SALO, OR THE 120 DAYS OF SODOM / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR: PIER PAOLO PASOLINI / SCREENPLAY: SERGIO CITTI, PIER PAOLO PASOLINI / STARRING: PAOLO BONACELLI, GIORGIO CATALDI, UMBERTO PAOLO QUINTAVALLE, ALDO VALETTI / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
One of the most notoriously shocking, depraved and controversial films ever made, Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom follows the debauched exploits of four wealthy, powerful (and, in one particular case, incredibly creepy) men in their pursuit of pleasure. Their self-recruited “guards” kidnap a host of teenage boys and girls, with the men choosing their favourites to participate in a perverse ritual. Over a period of four months, the hostages are subjected to mental, physical and sexual torture, and, eventually, murder.
Aided by four middle-aged prostitutes who set the scene by telling stories designed to inspire the ringleaders to commit whatever heinous act they can think of, the humiliation and punishments become increasingly vile throughout the film’s four distinct acts. With the teenagers locked away in a palatial mansion in the middle of nowhere, existing for no reason other than to fulfil the twisted desires of those in charge, it’s uncompromisingly and relentlessly bleak from beginning to end. Despite being nearly 45 years old, Salo still makes for some extremely uncomfortable and stomach-churning viewing. Torture porn from before torture porn even existed, this is way more perverse than anything your Eli Roths or James Wans have ever come up with, and it definitely isn’t something you’d want to watch with Grandma on a Sunday afternoon.
The first disc in this set offers the chance to watch either the original Italian-language version or the English dub (which, it has to be said, can be unintentionally hilarious at times) in a stunning HD remaster which has previously been unreleased in the UK, along with a newly-recorded audio commentary by film critic Kat Ellinger, who examines Salo‘s achievements and discusses the finer points of its narrative.
Much has been said about the underlying historical and political themes of the film, and of its place in the arthouse / horror world, and disc two rounds up a wealth of extra features that concentrate on the more academic side of things. These in-depth deconstructions of the ins and outs of “films as art” often come across as nothing more than pretentious waffle, and that’s very much the case here too, but there are plenty of other features from the archives that are worth seeing. 1981’s 100-minute documentary Whoever Says the Truth Shall Die looks at the life and bizarre death of Salo director Pier Paolo Pasolini, and there are several 20 to 40-minute segments with behind the scenes footage and interviews with the cast and crew. Most of these that will be familiar to owners of previous releases, but nevertheless they’re all fascinating and more than worthy of inclusion.
