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Saló, or the 120 Days of Sodom

The 100 Best Horror Movies of All Time - Variety, 2024

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Salò: Fade to Black (S)

Original title

Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodomaaka

AKA

Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom

Year

1975

Running time

117 min.

Country

Italy

Director

Pier Paolo Pasolini

Screenwriter

Pier Paolo Pasolini. Novel: Marqués de Sade

Cast

Music

Ennio Morricone

Cinematography

Tonino Delli Colli

Producer

Co-production Italy-France;

Genre

Drama | 1940s. Erotic. Slavery. Gay & Lesbian. Cult movie

Synopsis

Set in the Nazi-controlled, northern Italian state of Salo in 1944, four dignitaries round up sixteen perfect specimens of youth and take them together with guards, servants and studs to a palace near Marzabotto. In addition, there are four middle-aged women: three of whom recount arousing stories whilst the fourth accompanies on the piano. The story is largely taken up with their recounting the stories of Dante and De Sade: the Circle of Manias, the Circle of Shit and the Circle of Blood. Following this, the youths are executed whilst each libertine takes his turn as voyeur.

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Critics' reviews

“Its representation of depravity may be unsurpassable (…) The rituals (…) which Pasolini depicts clearly, unflinchingly, even lyrically (…) suggests that the classical values of Western civilization and the ostensibly progressive modernity that’s based on them are steeped in the blood of innocents".

Richard Brody: The New Yorker
"A perfect example of the kind of material that, theoretically, anyway, can be acceptable on paper but becomes so repugnant when visualized on the screen that it further dehumanizes the human spirit"

Vincent Canby: The New York Times
"It's representation of depravity may be unsurpassable. This film is essential to have seen but impossible to watch"

Richard Brody: The New Yorker
"The director was reportedly in despair at the random violence of Italian society just before his death; that despair permeates his final work and gives it a posthumous significance."

David Ansen: Newsweek
"This may not be an enjoyable experience but it is definitely an experience."

Kim Newman: Empire
"It's very hard to sit through and offers no insights whatsoever into power, politics, history or sexuality. Nasty stuff."

Geoff Andrew: Time Out
"'Salò' has in fact no meaningful link to Fascism whatsoever, but is simply a display of twisted lust, spun by the fantasies of four extreme perverts, not to mention the director himself"

Michael Thomson: BBC

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Ranking Lists Position

1 The Most Unpleasant Movies I Have Ever Watched (198)
27 Most Memorable Erotic Movies (45)
46 My Favorite Italian Movies (46)
57 The Weirdest Movies I Have Ever Watched (70)
82 Movies I Like But Wouldn't Recommend to Everyone (32)

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Saló, or the 120 Days of Sodom

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