Rating: 
Summary: Controversial film deserves to be seen
Review: "All things are good when done to excess". SALO is set at the tail end of WW2 in the Fascist Republic of Salo, Italy. SALO opens with men of great social prestige, among them a Duke, a President and a Bishop marrying each others daughters. Then young men and women are brought before them and forced to expose their genitals before being herded out like cattle. The first girl is told that no one will harm her before she is stripped for the men. Girls with any physical imperfections are sent back to their families. They're the lucky ones.
The youths are then instructed about the Hall Of Orgies where the daily debaucheries will take place and any act of religion, even uttering God's name will see them severely punished.
The teens are presented as nothing more than objects, playthings for the wealthy men, though there is an instance of one girl comforting another when she confides she can't take the humiliation anymore. However there is a strange scattering of the blackest humor, so dark that you dare not laugh. In contrast to SALO's explicit visual imagery the interiors of the rooms are beautifully filmed, rooms in which the three circles of SALO are introduced with the tormentors telling each other a debauched tale before the ritual:1 CIRCLE OF MANIAS: This sequences features a philosophical conversation quoting the likes of Nietzsche and Dada and ends with a teen girl being force fed a cake studded with nails. 2 CIRCLE OF EXCREMENT (actually chocolate): For using God's name another girl is stripped and forced to eat human excrement off the floor. The high stature men then eat their victims "waste" for dinner. One of the men gets a girl to "urinate" on him (actually orange juice). 3 CIRCLE OF BLOOD: The victims are ordered to laugh and sing. Given their past ordeals this innocent act now seems like the most degrading of them all. But this seems to rub off on some of the victims and they become as bad as their captors. Pasolini seems to be asking if sickness breeds sickness. Is SALO, at its core a desperate cry for peace? Judge for yourself. [...] Myself? Sitting here with the sun streaming through the window I am grateful that I am alive and have my basic freedoms. And that, in a nutshell is what SALO should make viewers think.
Rating: 
Summary: Filth!!
Review: ...but arty so that's OK.Judge for yourself but it's not a film for the faint-hearted.
Rating: 
Summary: Salo
Review: I will sum this up as simply as I can... I love this movie! It's an absolute masterpiece! Not only did I find it mentally stimulating, but also it was one of, if not the most erotically hypnotic movies ever. I can't count how many times I rubbed out a jellyfish on the floor in front of me while watching this masterpiece. I would definitely rate it up there with some of the greats (Citizen Kane, 2001 a Space Odyssey, Forest Gump, etc.). This is one movie that someday will be shown in school classrooms around the world. If you haven't yet seen it, then buy all means buy it. You and your family will not be disappointed, I guarantee it!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: is this the most controversial film ever made?
Review: If you are into controversial films, this is a must see. This film is not for the faint hearted people.
Rating: 
Summary: WRONG
Review: Depravity far worse than that depicted in the film exists in the world today, acts far more violent and horrendous. Nonetheless, their representation without any moral standpoint is immoral because it proposes that the morality of extreme violence is up for debate. It simply isn't. Depicting brutality such as this film does without condemning it is to open the possibility that we accept it without thinking, the ultimate in moral perversion. The proper response to watching this film is to stop; to continue is to indulge, and I mean indulge, not explore, the absolute worst elements of the filmmaker and the human beast.
Rating:
Summary: A Rush on the Senses
Review: I some how managed to find this gem at a West Coast Video store in Princeton, Nj when i was there for film camp. I watched this movie a total of 6 times during the 3 weeks i had the movie. ( i never did return it) I must say that i was amazed at how wonderfully this movie was shot (that coming from a filmmakers point of veiw) but besides that i think that passolini's choice to stay as true to the book its based on as possibal was definitly a good one. The total lack of character development through the whole movie gives you no time to feel for the chracters and when its all over your left with no feeling something like the chracters that the libertarians who capture the "sex Slaves". The end of the movie is so abrubt you never get the chance to understand if it is really over. You are going to need two things specially to make it through this movie. 1 is an open mind and 2 is a twisted perseption other wise id not show this one at a family game night. I recommend that you read the book before jsut for comparison but without it you can still enjoy the movie. So please find this movie and look at it and give it a chance youll either love it or protest its creation.
Rating:
Summary: An Excercise In Perversion
Review: Intrigued by the controversy surrounding this movie, familiar with the supposed themes, and unfamiliar with the uncompromising and relentless brutality depicted in the film, I dove in feet first. I am no prude and believe in an artist's right to free expression. However, this film has little redeeming value. It is an excercise in perversion and exploitation. It's depictions are almost as dehumanizing as the true life subjects that inspired this movie. Those who believe it is hip and chic to apologize for films like this miss the point entirely. I admit, I could not finish the movie. I found watching a roomful of innocent youths forced to eat their own feces in graphic detail nauseating, unsettling, and strangely banal. Populating a film with images of extreme violence does not substitute for commentary or condemnation. Leering at these victims is tantamount to one being complicent in their fates. There is nothing educational, liberating, life-affirming, or redeeming about Salo. I strongly urge anyone considering viewing this film against wasting their time. The points made in Salo have been made better in much more dignified settings. Unless you have a desire to watch unspeakably dehumanizing acts, skip Salo. If this is your thing, skip out on the nonexistent artistic pretense and take a trip to your neighborhood adult movie store.
Rating:
Summary: Only in Such A P.C. Society...
Review: ...would human beings actually sit in their living rooms and watch this, claiming that it has merit simply because it falls under our catch-all notions of "art" and "freedom of speech." Here's a thought experiment...imagine you are watching this flick (with your bowl of popcorn, soda pop, feet up on the coffee table) and an Aborigine walks in. He has never heard political speeches about "free speech," never heard the endless spinning about "art" being a "mirror," never bought into the notion that our minds are "expanded" by subjecting ourselves to such images. All he knows is that you are sitting there, looking at a man forcing a boy to eat feces and sexually molesting him. I would argue that his reaction (completely free of political/intellectual bias) would be astonishment and disgust, and he would probably hope never to run into you again!!! He would wonder why it was portrayed and filmed, why you spent money to buy/rent it, and why you were actually watching it. He would not consider you "sophisticated"...he'd consider you sick. Healthy cultures have an "ethos," an unspoken communal sense of what is "okay" and what isn't. It has nothing to do with legality or law...nothing to do with censorship...it has everything to do psychology and human nature. Our culture is entirely DEVOID of an ethos...we base what we do and think on whether it's legal or not. Our attitudes have been so skewed and bogged down by ethical relativism that we refuse to be offended by ANYTHING, as we feed our own prurient fascinations and then legitimize it by calling it "art," or by referring to it as some sort of existential exercise in repulsion therapy. No doubt my views will be unpopular, but in a world of "Salo" apologists, why should that bother me?
Rating: 
Summary: You will NEVER forget these 2 hrs....
Review: Call it what you will; this film is not only the most perverse and depraved picture of humanity I've ever seen, but it may also be the most DANGEROUS film ever made in its depiction of what people in power are capable of. I felt as if I were in a state of suspended animation during its 2-hour run (I spent most of the time open-mouthed in disbelief as I watched, then felt like a pervert after it ended). I don't see "Salo" so much as a commentary on Fascism as much as it is a kick-in-the-stomach view of just how vile the human race can be, has been and still is. As other viewers have remarked, it's like entering the sickest nightmare, a slow descent into Hell; the depravity and decadence is beyond belief. Yet I can see why some viewers might see parts of it as a sick comedy, if for no other reason but to distance ourselves from the horror of what we are watching. As far as equating the film with "art", I recall only the elegance of the interiors and how that beauty clashes in counterpoint with the base goings-on. But does that make it art? I hardly think so. (Oddly, for all of its realism, strange shots appeared, at least in my copy...the last scene looked as if it suddenly turned into Claymation!) I don't see the film as art. I see it as the horrifying spectacle it is, and only worthwhile as a disturbing reminder of the preciousness of freedom. To reiterate again as other reviews have, THIS FILM IS NOT FOR THE EASILY-UPSET.
Rating:
Summary: ¿Salo¿: A Relentless Allegory
Review: "Salo" is most certainly one of the most controversial films of all time. With an eye sensitive to horrific imagery, it is easy to fall into a trap and see the imagery for only what it is, as opposed to what it represents. For, the power of "Salo" is to be seen in the relentless metaphor that it contains. Once one knows a couple of basic hints it becomes far easier to peel off the layers of disgust to reveal the true essence of this powerful film. The basic characters fall into several archetypes:
1) The 4 Men: represent the fascist rule that dominated Italy during the Nazi rule. Given more power than they should have, they are content to savage the people they rule over with no respect for the humanity that they have been given control over.
2) The teens: the victims of this fascist control (the Jews of the Holocaust, the Italian people, etc.) who quickly lose all their dignity and rights under such savage treatment. Escape appears to be only a couple of steps away and seems quite easy; yet, for these individuals, it is impossible.
3) The madams: The politicians that (although not participating directly in most of the exploitation of the populace) provide the direction and desire to commit such crimes to humanity. Easily recognizable, they are just a step below the 4 men in the line of power.
4) The soldiers: the populace of Germany/Italy who allowed these atrocities to go on. Witnessing the entire situation as it escalates (much like it did in Nazi Germany), these people fall under the Nazi spell. For them, it is impossible to sympathize with individuals that have been so debased, so no guilt is felt on their part for the crimes they are involved in.
5) The piano player: the populace of Germany/Italy who allow the atrocities to go on, but eventually become aware of the horrors that they have helped cause. Inevitably, rather than direct their guilt externally to change the system, these individuals internalize it upon themselves.
6) The viewer: as an individual watching this movie, the viewer is being asked by Pasolini what side they are going to fall one: the soldier or the piano player? Are we to feel sympathy for these violated teens or are we to look at their plight with the same detached lack of interest as the soldiers? Thus, Pasolini has created a large allegory that can be seen in today's light, as well as those of WW II. Essentially, these archetypes are applicable to most any situation in the world where individuals are being exploited...and this is Pasolini's message. As individuals outside the loop (viewers) we possess the ability to evaluate the scene and react in a way that can alleviate or enhance the scenario, it is up to us to decide. A word about the imagery: This too is an essential aspect of "Salo;" for, in its relentless onslaught, Pasolini is trying to tell us something. Once upon a time imagery like that of the Holocaust in WWII was capable of shocking the populace of the world (as it was REAL); however, much of humanity has become desensitized to this. Pasolini is trying to offend us with the imagery of this movie in order to parallel how we SHOULD be offended by the imagery of the Holocaust. He is showing us these atrocities without "Hollywoodizing" them (try "Schindler's List" for that)...these are images we cannot deny and they are based on reality. Humanity is capable of tremendous horror and through the imagery of "Salo," Pasolini is forcing us to acknowledge a side of our species that we have lost sight of over time. In this fashion, "Salo" is an exploration on the psychology of mass fascism. Not only are the soldiers placed under the spell due to the debasement of the people that are being exploited, but the exploited individuals are turned against themselves to continue to live (one particular scene is "Salo" articulates this perfectly). Promises of "freedom" that are never delivered also helps to keep these individuals in line. This mass psychology is evident throughout "Salo;" for, there are ample chances to attempt escape, but all are kept in line with minimal effort. Finally, a quick word about the ending (I will keep this vague so as not to spoil it for those that have not seen it): Pasolini is telling us that, in the end, we have become so desensitized to the horrors that surround us that we are all inevitably the soldier archetype. No longer able to see the suffering that surrounds us, we are dancing right along with the 4 Men...although perhaps not directly involved, we see all that is going on and help allow it to happen through our lack of action. Pasolini is describing humanity's fate here and forcing us to confront it so that, perhaps, something can be done to change it. This movie is one that is NOT recommended to potential viewers unless they see this movie for the imagery it represents. Contrary to what many will tell you, this movie is NOT a dark comedy and is, indeed, as dark and relentless as they come. Again, the imagery is RELENTLESS...be prepared if you decide to see this; after all, the imagery is only a fraction as disturbing as what it represents. Hope that helps...
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