Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)

[HotTastyChili]

I didn't see a thread for this listed under the 2011 Blu-ray release. I couldn't find one when it was searched for it, so I created one.

[TwinCitiesBluFan]

Wow, this is one effed up film. I got it in a B&N Criterion sale as a blind buy (but knowing a little bit about what I was getting myself into) and I did watch it, but I can't say it's a film I'll ever revisit.

[omahajon]

Masterpiece.

[HotTastyChili]

Worth noting that this is a good looking release, but the new UK BFI re-master is better.

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Salo-...lu-ray/242508/

It also contains a poem not contained in the Criterion release as well. The BFI is region B locked though.

[monomark]

It's definitely not "entertainment" but it is a great film with a lot of meaning.

And maybe I've just become desensitized with age but the stuff that happens in Salò didn't bother or disturb me when I first watched it. I didn't find it overly exploitative and interpreted most of it as metaphorical and necessary to the overall message.

[Kakihara]

A masterpiece but the only way I'd ever see it again is if it includes the over 50 minutes of footage that's been cut from every other release.

[Gacivory]

Originally Posted by monomark

It's definitely not "entertainment" but it is a great film with a lot of meaning.

And maybe I've just become desensitized with age but the stuff that happens in Salò didn't bother or disturb me when I first watched it. I didn't find it overly exploitative and interpreted most of it as metaphorical and necessary to the overall message.

I find it entertaining. I think Pasolini was making more a farce and less a torture film, so I think there is purposeful humor in the movie.

[Zillamon51]

Originally Posted by HotTastyChili

Someone with your name and avatar posting about this movie ... uhh no.

(I haven't seen it, just going on what it's infamous for.)

[GaragePoet]

in 2017 i spent hundreds of dollars over multiple visits during a B&N sale. during my first trip, as the cashier was ringing up my purchases, he was emphatically recommending this film. i hadn't seen it, but i was aware of it and told him "that's a pretty bold suggestion to be making to random customers." there was nothing in my purchase that trip to indicate that i might be interested in a film like this....

on my 2nd trip he did the same thing, not remembering our previous conversation. he said he recommends the film to anyone who comes in to buy Criterions.

on my 3rd trip i finally picked it up ... but that cashier didn't seem to be working there anymore & i haven't seen him since

[Surge92]

Originally Posted by HotTastyChili

Worth noting that this is a good looking release, but the new UK BFI re-master is better.

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Salo-...lu-ray/242508/

It also contains a poem not contained in the Criterion release as well. The BFI is region B locked though.

Agreed. I have both releases.

[dallywhitty]

Originally Posted by GaragePoet

in 2017 i spent hundreds of dollars over multiple visits during a B&N sale. during my first trip, as the cashier was ringing up my purchases, he was emphatically recommending this film. i hadn't seen it, but i was aware of it and told him "that's a pretty bold suggestion to be making to random customers." there was nothing in my purchase that trip to indicate that i might be interested in a film like this....

on my 2nd trip he did the same thing, not remembering our previous conversation. he said he recommends the film to anyone who comes in to buy Criterions.

on my 3rd trip i finally picked it up ... but that cashier didn't seem to be working there anymore & i haven't seen him since

That B&N employee sounds like a legend.

[Surge92]

Originally Posted by Kakihara

A masterpiece but the only way I'd ever see it again is if it includes the over 50 minutes of footage that's been cut from every other release.

You have a better chance of seeing Disney release Song of the South than that deleted footage seeing the light of day. I think it's lost. I'd personally love to see the footage cut from Arabian Nights reinstated with sound.

[fred25_Ca]

I saw this when I was 19 back in college in my movie class. My teacher decided this was an important movie to watch but did let us know we didn't have to come to class if we didn't think we could stomach it.
Let's just say it traumatised a lot of my younger 17 years old classmates, haha. I'm still surprised my teacher went for this but looking back I think he was pretty awesome to show these kind of movies rather than the usual "classics".
Years later, during one of my Halloween horror movie nights, I screened the movie to my friends. Most agreed that the gore wasn't that hardcore but that it was the feces eating parts that were the worst. I tend to agree. :P
I don't think I'd go as far as saying it's a masterpiece but it's certainly memorable.

[Surge92]

The most powerful scene in the film to me is still when

[Show spoiler]the libertines catch Ezio sleeping with the black maid, and he does the revolutionary salute in defiance, to the surprised shock of the libertines, before getting gunned down.

[HotTastyChili]

Originally Posted by Surge92

The most powerful scene in the film to me is still when

[Show spoiler]the libertines catch Ezio sleeping with the black maid, and he does the revolutionary salute in defiance, to the surprised shock of the libertines, before getting gunned down.

I knew you were gonna say that scene before I clicked on the spoiler. That says something.

[prkchopexpress]

this movie is infamous for something that is maybe five seconds on screen, and it isn’t even really that graphic.

it’s also makes me think that they didn’t understand the movie at all. there’s so many more upsetting things in the movie. but sure. let’s focus on a small fraction.

this is worth watching once. i swear i remember a review from roger ebert where talks about owning the movie, because he knows it an important work but never ever having the desire to watch it. and i think that’s really the perfection description.

i can’t imagine watching this a ton. and i’ve only seen this once. i wouldn’t go so far as to say that i would never watch it again in my life. but i don’t really have a desire to watch it again isn the foreseeable future and i don’t own a copy.

it’s interesting that there are some people who are fans of the the work as a whole. one of the funniest things, and it will be funnier after you watch the movie, is bill hader in the criterion closet talking about this movie.

i’d almost say this is kind of like come and see, which has also been recently released by criterion. which would probably be the most depressing, soul crushing double bill ever. but there is no point at either of those movies that you, as the viewer, ever feel joy. to reduce the movie to such simplistic terms is to deny the craft because both of these movies are compelling and captivating.

[Surge92]

I usually watch the movie once every couple years or so. Amusingly enough, the last two times I've watched it was showing it to female friends. One had heard about it as being very controversial. The other had seen A Serbian Film, so I figured I'd introduce her to Salò.

[RoxyRoads]

is this blu ray OOP?

[Surge92]

Originally Posted by RoxyRoads

is this blu ray OOP?

Apparently. I hadn't even noticed. I should sell my spare copy. If you're region-free, you can still get the BFI UK remastered blu-ray, which actually has the superior transfer, pretty cheap.

[Lord Summerisle]

Originally Posted by RoxyRoads

is this blu ray OOP?

It's apparently "between printings." A number of Criterions in digipaks such as Repo Man and combo packs such as Picnic at Hanging Rock and King of the Hill are in the process of being reissued as standard case blu-rays. So it should be back in stock at some point. Probably delayed further by the pandemic.