Metacritic-Rezensionen

Art historian Thomas Negovan has excavated countless hours of rushes and raw footage from the archives to assemble a new film, hewing as close as possible to Vidal’s original story. In doing so, the debauchery, majesty, and brutality are finally revealed in all their unhinged glory.

While I appreciate getting a cult classic a new coat of 4K to be mean for the stream in fine fashion, Caligula: The Ultimate Cut is not your grandpa’s Caligula.

This is not a film for everyone by a long shot. Still, those willing to take a chance and embrace it on its own very distinct and occasionally deranged terms are likely to find themselves agreeing with the ultimate assessment of Mirren, who once described it as “an irresistible mix of art and genitals.”

The great production designer Danilo Donati’s contributions alone are worth the trip.

It all makes for something startling, amusing and bizarre.

Caligula is still far from great, but it has risen to the level of an enjoyable, intermittently campy soap about ruthlessness, with one or two affecting moments.