Caligula... The Untold Story (original Italian title: Caligola... la storia mai raccontata; "Caligula... the story never told") is a 1982 historical exploitation film starring David Brandon and Laura Gemser. Written by George Eastman and Joe D'Amato, and produced, directed and shot by Joe D'Amato, it was created to cash-in on the success of Tinto Brass's Caligula without being a sequel or remake.
The plot deals with the last days of the deviant and murderous Roman emperor Caligula, his sumptuous feasts, orgies, and the various assassination attempts on his life. At its core, the film develops an ill-fated romance between the emperor and an Egyptian slave seeking revenge for her friend's death.
Caligula... The Untold Story was released in Italy and in other European countries in both theaters and on home video in several different softcore and hardcore versions.
While initially received poorly, retrospective reviews have been relatively positive.
Plot
Roman Emperor Gaius Caesar Caligula, alone in his bed, is plagued by nightmares in which a man, his head covered in a helmet, tries to shoot him with an arrow. The poet Domitius approaches and tries to assassinate him with a dagger, but the attempt is thwarted by Ulmar, Caligula's bodyguard. Domitius ends up losing his tongue and having his tendons cut at Caligula's behest.
Riding along the beach with Messala, Caligula encounters a group of Christians, among whom he spots Livia. He rapes the woman in the woods in front of her young lover Aetius, a consul's son. While being raped, Livia commits suicide with Caligula's dagger. The emperor orders Messala to kill Aetius on the spot. He spreads word that they were killed by fanatical Christians, and persecutes them. The senators, however, do not believe that the peaceful Christians were responsible and continue to plot against Caligula, discussing their options.
In his nightmares, Caligula is visited by the shades of Aetius and Livia. At Livia's funeral, held on a beach, Miriam Celsia, close friend and an Egyptian priestess of the god Anubis, speaks against a Christian burial - the idea being that Livia's God failed to defend her - and in favor of cremation according to Anubis, who speaks of vengeance. The Christians comply.
Lucretius presents sumptuous construction plans to Caligula and a group of senators. To finance the project, Caligula announces he will auction off all his belongings at a banquet with beautiful women and costly admission. He then feigns wine poisoning. One of the senators offers to give his life for his well-being, and Caligula stabs him with his sword. Again in his private rooms, the emperor makes fun of crippled Domitius using his sex slaves.
In a temple, Miriam sacrifices her virginity to Anubis in exchange for vengeance on Livia's murder. She is then approached by senator Cornelius who wants to aid her. Caligula's cavalry capture novice Vestal Virgins as the chief attraction of the banquet. In a swimming pool, they are deflowered by slaves approaching underwater with phalli. Other women, among them Miriam, apply for the orgy and are selected by a eunuch, who then trains them in the art of love. During the banquet (which involves jugglers, a bloody gladiatorial combat and the masturbation of a horse), Caligula falls in love with Miriam and his bodyguard Ulmar leads her to the imperial chambers where Miriam and Caligula have sex with each other. When Cornelius attempts to kill Caligula, Miriam unexpectedly saves the emperor's life, killing Cornelius.
Caligula takes deadly revenge on the senators involved in the plot in a number of gruesome ways. In the meantime, Miriam has become passionately tied to Caligula, who announces he will marry her despite her slave status. She discovers Livia's amulet and becomes torn between vengeance and love. When Ulmar offers to help her escape, she refuses. She can no longer kill Caligula but has to know the truth about Livia's death and therefore administers him a hallucinogenic potion. In his ensuing vision, Caligula is approached and plagued in the beyond by the shades of the people he murdered. One is Miriam. As she approaches, he stabs her with a sword he found on the floor, shouting "You're just a dream. But I'm still alive!" When he realizes he is no longer dreaming and has actually stabbed her, he cries.