The unsung behemoth of independent film is finally going to get its due with a tell-all book.

Original Theatrical Poster
(http://poster.scancollections.com)

Malcolm McDowell as the 
Anarchist Emperor
(http://telegraph.co.uk)

I don’t want to start this blog off with a cliché along the lines of “Love it or hate it” or “This controversial film,” etc, etc. I’ll be honest Let’s face it, have you ever met ANYONE who likes Caligula? Most likely no; everyone hates. Most film buffs I know love to hate it and/or dismiss it as a cheap porno and few, if any, know of its history in the independent film history; especially at the time of its (arguable) birth that were the 1970s. But not for long!

A new book is soon to be released, detailing Caligula’s bizarre and chaotic genesis and the impact it left in its scandalous aftermath, titled 200 Degrees of Failure: The Unmaking of Caligula. As a long time fan of the film’s unfairly reviled director Tinto Brass and an almost obsessive studier of the film and its botched editing, I have to say I am absolutely thrilled (oh, who am I kidding, I am as giddy as a schoolgirl) that authors RJ Buffalo and James E. Chaffin are going to lift the curtain of obscurity behind this film and its makers and make the general audience aware of the massive of weight of something most people consider to be a sick porno.

Caligula’s genesis is actually quite esteemed, with the original script having been penned by famed man of letters, Gore Vidal himself. And this is what made Caligula so unique. Vidal and producer Franco Rossellini decided not to shop it to any major studios, but do the film completely independently with their own funds, something that was still very rare during that time period (early to mid 1970s), especially for an established famous writer and a producer who only worked under his more famous relatives, the famous Rossellinis of the Italian film industry.  Then, of course, came something completely unheard. When the pair couldn’t raise enough money even for a low budget drama, they decided to get their film financed by Penthouse, of all things.

While hardcore porn pioneer Bob Guccione has been known to quietly finance major motion pictures off the grid (watch the end credits to Roman Polanski’s Chinatown very closely to get a shock of your life), it was the first time a mainstream film could openly boast having ties to something as lewd and “sexy” as a porn empire. While it seems anyone would be worried when a pornographer inexperienced in film production would agree to finance your film, Gore Vidal shrugged any doubts off. As pointed out on the film’s commentary track in the special edition DVD, Vidal simply thought of Guccione as “one of the Warner Brothers.” Of course, he was naïve.

I won’t go into details of what a disastrous endeavor Caligula turned out to be. It made people unemployable due to lawsuits, ruined lives, careers, grossed millions upon millions of dollars, and ended up creating a landmark copyright lawsuit case. If I were, I’d be unfairly stealing the thunder from the other of the forthcoming 200 Degrees of Failure. Let’s just say that after the botched shooting, which resulted in Gore Vidal disowning the entire project, and the lead star Malcolm McDowell antagonizing the entire Penthouse Empire from the lowliest Penthouse Pet to Bob Guccione himself. The footage was confiscated from Tinto Brass and the original editors re-cut, re-recorded, intermixed with additional Penthouse-style hardcore sex footage and proudly touted as the next “in” film of the decade. Naturally, Gore Vidal and Tinto Brass sued.

Tinto Brass, famed Italian director of edgy
avant-garde and erotic films, who's
degree as a lawyer helped him create
a landmark law regarding a finished
film's ownership and country of origin.
(http://wikimedia.org)

The messy trial regarding ownership, author rights, and country of origin resulted in a landmark decision regarding a film’s ownership and the classification of country of origin. While the details of the ruling and what it entailed are still dim to the general public, it is referenced in law cases to this very day.  It should also be noted that Bob Guccione purchasing a theatre to screen the film when no distribution company would touch it was also a brave and edgy thing to do, and predates the infamous release of Tommy Wiseau’s wretched The Room by two decades at least.

Bob Guccione, who's lack of professional
ethics and filmmaking skills set in motion
the botched behemoth production of a
film that changed so many lives and
left so many censors stumped.
(http://s.wsj.net)

I am thrilled that the new book will finally break down and explain how Caligula contributed to modern independent film and intellectual property laws, as well as list all the numerous alternate versions of the film that got unleashed on the public due to this law. Only time will tell whether this will be the first step in giving Caligula the recognition it deserves.

~Evgueni Mlodik