House in the Country
Criterion will issue a loaded DVD of Pier Paolo Pasolini's Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom two and a half months from now. To those who've never seen it, I can only say two things: (1) As a perverse but lacerating piece of social criticism by a first-rate filmmaker, it's totally deserving of respect but (2) you'll never see a more appalling depiction of deliberate cruelty in your life.
I've sat through it twice, and I'm not sure I want to go there again. My second viewing was at the New York Film Festival in '76 or '77. I remember that during the scene when the four fascists are dressed in drag, a guy in the audience yelled out, "Diana Vreeland!"
Sum-Ups<< previous
|
next >>Smelly Feet
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on June 7, 2008 at 5:47 PM
comment #1
Jeremy Smith
says ...
Once was enough. But I'd happily watch "La Ricotta" over and over again.
Posted by Jeremy Smith
at June 7, 2008 7:12 PM
comment #2
kingofnails
says ...
Didn't Criterion already put a dvd of this out some years ago? And they had to drop it from their catalogue for some reason? Am I totally wrong there?
Posted by kingofnails
at June 7, 2008 7:57 PM
comment #3
berg
says ...
When this film played theatrically in Houston the theater (River Oak) was raided by the vice squad ... in the ensuing trial film critic Joe Leydon was called to testify .... "Your honor, I object, the witness keeps using the term bufu. What does he mean?"
Posted by berg
at June 7, 2008 8:19 PM
comment #4
Mgmax, le Corbeau
says ...
Sometimes they gain and lose the rights to something. I know they had a laserdisc. What's the collection number? If it's a low one, then it's been out before, no?
I remember reading in Sight & Sound how they made the turds for the coprophagia scenes. Swiss chocolate mixed with egg whites, then squeezed out of surgical tubing made a perfectly realistic turd. They offered some to the reporter, and no matter how he told himself it was Swiss chocolate, he just couldn't do it.
Myself, I'm pretty much done with the cinema of grossout endurance. I've seen everything from Viva la Muerte to Pink Flamingos, I'll stick with Lubitsch and Leisen.
Posted by Mgmax, le Corbeau
at June 7, 2008 8:27 PM
comment #5
Joe Leydon
says ...
LOL. Actually, I had gone out of my way to avoid Salo before I was called as a defense witness because... well, because movies in which people force other people to devour human excrement seldom are at the top of my must-see list. But I had to view it before the trial. And the prosecutor knew the case was lost when I took the stand, and the defense attorney asked me about my background. I explained that I started out writing reviews for The Clarion Ledger, the weekly Catholic newspaper in New Orleans, and that part of my job was to comment on the moral content of films. And that I found Salo to be a very simplistic and sometimes disgusting movie with a moral message. No, I am not making that up.
Posted by Joe Leydon
at June 7, 2008 8:41 PM
comment #6
lazespud
says ...
Knowing youtube's prohibition against nudity, I wonder how long that clip will last on their site...
Posted by lazespud
at June 7, 2008 9:10 PM
comment #7
Doug Pratt
says ...
Salo is a boring waste of time and is basically about how old people resent the youth and vigor of young people.
The Decameron is his most accessible and enjoyable work, but Hawks and Sparrows, Gospel According to St. Mathew, Teorama, Mamma Roma, Canterbury Tales, Arabian Nights and Oedipus Rex are also enjoyable, with Accattone, Porcile and Love Meetings being somewhat less appealing, although still lightyears better than Salo.
Posted by Doug Pratt
at June 7, 2008 9:15 PM
comment #8
MilkMan
says ...
Salo is the perfect movie to watch while enjoying some steak and shrimp.
Posted by MilkMan
at June 7, 2008 9:44 PM
comment #9
Rosebudsthesled
says ...
SALO is perverted beyond anyone's wildest beliefs. I don't know how to sit through it without getting sick to the stomach.
Posted by Rosebudsthesled
at June 7, 2008 10:06 PM
comment #10
EOTW
says ...
When the DVD went out of print, it started popping up on Ebay, going for hundreds and hundreds of dollars, even in used copies. Looking at the listings recently, since the new DVD set has been announced, the price has gone down to a more reasonable rate.
Yes, the film is as repulsive as anything I have ever seen. I sat through it twice myself, maybe just because I was so shocked the first time. Yet, its construction is fascinating and I am tempted to at least rent the new disc to check out the extras, but probably not to have to watch it again.
The kid in the clip who bolted and was gunned down got off rather easy.
Posted by EOTW
at June 7, 2008 10:33 PM
comment #11
ROTC
says ...
The original Criterion Salo DVD has long been recognized as the rarest DVD in the world. My understanding is that the original, poorly mastered edition had a very puny run before it was shut down over a rights dispute with the Pasolini family. Brand-new sealed copies were soon selling to salivating collectors worldwide for around $1,000, used ones went for about half that (depending on their condition), and it was quite heavily bootlegged. If you Google the DVD, you'll probably find dozens (if not hundreds) of web pages devoted to how to distinguish a genuine Criterion edition from a fake. (Basically, the real ones have a white ring around the center hole as well as a laser-inscribed code on the back of the disc.)
With Criterion's announcement of the new, superior edition of this nauseating, limited-audience art film, all of those penultimate collectibles have overnight become little more than preposterously expensive drink coasters for DVD geeks.
Posted by ROTC
at June 8, 2008 12:54 AM
comment #12
EOTW
says ...
Not to mention te fact that film is widely available on bit torrent.
Posted by EOTW
at June 8, 2008 3:33 AM
comment #13
CinemaPhreek
says ...
Just how many times can you watch bishops being excreted from a giant ass...?
Posted by CinemaPhreek
at June 8, 2008 4:47 AM
comment #14
Spacelamb
says ...
As a movie lover I feel I should watch this but I'm Australian and it's banned here. So is Ken Park, BTW. I love my country but sometimes I feel like we're just getting stupider every year.
Posted by Spacelamb
at June 8, 2008 5:39 AM
comment #15
Edward
says ...
How great is this to go from Zohan to Salo -- two extremes of the cinematic art.
Posted by Edward
at June 8, 2008 8:55 AM
comment #16
EOTW
says ...
you can download Ken park, too, but it ain't worth it.
Posted by EOTW
at June 8, 2008 9:15 AM
comment #17
D.Z.
says ...
Spacelamb: Larry Clark films will only lower your IQ.
Posted by D.Z.
at June 8, 2008 12:59 PM
comment #18
jany
says ...
Si vous etes interesses par le dossier, ou desirez en savoir plus, contactez-moi par mail, et je vous mettrai en contact.
Best regards,Jane, CEO of sql server high availability
Posted by jany
at April 22, 2011 6:33 AM