Can we talk about how incredible his performance was in this? I still smile when I think of him saying people are despicable ... the irony!
shareOh he is amazing as Caligula. Love when he looks at how Claudius has more hair. Or when he comes in with the treasures from his victory over Neptune.
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Indeed, John Hurt was amazing in his role as the treacherous Caligula. Very funny too.
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It was the transvestite dancing scene which sticks in my mind. How the hell Jacobi, Eshley and the other bloke (Sorry, can't remember his name) kept their faces straight I will never know.
John Hurt is simply superb.
I know. They were frightened to death, as well as I was only watching this, and awaiting the worst. This scene is one of my most favourite and most suprising scenes I ever saw, along with a "nurse" in "The Godfather" when Don Vito was shot..
shareI agree, he was absolutely brilliant. Terrifying, but still slightly pitiable in his saner moments (like his conversation with Claudius in the army tent).
My favourite scene of the entire series is probably Caligula's mental breakdown in front of his family and the senators at the start of his reign. It's creepy, well acted, and I end up feeling really sorry for him when he's thrashing on the floor begging Augustus to get out of his head.
I know I'll be flamed, but I disagree with the positive assessments of Hurt's Caligula. Hurt is brilliant, one of my favorite British actors - but Caligula is his only bad performance. He makes obvious acting choices, giving us a 2-dimensional freak. Hurt's Quentin Crisp was also an over-the-top character, but he played Crisp with an understanding and subtlety that's utterly lacking in his Caligula. Given the high quality of the balance of his work, it's a rare disappointment.
shareI thought Hurt did an OK job, as did all the other actors and actresses, but it seems like the more evil some character is the more some of the people on these sites will praise their performances as brilliant. Some people just love to see psychopathy ... perhaps it is validation for them or something. Claudius was good, Augustus was good, Livia was good, but is it the actors or it is the writing, story, directing or just luck? Actors get too much credit most of the time.
shareFor an alternative take on Caligula , Ralph Bates performance in the mini-series "The Caesars" (1968) is well worth a look. It is different, but equally compelling . This production is available on Amazon, however I would warn buyers not to expect great visual and sound quality .
Gordon P. Clarkson
I just saw The Caesars. I thought that the portrayal of Tiberius in the first few episodes was very compelling, though the effect was mitigated as the series progressed and it tried to have its cake and eat it too, attempting to simultaneously depict him as a tyrant but also to present him sympathetically as a shrewd and misunderstood politician; the overall effect was better earlier on when the screenwriter was solidly on his side.
I thought that the Caligula episodes of The Caesars were not as well done as the Tiberius episodes. There was no interesting new insight into Caligula here--he was over the top and vicious, but not especially funny or clever or shrewd or even especially bonkers. John Hurt in I, Claudius was much more memorable in my book; I just showed episodes 10-12 of I, Claudius in the class I taught, and my students were blown away by the power and bravery of his turn as Caligula. The "Dance of Dawn" was a huge risk as an actor, and he completely sold it--the performance is simultaneously the most "mediocre," spooky, dangerous, and subversive dance I can imagine in a dramatic production. He shows vulnerability; it's something simultaneously scary, touching, and hilarious. The Caesars is not equally compelling at any point vis a vis Caligula.
Great performance and the parts of the series I like to watch, altough it must have been tough for the people that lived that time, the madness he showed is very amusing.
I speceally like the part where he dances like a girl.