Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom

1977 • 111 minutes
This item is not available

About this movie

Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom, billed on-screen as Pasolini's 120 Days of Sodom on English-language prints and commonly referred to as simply Salò, is a 1975 art horror film directed and co-written by Pier Paolo Pasolini. The film is a loose adaptation of the 1785 novel The 120 Days of Sodom by Marquis de Sade, updating the story's setting to the World War II era. It was Pasolini's final film, released three weeks after his murder.
The film focuses on four wealthy, corrupt Italian libertines in the time of the fascist Republic of Salò. The libertines kidnap 18 teenagers and subject them to four months of extreme violence, sadism, genital torture and psychological torture. The film explores themes of political corruption, consumerism, authoritarianism, nihilism, morality, capitalism, totalitarianism, sadism, sexuality, and fascism. The story is in four segments, inspired by Dante's Divine Comedy: the Anteinferno, the Circle of Manias, the Circle of Shit, and the Circle of Blood.