Salo, Or The 120 Days of Sodom

Pros: finely crafted meditation on the nature of fascism and evil
Cons: is probably way too intense for mainstream viewers

Salo: The 120 Days of Sodom: United Artists
Rating: Italy: VM18/ UK: Banned/ Australia: Banned/ USA: Unrated

"There is nothing either fundamentally good, nor anything fundamentally evil; everything is relative,...

Pros: A fundamentally important theme; strong performances; excellent cinematography and soundtrack
Cons: Many viewers will find the film nauseating and/or disgusting

WARNING: THE FILM REVIEWED HERE IS BOTH GRAPHICALLY VIOLENT AND EXPLICITLY PORNOGRAPHIC. THIS REVIEW CONTAINS EXPLICIT LANGUAGE NECESSARY TO MEANINGFUL DISCUSSION OF THE CONTENT AND ISSUES OF THE FILM. Salò is a film that many viewers ...

Pros: Amazingly conceived, executed, and staged
Cons: very grim

"I write of the great eternal truths that bind all men together the whole world over. We eat, we sh*t, we f*ck, we kill, and we die." -Marquis de Sade, In Literature

The striking object in Hieronymus Bosch’s Hell (of his...

Pros: Torture, Degredation and Death.
Cons: Sodomy. Lots and lots of sodomy.

I had heard so many horribly wonderful things about the evil displayed
No charades, this was the most disturbing movie ever made
People had lost their lunches in an attempt to endure Passolini’s vision
This made my decision,...

Pros: It's completely disturbing as hell, the acting is downright brilliant, as is the direction.
Cons: If this were a pro-fascist film, not a thing would probably be changed.

Pasolini's "Salo" is like waking up from an overnight drunk next to something that looks like Hatchetface from "Cry Baby," it is something that you will not be able to get out of your head for a long long while. Whether you admire the film, or hate it, ...

Pros: Snob Appeal, or is it Shock Value
Cons: Not worth the punishment.

Plot details given away below

OK. I'm not a prude. I loved the book. I really did. And I'm a relatively open-minded person. And I even like snooty foreign film.

So, before my review, let me cut to the quick for...

Pros: shock value of negative human conduct to produce realization in the viewer
Cons: the depiction of some of the peak inhumanity to humans that I have ever seen

It's been 23 or 24 years since I saw this film with a few buffs of cinema in Petaluma California. I knew that it was a Pasolini film that had one similarity with some of the renderings of Antigone', in that it took the original story and reset it during...

Pros: life long lasting images
Cons: VERY bizarre and gross

I saw the movie long time ago, and still remember some of the scenes: gruesome, violent, and bizarre. Definitely for the people with strong stomachs and nerves. I didn't enjoy the movie but have to say that it made a very lasting impression on me. This...

Pros: Shocking, Fearless, Unique, Fascinating
Cons: If I was squeamish, I would have to write a book of all the cons.

Salo, the feel good movie of the year! Fun for the entire family! A fluff comedy! But it NOW!!! Just joking. Salo is a grim, miserable look a the government, poverty and foreign countries. Salo is scary. Salo is lots of things, but it is definitely not ...