Caligula: The Ultimate Cut

Overview

The film is a complete re-imagination of Caligula (1979), based on 96 hours of never-before-seen footage recovered many years after its release. Under the supervision of historian Thomas Negovan, an "Ultimate Cut" of the film was created. Instead of expanding existing scenes with the new footage, the entire film was edited from scratch, which resulted in a version that doesn't contain a single frame from the theatrical version. Visual effects were used to enhance scenes and replace cheap sets and backgrounds, and AI technology was used to restore previously unusable dialogue that was plagued with background noises. A new music score was composed as well, in contrast to the public domain ballet music. This version eventually premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023, with high remarks by actors Malcolm McDowell (who previously had been ashamed by the film) and Dame Helen Mirren.