Caligula: 4-disc Imperial Edition (10/02) (1 Viewer)

[AndyMcKinney]

Oh, but would Malcolm and Helen's commentary be over the x-rated version or the softer "R-rated" one? Helen and Malcolm may have never had to sit through the porn scenes if they recorded a commentary...

 

[PaulP]

You mean to say they'd be all over each other?

 

[PaulP]

http://z8.invisionfree.com/MHVF/inde...#entry11161630

 

[oscar_merkx]

now this is what I call a blind buy

 

[Barry_B_B]

Most welcome; I tried watching the DVD a few weeks ago and was really surprised how bad it looks now.

 

[Ed St. Clair]

You'll go blind! ;-)

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

So much for the 4 disc version, this now is being marketed as a 3 disc set - and it looks like the soundtrack CD with extra tracks has been dumped! Boo!

http://image-entertainment.com/dvd/d...roductID=13933

 

[PaulP]

Well a loss of the soundtrack (and it uses a lot of classical music, if I remember correctly) is hardly a bad thing. If anything the end product will cost less. Right?

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

I haven't seen the price change to reflect the loss of 1/4 of the originally advertised discs, and a pretty major selling feature IMO - it's still the same MSRP.

My Amazon order still has the same price on it, with the revised disc count.

I'm also concerned about the DVD ROM content - this better be universally compatable and not some stupid proprietary format you can only view on PCs.

 

[Mark Zimmer]

I wonder if rights issues might have cropped up with the CD?

 

[GregoryP]

I really want to get this, but I'd much rather get a High Definition version. Has anybody heard of a potential High Def release?

 

[Kevin M]

Has Image announced any plans to release HD content? I mean they have been doing HD masters for a while now so it wouldn't be that much of a leap....though I have no idea what the costs of producing HD format discs (either flavor) is aside from having a manufacturer that can do so.

 

[Johnny Angell]

After reading the Wikipedia article, as far as I can tell, the 2 cuts being released still are nothing the director would approve of.

 

[Krister_]

I am thinking of buying only the unrated edition of this DVD when it comes out but I wonder if the whole movie is on one side or if it continues on the next side of the disc. Please tell me more about it guys.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

We won't know the disc configuration until someone actually gets a copy of this, but I expect that only the Imperial edition will go out for early review.

I doubt we'll se a HD version until the DVD releases have exhausted their marketing window and there is a clearer direction as to a dominating HD format. It would make more sense for Image to be releasing Criterion in HD before their own catalogue, as they could make more on them with premium pricing.

 

[BarryM]

Do you really think this lousy movie is even more controversial than "Salo"? "Birth Of A Nation"? any of the Hershel Gordon Lewis gorefests?

I wonder........

 

[Gordon McMurphy]

Films - like all art - in themselves are not controversial: a controversy is created around them. Person A may find a film controversial and Person B may find it to simply be amusing and unworthy of heated argument. "Are the real historical events of Caligula's life controversial?" That is a better question.

 

[Jon Martin]

As far as an HD version, I have to ask why you would want it.

Forget the actual content of the film, it has always been one of the UGLIEST films ever made. As far as photography goes and the sets, it looks very cheap. I think most of the budget went to pay big bucks to the cast (Mirren always stated she bought her first house with her paycheck).

A lot of the film was the producer and his girls sneaking onto the set after the director left, shooting the most explicit scenes. They weren't shooting for HD. They were shooting before they got caught.

And, lets also not forget just how dull the film is. I watched the full length version on DVD hoping for more of the historical side of the story. Yet, it was unwatchably dull.

I don't think it even really exists as one of those so bad it is good films. It is simply one of the worst films ever made in the history of cinema.

It is interesting because of the cast, but the stories behind them (O'Toole being drunk the whole time, Olivier getting bullying phone calls from Gore Vidal) are more interesting than anything on the screen.

 

[Douglas R]

Jon - I agree entirely with everything you say. The only reason I will possibly buy this is to hear Malcolm McDowell and Helen Mirren's audio commentaries.

 

[Yee-Ming]

That reminds me, I once acquired a VCD copy of this, on 2 discs as is the norm for a 2-hr movie. I never watched beyond the first disc -- simply got bored.