Sequel?
If this is a sequel to the original Caligula, how come it's made before it?
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this is not a sequel or a prequel. this movie was made using the same set as the original one only because people thought the original movie will never be released. i am not able to descibe it to u in a better way, read the comment posted on the main page and you will know the whole story.
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Caligula was shot in 1976, it didn't get released until 1979 due to all the lawsuits, secret re-shoots, etc.
"We're all afraid of the dark inside ourselves."
Caligula was in post preduction for four years, and fearing it wouldn't see theatrical release, they made something with the left over props and costumes. Funny thing is how the lead actress in this, is the same actress from 'Caligula' who who was only in a pissing on a corpse scene.
"I'll go,because I am Cinema!" - Ben (Man Bites Dog)
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Nothing's better than a random lesbian make-out scene.
"I'll go,because I am Cinema!" - Ben (Man Bites Dog)
Funny thing is how the lead actress in this, is the same actress from 'Caligula' who who was only in a pissing on a corpse scene.
That's not correct. The lead actress in this is Anneka Di Lorenzo playing Messalina. The actress who pissed on the corpse of Proculus in Caligula was Lori Wagner, playing Agrippina. Both are in Caligula, and both are in this though it's far more Anneka.
Lori's character in Caligula is in more than just that pissing scene, she's in the great lesbian sex scene (between her and Anneka) and well as in a few other scenes through the movie. share
In a funny way, the film's existence sort of encapsulates the entire Italian genre film industry, along with why a lot of films get rushed into production to capitalize off of the success of an anticipiated big hit that isn't even finished yet.
Back in the 50's, Hollywood started saving money by shooting the big epic movies in foreign countries, starting in Rome with QUO VADIS. The Italians built all these giant sets for the movies and there were leftover costumes too, so the Italians started making their own period films with the same sets and costumes. This led directly to the Peplum film genre most popularized by the Steve Reeves HERCULES movies, which were giant hits and made more money vs. their budget than anything Hollywood was doing.
The Italians ALSO got into the habit of copying American movies around the same time. The Spaghetti Western was a symptom of this, but so were the Eurospy, White Fang, Robin Hood, and World War 2 movies they got into in the latter 60's/early 70's, and then in the 70's with gialli (thrillers) and crime movies based on Godfather/Bullitt/French Connection.
1976 was sort of the high water mark of the Italian ripoff industry (both in terms of money and output), so of course a big notorious international production shooting in Rome was going to suffer the same fate. The difference here was that the Italians made (and released) the ripoff of the Hollywood (though it was a largely Italian production from a technical standpoint with American money behind it) "A-movie" CALIGULA, while it was languishing in post production. It was kinda smart because they could release their MESSALINA movie twice - once when it was done and again after the movie it was ripping off came out. This was not the only movie to use the CALIGULA sets though, as Bruno Mattei used it at least once (NERO AND POPPEA) as did Joe D'Amato (CALIGULA THE UNTOLD STORY), though both these were produced after CALIGULA was released. (CONTD)
A similar situation happened in the late 80's with all the ABYSS knockoffs getting made before ABYSS even came out... and it's been sort of a standard Hollywood practice ever since to throw a film together real quick because a rival studio is making an anticipated hit. The Italians just aren't doing it as much because, compared to Hollywood films, they have less money now than ever.
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