Has anyone seen it? Never heard of it before, maybe once here or there online, but I was in an electronics store the other day and I walked past it, what caught my eye was that it had been banned in Australia up until recently (it was made in the 70s). It's one of those cult classics, shows scenes of extreme degradation, violence, gore, and sodomy of course. Apparently it's not just another arbitrary horror/violent movie though, many consider it to be a work of art, and a strong, contemplative political and sociological critique at heart. The director Pasolini was actually murdered before the films release. I'll probably never see it because I can't handle watching torture, but it sounds like a fascinating film, what does anyone whose seen it have to say about it?
I saw it. There's minimal violence and I would say the "torture" is mostly psychological. You won't see tons of flayed bodies and blood and gore. It's disgusting, but kind of boring, it's an extremely slow paced movie. I don't want to ruin it for you, but it was pretty "crappy"
I tried watching it, but it was too stupid and boring... I didn't even get halfway through. As a 'strong work of art', it's also pretty weak... picture someone coming up with a metaphor that barely makes sense and then repeating it over and over.
I saw it recently. I didn't like it. The sex was censored but the torture was not. There was a heavy emphasis on eating shit, literally. At the end, it was horrible with several teenagers being mutilated while alive in a very graphic way and then killed. Horrible, really.
I won't pass judgment on a film I know nothing about and have never seen.. but your description... if that's art, I fear for humanity. Surely their must have been some sort of message?
i got it on dvd and, have watched it several times. it is fine art! salo is a dadaist movie. the fascists burned it. the fascists called it "ugly art." the dadaists art they hated and burned, is the truth of what the fasicsts are and, not just the fasicsts also, OUR so called "civilization." "hardcore realism as art!" that is the dadaist cry. i would recommend another dadaist movie, if salo is too hardcore for you. that movie is 'pleasantvill.' it is sooooooooo softcore dadaist that it is rated PG-13. the same underlining thems run through both movies, only in different ways.
If you understand Italian politics and social conflicts of 20th century, then you probably get it. If not, you might miss the allegories. The strongest wave of political films just started in Italy (best political films in my opinion) and the directors were very radical, each one had their own distinct approach. Pasolini was of course the grimmest and went to extremes. I prefer his other work more, for political films I'm much more into Petri, Rosi etc. But Salo isn't a bad film.
