"Caligula" shares many of the same attributes as the 1970 "Fellini Satyricon" with bizarre sights, freakishness, and depictions of sexual excesses all set in the "glory" of ancient Rome. But Fellini it ain't... First of all it is not as entertaining. Far too much screen time is devoted to bug-eyed, rubber-faced McDowell in the titular role. His performance is far too fey and campy to be convincing. The portrayals by Jay Robinson in "The Robe" (1953) and David Cain-Haughton in "Emperor Caligula" (1983) are far more persuasive and believable, with the latter being the most nuanced. Relief could have been judiciously provided by developing the surrounding characters more fully. As it is, they are little more than cyphers. One example is the role of Macro, played by Guido Mannari who has tremendous screen presence in an important role, but is mostly left in the background. The only positive features to credit are the adroit use of some Prokofiev and Stravinsky themes in the music score and the inclusion of some of the distasteful but nevertheless accurate actions of the despot. These two factors are far less than what is needed to relieve the prevailing tedium, however.

Here's a historical film that's epic in length, if not in production values. A film financed in the US by Playboy, made in Italy with a cast of British leads, this was hugely controversial back on its release due to the explicit scenes of sex which litter the production. Be prepared for acres of heaving flesh throughout the film's course. Only one or two scenes (the lesbian interlude in particular) seem to have been clumsily inserted into the movie by Tinto Brass and generally the rest of the sex fits the story and adds to the realism of the times, e.g. the epic Roman orgy which is probably the closest filmed to how it really happened back then.

Sadly, despite some impressive sets, the movie just looks cheap all the way through. Cheap, tawdry, with poor costumes, and not at all the expensive production I had expected it to be beforehand. Despite the incredibly long running time, it doesn't really drag much, even when nothing is happening, which can only be in the film's favour. It's also not as violent as I had expected, with only two scenes of graphic bloodshed which really stand out - the first is an offbeat interlude involving an incredible "decapitation machine" which rolls along and chops off heads sticking from the ground with huge metal pincers; the second, the film's grisly close.

The inimitable Malcolm McDowell takes the lead role of Caligula and puts in his trademark intense performance. This is a very scary man who convinces you that he's insane and McDowell's turn is commanding without being over-the-top or hammy. Instead, he's just believable, underplaying it to the point in which you understand his motivations and actions. Top-notch support comes from Helen Mirren, who also excels as Caesonia, Caligula's arranged wife and a former prostitute who stands by him until the end; Peter O'Toole also appears as a madman, Tiberius, the former Emperor.

As well as Mirren and O'Toole, we also get a cameo from British thespian John Gielgud, who was obviously convinced that some kind of high-brow movie was being filmed and not just a cheap exploitationer. Two other cast members are worthy of note; firstly, Teresa Savoy, who plays Caligula's sister Drusilla who is the object of her brother's incestuous desires. Savoy is underused but from what we see of her, she's totally convincing as a voluptuous, smouldering love interest and it's easy to see why Caligula wants to marry her. Euro-action man John Steiner has a memorable turn as Caligula's bald aide, Longinus, always plotting and toadying to his master until his true colours show through at the end.

There are many memorable moments in this production - the aforementioned decapitation machine being one of them. Caligula's descent into a bleak madness is shown by scenes of him sharing a bed with a horse (!)The scene in which McDowell cavorts naked in the cold night air is very similar to a moment with Olivier in Shakespeare's King Lear, yet this is the more convincing situation thanks to McDowell's half scary/half tragic portrayal of the doomed Caligula. Without McDowell, I have a feeling that this movie would be worthless trash. With him, it's a flawed but occasionally worthwhile would-be epic.