Caligula film tarihi boyunca belki de en çok tartışılan film sayılabilir. Sadece tek bir film İmparatorluk Roması'nın ardındaki sapıklığı göstermeye cesaret etmiştir ve bu film deli Roma imparatorunun destansı öyküsünü anlatan 'Caligula'dır. Zalim tuhaf saltanatının tüm ayrıntıları bu filmde açığa vurulmuştur: Kız kardeşine duyduğu olmayacak cinsel ihtirası Roma'nın en meşhur fahişesiyle yaptığı evlilik kendisine karşı çıkanlardan kurtulmak için keşfettiği şeytani yollar ve dahası.
Marcellus is a tribune in the time of Christ. He is in charge of the group that is assigned to crucify Jesus. Drunk, he wins Jesus' homespun robe after the crucifixion. He is tormented by nightmares and delusions after the event. Hoping to find a way to live with what he has done, and still not believing in Jesus, he returns to Palestine to try and learn what he can of the man he killed.
The story picks up at the point where "The Robe" ends, following the martyrdom of Diana and Marcellus. Christ's robe is conveyed to Peter for safe-keeping, but the emperor Caligula wants it back to benefit from its powers. Marcellus' former slave Demetrius seeks to prevent this, and catches the eye of Messalina, wife to Caligula's uncle Claudius. Messalina tempts Demetrius, he winds up fighting in the arena, and wavers in his faith.
Roman emperor Caligula leaves the last days of glory amidst orgies of food and sex. During a show by two nude slaves, the emperor is particularly attracted to one of them, Lysia, ignoring that she had been planted close to him with orders to murder him. Only, the young man makes her feel for him, passion and motherly love, and she'll protect him rather then fulfill her mission. Drama ensues.
What is true and what is false in the hideous stories spread about the controversial figure of the Roman emperor Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (12-41), nicknamed Caligula? Professor Mary Beard explains what is accurate and what is mythical in the historical accounts that portray him as an unbalanced despot. Was he a sadistic tyrant, as Roman historians have told, or perhaps the truth about him was manipulated because of political interests?
