Forum: Story Recommendations

The 1979 movie could be classified as porn.

Not could be ... was / is.

I may have the uncut version on my computer. Allegedly, the orgy scenes were added later. Don't think so, and there's more than enough explicit blowjobs and other sex in those to get it classified as porn.

It was an attempt at combining art with porn. Not the best attempt, but an attempt.

In my opinion, the stars mostly do a decent job with the material and direction they were given. Unfortunately, you get a case where the original writer repudiated the director's vision and the director repudiated what the producer did with the film after it was handed off, so... yeah.

So much wasted potential all around.

The porn scenes weren't added later.

I wouldn't necessarily class the scene where Malcolm McDowell rapes a new bride, then sticks his hand into butter and anally rapes the groom as wholesome, either. There's no way that Peter O'Toole or Sir John Gielgud could claim they weren't working on something not intensely sexual with the bathing scene of all the 'little fishies', since they were in the scene with all those naked women and men, plus the three tiered sex tower that O'Toole had.

I wouldn't necessarily class the scene where Malcolm McDowell rapes a new bride, then sticks his hand into butter and anally rapes the groom as wholesome, either. There's no way that Peter O'Toole or Sir John Gielgud could claim they weren't working on something not intensely sexual with the bathing scene of all the 'little fishies', since they were in the scene with all those naked women and men, plus the three tiered sex tower that O'Toole had.

And they are mostly known for acting in the UK.

The UK started showing nudity on the BBC in the 1960's. Even "I, Claudius" (1976) had nudity, and was even broadcast that way in the US (PBS has relaxed broadcast more in keeping with the BBC than other broadcast stations).

So for them to see nudity in a British production, would not have been a big deal. Remember, Malcom was also in "A Clockwork Orange", not exactly a "family friendly movie".

Nudity was also extremely common in US movie productions from the second half of the 60s. I read an article somewhere a few years ago that studied the issue and there was much more nudity in the top 100 grossing films then than now.

True, but the BBC (and PBS) were broadcast television.

There was quite a to-do in the 1970's when Masterpiece Theater was presenting unedited original BBC productions, nudity and all. I knew more than a few kids who watched it back in the day, just for the occasional boob shots *laugh*

Of course, that was in the era before Skinemax and streaming porn.

There's no way that Peter O'Toole or Sir John Gielgud could claim they weren't working on something not intensely sexual [...]

While the sources are debatable (as it was common in Roman culture to level charges related to sex as part of political attacks), if one is telling the story of Caligula according to what sources we do have, it'd be difficult to avoid there being a lot of sex, nor to have it not be fairly extreme.

As was noted elsewhere, Malcolm McDowell was no stranger to portrayals of sex and violence, which made him a great choice for the role.

While the sources are debatable (as it was common in Roman culture to level charges related to sex as part of political attacks), if one is telling the story of Caligula according to what sources we do have, it'd be difficult to avoid there being a lot of sex, nor to have it not be fairly extreme.

As was noted elsewhere, Malcolm McDowell was no stranger to portrayals of sex and violence, which made him a great choice for the role.

Admittedly, a lot of the legacies of many emperors are distorted. But especially the end of the Julian Dynasty. But in many ways, Elagabalus was probably the worst in that regard.

While many question the accuracy of charges against Caligula about incest, few deny that Elagabalus was a sick individual. Even his own grandmother tried to have him killed.

Agree. I saw the BBC miniseries before I read the book.

As was Patrick Stewart long before playing Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek.

He was already well known to us that watched films and TV from Europe. "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" (with Sir Alec Guinness), "I, Claudius", Excalibur (King Leodegrance, father of Guinevere), and Dune among his most well known appearances prior to Star Trek.