Caligula is sickening, utterly worthless, shameful trash. If it is not the worst film I have ever seen, that makes it all the more shameful: People with talent allowed themselves to participate in this travesty. Disgusted and unspeakably depressed, I walked out of the film after two hours of its 170-minute length. That was on Saturday night, as a line of hundreds of people stretched down Lincoln Ave., waiting to pay $7.50 apiece to become eyewitnesses to shame...'This movie,' said the lady in front of me at the drinking fountain, 'is the worst piece of shit I have ever seen.'
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Ebert criticizes Caligula as worthless and disgusting, recounting his walkout and audience reaction.
- In plain terms
- He hated Caligula and found it shameful.
- What can you take from it?
- Some films are objectively harmful to watch.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Have you ever walked out of a movie?
Another view
Taste in bad movies is subjective.
More from Roger Ebert
Some of these reviews were written in joyous zeal. Others with glee. Some in sorrow, some in anger, and a precious few with venom, of which I have a closely gu…
Permalink to quote #13 Deuce Bigalow is aggressively bad, as if it wants to cause suffering to the audience. The best thing about it is that it runs for only 75 minutes. : Does this …
Permalink to quote #15 Herzog by his example gave me a model for the film artist: fearless, driven by his subjects, indifferent to commercial considerations, trusting his audience to…
Permalink to quote #12
Related quotes
Dirty Love wasn't written and directed, it was committed. Here is a film so pitiful, it doesn't rise to the level of badness. It is hopelessly incompetent... I…
Roger EbertRoger Ebert quote #17 Learning the difference between good movies and skillful ones is an early step in becoming a moviegoer. Certain films demonstrate that a skillful movie need no…
Roger EbertRoger Ebert quote #97 This is a nature-boy movie, a kid's daydream of being an Indian. When Dunbar has become a Sioux named Dances with Wolves, he writes in his journal that he know…
Pauline KaelPauline Kael quote #48