Rating: 
Summary: Masterwork!
Review: First of all, this movie is a great adaptation of Sade's book. In " 120 days of sodom" the sadist nobles were taking their power by their money. In the movie, the source of the power comes from the political authority in the fascist era of Italy.
It's a powerful expression of disgust for the modern times. And shows us Passolini's vision to the eternal darkness of humanity.
It's hard to watch and stand the torture scenes. But the film itself is not disgusting at all! There is a wonderful esthetic during the movie, even in the torture scenes. (Like the enchanting chorus "Veris Leta Facies" from Carl Orff's Carmina Burana which was playing during the most terrfying tortures)Probably it's Passolini's masterpiece... And a must see for the cinema specialists...
Rating:
Summary: Educational
Review: An excellent movie for teens who like to ob about their parents and homelife. They can see just how lucky and well they have it. Personally if you ask me, some of these teens need some Sally Jesse bootcampin'.
Rating: 
Summary: Not for everyone
Review: I've wanted to see this film for the longest time as it is known as "the most disgusting movie ever made." This of course intrigued me,but I also heard it was a very artistic film, incorporating many themes of human degradation and facism. Pier Pasolini directed this film and later was killed by a male prostitute (stabbed to death) and it was rumored he was killed FOR making this film.
Now, I'm not going to go on and on about artistic values and philosophical thoughts, because I really don't know that much about the subject at hand, I merely was curious about the film and watched a friend's copy. Now, lots of parts are difficult to watch (especially if there are parents around); like extremely degrading sex acts, human torture, and sodomy. The film centers around a group of 4 middle aged men who decide to capture a large group of random young teens (about 14-17 years old) and bring them all back to a mansion to a former prostitute who would tell them stories about her life, very sexually explicit stories, with the help of other older women they would keep these children captured basically as sex slaves- most of the time they were naked, fondled and just toyed with for the pleasure of these men. One scene which almost had me gagging was one where they all sat for a dinner, the main course was a huge silver tray of steaming human feces, they all were forced to eat (the "bad" guys loving every morsel of it). Other scenes where some of the children actally enjoyed some homosexual acts with these men made me cringe (not because I have anything against gays, but this film was just so perverse, yet strongly intriguing about it).
Well, there were a few girls in the group who wanted to rebel. Not much came of that except more punishment. The children really acted very cardboard cutout like, few of them making any real human emotion about what was going on. This in turn didn't earn your sympathies for them, giving you more leeway into watching the film, and didn't ever make you hate the men torturing these kids.
The end of the film was the most violent, it was seen through a telescope by a man in a window watching naked teens being brutality torchered (one kid had his tounge pulled out, another had a lighter scorching his genatils, etc). The very end of the film does have a more positive outlook after all the mayhem you witness, almost optimistic of people as a whole-extremely well done.
Anyway, in conclusion I would say that even though the subjects I mentioned about the film were so incredibly brutal and degrading, Pasolini doesn't seem to do it without a reason, this isn't some Troma film where it is made to shock. Pasolini is trying to make a statement about humanity, and even though I never figured out what it was exactly, it is evident throughout the film. Sure there were draggy parts within that could've been cut down, but as a whole this was probably one of the most revolting yet beautifully filmed movies I've ever seen. I won't soon forget it. If you've got a chance and have a very open mind, I highly recommend it, just don't watch it at face value. To truly appreciate this piece of art one must fully understand the history of facist ideas.
Rating: 
Summary: This film is pure crap
Review: And if you've seen it you know what I mean.
Rating: 
Summary: A DVD zone THINKING ILSA
Review: I remember that the theatrical release of Pasolini's SALO was quite a test for our European democracies. For example, here in Switzerland, we had to go to France if we wanted to see it. Nearly 30 years later, SALO is available at your local drugstore. Times change. There aren't any extras on the Criterion DVD in my possession, apart of a written essay delivered in the case. The colours are sad and, unfortunately, SALO being extremely verbose, the subtitles most of the time hide a great part of the action on the screen. Now for the movie itself. Everybody has understood that SALO is an allegory about fascism using the disguise of an illustration of the Marquis de Sade novel. That's all. So why all the fuss about this movie ? Simply because it was the first time that a reknown director explicitly showed on screen sexual perversions implying scatology and torture. Now if this film has stopped in any way the rise of the fascism in the world, I let you find the answer by yourselves.
Rating:
Summary: Reveling Beneath Vesuvius
Review: I have read many reviews of this film and to be honest I was expecting much worse in the way of utterly disgusting, disturbing, and gross, but there really were, for me at least, only a couple of scenes which challenged my ability to continue watching without looking away. Nonetheless, if you're eating during your viewing, you may want to skip over the chapter in which the peculiar sexual fetishes known as coprophilia and coprophagia are explored rather more visually and "in-depth" than most everyday people would be comfortable with. The film is overall remarkable however, in my opinion. If the goal of real art is "epater les bourgeois", to SHOCK us out of our mundane existences, benumbed by our routines, to make us feel something again, then AS art this film succeeds magnificently! I watched the film for the first time in a pitch dark room with only candles flickering from about midnight till about two in the morning. (I think it has the best overall "effect" in the "wee small hours"). In the morning, when you awaken, you remember it the way you remember a particularly vivid and disturbing dream you've just had. But that's what makes it a magnificent film. One of the things that I liked best about it was the background sound-effects Pasolini used of thunderous bombs (shelling by the "Allies" apparently) and the drone of bomber-planes flying overhead, giving the impression that the villa's occupants were utterly doomed anyway and were thus living out their last days in a series of violent nihilistic and grotesque orgies. Like debauchees in Pompeii, the night before Vesuvius erupted. Or, to use a more modern analogy perhaps, like the revelers in some of the more notorious homosexual... bars in the meat-packing district in Manhattan back in the late 70's/ very early 80's, in the last "moments" before AIDS appeared. One particularly poignant scene, which highlights the political undertones that I think Pasolini was clearly trying to bring across, is when the old Fascist Italian WWII song is sung over dinner as acts of sodomy are being performed on the dining room floor. "Mussolini ha sempre ragone", no? It was a stroke of brilliance on the part of Pasolini to film the torture/murder scenes using the "binocular" technique. This gives the audience a sense of cold distance, like watching the violence on a TV within a TV so to speak. I definitely recommend this film to all adults who can view it with an intelligent and open mind, who can view it as art (which is truly how it was meant to be viewed). In this post-9/11 age, we all need to reflect and ask ourselves as well, are WE "reveling beneath Vesuvius", and what brutality are we responsible for (if only indirectly) or complicit in because we do NOT actively protest it, or because we keep on watching when we should probably look away.
Rating:
Summary: A Treat for the Whole Family to Enjoy
Review: From Disney's Pixar Entertainment comes a film for the whole family: Pasolini's "Salo." A heartwarming tale of bonding under the worst of circumstances, "Salo" will tug at your heartstrings. Some family films feature a lovable animal or an adorable child. This one features activity so horrific and scandalous that Marilyn Manson and the court of Caligula would blush with shame. But, hey, it helps to have a wide open definition of "family film." So break out the popcorn and gather your loved ones around the television set. Granny and little Tommy will be in therapy for decades over this one. The scenes of coprophagia remind me why the remote was equipped with a slo-mo button!
Rating:
Summary: Strange To Say the Least
Review: Pasolini's last film is one of the strangest films I've ever seen. It's also one of the most uncomfortable. Based loosely on the Marquis de Sade's 120 Days of Sodom the film transports that work to fascist Italy in the ending days of WWII. A group of powerful men kidnap a large group of young innocents and essentially turn them into their personal slaves. The point of all this seems to be that power has the ability to currupt totally. The images on the screen are some of the most depraved that have been committed to film. Pasolini is more indebted in my mind to Dante than to deSade. The film is presented in "Circles" much like Dante's Inferno. This is not a film that you will want to see over and over. It is not a film in any way erotic. It is a film that will make you think and evaluate man's place in society. Is it worth the price of the DVD? More than likely not, but Criterion has found this to be one of the most important films of the 20th Century. Watcher beware and " Abandon all hopes ye who enter here."
Rating:
Summary: Very uncommon approach to criticize fascism
Review: Pier Paolo Pasolini is a man that I consider as a fascinating director. "Salò: The 120 Days of Sodom" (Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma) was his last film. His most noticeable works include "Porcile" and "The Gospel According To St.Matthew. Well, I would like to be clearer on this point, and I'll say that the word "noticeable" here is a synonym of "best". On the other hand, though, I would say that Salò is truly his most talked-about film, if you thought I meant that by noticed. The film is good, but I really preferred the two mentionned above, artistically and intellectually speaking. But Salò has its qualities, even though some of us might consider them as flaws. Salò is based on the Marquis de Sade's novel, entitled "Les 120 journees de Sodome". The book (of course, it was written way before the fascist period in Italy!) doesn't talk about fascism, and the main common point between the film and the book is the main concept. The film shows the horrors inflicted to a bunch of young and beautiful people that were selected by four sadistic (what a funny use of the word!) fascists that are only willing to quench their own brutal sexual and violent thirsts. They are taken to a villa where the are submitted to the worst humiliations, which include being raped whenever the four masters feel the desire to have sex, eating feces, and later on being brutally tortured and killed. This film is recognized for being one of the sickest of all times, one of the most disgusting also. Well, the "shocking content" mostly consists of constant nudity of young adults, many rapes, excrement-eating, scalping, tongue mutilation, and eye gouging. There are also pretty nasty stories told by a lady whose role in the villa is to tell sick stories that have for goal to turn on the four masters. I saw movies that were more disgusting than that, sincerely. The context and the cruelty surrounding many acts of violence and humiliation in this film are probably the main reason why it shocked so many people. The sexuality is never explicit (in the way that you never see a penetration graphically), the killings are pretty well done (the scalping especially) but there are very few of them and they are brief. I would say that "Caligula" is way more graphic and shocking than "Salò" (but less effective though). Pasolini's directing is beautiful. He made a mistake in one scene, changing the angle of the camera of less than 30 degrees between two shots. Except for that, he's fascinating...he's obsessed with showing symmetrical images...all the time. This technique somehow communicates the "discipline" and the supposedly high "straightness" of the fascists pretended to have. Also, the camera often has a pretty wide vision, and we don't often really get close to any character. With such coldness, Pasolini was criticized a lot. People didn't know if it was really a statement against fascism or just a good reason to show horrible things...Personnally, knowing a couple of things about Pasolini's life, I didn't doubt one moment about his intentions. Yes, he had socialist tendencies, yes, he was a homosexual (which fascists hated) and yes, he was against fascism, and it is clear when you see the film. People who only watch American films and are used to explicit messages in films will not understand that, but this film plundges us into cruelty we could have really compared to the nazis', and that's how it delivers its message. Maybe too subtle for some, but sometimes, I think it's better this way...just like in most American movies...an example: American History X talks about racism..."Racism is bad" is almost written on the walls...it's very sanctimonious, it's really not subtle...but there are movies where they only show horrible things the way they really are, without really giving a judgement in an explicit way...I think it even works better. I am a bit tired of moralizers, to be honest. The acting is very good. Also, I got the French Limited DVD of this film...that's the best edition, trust me! The audio tracks are in french (which Pasolini considered should have been the original language of this film, because it was the Marquis de Sade's and also the original Italian track. The one in french is amazing, really. There are also lots of extras, this is really a must-have. The actors, especially the four fascists, are extremely cold and creepy...Pasolini did a good job directing them. Overall, the film takes a very neutral approach to the horrors it displays, but that's effective. Sure, this is not a perfect movie, it has pretty slow moments and it is not that well structured, but it achieves its goal, which is to make a statement against fascism.
Rating:
Summary: Much ado about nothing
Review: Perhaps over the years this movies strength has faded, after reading all about it I decided I must see it and after over a year of searching I got my hands on a copy. I was extremely dissapointed by the sloppiness of this movie, and being accustomed to bottom of the barrel b-movies and slasherflicks that's saying a good bit. I didn't see anything remotely artistic in the way the story was presented and saw hardly anything disgusting in the movie other than the way it was handled. Awful story that had me hating fascists no more than I hated them to begin with, and horrid plot structure that left many loose ends with no, believe me, no ending whatsoever. Perhaps left up to the viewers interpretation one might see more than I from this picture. I was just expecting so much more, in sense of gore, hardly believable though pretty gross, offensive nudity/rape scenes? Once again fake looking and very staged, only a few scenes stuck with me, such as the young man being shot for having engaged in a willing act of sex. His death scene was powerful, but the rest of the movie was bland cannon fodder for exploitationalists, much in the same vein as the Ilsa pictures, (I thought Ilsa had alot more going for it though). I would still recommend this as a one timer watch and you may see alot more in it than I, and I hope so. I cannot reccomend the used DVD price for this picture whatsoever and can only see it's worth in the bargain bin.
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