Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma (1975)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Pier Paolo Pasolini

Writers:

Pier Paolo Pasolini (written by) and
Sergio Citti (screenplay)

Release Date:

January 1976 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

The 120 Days of Sodom

Plot:

Four fascist libertines round up 9 teenages boys and girls and subject them to 120 days of physical, mental and sexual torture.

Plot Keywords:

Libertine | Teenage Boy | Piano | Voyeur | Torture

Cast

Paolo Bonacelli	...	The Duke
Giorgio Cataldi	...	The Bishop
Umberto Paolo Quintavalle	...	The Magistrate (as Umberto P. Quintavalle)
Aldo Valletti	...	The President
Caterina Boratto	...	Signora Castelli
Elsa De Giorgi	...	Signora Maggi
Hélène Surgère	...	Signora Vaccari (as Helene Surgere)
Sonia Saviange	...	The Pianist
Sergio Fascetti	...	Male Victim
Bruno Musso	...	Male Victim
Antonio Orlando	...	Male Victim
Claudio Cicchetti	...	Male Victim
Franco Merli	...	Male Victim
Umberto Chessari	...	Male Victim
Lamberto Book	...	Male Victim

Also Known As:

Salo ou les 120 journées de Sodome (France)
Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (International: English title)

Runtime:

116 min | 145 min (premiere version)

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

Italian | French | German

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Italy:(Banned) (original rating) | West Germany:18 (nf) (cut) (original rating) | Germany:18 (SPIO/JK) (uncut) | Finland:(Banned) (1976) | Finland:K-18 (2001) | Italy:VM18 (re-rated) | Australia:(Banned) (1976-1993) (1998- ) | Australia:R (1993-1998) (uncut) | West Germany:(Banned) (cinema release) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 (uncut) | Japan:R-18 | UK:X (original rating) (cut) (alternate footage) | Hungary:14 | Brazil:18 | Argentina:18 | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Ontario) | France:-16 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:(Banned) (original rating) | New Zealand:R18 (re-rating) (2001) (uncut) | Portugal:M/18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 (re-rating) (2000) (uncut) | France:X (original rating) | Norway:18 (re-rating) (2005) (video premiere) | Norway:(Banned) (1976-2003) (cinema release) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Salò, Brescia, Lombardia, Italy

Company:

Produzioni Europee Associati (PEA)

Trivia:

Salò, in the title, refers to the town in Lake Garda where the film is set. Italians think of Salò as a reminder of the horrors of Benito Mussolini and his regime.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[four men, sitting at a table, each sign a booklet]
The Duke: Your Excellency.
The Magistrate: Mr. President.
The President: My lord.
The Bishop: All's good if it's excessive.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Wanderlust (2008) (V)

Soundtrack:

Prelude in E minor

a film that should never have HAD to be made...

... but it did.

this is perfect film metaphor. so affecting, i couldn't eat afterwards. i stared at a piece of bread for an hour.

the great shame is this film could be remade many times. whether it be pol pot in cambodia, stalin in russia, or america in vietnam, nicaragua, guetemala, there are a thousand salos waiting to be filmed. all that changes is the costumes.

whatever one feels about salo, one cannot deny that it shakes us out of our casual attitude to film violence. the viewer is acutely sensitized to every moment of pain. most shocking, often, are the moments of silence; when there is simply talking, or tea taking. there, the full horror of these IDEAS show.

personally, i see pasolini as an extremely notable director, loving the decammeron and i raconti di canterbury. and this as a stunning culmination of his career. i applaud the bbfc in passing it uncut - only 26 years late!

for those who condemn salo as pornographic etc., i would ask them to name which moments they find erotic. in this film of sex, is there anything that we could possibly find arousing? in this film of violence, is there anything that we could possibly find exciting? if answering yes, we are surely just like the perpetrators of these 'events.'

not one for a quiet night in. but with a world like this, we shouldn't be having quiet nights in. we should be facing up to the problems - now.