| |||||
Caligula and Messalina
DVD/APPROX. 111 MINS/1982/ITALY UNRATED
DVD/APPROX. 111 MINS/1982/ITALY UNRATED
4
| All written material is © from 2006 to Present at DVD Resurrections. This website is for informational and entertainment purposes only. The opinions which are expressed within these pages are solely those of DVD Resurrections. No copyright infringement is intended or implied. |
| ||||||
As a movie reviewer I have always thought that my mission was to hack my way through the dense jungle of visual crud that's out there in hope
of uncovering the odd cultish classic. The result of this is that people send me all kinds of ropey dross which I dutifully endure, normally in the early
mornings before my partner gets up and restores some sanity to the house. Watching Japanese gore movies at seven in the morning after little
sleep could potentially lead to violence later when, warped and twisted by the vileness I've endured, I pop out for bread and milk. It's a sacrifice
that's worth making.
So where is the preamble going this time? The above is the reason that I found myself watching Caligula And Messalina as the birds started
singing one Sunday morning, Knowing that I had a full day of couples stuff to do, I rose early, made coffee and settled down to watch some dated
soft-core smut. The story of Caligula was most famously filmed by the artistically pretentious pornographer Tinto Brass. His feature, made in
conjunction with Penthouse magazine, features lavish sets, many extras, fine English Stage actors like John Gielgud and much naked flesh and
debauchery. It's a good movie for more opened minded or easily corrupted viewers, with high production values and a great central performance
from Malcolm McDowell.
Like any successful movie of the period, it inspired many rip off exploitation versions of the same story and Caligula and Messalina is a good
example of the Micro-genre. Director Bruno Mattei, using his Vincent Dawn screen name, directs with Antonio Passalia. Mattei is a veteran of low
rent crud, having put his name to such gloriously rotten apples as Rats...Night of Terror, Emanuelle in Prison and Zombie Creeping Flesh. The
very definition of a hack, Mattei makes wildly entertaining movies that have given thousands of bad movie fans many hours of pleasure.
For those unfamiliar with the story, Caligula was the embodiment of what went wrong with the Roman Empire. Cruel and insane, Caligula was a
drunken sex maniac who revealed in sadism and incest. He was utterly paranoid, killing anyone whom he suspected of treason without a thought.
He bled his people dry to pay for his excesses. Most famously, he insisted that his favourite horse be appointed to the Roman senate. Of course,
Plot and intrigue is brewing behind the pleasure seeking emperors back. As one of his sisters, while professing her undying love for him during an
incestuous tryst, schemes to dethrone him. Another woman intends to seduce him and use her incredible girl powers to drive him crazy with love in
order that she become first lady of the empire. Everyone else seems to want to stick him with a blade as well.
A freeform plot then, but one that allows the filmmakers free rein to create lots of orgiastic scenes of sex, wine and dancing. This is strictly
soft-core so there's no real sex on show, except for a bizarre scene of close up animal sex featuring hard horse cocks and other unmentionables.
Quite what the director was thinking, I'm not sure. Are people so horny and porn-hungry that in the absence of a real human fucking, a stiff
stallion cock and equestrian money shots are a good substitute? Whatever the reasoning for the scenes inclusion, it's bizarre and jarring and
makes the film more interesting to modern, ironically minded viewers looking for the bizarre and kitsch in their movies.
The film is packed with similarly entertaining examples of the eurotrash exploitation hack's art, including an English dialogue track that must have
brought shame to the film dubbing industry at the time. The director also makes amazing use of stock from other films to create his Roman Empire.
As we all know from the movies, Romans were always building things like Aqueducts and their were always lots of crowds in big plazas and the
like. So how does a guy with little money bring such majesty to the screen. By splicing in other peoples work. This is one of the best but most
jarring example of this cheeky technique...At the beginning a couple of Roman soldiers discuss the madness of the Emperor. One points at a
building site, the scene switches to a grainy scene that looks like it's been lifted from a 50s swords and sandals epic.
In conclusion, saying this a great film would be disingenuous. It's not a great film, it's a good example of a bad movie and is pure entertainment if
you're of the right mindset. Hysterically pitched performances, blood, torture and sex are the main ingredients in a film designed purely to ride the
wave of a more successful film. The isn't going to please porno fans, as anything in this movie can be found in much more explicit form at the click of
a mouse. Likewise gore fans might be upset by the lack of outright horror (most of the really nasty stuff is of screen). This is one for the lovers of
Euro-sleaze out there. The disc, provided by Rare Licensed DVDs has no extras save for a trailer but, considering the age and marginal status of
the film, this is no surprise.
of uncovering the odd cultish classic. The result of this is that people send me all kinds of ropey dross which I dutifully endure, normally in the early
mornings before my partner gets up and restores some sanity to the house. Watching Japanese gore movies at seven in the morning after little
sleep could potentially lead to violence later when, warped and twisted by the vileness I've endured, I pop out for bread and milk. It's a sacrifice
that's worth making.
So where is the preamble going this time? The above is the reason that I found myself watching Caligula And Messalina as the birds started
singing one Sunday morning, Knowing that I had a full day of couples stuff to do, I rose early, made coffee and settled down to watch some dated
soft-core smut. The story of Caligula was most famously filmed by the artistically pretentious pornographer Tinto Brass. His feature, made in
conjunction with Penthouse magazine, features lavish sets, many extras, fine English Stage actors like John Gielgud and much naked flesh and
debauchery. It's a good movie for more opened minded or easily corrupted viewers, with high production values and a great central performance
from Malcolm McDowell.
Like any successful movie of the period, it inspired many rip off exploitation versions of the same story and Caligula and Messalina is a good
example of the Micro-genre. Director Bruno Mattei, using his Vincent Dawn screen name, directs with Antonio Passalia. Mattei is a veteran of low
rent crud, having put his name to such gloriously rotten apples as Rats...Night of Terror, Emanuelle in Prison and Zombie Creeping Flesh. The
very definition of a hack, Mattei makes wildly entertaining movies that have given thousands of bad movie fans many hours of pleasure.
For those unfamiliar with the story, Caligula was the embodiment of what went wrong with the Roman Empire. Cruel and insane, Caligula was a
drunken sex maniac who revealed in sadism and incest. He was utterly paranoid, killing anyone whom he suspected of treason without a thought.
He bled his people dry to pay for his excesses. Most famously, he insisted that his favourite horse be appointed to the Roman senate. Of course,
Plot and intrigue is brewing behind the pleasure seeking emperors back. As one of his sisters, while professing her undying love for him during an
incestuous tryst, schemes to dethrone him. Another woman intends to seduce him and use her incredible girl powers to drive him crazy with love in
order that she become first lady of the empire. Everyone else seems to want to stick him with a blade as well.
A freeform plot then, but one that allows the filmmakers free rein to create lots of orgiastic scenes of sex, wine and dancing. This is strictly
soft-core so there's no real sex on show, except for a bizarre scene of close up animal sex featuring hard horse cocks and other unmentionables.
Quite what the director was thinking, I'm not sure. Are people so horny and porn-hungry that in the absence of a real human fucking, a stiff
stallion cock and equestrian money shots are a good substitute? Whatever the reasoning for the scenes inclusion, it's bizarre and jarring and
makes the film more interesting to modern, ironically minded viewers looking for the bizarre and kitsch in their movies.
The film is packed with similarly entertaining examples of the eurotrash exploitation hack's art, including an English dialogue track that must have
brought shame to the film dubbing industry at the time. The director also makes amazing use of stock from other films to create his Roman Empire.
As we all know from the movies, Romans were always building things like Aqueducts and their were always lots of crowds in big plazas and the
like. So how does a guy with little money bring such majesty to the screen. By splicing in other peoples work. This is one of the best but most
jarring example of this cheeky technique...At the beginning a couple of Roman soldiers discuss the madness of the Emperor. One points at a
building site, the scene switches to a grainy scene that looks like it's been lifted from a 50s swords and sandals epic.
In conclusion, saying this a great film would be disingenuous. It's not a great film, it's a good example of a bad movie and is pure entertainment if
you're of the right mindset. Hysterically pitched performances, blood, torture and sex are the main ingredients in a film designed purely to ride the
wave of a more successful film. The isn't going to please porno fans, as anything in this movie can be found in much more explicit form at the click of
a mouse. Likewise gore fans might be upset by the lack of outright horror (most of the really nasty stuff is of screen). This is one for the lovers of
Euro-sleaze out there. The disc, provided by Rare Licensed DVDs has no extras save for a trailer but, considering the age and marginal status of
the film, this is no surprise.
| BUY DVD @ RLDVDS.COM |
|
| "See the story that no history book dared to tell!" |
| Search Review Database: |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
