Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom - Criterion Collection

Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom - Criterion Collection
by Pier Paolo Pasolini

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DVD details

Actor: Aldo Valletti, Giorgio Cataldi, Marco Bellocchio, Paolo Bonacelli, Umberto Paolo Quintavalle
Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini
Brand: Image Entertainment
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: Italian (Original Language); English (Subtitled)
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 116 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-08-26
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Criterion Collection

DVD Reviews of Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom - Criterion Collection

DVD Review: Absolutely NOT for weak stomachs
Summary: 4 Stars

If you're even considering this movie, you SHOULD have some interest in the subject material already - torture, degradation, murder and the like. Besides that, there is no reason to watch this really....I rented it because it was on Entertainment Weekly's "25 most distubing movies ever" list and of course I had to check it out. I thought nothing could top Cannibal Holocaust as far as the gross factor, but Salo definitely wins out. Like I said, NOT for weak stomachs or those unable to separate the movie from their emotions.

The basic plot is that a group of young Jews are kidnapped and brought to the circle of friends for "fun". The movie is subtitled in English, but I think the points come across just the same. The teens are forced into all kinds of disgusting and horrifying situations, all the while the circle of friends (consisting of 4 very disturbed older men) enjoy every last moment of it. Think of the sickest things you can do to a person, and they are more than likely in this movie. Things I have never even thought of were shown without remorse or attemps at hiding what was happening.

I give this movie 4 stars for the sheer ballsy-ness of those involved in the movie. The subject matter is very disturbing indeed, but you cant knock a movie like this for that because you have a good idea going into it. Some of it drags on at times, but at the same time I was not in any hurry to get to the next scene lol. ONLY watch if you have a morbid curiosity and can tolerate the depictions.

DVD Review: A uniquely disturbing film experience
Summary: 4 Stars

Pasolini was very brave and a bit crazy to make SALO, an adaptation of an unadaptable novel, the Marquis de Sade's paean to depravity, THE 120 DAYS OF SODOM. De Sade's catalog of rape, sodomy, pedophilia, coprophagia (feces consumption), torture, and murder, is history's most pornographic novel, and Pasolini could not be too faithful to it without creating an unwatchable film, and perhaps even getting himself arrested. He couldn't go too far, but he went far enough. SALO is an unpleasant and at times sickening movie that requires a strong stomach to get through. The subject matter was so controversial that it was banned in several countries.

In de Sade's book, the setting was 17th century France. SALO takes place in Fascist Italy during WW2. The basic plot is the same, but 120 DAYS OF SODOM is separated into months (November through March) describing specific "passions", whereas SALO's activities are separated into "circles" much like Dante did in THE INFERNO. Four powerful and wealthy men, abduct a number of young men and women to serve as slaves, and recruit 4 prostitutes as storytellers. Locked away in a remote, heavily guarded palace, each prostitute tells stories of past experiences. These vile tales provide the stimuli for acts of debauchery, torture, and murder which are committed against those young slaves. This is extremely strong stuff..a lot of the torture mental as well as physical..and it is done quite artistically. This is not some cheap exploitation flick, but an artist's vision of moral bankruptcy and social corruption. Some of the scenes are reminiscent of the paintings of Old Masters. Pasolini seems to delight in hurling dung at a society that could allow a repulsive, repressive regime to flourish.

The cinematography and set designs of SALO are excellent, and the acting is particularly strong. Performances by many of the young actors are emotional and heartbreaking, and the acting done by the 4 villainous perpetrators is convincing in it's odiousness.

I would like to say that SALO is a must see movie, but I doubt many people could, or would sit through it. It is not for everyone for sure, but it is certainly a uniquely disturbing experience, with the emphasis for some on the word unique, and for others on the word disturbing. Nothing like SALO has ever been made, or will be made again.

DVD Review: Not art at all
Summary: 1 Stars

Some one`s gotta say it, it may as well be me. This "movie" is nothing but exploitation filth and i can`t believe all these people giving it 4 and 5 stars, and claiming that it`s "art" and "powerful." I suppose you think child snuff films are "art" and "powerul" too? This movie was made just for the rich perverted filmakers kicks to get off on, nothing else. And all you people who like this movie have, deep down inside, got some weird perversion that gets you off. That`s the only reason why you like it. The film and entertainment industry is controlled by very rich and perverted powerful people who can get away with making films/filth like this. Unfortunately, the sad thing is, this film is based on true stories. Yes, rich powerful people in very high up places are involved in these sort of things in real life. Whether nazis did it during world war 2 is debateable but this sort of thing has been going on for generations. World leaders, British royalty and government agents have been experimenting with the brain and using mind control to create assassins, sex slaves and puppet polititians. If you look into a thing called trauma based mind control you`ll see that the CIA, mossad and the KGB have constantly been doing this horrible thing to many young people. What they do is traumatise someone constantly through violence and/or sexual abuse, this then causes the brain to constantly shut out the trauma, thus creating different compartments in the brain and thus creating different pesonalities in the person. Each person`s personality, or subconscious mind, can then be programed to carry out whatever the programmer wants them to do. Yes this sort of thing goes on constantly and it`s people in the highest positions of power in the world who are involved in it. You`ll find that George Bush snr was head of the CIA. He`d know all about this horrible thing. Thousands of children dissappear without a trace every year in the USA and they`re never seen or heard of again. The only "good" thing about this film and why i`m giving this film one star is because at least it`s exposing something that is really going on in real life amongst the rich and powerful elite, and it must be stopped because it`s crimes against humanity.

DVD Review: Dear Lord!
Summary: 5 Stars

Oh my God. This film had such an affect on me I will not even start to explain it. Everything I had read about it wasn't close to preparation for it, and I had purposely skimped on pre-viewing knowledge. I dare you to watch the movie knowing nothing about it, the emotions you're in for will be all the more.... "pungent." (Pun intended.)

This film not only affected me like none other has, but it may have affected me the most of any film. Ever.

I'm still quite confused as to how I feel about it, but I simply must give it a full rating, because when a film goes beyond a 2 hour soap opera there is much credit to be given.

(Five stars and I've not even cracked open the extras.)

DVD Review: Shocking, disgusting, perverted, fantastic
Summary: 5 Stars

Shocking, disgusting, perverted, fantastic. Salo was a fairly hard movie to watch, but worth at least one go. The messages behind the movie or acts in the movie show very true what those with power have done to todays society with all the greed, coruption and this movie shows what i consider as the true heart of the corrupt.
This movie is very extreme with it messages, and is not for the squeemish. I must say however if you do buy the 2 disk dvd set, to make sure you also watch the extras and understand exactly what Pasolini was trying to do with this masterpiece of cinema.

Description of Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom - Criterion Collection

Pier Paolo Pasolini s notorious final film, Sal?, 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 Sal?, a 40-minute documentary about the film s final scene
Sal?: 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 Sal?, 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

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