Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom

Buy This Item Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom by Criterion Collection  Available from Amazon  $29.99  on 8-29-2008     Pier Paolo Pasolini s notorious final film, Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom, has been called nauseating, shocking, depraved, pornographic . . . it s also a masterpiece. The controversial poet, novelist, and filmmaker s transposition of the Marquis de Sade s 18th-century opus of torture and degradation to 1944 Fascist Italy remains one of the most passionately debated films of all time, a thought-provoking inquiry into the political, social, and sexual dynamics that define the world we live in. SPECIAL EDITION DOUBLE-DISC SET FEATURES: New, restored high-definition digital transfer The End of Salò, a 40-minute documentary about the film s final scene Salò: Yesterday and Today, a 35-minute documentary featuring interviews with Pier Paolo Pasolini, actor-filmmaker Jean-Claude Biette, and Pasolini s friend Nineto Davoli Fade to Black, a new short documentary about Salò, featuring interviews with filmmakers Bernardo Bertolucci, Catherine Breillat, and John Maybury New interviews with set designer Dante Ferretti and filmmaker/film scholar Jean-Pierre Gorin Optional English-dubbed soundtrack Theatrical trailer Optional English subtitles PLUS: A booklet featuring new essays by Neil Bartlett, Roberto Chiesi, Naomi Greene, Gary Indiana, and Sam Rohdie, and excerpts from Gideon Bachman s on-set diary Reader Reviews Well educated in many fields, Pier Paolo Pasolini (1922-1975) was a true Italian Renaissance Man, who not only excelled as a filmmaker, but as a philosopher, journalist, novelist (Ragazzi di vita), poet (Roman Poems; Pier Paolo Pasolini Poems), playwright, social critic (Heretical Empiricism), columnist, actor, painter and political figure as well. As a filmmaker, he is best known for The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964), The Decameron (1971), The Canterbury Tales (1972) and Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975). Pasolini was murdered shortly before Salò was released. Adapted from the Marquis de Sade's 18th-century novel The 120 Days of Sodom, Salò (Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma) is Pasolini's most controversial and subversive film, which is reason enough to experience it. In fact, many critics consider Salò to be the most controversial film of all time. While it is sadistic, shocking, depraved, violent, and arguably pornographic, it is also a masterpiece in cinema, which offers a sharp critique of Pasolini's culture. Set in the final days of the Nazi-controlled Republic of Salò, the film depicts unspeakable acts of human brutality (rape, torture, mutilation, and murder) drawn from both de Sade's book as well as from Pasolini's own life under Fascist rule. The film is divided into four segments that loosely reflect Dante's Inferno: Anteinferno, the Circle of Manias, the Circle of Feces, and the Circle of Blood. Four powerful Fascits, the Duke (Duc de Blangis), the Bishop, the Magistrate (Curval), and the President, first agree to marry each other's daughters, and then kidnap eighteen adolescent boys and girls, who they then brutalize and ultimately execute at a secluded palace near Marzabotto.(Viewers may draw associations between Salò and Abu Ghrab.) Watching Salò might best be described as experiencing pure evil. While most viewers will find it extremely disturbing or unwatchable, others will find Salò to be intellectually engaging. It left me speechless, and words fall short in describing the spectacle of Salò. It is an unforgettable film that should be experienced at least once. The Criterion Collection's Double-Disc Special Edition of Salo features a newly restored high-definition digital transfer; "The End of Salò," a 40-minute documentary about the film's final scene; "Salò: Yesterday and Today," a 35-minute documentary featuring interviews with Pier Paolo Pasolini, actor-filmmaker Jean-Claude Biette, and Pasolini's friend Nineto Davoli; new interviews with set designer Dante Ferretti and filmmaker/film scholar Jean-Pierre Gorin; the theatrical trailer; and a booklet featuring new essays by Neil Bartlett, Roberto Chiesi, Naomi Greene, Gary Indiana, and Sam Rohdie, and excerpts from Gideon Bachman's on-set diary. G. Merritt

Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom Available from Amazon Price: $29.99 Updated on 8-29-2008.

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