Was caligula a huge hit due to the necrophilia scene?
Caligula is a 1979 film directed by Tinto Brass, with additional scenes filmed by Giancarlo Lui and Penthouse founder Bob Guccione. The film concerns the rise and fall of Roman Emperor Gaius Caesar Germanicus, better known as Caligula. Caligula was written by Gore Vidal and co-financed by Penthouse magazine, and produced by Guccione and Franco Rossellini. It stars Malcolm McDowell as the Emperor. Caligula was the first major motion picture to feature eminent film actors (John Gielgud, Peter O’Toole, Malcolm McDowell, Helen Mirren) in a film with graphic and explicit sex. The film was panned by critics; Roger Ebert gave it zero stars, describing it as “sickening, utterly worthless, shameful trash.” Perhaps the most scathing comment to ever appear in one of Ebert’s reviews is attributed to a third party: “This movie”, said the lady in front of me at the drinking fountain, “is the worst piece of shit I have ever seen!” This was also one of the few (if only) films Ebert ever walked out of;
