Financier Bob Guccione wanted an explicit, hardcore pornographic epic to legitimize his magazine empire. Frustrated with Brass, Guccione secretly filmed hardcore inserts with Penthouse Pets after principal photography wrapped and edited them directly into the movie.
Because of this chaotic tampering, both Tinto Brass and Gore Vidal sued to have their names removed from the theatrical cut. 🎭 A Star-Studded Cast in a Seedy World Caligula(1979)
What makes the film a true anomaly is that surrounded by this grotesque, explicit content were some of the greatest classically trained actors of the 20th century: as Caligula Helen Mirren as Caesonia Peter O'Toole as Tiberius Sir John Gielgud as Nerva Financier Bob Guccione wanted an explicit