Caligula (Caligola)

Germanicus dead.

Hail, the great grandfather of Germanicus,

hail Julius Caesar,

now a god!

Hail, the grandfather of Germanicus,

Augustus Caesar,

now a god!

Behold the ashes of Germanicus

- Murdered! - Murdered!

So cruelly taken from us

Hail, the father of Germanicus

Hail Tiberius Caesar

Who killed Germanicus?

Emperor of Rome!

Tiberius! Tiberius! Tiberius!

He's going to kill me

You're safe. You're with me.

He's going to kill us,

just the way he killed our father, our mother,

and our brothers.

I am not going to die!

You won't.

You're his heir, there is no one else.

Yes

there's Gemellus

and Claudius

Gemellus is too young,

Claudius is an idiot,

and Tiberius is old.

You will be emperor.

Soon.

And you will be my queen.

You can't marry your sister.

You can in Egypt.

But we're in Rome.

And you are already promised.

I know.

To Ennia.

Remember,

Macro does command the Praetorian Guard.

It's only a bird.

What's it like with your husband?

What's what like?

He's so fat.

He's disgusting.

He's not.

He's just large.

But tiny where it counts.

How do you know?

I saw him at the baths.

Poor, poor Drusilla

You are vile.

Password?

Who's that?

Justice.

Prince.

Forgive me, Prince.

I'm not interrupting, am I?

Only my dreams.

Happy dreams?

News from Capri?

The Emperor commands you to wait upon him.

We sail at first light.

What does he want?

A last look at you, perhaps.

He is seventy-seven.

May he live forever.

How is Ennia?

In love.

In Hell then, as the poet says.

My wife won't be happy until she sees you in Capri.

Wait outside.

What do you think all this means?

Take care, Little Boots.

Pray to Isis for me.

Nerva. Dear friend.

Ten years is a long time for the Emperor to be hidden away.

I should feel a great deal happier if he were back in Rome, where he belongs.

Tell me, how is the Emperor?

Old, like me.

I mean how is his mood?

Like the weather.

Well, the weather is good today.

Changeable.

I am told that during the last month,

seven of my colleagues in the Senate have been put to death

for treason.

Nine to be exact.

And five of them cheated

they killed themselves.

That wasn't playing fair,

don't you agree, Nerva?

They were all good men.

If they were good men,

how could their beloved Emperor find them guilty?

You have a gift for logic, Prince.

Caligula!

Great Caesar.

Beloved grandfather.

Do your dance, boy.

My dance?

Yes.

The one you delighted the army with when your father made you its mascot.

Come on, Little Boots.

I've forgotten it, Lord.

Dance for me.

Delight me.

Dance!

All right, come in, all of you!

Now stop that!

Do you love me?

Yes, Caesar.

Why do you say such monstrous things about me at Rome?

But I don't, Caesar. Ever.

I hear you often pray devotedly for my death.

By heaven, Caesar, I swear I do not.

You do not

in public.

Never, Lord.

Remember this

that I have let you live.

So far.

My little fishies love me.

Innocence, you see

I protect their innocence.

It is all I can do, for it is a foul world. Away you go!

Nerva is scowling at us.

Nerva, my friend!

Nerva, help me transform this

young barbarian into a Roman Caesar.

There have been three Roman Caesars

Julius, Augustus, and yourself.

Which do you want him to be?

The best!

That would be your father, Augustus.

You see, Caligula?

I am insulted to my face.

Nerva, dear friend

when I am dead,

watch out for Macro.

I know he hates me.

Because you are good.

Because you are wise.

Therefore, when I am gone,

watch out for Macro.

I've taken my precautions, Caesar.

Heaven help Rome

when I die!

I am old.

You will live forever, Lord.

All my family are dead,

but you and me,

the child Gemellus, and that uncle, that Claudius thing.

All the others, struck down by fate

and it is fate, Little Boots, that rules us, not any god.

You are a god, Caesar.

No I am not!

Not even when I am dead.

Julius Caesar and Augustus Cesar,

they are gods.

So say the Senate, and so the people prefer to believe.

Such myths are useful.

Little Boots

look at you.

I am nursing a viper in Rome's bosom.

Wine!

Do you think this boy has been drinking?

I think he's been drinking, Caesar.

So do I.

- Macro? - Yes, Lord?

Give him more wine.

And waste none.

The laces to your boots.

Quick!

And what do they say of me at Rome?

They miss you, Lord.

And they need you.

I have given most of my life to the Roman people.

I have fought!

Aren't they lovely?

Yes, Lord.

The satyrs are from Illyria.

And, uh, this nymph

is from

from where?

Britain, lord.

Britain.

Speaking statues!

And they can do, as well as speak!

Do you prefer nymphs to satyrs?

I like both.

One needs both, keep healthy.

Rome is a republic, Caligula,

and you and I are just plain citizens.

More conviction!

Serve the State, Caligula,

although the people in it are appalling beasts.

But they love you, Lord.

No.

They hate me.