Controversial, vilified, censored, banned, and hotly debated since its release in 1976, Pier Paolo Pasolini's Salò, or The 120 Days of Sodom poses a quandary for viewers and librarians alike. Easily one of the most shocking and disgusting films ever made, it contains a smorgasbord of obscenities and nauseating offenses guaranteed to incense conservative community watchdogs. Just as certainly, Salò is a deliberately provocative, challenging, and ultimately “rewarding” masterpiece—a bona fide work of art from a novelist, poet, and filmmaker whose brutally violent murder (shortly after this film was completed) seems in retrospect to be inextricably linked to the movie's turbulent history. Now reissued by the prestigious Criterion Collection as a two-disc special edition, Salò is Pasolini's rendition of the Marquis de Sade's 18th-century tale of torture and degradation, transposed to 1944 during the final days of Italy's Fascist dictatorship. In the equivalent of a palatial prison, the film's de facto Fascist rulers brutalize, degrade, defile, torture, maim, and kill a gathering of naked adolescents. For all but the most desensitized filmgoers, the first viewing is a genuine ordeal; yet, Salò is entirely worthy of close study, and Pasolini's outrage, artistry, and yes, even humor become evident upon subsequent viewings. Pasolini compels the viewer to examine the abject abuse of power against the powerless, pushing the depravity to still-shocking extremes, with nonstop nudity, sodomy, scatology, scalping, eye-gouging, flesh-burning, humiliation, hanging, and mutilation among the horrors on display. In order to better understand and “appreciate” the film (admittedly an impossible task for some), Criterion's special edition offers a wealth of supplemental material, including three informative documentaries about the film and its legacy, featuring new and archival interviews with Pasolini and a wide range of friends, collaborators, critics, and filmmakers. Also included are separate interviews with celebrated production designer Dante Ferretti and director/scholar Jean-Pierre Gorin. Finally, the set features an accompanying 80-page paperback with mini-essays by theater director Neil Bartlett, controversial filmmaker Catherine Breillat, and others, along with excerpts from an on-set diary by Pasolini's close friend Gideon Bachmann. Highly recommended for more serious and adventurous film collections, with the caution that this would be a controversial acquisition for many others. (J. Shannon)[Blu-ray Review—Oct. 25, 2011—Criterion, 116 min., in Italian w/English subtitles, not rated, $39.95—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1976's Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom sports a great transfer with mono sound. Blu-ray extras are identical to those on the DVD release, including “The End of Salò” production featurette (40 min.), interviews with set designer Dante Ferretti and filmmaker/scholar Jean-Pierre Gorin (40 min.), a “Yesterday and Today” featurette with interviews of director Pier Paolo Pasolini and others (33 min.), a “Fade to Black” segment with filmmakers Bernardo Bertolucci, Catherine Breillat, and John Maybury, and scholar David Forgacs (24 min.), a theatrical trailer, and a booklet featuring essays and excerpts from Gideon Bachmann's on-set diary. Bottom line: Pasolini's searing controversial film will be welcome on Blu-ray for more adventurous collections.]
Salò, or The 120 Days of Sodom
Criterion, 2 discs, 116 min., in Italian w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $39.95 December 8, 2008
Salò, or The 120 Days of Sodom
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