Peter Bradshaw’s blog from Venice today, in which he talks of the Tinto Brass-Guccione version of Caligula – a truly awful film – prompted me to go and find some stills from it. I’m not sure if this is actually from the film or was simply taken on set, but it’s too good not to share, especially for those of us who remember Up Pompeii.
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CHARLES LAMBERT 
Caligula – or Gore Vidal’s Caligula as it was to have been titled – is on reflection not so bad and is arguably fabulous in its conceits. What would Peter Bradshaw know? A more pompus critic you could not imagine, in his off-white chinos and cheap togs. This is the man who actually laughed through Mike Myers’ recent turkey The Love Guru. Caligula is simply great fun to watch now and was accidentally prescient of the porno irreverence that we now take for granted in our historical entertainments.
I’m sure you’re right that it would be fun to watch now. I watched it years ago, in a shady cinema in Milan, and found it intermittently entertaining. I think I’d hoped for more sex and was slightly disappointed. But I’d be sad to see a direct line between that and, say, the Tudors… If only because McDowell, even at his most Frankie Howerd, was worth a hundred Whatsit-Meyers.
Ah, now that is more like it! (Mme A, fancy meeting you here. And at a moment like this.) This delightful shot reminds me of something I’m sorry to have to admit I cut from the paper, scanned in,and then saved for years; I’m sure I still have it. I was so innocent: I thought it was really FUNNY that Brad Pitt was going to play Achilles! (I can hear Helen of Troy now: “OhmiGOD, if he doesn’t hurry up I’ll miss the sale at Ralph Lauren!”) Basically, it was a picture of Brad in his many Greek costume, standing there all thigh muscle and rippling sinew, talking heroically on his mobile. Well, it made me laugh. Pathetic really.
I think I have that very photograph myself somewhere, filed under ‘hot? not’, so you need feel no shame. (And I’m sure you don’t.) (Though for that mixture of sexy and ludicrous, I still prefer Farrell’s bottle-blond Alexander – well, maybe I just prefer Farrell…)Yes, I have been a bit off-form recently, but I’m mustering my forces… I’ll be back!