Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom

"The final vision of a controversial filmmaker."

1976 1h 57m IT

😐

6.3

MID

★6.3TMDB · 2,384

HorrorDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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

“The final vision of a controversial filmmaker.”

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Cast

Paolo Bonacelli
The Duke
Giorgio Cataldi
The Bishop
Uberto Paolo Quintavalle
The Magistrate
Aldo Valletti
The President
Caterina Boratto
Signora Castelli
Elsa De Giorgi
Signora Maggi
Hélène Surgère
Signora Vaccari
Sonia Saviange
The Pianist

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini
Writers: Sergio Citti, Pupi Avati, Pier Paolo Pasolini
Languages: German, French, Italian
Countries: Italy, France

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.8M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

50 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: German, French, Italian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Italy, France.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini, shot by Tonino Delli Colli. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Nino Baragli shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Paolo Bonacelli and Giorgio Cataldi and Uberto Paolo Quintavalle carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The final vision of a controversial filmmaker.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Pier Paolo Pasolini directs. Tonino Delli Colli behind the camera. Nino Baragli cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in Italy, France. Dialogue in German, French, Italian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.8M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
250 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Dialogue crosses 3 languages: German, French, Italian.
4International production across 2 countries: Italy, France.
5Directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini, shot by Tonino Delli Colli. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Editor Nino Baragli shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Paolo Bonacelli and Giorgio Cataldi and Uberto Paolo Quintavalle carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "The final vision of a controversial filmmaker.".
9IMDB entry: tt0073650 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 28 themes, including "sexual abuse", "rage and hate", "based on novel or book", "nazi".
11Released under 17 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Tonino Delli Colli
Editing: Nino Baragli
Production design: Dante Ferretti
Costume design: Danilo Donati
Makeup / hair: Giusy Bovino
Runtime: 117 min · 1h 57m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $800,000
Box office: $1,800,000
Return: 225% of budget
Original language: IT
IMDB: Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1976)

Also by

Pier Paolo Pasolini

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What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-08-29
★ 5/10
Well you have to hand it to Pier Paolo Pasolini - he had one hell of an imagination. Here he devises a story of a group of nine young men and women who are apprehended by four powerful Fascist officials and held captive for use in some of the most degrading and painful games of sex, humiliation and abuse. I was warned not to eat chocolate before I saw this, and towards the end of this bizarre depiction of cruelty, depravity and exploitation it became quite clear why - and I'd reiterate that here. There is something profoundly desperate about the film. It has nothing even vaguely redeeming about it. Is it allegorical? Perhaps Pasolini is swiping at what he perceived to be the beginning of the disposable culture? Perhaps the illustration of mankind at it's more obscene offers us his perspective on just what humanity had become by the mid 1970s? In any case, this is frankly rather a disgusting film to watch and though I did feel the ending had a great deal of suitable retribution to it, I still struggled to quite get my head around this epitome of man's inhumanity to their own kind. I doubt I shall ever watch it again, but it packed out the cinema in which I watched it and there was plenty of provocative conversation in the bar about it afterwards...
DougG_YVR2023-06-06
★ 7/10
Wow! You can't escape the fact that this movie pushes the limits of disturbing art! Many will call it sick. I suspect the point of this film is more about the depravity and dehumanization of fascism, political corruption, totalitarianism, and morality. I have not read the Marquis de Sade's work on which this film was based. It isn't possible to "un-see" a film, so be prepared if you choose the experience. It was described to me as "horror" before I watched it, and I'm not sure it truly captures the film's genre. I can't think of a film genre that adequately describes it. I will probably never watch it again or forget the images it seared on my brain. But I was challenged to think about various political and societal themes that are still very relevant today.