I didn't go, but I knew people in the Classics Department, which received a special invitation. Every single one of the Classics majors who saw the film thought it was a pile of crap. As one of them remarked, "This is the product of a bankrupt mind."

We later heard that Gore Vidal wanted his name removed from the script because of what Guccione had done with it.

Malcolm McDowell once said in an interview with Jon Stewart that Vidal left the production demanding that his name be removed from the script. McDowell said "Well that's just great! I can hardly have my name taken off the film can I?!?" McDowell was also not invited to the premiere because Guccione knew he would raise a stink over the added porn scenes (which he did).

I never have seen the film myself though...

Remember Robert DeNiro's line? "You insulted him a little bit." That meant someone was going to die horribly.

(You don't have to look too far to find porn enthusiasts in the Army.)

Even after hearing about this movie for years, I was still appalled. Appalled at the shitty filmmaking, the shitty porn, and the shitty history; most of all, the 'street-sweeper'. What a mis-application of history that was...

...is that I saw Terry Jones' BBC program on the ancient inventions of the Roman Empire - one of their inventors came this close to constructing the world's first locomotive engine, with a view towards building railroad lines all across the empire to transport soldiers and raw materials as needed. Claudius took one look at the proof-of-concept diorama and advised the inventor to back off of the locomotive because it would immediately put all the slaves in Rome out of work - and the last thing he needed was another Spartacus right in the heart of Rome.

The street sweeper was a bit much, but when you consider where some of their research was headed...

scene. That honor belongs to "Caligula"
In fact, there is a lot of taking of breaths in the senate orgy scene

Also, you need a very large bed if you're going to sleep with your horse.

fantastic series, and more accurate historically.

He's just very pablum as a bad guy.

Since all of the really nasty sex was added into the movie after initial production.

You did not mention Peter O'Toole's diseased Tiberius. Perhaps that is for the best.

But I must say I enjoyed him a lot more as Mr. Johnston in The Last Emperor.