Download Free Caligula Et Messaline

Released in 1982, this is an Italian film which was probably intended
to exploit the publicity associated with Tinto Brasso\'s notorious 1979
release "Caligola". It is clearly a low budget production, shot mainly
in the studio, with a number of larger scale dramatic sequences
borrowed from other films incorporated at points where these fit
reasonably well. Several versions have been released, and run for
significantly different times (for example, IMDb lists its running time
at 111m, but my VHS copy runs only 92m 41s), so be aware that certain
of my comments may not be applicable to all versions. The film provides
an interesting study of the life of Messalina, the Roman Empress first
married to the mad emperor Caligula and then after his assassination
(which takes place at about the mid-point of the film) to his successor
Claudius; and it would have been better titled Caligula and Claudius,
or just Messalina. Historically it is not strictly accurate but
probably provides a fairly realistic interpretation of life in Rome
during the periods of the two Emperors concerned. The first half
provides a beautifully crafted confirmation of the dictum that power
corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely, but the second shows a
very different scene when Claudius takes the throne, introduces careful
and incorruptible administrators and rapidly repairs the damage to the
fabric of Roman society caused by his predecessor. Presumably the
intention is to show that absolute power does no more than give any
ruler the freedom to behave in accordance with his natural character,
and in this sense it can be regarded as a film with an important
message to convey.

Historically the reign of Caligula is regarded as exceptionally violent
and cruel, and the film has to make this clear to viewers who are not
familiar with the history of this period. Whereas other filmmakers have
succumbed to the temptation to exploit the violence in a pornographic
way, it is greatly to the credit of this film that unnecessary violence
has been largely avoided and much of that which is shown remains
implicit rather than explicit. Caligula maintained a vast network of
spies, and individuals who spoke against him would often disappear -
probably to meet an unspeakable end. This is brought out early in this
film, not by showing such a sudden disappearance and what followed, but
by a restrained warning from one army officer to another who had been a
little too loose in his conversation. There is a brief scene in a Roman
torture chamber when plotters against the Emperor are being
interrogated, but (in my copy at least) this is less explicit than
similar scenes in many films depicting events in mediaeval Europe. A
legend that Messalina, a very junior lady in Caligula\'s court, was
trained by her mother to come to his attention by mastering such
masculine skills as swordplay, and then demanding to demonstrate these,
has been incorporated into the film; and the nearest it comes to
becoming pornographic is during a fairly graphic swordplay sequence in
the Coliseum which unexpectedly ends in not Messalina but the gladiator
having to appeal to the Emperor to spare his life. This sequence
clearly shows the violence and cruelty which was associated with the
Roman Circus. However it forms an important part of the story, and in
my opinion it is treated with enough restraint to be more acceptable
than many of the violent scenes incorporated (with less reason) in
certain films intended exclusively for children today. Later, even the
assassination of Caligula is shown without a rather meaningless
bloodbath involving all and sundry; and in the second half of the film
after Claudius has taken the throne, the trust shown by the Emperor in
his chosen advisers (both military and civil) is clearly brought out.
Nudity?, yes there is nudity in many of the scenes showing the
decadence of Caligula\'s Imperial Court, but it is never obtrusive - it
always seems a natural part of any scene where it occurs. Afterwards,
when looking back on the film, it is very hard to remember which scenes
these were. There are none of the visual excesses to be found in films
such as Tinto Brasso\'s "Caligola". Another sequence displays the
continuing decadent life at Court after Caligula\'s death during a
period when Claudius and his legions were campaigning in Britain, this
very effectively shows decadence as an ongoing characteristic of life
among the Roman ruling class of the period, not something which was
introduced at the whim of a mad Emperor. This film is definitely not
just softcore pornography, and it provides two very important lessons
for us today. The first is that absolute power will only corrupt those
rulers who are corruptible, whilst the second, even more important but
maybe a little less obvious, is that mankind has changed very little
during the past two millennia; and that many rulers, such as Hitler,
Idi Amin, Pinochet or Sadaam Hussein who have been given absolute power
during the past century, have shown a behaviour pattern very little
different from that of Caligula.

Overall this film, together with Fellini\'s Satyricon, have both
significantly contributed to my limited understanding of what life may
have been like in classical Rome. No one today can really appreciate
how it would have felt if they had been a part of Roman society, but we
must recognise that, for most Roman citizens, family life continued
under Roman law in what was probably a remarkably stable pattern for
the period. This film is enjoyable to watch and, despite having been
rated by many jurisdictions for 18+ viewing only, I believe that
watching it would make a positive contribution to the history education
of most high school children..

Calugile.

caligula caligula.

its verymuch interested its nicely entertain me.

Simple.

it's the firs.

inception : very good movie 9.1/2 weeks : my favorite.

Emmanuel Emmanuel II.

Emmanuel Emmanuel II.

Emmanuel Caligula 1979.

Emmanuel Caligula 1979.

Made to cash in on the notoriety of Tinto Brass's 1979 movie
'Caligula', Italian sleaze-merchant Bruno Mattei's 'Caligula and
Messalina' is packed to the gills with soft-core scenes of sex and
violence. Despite lacking the hardcore porn and graphic gore to be
found in Brass's movie, Mattei's production (available on German DVD in
an uncut 108 minute version) is still fairly entertaining stuff.

John Turner stars as nutty Roman Emperor Caligula, who commits incest
with his sisters, makes his horse a member of the Senate, and executes
the innocent on a whim.

Messalina (played by gorgeous Betty Roland) is a power-hungry
nymphomaniac who will stop at nothing to become Empress of Rome. She
brings herself to the attention of Caligula by battling in the
gladiator arena and it is not long before she achieves her goal,
upsetting the Emperor's youngest sister Agrippina, who hopes that her
son Nero will eventually become ruler of Rome.

Agrippina successfully plots Caligula's downfall, but Messalina rains
on her parade by immediately jumping into the sack with his successor,
Claudius. But naughty old Messalina can't commit herself to one man,
and shags everyone in sight, including a grotesque, but well-endowed,
frequenter of brothels, a randy midget, her eunuch(!?!?) and an
ex-lover. When she ends up pregnant, and it is obvious that the father
is not Claudius (since he has been away fighting in foreign lands),
Agrippina finally sees her opportunity to be rid of her nemesis once
and for all.

Chock full of full frontal female nudity, some male nudity, simulated
sex, incest, lesbianism, Bacchanalian orgies, rape and buggery, this
movie is definitely not one for the easily offended. And if none of
that bothers you, then the graphic scenes of horses and donkeys getting
jiggy will probably do the trick (the close-up shots were too much for
me!). Surprisingly, in contrast, the violence is pretty low-key, with
most of it happening off screen.

Mattei, obviously working with a low budget, resorts to padding his
movie with footage from other films, particularly for crowd scenes
requiring many extras, but to be fair it all works pretty well.
'Caligula and Messalina' is fun slice of schlock entertainment and is
worth a viewing for fans of historical exploitation, but those hoping
for the polished look and excesses of its more famous predecessor may
be disappointed..