A bombastic hymn to the decadence of the Roman Empire, Caligula is definitely one movie that that has to be seen, if only to wonder, firstly, how the thing ever got off the ground, and secondly, how it was ever completed. Based on Suetonius's 'Lives Of The Twelve Caesars' and scripted by celebrated author and historian Gore Vidal, the film was produced by Penthouse magazine publisher Bob Guccione, with the list of potential directors including the likes of John Huston and Nicolas Roeg. However, when Guccione chanced upon a preview screening of Tinto Brass's Salon Kitty, he knew he had found the right man for the job. Unfortunately, Brass and Guccione's respective visions of what the film should be were worlds apart and no sooner had shooting started than the 'artistic' bickering began with Vidal, Guccione and Brass all falling out with each other. Vidal was barred from the set and once principal photography was complete, Guccione banned Brass from the editing room and, after shooting extra footage of hardcore sex scenes, the 'Penthouse' boss set about editing the film himself.

Initially hauled over the coals (and drastically censored) in 1979 on the grounds that it was indecent and potentially obscene, almost 30 years later, in 2008, the uncut version of Caligula was finally granted an 18 Certificate by the BBFC. Notable for being the only major motion picture ever to star esteemed British actors of the calibre of Malcolm McDowell, John Gielgud, Peter O'Toole and Helen Mirren alongside scenes of extreme violence and explicit hardcore sex, Caligula is a true 'porn epic', a veritable catalogue of depravity the likes of which have never been seen in one single film before or since.

The result is the stuff of legend – an insane, pornographic orgy of a film that details the rise and fall of the titular Roman Emperor (A wonderful McDowell), his sexual passion for his sister, his marriage to Rome's most infamous prostitute (Mirren), and his spectacularly inventive ways of dealing with his enemies, all garnished with the totally inappropriate sexual rompings of a dozen or so Penthouse Pets. If nothing else, Caligula truly is cinematic madness on the grandest scale.

The two-disc Caligula – The Blu Edition (cert. 18) will be released on Blu-ray (£19.99) by Arrow Video on 3rd May 2010. Special Features include:

• Deleted and alternate scenes;
• Theatrical trailers;
• North American bonus footage;
• Behind the scenes footage;
• The Making of Caligula;
• My Roman Holiday with John Steiner;
• Caligula's Pet: A Conversation with Lori Wagner;
• Tinto Brass: The Orgy of Power;
• Stills galleries;
• DVD-ROM content.

You can read our review of Caligula: The Imperial Edition 4-disc DVD here.