I, Claudius- Caligula speech

[BggProductions]

Ah Caligula, you horse-loving, sister-shagging, ocean-fighting loon. John Hurt does you justice.

[sensemaya1]

This has to be my fav British Broadcasting Corporation's series ever. Best in 75 even better in 2011. Cheers.

[avariceichiban]

This and 1984 are two of the greatest.

[Lirico96]

He looks like the real Caligula!

[mlleprufrock]

"And you took me at my word, didn't you? Typical!" LOL

[TomthatiscalledTom]

The Elephant Man was a million times less of a freak than Caligula was.

[nolanjuice84]

i know caligula was crazy and killed alot but i cant help but to like the guy

[alexlancer11]

Please !

[Tenor5274]

I would put Jay Robinson's portrayal of Caligula againt John Hurt's any day...especially Jay's Caligula in Demitrius and the Gladiators. Both are amazing.

[actorben]

I can't see John Hurt w/out imagining an alien bursting out of his chest!

[3piper]

When you have an insane dictator,you cant win either way

[Mars2i0]

Caligula, one of the great all time psychotic rulers.

[vasp99]

I feel entirely the same way. Senates can really suck. Especially if you're a god, as I happen to be. Now , it's off to boff my sister !

[Kelly14UK]

I battled Neptune in the bath this morning. I won!

[napolmorino]

It's hardly thinkable that this is the same actor who played the elephant man.

[wenglishsal]

@napolmorino ... I totally agree an amazing Caligula and 'Elephant Man' ... Not forgetting the 'orrible alien that burst from his stomach in the 1st Alien film with Sigorny Weaver and he also played Mr Ollivander 'The wand shop owner' In the Harry Potter films.. what a fabulous actor indeed...

[Jemmer1000]

Show them our booty!

[quesondriac]

What an asshole!

[dontleademsomuch]

the senate guys are thinking, "oh well i lived today but tomorrow...???"

[drfink100]

Brilliant!, Shot on Tube video cameras....

Masterpiece Theater

 Indeed!

[PapagenoJuan2]

HAIL CAESAR HURT!! :)

[ArthasvsLeon]

I can only imagine how epic it must have been to see entire Roman legions, the premier fighting force of the Western World, gathering seashells on the shore.

Thanks for posting one of my favorite scenes from my favorite miniseries :)

[Gizzygirl234]

He was definitely a perfect Caligula- I watched the whole I, Claudius in Latin.

[UeyUeyAzteca]

In Latin! That's just showing off!!!

[Gizzygirl234]

@UeyUeyAzteca *I meant in Latin class ha :D But I did read the Odyssey entirely in Latin D: Trust me, it was not fun :I

[JC44BC]

1st Class acting , John Hurt steals the show!

[jmg3116]

Best Caligula ever, John Hurt was brilliant in this role, just perfect for Caligula.

[archer1949]

Is this based on Suetonius? I LOVE The 12 Caesars! So lurid and bitchy!

[AquaRing]

@archer1949 Yup. Robert Graves translated his work himself as research for the original novel.

[archer1949]

Imagine working for this guy. I'd probably just end up throwing up my hands and saying to him: "Is there anything I can do or say that won't get me killed?"

[3baxcb]

@archer1949 Look at what his uncle Claudius does and take notes.

[heliotropezzz333]

@archer1949 Saying that would get you killed

[MerelyAFan]

What I love about John Hurt's performance is how here Caligula really seems to think he's a rational, intelligent, (god) emperor who really believes he's doing Rome well. Others play him as too overtly crazy and purposefully over the top, but with Hurt you can just see his angry frustration in people not understanding his logical (in fact contradictory) orders or confusion at his "rewarding" campaign against Neptune.

[Petipulpul]

J.H. Does a great Caligula, other actors play Caligula a little too much feminine and J.H plays a man who stays in between madness and silliness and sanity

[Petipulpul]

the best Caligula of all times

[graemeoliver84]

"living no better than a prviate SOLE-DIIER!"

John Hurt reminds us how that word should be pronounced! (instead of "sol-jer" like most of us nowadays tend to say)

[frantic1971]

I've been looking for the part in this series where Caligula (John Hurt) shortly after he has become emperor, gives a long speech to the senators. It was done in one continuous five minute take and really showcases John Hurt's stature as an actor.

[dim432]

he is the crazy empror I CALIGULA IM A GOD, IM ONLY HEAR TO NOD AND YOUR THROATS WILL BE CUT

[Rico8458]

what year did claudius live?

[plonsdrums]

@Rico8458

10 bc-54ad

ruled 41-54

[HowardLive]

At 1:35, Caligula brandishing that sword looks alarmingly like Manuel Noriega. :-P

[landocalrision]

Its simple .Want pain? Get John Hurt

[anonUK]

This scene is almost 100% Shakespearean and John Hurt is clearly in his element (batshit insane, as said before- or should we say, "differently sane"). From 2:42- 3:20, the humour verges on the Pythonesque, or is at least extremely black.

[27manlover]

John Hurt is awesome in this scene!

[PIMurray]

Terrifying, and still deeply impressive.

[akear]

Four years later Hurt would get an Oscar nomination for Elephant man. This scene shows his range that would propel him into super stardom.

[Agugasek]

My God! John Hurt is one of my favorite.

His voice is so variable, once filled with anger, once sweetness ... This is just an REAL ACTOR!

[bookkeeper57]

Absolute homicidal psycho

[praguephotog]

John Hurt is truly mesmerizing; what an amazing actor!

[smegweevil]

Straight-out whackjob! Yes, scary is the right word. Because at his whim, he can have you and your family put to death.

[usraygun]

All these Roman dramas, with Julius Caesar or

Caligula-like emperors etc. always have

someone complaining about betrayal throughout

and these stories are very enjoyable and funny.

Add to that the perverted tastes of these high

characters. I like this kind of British Richard Burton kind of English ! BUT, be sure, that

the real Romans (Italians) did not speak like

these english people. The event of the emperor getting dissed in this scene is really funny.

[hoyle1911]

Dude is a psycho. Fought no real battles, but wants triumphs for it. And yet he'd behead you at the drop of a hat. Yikes.

[holmsatlarge]

I love, love ,love John Hurt! He has been my favourite actor since the 1970's!

[AttemptedNova]

"And you took me at my word, didn't you? Typical!!"

lol

reminds me of an ex-gf

[ebf1957]

Though I liked HBO's "Rome", I, Claudius was the best.

[aquagrl63]

John Hurt is a great actor but his voice scares the crap out of me.

[americangalbasseyfan]

That's the idea..usually for such a corrupt, immoral role he is portraying.

[aquagrl63]

Anyone think if Caligula were alive today he'd be a serial killer? Like a Jeffrey Dahmer type or that guy who kidnapped Jaycee duggar? I mean he's obviously a sociopath. BTW I think John Hurt has the best performance of Caligula.

[aure232]

Nobody knows what Caligula really was, almost all accounts are heavily biased.

[aquagrl63]

@aure232 I'm aware that his biographers were pretty biased but I was referring to this particular incarnation of Caligula. This one is batshit insane.

[DrBPhD]

He probably suffered brain damage as a result of an illness during the early period of his emperorship. Maybe he had always been a bit on the edge but after he "recovered" from his illness he was a different person and became more and more delusive.

[alcockell]

@DrBPhD , would explain the amateur C-section he attempted on his wife... As TVTropes said - Caligula+Drusilla+amateur C-section+foetus = Squick to the power of infinity.

[melvert33]

I watched the whole series of this recently and loved it. Hurt is the highlight of the show and amazing to watch, really scary. The German and Praetorian guard backed him and in real life as well, fascinating

[americangalbasseyfan]

Yes, John Hurt steals the show!

[dontleademsomuch]

he'd be a mad african dictator like idi amin or bokassa. totally removed from reality.

[8888sam]

hurt is the best actor ever!!!

[Rhademanthus]

Hurt here reminds me alot of McDowell's Caligula. This is a good thing.

[TheGoodOldBoy]

John Hurt is great and his voice is very good but i saw this scene dubbed by his German translator and it was much more imressing ! Normally i prefer the english version but this German translator was that overwhelming you guys have to hear it to believe it. A fantastic strong voice with an energy and a clinking sharpness that made that scene unforgettable.Hurts british accent sounds a bit unproper but he´s very good though

[mikew909]

you should hear it in its original klingon

[oshan]

William Hurt's greatest performance! 111111111111111111111111111111­111111111111111111111111111111­1111111111

[strangerinwhite]

That was John Hurt not William Hurt.

[strangerinwhite]

I, Claudius is just older and British verison of the show Rome on HBO but way more Shakesperean which is cool IMHO.

[Dannyboy8155]

Rome was very good in its own way. However, I,Claudius is better imo.

[strangerinwhite]

Me too,I prefer British shows over American most of the time. I'm also a big fan of John Hurt.

[bigbossman999]

rome was actually a british show, all the actors, directors, producers, etc were british.

[dim432]

I CALIGLUA AM A GOOD, IM ONLY HEAR TO NOOD AND YOUR THROATS WILL BE CUT. that what he said

[Agugasek]

1:48 - 1:54 BEST PART! xD

[theblakgeek]

That might just be the funniest thing I've ever seen in my life.

[divustitus]

Rich Burton & John Hurt 2 of the best amongst several others!

[fredblassie123]

Hurt's entire performance in the series stands as one of the greatest in any medium.

[GunmanProductionsTV]

"Bend your heads, I shall severe each one of the neck!"

[fkafka64]

John Hurt, one of the greatest actors ever!

K.

[Bass5el]

One actor who must SURELY receive a knighthood...

[ButtaUsagi]

One Word....Psychoooooooo!

[nolaughingmatter]

Senator: But Jove you ordered no triumphs.

Caligula: Well, of course, I ordered no triumphs! You'd think I'd order triumphs for myself?

Senator: But you ordered us not to order any.

Caligula: YeS, and you took me at my word, didn't you? Typical! It didn't occur to you that I might be leaving it up to you for your love to show itself freely? Didn't it occur to you that it might be my natural humility speaking? .... Show them our booty, show them the plunder we gathered from old Neptune!

[Vulfi93]

Caligula actually might not have been as bad as recorded. He constantly insulted and degraded the senate and army (and shown here), as well as everybody rich and of importance (eventually). He whored out free Romans' wives, daughters, and sons; and so they unconditionally hated him, but he introduced many social reforms and was the closest thing to radical in those days.

[DonMeaker]

Like Caligula, radicals in our day are also insane.

[Vulfi93]

What? You aren't making any sense.

[melvert33]

There is almost no primary evidence on Caligula, I think no one knows what he was really like but he definitely made an impression!

[kfresk]

Spoils of the sea... hihihiii!

[054martinm]

we watched this scene in ancient history class. everyone was amazed and yet a few chuckled, especially when he showed them the "loot".

[007InMiami]

I can imagine what the soldiers that had to dive in to plunder the sea shells from Neptune said to each other: "We're getting paid for this? Ha!"

[Agugasek]

And John Hurt's Caligula is the same as my imagined Caligula. Love this video...

[Agugasek]

I really like John Hurt! really!

[batterseaspark]

this is great. very funny and very horrible.

[PERSIAENT2009]

John Hurt is the best actor in the world.Innit.

[fliegeroh]

John Hurt was magnificent.

[alanjazzfan]

I love the fact that he says that he has ''divine innocence''. A wonderful performance.

[FishingtonBurpPuzzle]

This was televisual art and nothing less and John Hurt really did define an era with this single speech.

[JoKeR2280]

Nothing beats McDowell's Caligula

[BCCButters711]

The movie would have been better if Guccione had not tampered with it.

[alanjazzfan]

Agreed BCCButters711.

[verkaforever]

John Hurt as Caligula was the best thing about I Claudius, in my opinion, and also the best performance of John's career.

[bossanova3255]

Definition of a "crackpot!"As my teenage daughter said,"John Hurt rocks!"

[verkaforever]

I LOVE the way he says "typical"!

[verkaforever]

This is a GREAT clip!

[grahamhall75]

I have always thought that John Hurts portrayal of Caligula is one of the most fantastic portrayals ever. To me his acting is chilling. His eyes are dark and evil throughout, even in the characters lighter moments. I adore this whole series. 15/10!!!

[alanjazzfan]

Actually, I have never seen his Caligula as thoroughly evil as he played him as someone who is very insane. He is frightening but also a sad character.

[CultureJudge]

Never mind the fall of the Roman Empire. The fact that great TV like this - which was once the norm - cannot be made any more is a sign of our own decaying civilisation.

[Ichcann]

Rome was pretty good.

[verkaforever]

I couldn't agree with you more. This series was great- this clip is MINT!

[SuperiorSavior]

Caliula is a woman!

[noblefrog]

Plundered Neptune's seashells lol pwned

[festilina]

John Hurt plays this role with real acting brilliance. IC was the best of a golden age of television drama; the sort of thing you just don't get anymore. It's proof that TV audiences don't have to be treated like children. Even the theme tune is outstanding.

[captain07234]

John Hurt did something truly amazing with Caligula he made him funny and terrifying at the same time. Certain lines are funny but terrifying because he is absolutely serious about what he is saying.

[ntc12345]

Fantastic scene.

[starmario36]

i agree john hurt is good playing caligula

[bookishmuch]

do you think I'd order triumphs for MYSELF?? ^_^

SHOW THEM OUR BOOTY!!!!

This is SO FUNNY. in a sick kind of way.

[tashamia]

"prayer can soften the hearts of gods" i have so got to use that. this is one of those performances that can make your insides tremble.

[captain07234]

great performance

[dtifft3]

I actually act this way towards my subordinates at my job, and wonder why they seem to hate me.

[gjelpd001]

that must have been a hoot!

[SuperiorSavior]

You are a GOD Zusey!

[Zarathustra799]

You're an ass.

[BloodyMargie]

AWW! You should have included the part where he turns on his friend for mentioning Marcus Agrippa

[captain07234]

Can you post Claudius's first speech to the senate as emperor, love that scene.