Caligula

A Roman epic gone wrong

Caligula had Malcolm McDowell, Helen Mirren and Peter O'Toole, a script by Gore Vidal and a budget funded by Penthouse magazine. Then the producer shot extra explicit scenes behind the director's back and cut them in, and nearly everyone involved disowned it. It tells the story of the Roman emperor whose reign became a byword for madness and excess.

"Sickening, utterly worthless, shameful trash"

Ebert walked out after two hours, one of very few times he ever left a film early, and gave it zero stars. His review called it sickening, utterly worthless, shameful trash. Decades later, a new version was rebuilt from unused footage to get closer to what the filmmakers intended. The original remains one of the most notorious films ever released.

Cast and crew

Director: Tinto Brass

Cast: Malcolm McDowell, Peter O'Toole, Helen Mirren