Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)
"Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma" (original title)

Four fascist libertines round up 9 teenages boys and girls and subject them to 120 days of physical, mental and sexual torture.

Director:

Pier Paolo Pasolini

Writers:

Pier Paolo Pasolini, Sergio Citti (screenplay),

Stars:

Paolo Bonacelli, Giorgio Cataldi, Umberto Paolo Quintavalle

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Paolo Bonacelli	...	The Duke
Giorgio Cataldi	...	The Bishop
Umberto Paolo Quintavalle	...	The Magistrate (as Umberto P. Quintavalle)
Aldo Valletti	...	The President
Caterina Boratto	...	Signora Castelli
Elsa De Giorgi	...	Signora Maggi
Hélène Surgère	...	Signora Vaccari (as Helene Surgere)
Sonia Saviange	...	The Pianist
Sergio Fascetti	...	Male Victim
Bruno Musso	...	Male Victim
Antonio Orlando	...	Male Victim
Claudio Cicchetti	...	Male Victim
Franco Merli	...	Male Victim
Umberto Chessari	...	Male Victim
Lamberto Book	...	Male Victim

Storyline

Set in the Nazi-controlled, northern Italian state of Salo in 1944, four dignitaries round up sixteen perfect specimens of youth and take them together with guards, servants and studs to a palace near Marzabotto. In addition, there are four middle-aged women: three of whom recount arousing stories whilst the fourth accompanies on the piano. The story is largely taken up with their recounting the stories of Dante and De Sade: the Circle of Manias, the Circle of Shit and the Circle of Blood. Following this, the youths are executed whilst each libertine takes his turn as voyeur.

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Plot Keywords:

libertine | teenage boy | piano | torture | sexual torture | 

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Taglines:

Banned in Australia for 17 years - Now for the first time Australian audiences have the opportunity to judge one of the most controversial films in the history of cinema. A work of rigorous moral intelligence or a descent into a nightmare of cruelty and lust? (1993)

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Italy France

Language:

Italian French German

Release Date:

10 January 1976 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom

Filming Locations:

Salò, Brescia, Lombardia, Italy

Box Office

Gross:

SEK 1,786,578 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Produzioni Europee Associati (PEA), Les Productions Artistes Associés

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min 145 min (premiere)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Pier Paolo Pasolini was murdered before the film's release.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[four men, sitting at a table, each sign a booklet]
The Duke: Your Excellency.
The Magistrate: Mr. President.
The President: My lord.
The Bishop: All's good if it's excessive.

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Crazy Credits

Essential Bibliography: Roland Barthes: 'Sade, Fourier, Loyola' (Editions du Seuil); Maurice Blanchot: "Lautréamont et Sade' (Editions de Minuit; in Italy Dedalo Libri); Simone de Beauvoir: 'Faut-il brûler Sade' (Editions Gaimard); Pierre Klossowski: 'Sade mon prochain, le philosophe scélérat' (Editions du Seuil; in Italy SugarCo Edizioni); Philippe Sollers: 'L'écriture et l'experience des limites' (Editions du Seuil)

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Connections

Referenced in Visitor Q (2001)

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Soundtracks

"Prelude in C minor"
Written by Frédéric Chopin

User Reviews

about "salo"

As the trivia do not mention it, I'd just like to explain the word Salo in the title. It is the place , near the lake Garda, in Northern Italy, where Mussolini founded a so-called Fascistissima Repubblica, which lasted from July 1943 till April 1945. The Republic of Salo was completely under the control of the Wehrmacht, and a puppet-government.

The place in itself appears at the beginning of the film, and is, sadly, an idyllic one.

By the way, I would add that it seems to me impossible that a French-speaker like Pasolini would not have thought about the fact that the word sounds like "salauds" in French, that is "bastards, rascals, etc".