I saw the original film around 1980 in a cinema in Soho in London - a small area famous for sleazy cinemas showing porn films, an area also famous for prostitution, sex shops, amusement arcades, bar and clubs where god knows what went on, and the rest of it, plus plenty of parked up Rolls Royces, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, etc which was quite unusual anywhere else. Soho was the type of place where punters would pay good money to watch the live sex shows advertised and then after paying, they would walk down a small corridor, expecting to enter a small stage area with seating and people bonking on stage, but instead ended up walking straight out the back of the building. The presence of very heavy duty bouncers would ensure they never complained about being ripped off. The whole place was about sleaze and sex but for the real stuff, you had to know the right people. I was bought up in the East End of London so Soho and what went on there was no mystery to me. Soho now is a shadow of it's former self.
The small cinema where me and friend went to watch the film was one of the few places where that film was being advertised as being shown and we were expecting the possibility we would never get to see the film and ending up walking out the back of the building but no, it was a small actual cinema seating about 100 people.
I later saw a film there called 'A Clock Work Banana' acted with some female called Xvera Hollander (spelling), who was I think at the time a porn star, that was actually a serious piss take on the porn industry and very funny. It still had some seriously erotic scenes though, and being a rampant 23 old, and oh how I miss those days, being now aged 65, it did provide some serious Kleenex moments afterwards.
Anyway, back to the original film, I'm now wondering if it was an uncut version because even though I was 23 at the time, and still naive, and it was about 3 hours long, some of the sex scenes were very graphic and I was a bit shocked that such famous actors were involved and I couldn't understand how the film was on general release. It is worth remembering this was 1980. I don't know how the film did on general release or even if that even happened un cut or not.
I still remember it as an incredible film. Very sexual, very gory, very well acted, a terrific story line and a great watch. And.... pre CGI. In other words, real acting. How did they do those sex scenes?
The comment somewhere above about 'doggie style' I remember that scene well. Being 23, that scene provided a few weeks erm...... thought provoking memories when in bed alone.
If any members on here get a chance to watch it, it is a well worth while film to watch. Historically accurate as well. The last scenes of the film are about the crown of Caesar being handed to Claudius who the military thought would be easy to control as all along he had been acting as a complete scared and frightened wimp but how wrong they were. He turned out to be a courageous, great and strong leader.
I would have really loved to have owned the head-chopping machine.
