This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more Helen Mirren Caligula bed scene (Image: FS ) It's no surprise that a film featuring graphic sex, gruesome violence, sexual violence, a full-frontal birth scene and necrophilia caused a huge international furore. Roman epic Caligula was released 45 years ago on August 14.
It was the first ever production created by Penthouse Films International, the big screen wing of the Penthouse magazine empire. The pet project of Penthouse founder Bob Guccione, who insisted on copious nudity from the start, it featured an original screenplay by Gore Vidal and starred respected thespians like Helen Mirren, Peter O'Toole, John Gielgud and, in the lead role, Malcolm McDowell. This was the 1970's, when the boundaries between arthouse and titillation blurred.
Mirren herself later said: "I was doing nude scenes from the moment I first started doing movies. I never wanted to show much boobs, but I thought, ‘Does it really matter?’ It seemed to be nothing to get your knickers in a twist over." Don't miss.
.. 'They called my films porn & I didn't care – but I'll NEVER strip agai [LATEST] Helen Mirren Caligula dance scene (Image: FS ) Helen Mirren and Malcolm McDowell in Caligula (Image: FS ) Backstage drama started early with director Tinto Brass only agreeing to sign on if he could rewrite Vidal's screenplay.
He changed te infamous emperor's arc from a man corrupted by power to an .