Statement from Unobstructed View regarding their Caligula 4K/Blu-ray Release (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

Statement from Unobstructed View regarding their Caligula 4K/Blu-ray Release:


October 14, 2024

“To the DiabolikDVD Community,

As president and owner of Unobstructed View, I feel the time is right to address the concerns and complaints to DiabolikDVD regarding the provenance of our edit of the original version of Caligula on our release of Caligula The Ultimate Cut on Blu-ray and the upcoming 4K Limited
Edition.

Many of you inferred from our promotional material that we would be providing an “Uncut” version of the film as a bonus feature. While we have a legitimate theatrical cut of the original, nowhere in our descriptions did we imply that ours was uncut. However we do apologize for theconfusion and we will amend our digital metadata to include the running time of the original feature.

On that note I would like to take a minute to talk about what we felt we achieved here, in conjunction with Giant and Drafthouse, specifically with regard to the 4K Limited Edition coming at the end of the month. After over 30 years in the business, mostly in Canada, this is our first venture into 4K and we are proud of what we are offering.

In the middle of working on their theatrical release last spring, Giant took it upon themselves to source, in the absence of any available film stock at Penthouse, a print of the original from a Boston distributor that played in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts during the film’s original run as the markings on the canisters would indicate. Those who go back that far might remember that community standards in that state back in the day were a little more Puritanical so to speak.

They then went on to restore the print to 4K, at great expense, for its singular use as a bonus feature for this release. I think we can all agree that short is the list of studios that would go to the trouble of restoring a full-length feature for a very limited edition. Further to that, those concerned about the edited scenes can take comfort in the fact that the project was bounced out of two 4K manufacturing facilities for offensive content. Ergo the postponed release date. To that point, some of those deletes can be seen in the accompanying featurette.

One thing is for certain – after this initial run is gone, our version of the original will never appear on 4K again.

Finally, if we pull back to a wider view, there is a tremendous value proposition in the 4-disc set featuring an incredible slip cover and individual numbering in Roman Numerals. It provides tremendous background material to support the film that is on the cover of the sleeve – Caligula The Ultimate Cut. There is enough exclusive content, including an invaluable contribution from the producer Thomas Negovan, to give cinephiles an insightful look into the creative process that led to this landmark release. One reviewer mentioned that our edit of the original is a better guide track than longer versions because it begins the process of reconstituting the film. Whatever, you might have different opinions.

In closing we hope you will purchase Caligula The Ultimate Cut from our friends at DiabolikDVD and we will remember your attention to detail on our next project!

Sincerely,
Jonathan Gross
601 Magnetic Drive, Unit 32, Toronto, ON, Canada, M3J 3J2 416-597-8325”


Statement from DiabolikDVD.com:

“10/15 Update – Jesse here. I wanted to post an update about this statement. I woke up this morning and was going to delete it but decided to leave it for now. We were given this from the label and asked to post it as a statement about the release but people are upset about the words and still have questions. Just to be clear, we didn’t write this or have any input on this and I think, like the rest of you, even if the listing didn’t say UNCUT or 156m (mine never did and I just updated it to 150m for clarity) there was a reasonable expectation that the 1980 theatrical version included was the 156m version that everyone knows from previous releases. The version included on this disc runs 150m and whether or not this is the UK cut, or some other cut that was made in the US for the Boston area, the version is not the full runtime. What is cut? I can’t comment because I haven’t seen it and I am certainly not a scholar on every scene that was or was not included in this or that version. I still think the set has value with the CD, the extras and the new cut of the film and to have this other version available on UHD but if you feel differently that is fine, please reach out and we will take care of it for you but please be kind and have some patience with customer service because some of you have been less than cordial and at the end of the day this is a product we are carrying, not one we made, and we can only provide you with the information we are given for the release. We are doing our best here for this release. Thank you !”

 

[titch]

The unrated, uncensored theatrical 156 min cut is included on the Australian Umbrella Entertainment release

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Released in 1980 after years of delay, CALIGULA remains notoriously famous for its nightmarish filming, budget-blowing delays and artistic differences, resulting in a hybridised yet still scandalously violent and erotic film. More than forty years later, you can now watch the painstakingly...

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[Tino]

The unrated, uncensored theatrical 156 min cut is included on the Australian Umbrella Entertainment release

I’m confused. Is this version on the 4K release being discussed here?

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

I’m confused. Is this version on the 4K release being discussed here?

That seems to be the case.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

We’re gonna be reviewing the Unobstructed View edition so I want to wait to offer most of my discussion points until then.

But I think it’s worth noting that every home video label that is releasing the new 3-hour “ultimate cut” is facing a conundrum over whether and how to include the original, uncut 156-minute version. The reason for that conundrum is that when Penthouse went bankrupt and were then acquired by another company, somewhere in that transaction, all of the elements to the original theatrical release of Caligula went missing and haven’t been recovered. The original camera negative for that version is gone. All of the pre-print material is gone.

From what I understand, the Australian release is including the 156 minute version as a bonus feature, but they are recycling the dated transfer from the nearly two decade old Image Blu-ray, which itself was originally created years earlier than that for Image’s DVD special edition.

I believe Unobstruced View was trying in good faith to offer something unique and of higher quality to their market, and when they couldn’t find an element of the 156 minute uncut version to scan in 4K, made the decision to scan and use the longest version they could get their hands on, which was a 150 minute edit. While it’s not the complete 156 minute version that was on the old Image BD, their 4K bonus feature of the 150 minute edit is a fascinating look at how the film had to be trimmed to be shown at all in certain markets. Unobstructed View created a fresh 4K master for the 150-minute cut of the edited theatrical version that they were able to find, whereas all of the other international releases including older versions of the film are using much older HD masters that (depending on your level of fandom) you may already own.

But the main purpose of the release is to provide a release for the newly created three-hour “ultimate cut” version. It’s a vastly different version to any that have been released prior. It’s essentially a completely new film. Since “the ultimate cut” is the version that is being promoted as the main feature on Unobstruced View’s disc, that will be the primary focus of the HTF review. For fans of Caligula specially and fans of cult movies in general, the “ultimate cut” is a really fascinating reimagining of the movie.

It’s a shame that Penthouse lost all of their elements from the 156-minute original theatrical cut, and every distributor of this new version has had to reckon with that in their own way. I don’t think it was wrong for the Australian release to rely on an older HD master to be able to include it in some form, nor do I think it was wrong for Unobstruced View to use the best source they could find to do a 4K - just different approaches. Caligula is one of the strangest films ever made with one of the most complicated releases of all time - and this just adds to that history.

 

[jayembee]

OK, I have no interest in ever owning, or even seeing, this film, but I love the idea that they're numbering the set with Roman numerals.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

OK, I have no interest in ever owning, or even seeing, this film, but I love the idea that they're numbering the set with Roman numerals.

Such a strange fetish you have for Roman numerals, Jerry.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I would just look at this release as two new versions of the film, Ultimate Cut and Boston Cut, which is how I will now refer to it.

This is one seriously wacky piece of filmmaking. I admit, I am very interested in seeing the new Ultimate cut, as it is supposed to be a whole new film not just adding new scenes but actually built using different takes. This will be a whole new look at the film.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Yes, I can confirm, the entirety of the new 3-hour ultimate cut is sourced from previously unseen and unused material.

While Penthouse didn’t have the negatives for the 156-minute original theatrical version, it turns out that had pretty much everything else that was shot that wasn’t used in that.

When Tinto Brass was shooting the film, he elected to film each scene with a three camera setup. Sometimes the ultimate cut producers used a different camera angle of the take used in the original cut; other times they opted for a different take. When the ultimate cut producers were looking through all of the raw material they were able to get their hands on, they discovered that when Brass (and later, Bob Guccione) were editing the original theatrical version, they more often than not simply used the first take for each scene. Apparently Brass wasn’t very concerned with directing performances on set, and to the degree that he did direct the actors, he preferred them to go big and over the top, but once the actors gave him that take, they were then left alone to do the scenes however they felt best. As a result, the performances you’ll see in the ultimate cut are much more measured, and the ultimate cut actually has a much clearer delineation of Caligula descending into madness over the course of the film instead of just being off his rocker from the very start. All of the main actors come across much better in the new ultimate cut.

Many of the supporting and incidental roles in the theatrical version were dubbed in post production by voiceover actors. For the ultimate cut, the producers were able in many cases to use the original actors speaking their original lines, which I felt added to the integrity of those performances as well.

It’s never going to be Spartacus or Ben-Hur or Lawrence of Arabia but the ultimate cut makes tremendous strides towards how the film could have turned out if it had been made in a less tumultuous environment. For a three hour film, it actually moves now.

 

[Robert Harris]

So…

It’s derived from a used 35mm print? In 4k?

 

[Josh Steinberg]

The main feature on the disc, the ultimate cut, is sourced from original camera negative and mastered in 4K HDR.

The edited theatrical version, offered as a bonus feature, is sourced from a 35mm print and mastered in 4K SDR.

 

[Jeff Cooper]

Yeah, yeah, but does it have the ?

 

[Josh Steinberg]

With this movie, that emoji is open to a lot of interpretation.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

A more serious answer: the edited theatrical version, offered as a bonus feature, has been trimmed of some of the most extreme moments of sex and violence. Some violence shot by Brass has been cut out, and the hardcore pornography shot by Guccione hasn’t been completely removed but has been edited to become more of a softcore presentation.

The ultimate cut, which is what the new version has been christened, doesn’t use any of the hardcore pornography shot by Guccione, but does retain the graphic violence shot by Brass and still has copious amounts of nudity.

Both versions on the disc are more graphic than what an “R” rating would allow for.

 

[SD_Brian]

From what I understand, the Australian release is including the 156 minute version as a bonus feature, but they are recycling the dated transfer from the nearly two decade old Image Blu-ray, which itself was originally created years earlier than that for Image’s DVD special edition.

I received my copy of the Australian release yesterday and sampled the first 20 minutes of both the 4K Ultimate Cut and the HD 156-minute theatrical. To my eye at least, the image quality of the HD version holds up fairly well against the 4K. It's certainly not a night-and-day difference. Granted, the shots used in the Ultimate are completely different from the theatrical, so it's not an apples-to-apples comparison, but in terms of the overall look and feel of the movie... well, it still looks like Caligula.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Granted, the shots used in the Ultimate are completely different from the theatrical, so it's not an apples-to-apples comparison, but in terms of the overall look and feel of the movie... well, it still looks like Caligula.

I’ve got the review copy and that’s my perception of the ultimate cut as well. The Unobstructed View disc has a commentary with the producers of the ultimate cut that’s exclusive to their edition and it was pretty illuminating. Brass did use three cameras for every take - but it turns out that he placed them all in the same spot, and equipped them all with the same zoom lenses, so a lot of times the producers of this new edition found they were looking at three nearly identical versions of the same shot. For better or worse, that “look” of Caligula is baked in but yeah, if they hadn’t said that it was 100% new and alternate footage, I’m not sure anyone would have realized that just looking at it.

 

[David_B_K]

I would just look at this release as two new versions of the film, Ultimate Cut and Boston Cut, which is how I will now refer to it.

This is one seriously wacky piece of filmmaking. I admit, I am very interested in seeing the new Ultimate cut, as it is supposed to be a whole new film not just adding new scenes but actually built using different takes. This will be a whole new look at the film.

Yes, knowing what we now know, they should have said the release included the 4K Ultimate Cut with "the Boston Cut" as a bonus. I did not know there were so many cuts of the film. I thought there was one cut with the XXX footage (the one I saw in the early 80's) or the R-rated cut.

 

[SD_Brian]

Brass did use three cameras for every take - but it turns out that he placed them all in the same spot, and equipped them all with the same zoom lenses, so a lot of times the producers of this new edition found they were looking at three nearly identical versions of the same shot.

Outside of one-take effects shots, I didn't realize that practice of using multiple cameras to capture near-identical shots survived into the sound era.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to say how many variants Caligula truly had. I know there was the 156 uncut version, a censored UK cut that has different trims to Unobstructed View’s “Boston” cut, an Italian cut, an Australian edit, and an American R rated version - at the least.

For its first engagements, Guccione “four-walled” theaters, which means that he rented out the whole venue and brought the uncut version to show. That was an expensive proposition and he couldn’t do it everywhere. With no major studio willing to touch it, the rest of the country has to rely on regional distributors that apparently made whatever trims they felt were necessary to get it shown without getting them arrested along the way.

As a longtime fan of this film, I think if you’re gonna watch one of the versions of the theatrical version, the uncut 156 minute version is the way to go - it’s ineptly assembled in many ways but has a rhythm of its own and works in its own way with its sense of “anything could happen at any time”. The trimmed versions don’t work as well for me because it destroys the rhythm of the film and makes it less interesting when that sense of “anything goes” is removed.

I’ll put this in spoilers since it’s a detail of graphic (not pornograpic violence) but as an example - with regards to the “wedding rape” that Caligula “gifts” a young soldier and his bride:

Spoiler

In the original uncut version, it’s clear that Caligula used kitchen lard to lubricate his fist, shoving his arm into the anus of the groom. In the Boston edit, the footage has been so trimmed to make it appear that Caligula is either using his penis to anally rape the soldier, or maybe just rubbing himself against the soldier without penetration. Now, did I wake up on the day I watched the disc saying to myself, “I want to see one of the most horrific things I can imagine”? No, of course not. But I also recognize that one version shows the extreme depravity of Caligula, and the other, while still being absolutely awful, is less fucked up by comparison. And if you’re making Caligula seem less fucked up, it’s maybe missing the point. The “ultimate cut”, like the original uncut theatrical, makes it clear that it’s a fist.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Outside of one-take effects shots, I didn't realize that practice of using multiple cameras to capture near-identical shots survived into the sound era.

For the most part it didn’t.

From what the reconstructionists were saying in their commentary, Guccione didn’t have feature film experience so he wasn’t knowledgeable enough to stop Brass from doing it. And Brass’ priority was more of capturing the scale of the sets rather than the performances; Brass apparently felt the material was more black comedy than drama and was seeking ways to show excess at every turn. Having the cameras so close to each other was a practical necessity because any other positions would have resulted in one camera occasionally catching another in shot. You can usually shoot with two cameras without them getting in the way of each other, but three is a lot harder - especially when the operators are given free reign to zoom in and out as they choose instead of having a carefully choreographed plan.

McDowell said it was difficult to act on the film because normally an actor gives a different performance for a long shot vs a closeup, but since any take could have been a long shot, a closeup, or through the use of zoom lenses, a combination of both, he had no way of knowing how to modulate his performance.

Incidentally, with regards to the sets, apparently the production designer didn’t read the script before designing and building the sets, so the cast and crew would show up and see these magnificent constructions that didn’t match what was on the page. The machine cutting the heads off of people buried up to their necks was said to be an example of that.