world who don't automatically categorize Joe D'Amato's film as 'worthless' or 'sleazy junk'. No, I actually support the opinion that he's a filmmaker with vision. With films like 'Buried Alive', 'Death Smiles at Murder' and 'Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals' he proved that he's capable of combining gruesome horror images and gore with a compelling script. This film, however, completely takes the edge off the above stated opinion. Caligula: The Untold Story is a very ugly and mediocre film about history's most notorious figure. Following Tinto Brass' controversial cult-epic, D'Amato focuses on the cruel and inhuman reign of the Roman emperor. This film particularly handles about a personal vendetta between a Moor-woman (whose friend got brutally killed) and the Emperor. She's torn between her personal feelings and her urge to take vengeance bla bla bla…

Caligula is a non-stop series of uninteresting sleaze, lame gore, terrible acting skills and inferior production values. The film starts out well enough, with a great cameo from Michele Soavi (later the director of masterpieces like 'Dellamorte Dellamore') trying to kill Caligula but, after this, it all goes downhill. David Cain is an incredibly bad actor and even the gorgeous Laura 'Black Emanuelle' Gemser doesn't look sensual enough to keep you watching. This film reminded me a lot about history lessons in school. The substance is fascinating enough, but it's brought in such a tedious and dull way. You're way better of watching Brass' epic staring Malcolm McDowell.

The reign of the notorious Roman Caesar Caligula, the man who ruled over a vast empire for four tumultuous years. We see his hedonistic lifestyle, his perversion and his insanity. We also the many women in his life, including one in particular, Miriam.

If you watched the original Tinto Brass-directed Caligula from 1981 and were now hoping for something more closer to history and less about sex and nudity, you'll be disappointed. The original Caligula had potential as a drama but was let down and cheapened by the gratuitous porn scenes. This doesn't go as far as full-on porn but still makes sex and nudity the main theme.

This is really just a typical 70s/80s B-grade exploitation flick and even by those standards it's quite weak.

Avoid.

The reign of the notorious Roman Caesar Caligula, the man who ruled over a vast empire for four tumultuous years. We see his hedonistic lifestyle, his perversion and his insanity. We also the many women in his life, including one in particular, Miriam.

If you watched the original Tinto Brass-directed Caligula from 1981 and were now hoping for something more closer to history and less about sex and nudity, you'll be disappointed. The original Caligula had potential as a drama but was let down and cheapened by the gratuitous porn scenes. This doesn't go as far as full-on porn but still makes sex and nudity the main theme.

Even then, by B-grade exploitation standards it's pretty tame.

Avoid.

One of the most awful movie I've ever seen. The first Caligula already had a lot of its own issues, but this one was totally worse!

Caligula's character is more disgusting, but there is really no main character here. Somehow, this version just has a lot of supporting actors, with no REAL leads at all! One important thing, this REALLY is the untold story of Caligula...Except everything else is lost!

Caligula roughness, remarkable porn, erotics, and bravery. All I want to say is that this Caligula's grossness,......................... and courage. that in this UNTOLD STORY, Caligula really spills his guts!

There is no part of this movie that Registers as enjoyable!!!

I am quite a Joe D'amato fan for such films as "Anthropophagus" and some of the Emmanuelle series so to my surprise I hadn't heard of this film until about a week ago. Naturally, I went through all the lengths to find the hardcore version of this movie and with luck did find it. This movie is in no way as good as Penthouse's "Caligula" but is in no way a forgettable movie. Anyone that knows the story of Caligula knows he was quite a sick man or should I say monster. This version of the film is definitely XXX and can be quite disturbing even to a person of my tastes. The movie starts off kind of slow except for the very opening scene where you see Italian director Michele Soavi get his nerves cut and his tongue cut out. The movie does pick up and about half way through the movie is an orgy scene that seems to just go on and on. This scene, for me, has some of the most tasteless moments in it. I am not even going to describe it other than there is a horrible beastiality scene which is just wrong on many levels. I think the most disturbing part in the movie is when Caligula finds out he is being conspired against. So naturally, he finds the conspirators and does one of the most horrendous things I have ever scene on film. And what happens to one of the conspirators family is unspeakable. So, if you are a fan of the original "Caligula" I say to check this movie out. Just expect a low budget movie with some horrible scene.

The fact is that Joe D'Amato pictures just aren't made for everyone's taste... once you accept this idea and IF you like italian exploitation flicks you won't be disappointed. Well, this film has been severely censored, but if you can get hold of an uncut copy you will see that the hype, for once, is absolutely true. Lots of graphic violence and hardcore sex (plus one scene with a horse...) make the uncut version of Tinto Brass' Caligola look like a tame R film. Truly disturbing, but D'Amato knows how to deliver the goods (and the performance of David Brandon is really good). Well, I'm not suggesting that anyone of you should go out and rent this film (if you can find it...), just those of you that are not easily offended by good bad taste. With Emanuelle in America one of the best D'Amatos ever! Rest in peace, Joe.

I'll never tell - in case you have not seen the Michael Douglas movie I am referencing here (with my trademark no pun intended line). And why you ask am I even thinking of that? Because of the (I reckon one of the many?) title of course: Caligula 2: the Untold Story. Also the untrue story apparently! I could not have told or said so myself (would not call myself a history buff in that regard), but the screenwriter himself says so.

He was on the disc talking about the movie and about the political and other stuff in it. And I like the political and social commentary the movie has. Actually if it dug deeper into that - if it poked that instead of ... well other holes it fills (sorry had to) ... there would have been an even better movie.

I do not think that the "hardcore" stuff in this were necessary. I was surprised to see a scene with a horse here that I thought was exclusive to the Black Emmanuelle series of movies. I have not seen that movie were it is supposed to be in and maybe it is explicit in that one (because the version I saw here, did not show the horrible thing you may imagine - and I imagine for the better ... no pun intended).

But let's not get off that stuff ... no way let us get off that stuff. You know what I mean. The acting is ok, though there are so many different versions of this, I doubt any actor knew what was happening at all times. Which I guess makes the performances even better. Again, there is some really good stuff here and I like what the screenwriter had to say in his interview about the movie and about current people in power (or who were in power and try to get back in power)! There is some interesting stuff here.

But you really have to have a .... well hard skin? Is that how one would describe it? You can't be easily offended for sure - there is a reason you need to tell imdb show me all the titles to find this - or use a search engine of course to come ... to this page. Sorry for another pun - I doubt this will ... well arouse you in that way, but far be it from me to tell you what makes your day ... or doesn't.

After the original Caligula the movie had to up the ante ... there are some truly horrific stuff in this. The make up effects are quite good. Again not sure what version you might have watched or want to watch ... but you can check what you missed or buy the blu ray that is out and has almost everything in it - and if not it is in the deleted scenes. "Enjoy" may not be the right word ... experience more like it (or don't like it)

Caligola: La Storia Mai Raccontata, or Caligula: The Untold Story, is an erotic film that immerses viewers in the depraved world of ancient Rome's most infamous emperor, Gaius Caligula. Released in 1982, this film is a clear attempt by director Joe D'Amato to capitalize on the success of Tinto Brass's Caligula, released just three years prior. While it might attract fans of D'Amato's signature sleaze, the film ultimately fails to deliver a compelling narrative, opting instead for a mid-budget porn aesthetic with graphic and unerotic sex scenes.

D'Amato's Caligula: The Untold Story is a graphic and disturbing portrayal of the emperor's violent and sexually deviant acts. The film's infamous orgy sequence, which forms the core of the narrative, is bookended by scenes of Caligula's extreme sexual perversions and acts of brutality. From the removal of a man's tongue to the rape of a virgin in a forest, the film spares no detail in its depiction of Caligula's depravity.

The hardcore footage, which runs for approximately 125 minutes, fails to arouse and instead leaves viewers feeling repelled. This is largely due to the lack of eroticism and the jarring transition between the violent acts and the orgy sequence. Mark Shannon's appearance in the hardcore segments is unsurprising, given the nature of the film.

While the film attempts to push the boundaries of sensationalism, it falls short of its predecessor, Brass's Caligula, which created a temporary market for similar films hoping to capitalize on its success. Unfortunately, D'Amato's offering lacks the substance to make it a memorable contribution to the genre.

In terms of production value, the film is passable for a mid-budget adult film. However, it's clear that the focus was predominantly on the explicit content rather than the set design or costume authenticity.

My expectations for this movie were low based on reviews & what friends said. This didn't even meet my diminished expectations. The story was very disjointed. I watched the supposed complete version yet it was as if there was missing scenes. I had to pause the movie several times to get thru. Usually there's at least one character you care about but none here. The acting was mostly mediocre. Even the hardcore which was basically limited to one orgy scene was disjointed and I found distracting from the rest of the movie and filmed (in 1981) like they handed someone at random a camera they told to film what they want. Just a total mess.

2 hours 5 minutes of my time I want back. 3 stars but probably way too generous.

My fascination/repulsion with Tinto Brass' explicit trash epic, Caligula, has gotten the better of me. I actually sought out these exploitation knockoffs, made to cash in on the original's success. I started with Caligula and Messalina, which it could almost be said is as much of an "untold story" as this was. In that one, after rehashing events seen in Caligula (more than once!), they off him about 40 minutes in, and the story focuses on Messalina, and who can backstab their way to being empress.

The Untold Story also does some rehashing of its own, and features all sorts of Caligula-esque mayhem (sex/death). There is one torture/death scene I've never seen in a movie, and I'm a horror movie addict, that is particularly brutal and unpleasant... But just not enough to bring up my rating from one star. A 1.1 for that. There are a number of critical failures in this Severin release. Firstly, the story is paper-thin. Worse, it is insanely dull (I mentioned a lethal sin). There is a story about a slave girl Caligula falls for, who has nefarious intentions of her own. Cut to, just about the biggest slap in the face of a resolution any modern-day movie could have.

You want worse? This edition features an extended cut, 16 minutes longer than the US cut, so naturally I gravitated toward seeing that version. This movie's native spoken language is English. What you're saddled with here, with no options to change it, is a terrible Italian DUB, with subtitles. Yikes. And good luck with keeping up with these subs for 2+ hours, because they come and go quickly. I had to watch it in two sittings, because I thought it would never end.

This movie hobbles along for about 45 painful minutes, then (you can thank inspiration from Tinto Brass) devolves into a graphic, ceaseless orgy sequence, the length of which I haven't seen since Carlos Tobalina was still alive. Or maybe it just seemed that way (though it lasted at least 30 minutes). Assuming at least the bulk of the 16 minutes of padding can be found here. There's midgets, ED, elderly people, various unpleasantries (participants are sprayed with blood as there is a fight to the death going on in the meantime), and to cap it off, a rather unattractive looking woman manipulates a horse. And I thought the graphic donkey and horse scenes in Caligula and Messalina were over-the-top.

You're saying, oh, that sounds interesting. Until you slog through it. Funny thing, this is where I stopped the movie, to finish it another time. When graphic sex was onscreen, which I have no aversion to.

Anyway, once those fireworks (I'm using the term loosely) subside, it goes back to the non-story where Caligula enjoys torturing people, and having sex with his slave girl (in two identical scenes!). The Untold Story was one major swing and a miss for me, and I'm positive this terrible Italian dub did not help matters (knowing full well a proper English language version exists).

If you thought the Tinto Brass movie about loony Roman emperor Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (better known to most as Caligula) was shocking, wait 'til you see what seasoned sleaze merchant Joe D'Amato does with the story.

Doing away with the kind of artistic pretencions that occasionally spoilt the better known 1979 take on the tale, old Joe (here working under the pseudonym David Hills) concentrates his energy on delivering tons of nudity and perverted sex (softcore and hardcore), some truly nasty gore, and even a little repellent animal action à la his infamous Emanuelle in America. The result may not be as visually impressive as Tinto's film, and it certainly hasn't got the novelty value of such a renowned cast (no Dame Helen Mirren or Peter O'Toole in this one), but it does take the sleaze to an even higher level.

D'Amato's favourite leading lady, Laura Gemser, plays Miriam, a slave-girl who vows to kill Caligula (David Brandon) after he rapes and murders her best friend. Securing a place as a whore at one of his lavish orgies, she manages to become the mad emperor's lover, hoping to strike when his guard is down (and his toga is up). But as she spends more time with crazy Cal, Miriam's feelings begin to change...

With Caligula II: The Untold Story, Italy's prolific master of exploitation manages to successfully meld his passion for porno with an interesting plot—something I felt he failed to do with Emanuelle in America and Porno Holocaust, the other XXX classics of his that I've had the dubious pleasure of viewing. However loosely based on history D'Amato's film is, it is still worth a watch simply because the central character—a tyrant who believed himself a god—is so fascinating.

Known for his extravagance, decadence, and cruelty, Caligula is the perfect subject for a sensationalist movie, and the makers of The Untold Story certainly do him proud. The following scenes have been unflinchingly filmed for your viewing pleasure: • a would-be assassin has his tongue cut out and his tendons slashed; • vestal virgins are 'deflowered-by-dildo' and then taught the art of fellatio; • sex-mad participants at an orgy (including a dwarf, who gets in on the action) witness a woman pleasuring a horse, and a brutal gladiator fight which results in blood spraying over the eager onlookers; • a baby is killed by being thrown against a wall; • and, perhaps worst of all, several men are fully impaled on spears (which emerge from their chest, having been inserted up their ass!).

Both sickening and sexy, Caligula II: The Untold Story is uncompromising movie-making which is certain to appeal to fans of sleazy exploitation and extreme cinema.

This re-imagining of Bob Guccione's "Caligula" turned out to be a lot better than I had expected. Thanks mostly to the performance of David Brandon as the demented Emperor of Rome. Ornate costumes and sets, as well as a lush film score help as well, as Caligula tears, slices and rapes his way through a large cast of slaves and Romans. The complete, uncut version runs to 125 minutes, and features a long and graphic orgy scene similar to the one in the Tinto Brass version from 1979. The film would be better if those scenes were shortened, as it takes the viewer away from the principal characters and storyline, but it is still a solid film. Here Caligula becomes obsessed with the slave girl Miriam, understandably so as she is played by the beautiful Laura Gemser of "Black Emanuelle" fame. Of course Miriam has other plans for the ruthless Emperor. Both Gemser and David Brandon are gorgeous and sexy, and they have many intense scenes together. The film is shot quite competently, and some shots are visually breathtaking, at least in the original widescreen format. Caligula speaks with a harsh, elitist English accent, and some of the dialog pops up in Italian with English subtitles, as a result of someone using multiple print sources to get the most complete version possible. The graphic violent and sexual imagery is what everyone talks about, but they distract from the fact that "Caligula: The Untold Story" is a legitimate, and fairly good historical epic. And this version even dared to show that Caligula himself was bi-sexual, whereas the earlier version avoided that fact. And truthfully the violent scenes, as nasty as they are, are few and far between. And between 20 minutes of graphic, hardcore sex, are 90 minutes of dialog-driven scenes, and even a little romance. Fans of cult cinema, and of the 1979 version should appreciate this one.

I am a history buff, and have done quite a bit of research on late republic--early empire Rome. The funny thing about the film is that the only part that is really historically accurate (aside from Caligula being emperor) is the starting Narration, when an unseen narrator describes Caligula as a "Pervert, glutton, Paranoid, insomniac--this is his story!" After that, fiction takes over, making the movie (and the music) very third rate. Some parts are very disturbing, but gives you a view of the mental capacity of Romans before Christianity took hold of Italy. The acting was second rate. Most of the main players couldn't even speak English, and the 'voice in's' were horribly sequenced. But I must give two thumbs up for David Brandon (Caligula). He played the part so convincingly, with his arrogant, cruel, sadistic actions, that in my opinion, made the movie. <<by the way, does anyone know what David Brandon is up too these days?>> Since it's obvious that the film contains nudity, and many violent scenes, I thought I would focus on the merits (though few and far between). And I must say that the intimate scenes between Laura Gemser (Mariam) and DB are very enticing.

The spinoff or this independent effort of our vile and merciless prince, is something of a sleazy indulgence, lasting over two hours. Highly pornographic, this movie is- be warned, one orgy scene involving c**ks*****g and there are other scenes, had me wondering at one point, if I actually had obtained the X version. Nasty violence doesn't go astray in this surprisingly well made film, where our dark skinned beauty (Gemser- Emmanuelle's Daughter) seeks revenge on the slaying of her girlfriend, an innocent beauty, at the brutal hand of our loathed and notorious prince. This is pretty hardcore stuff, and inevitably there will be those who'll be offended and shocked, and of course, this is what we perceive it as: something made for those two reasons, but it's a bit more than that too. The acting is very good, our Caligula here, one with a very distinguished and cruel face, though of course, it's not Oscar worthy. Our Caligula softens up in the last twenty minutes, but could it be too late to change his evil ways? With much appeal, this Caligula is much more engaging, than the original. You could say weirdly engaging, and our engaging beauty, Gemser, enhances the film's appeal some. An untold story, gladly told in all it's shock, frankness, and splendor, that redeems itself into much cleaner territory, in it's last twenty minutes.

This is really pretty dreadful and runs, in this complete version, for over two hours! It starts well enough but D'Amato tries too hard here, both high and low. We have hardcore (including what must be a half hour hardcore orgy!) we have very wordy exchanges that suggest this might have been intended as vaguely serious and when finally Laura Gemser gets into position to kill the man, she falls in love! Even without the extraordinary scene with the fat lady having sex with the horse, or the anal tortures, or the oft repeated and fairly meaningless dream sequences this would make little sense. So why the protracted attempt anyway, just stick to the sex and violence and we could have been out in under 90 minutes but no Mr D'Amato had to imitate the Caesar and go just that big bit too far.

I bought Caligula -Untold story, because I'm huge D'amato-fan, and I've seen couple of other "sequels" to Cuccione's Caligula, like Caligula and Messalina and so on. However, this one wasn't quite what I was hoping for. I had read from many different sources about this D'amato flick, and I got the picture that it would be sleazy same way as Emanuelle in America or even Porho holocaust were. I can't say I'm disappointed of lack of hard core sex scenes in the movie, but it could have been better with them. Even thought, there are many sequences that someone may consider disturbing. Still, I prefer D'amato-flicks like whole Emanuelle-series, Buio omega, Porno holocaust and Erotic nights of the living dead. Even Gemser don't bring the glory in this one (although I must say I'm huge Gemser-fan too). Still Caligula -untold story is far more enjoyable and better all ways than other Caligula sequels.

**½ out of 5 as a movie, *** out of 5 in D'amato-o-meter