Pier Paolo Pasolini’s final film is a blunt instrument aimed at the stomach of Italian fascism, and it does not apologize for it. Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom is a horror film in the strictest sense: it is meant to disgust, offend, and unsettle. It is also a deeply uncomfortable work of cinema that refuses to let you look away.
The film follows four wealthy, corrupt Italian libertines who kidnap 18 teenagers and subject them to four months of extreme violence, sadism, genital torture, and psychological torture. Set in Italy during World War II, the film updates the 1785 novel The 120 Days of Sodom by the Marquis de Sade, moving its horrors from a fictional kingdom to the fascist Italian Social Republic of 1943–1945. This is not a film for casual viewing. It is a document of cruelty, and it treats that cruelty with the formal rigor of a Dante-inspired epic.
Trailer, via Chris Nightingale.
Four Segments
The film is separated into four segments, each titled after a circle from Dante’s Divine Comedy: the Anteinferno, the Circle of Manias, the Circle of Shit, and the Circle of Blood. These titles are not metaphorical window dressing. They describe the escalating nature of the torture, from humiliation to degradation to full-on physical destruction. The structure is deliberate, and it forces the audience to move through each stage of horror in a prescribed order.
The Libertines and Their Victims
The four libertines are played by Paolo Bonacelli as The Duke, Giorgio Cataldi as The Bishop, Uberto Paolo Quintavalle as The Magistrate, and Aldo Valletti as The President. Around them, Caterina Boratto plays Signora Castelli, Elsa De Giorgi plays Signora Maggi, Hélène Surgère plays Signora Vaccari, and Sonia Saviange plays The Pianist. The victims include Sergio Fascetti as Sergio, Bruno Musso as Carlo Porro, Antonio Orlando as Tonino, and Claudio Cicchetti as Male Victim.
Pasolini cast mostly non-professional actors, many of whom were models willing to appear naked on screen. The film’s production faced legal troubles that forced changes to the casting, including the replacement of Ninetto Davoli with Claudio Troccoli. Laura Betti was originally slated to play Signora Vaccari but declined due to legal problems and prior commitments to Novecento, though she later doubled the voice of Hélène Surgère in post-production.
The Circle of Shit
One of the most talked-about sequences involves a victim being forced to eat human feces. The film does not flinch from showing the act in full detail. This is not symbolic or stylized. It is presented as a literal act of degradation, and the camera holds on it long enough to make the point stick.
References and Influences
The film is dense with literary and philosophical references. It frequently cites:
- Friedrich Nietzsche’s On the Genealogy of Morality
- Ezra Pound’s The Cantos
- Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time
These texts are not window dressing. They situate the film within a tradition of moral inquiry, even as it depicts some of the most brutal acts of cruelty ever put on screen.
Banning and Legacy
The film premiered at the Paris Film Festival on 23 November 1975 and had a brief theatrical run in Italy before being banned in January 1976. It remains notorious, and its reputation has grown over the years rather than faded. Pasolini’s death three weeks after release added weight to the film’s status as a final statement.
What Remains Worth Watching
Salò is not an easy film to recommend. It is a difficult, exhausting watch that demands a strong stomach and a willingness to engage with cruelty on screen. But the film’s formal control is undeniable. Pasolini’s direction is precise, and the performances are committed in a way that feels genuine even when the material is repellent.
The film is a warning about the corruption of power, and it makes that warning through the most extreme means possible. It is a film that you will not soon forget, and it is a film that will likely remain divisive for decades to come.
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