Does anybody like "Salo" (1975)?
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FreeHugs — 4 years ago(August 29, 2021 01:14 AM)
Here is my original review of the film:
"Disturbing. Disgusting. Shocking. Thrilling. Mesmerizing. Brilliant. Unforgettable. A must see for all true film buffs. Not an easy watch but very rewarding."
I would add that it is a very effectively directed film. Salo packs a punch and is a compelling film and a wild experience. The performances are very good and the screenplay is sharp and smart. -
Platonic_Caveman — 4 years ago(August 29, 2021 03:06 AM)
His death was rumored to be payback for "Salo". He was murdered right after its release.
Many believed his death to be revenge style mafia killing. Twenty-nine years after the event in May 2005, Pelosi retracted his confession, claiming that he was forced to confess under the threat of violence to his family. He said that three people with a Southern accent had murdered the politically engaged director, insulting him as a “dirty communist”.
http://www.italianinsider.it/?q=node/5667
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Platonic_Caveman — 4 years ago(August 29, 2021 04:32 AM)
I think the timing was too coincidental.
I myself was disgusted by the savage torture of innocent children. I can never watch the film again. Obviously many were repulsed by the sadism and believed it crossed a line.
Even the Mafioso have children they love. Mafia can be classified as fascistic by nature and right wing. And Pasolini was associated with left wing causes.
Conservative Catholics and the remnants of Mussolini's fan club were not amused by the film. And since Pasolini had a record of sexual crimes against children, they saw him as inherently evil.
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Woodyanders — 4 years ago(August 29, 2021 01:29 AM)
I'm a big fan of Salo. One of the best movies ever made about the stark horrors of reducing people to the level of objects to be used and then discarded after they serve their purpose. I work in retail, so I totally get that point.
You've seen Guy Standeven in something because the man was in everything. -
I love hutch — 4 years ago(August 29, 2021 02:02 AM)
You mean like as in consumerism as a metaphor?
There may be intelligence here, but it's buried deep. Of course, I haven't seen it in 20 years. The scenes of eating poop are too gross and I can't watch them. And the boy who gets his tongue cut out of his mouth and the girl who gets scalped are too vividly cruel. The old ladies talking out their fantasies seems to lend "Salo" an elegance, but to me, the movie is only slightly less offensive (though much better made) than "Hostel", which was also about the cruel exploitation and destruction of youth and beauty and innocence. And it wouldn't surprise me a bit to learn that Eli Roth was inspired by this film when he made the "Hostel" movies.
I guess I can't say "Salo" is a bad film per se, but it's a movie I can say I don't like one bit. Maybe that's fairer. I don't know.
For a movie about humans being treated like cattle, I think it doesn't get any better than "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" And it doesn't spare us any of the horrors, either. That movie is relentless. That there are fleeting moments of tenderness only makes the movie even more devastating.
Of course, I realize it is possible to like and admire both of these films.
The second "elimination race", in particular, drains me. But I can't take my eyes off the characters. And I think it's Jane Fonda's best performance. The crack in her voice @ 3:08 when she wails "I'm tired of losing" is chilling.
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Cheeky — 4 years ago(September 26, 2021 02:04 AM)
Oh, you have my deepest sympathies. I was a retail worker too
Granted, most people are nice but it's hard to tolerate the rude asses
If we take the time to see with the heart and not with the mind, we shall see that we are surrounded completely by angels ~ Carlos Santana -
I love hutch — 4 years ago(August 29, 2021 02:18 AM)
All I can in De Sade's defense is that better for him to have expressed his perverse, sick sexual fantasies on paper rather than to have acted them out in real life. In the book, one of the characters masturbates while watching a pregnant woman being disemboweled.
I know watching the movie did not enhance me in any way.
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I love hutch — 4 years ago(August 29, 2021 02:27 AM)
I remember watching "Pulp Fiction" in the theater and how everybody burst out laughing when John Travolta accidentally shoots the kid in the back seat. That caught me off guard. I didn't get it. Still don't. Though I did like the movie overall.
I will say that I probably hate "Fargo" as much as I hate "Salo". Maybe even more.
And Pauline Kael said something to the effect of watching Quint being eaten by the shark being very funny and how all that macho amounted to nothing in the end. I can agree with the second of her assessment, but I never found Quint's violent death the least bit amusing. Then only attack scene I can even watch is Alex Kitner. When the shark rolls over in the water, the effect is very surreal.
"My life is over. I might as well dance with Johnny Slash!" -
Cheeky — 4 years ago(August 29, 2021 03:01 AM)
I don't hate Fargo and I've never seen Pulp Fiction
Travolta kills a kid?
Quint's death is horrific
If we take the time to see with the heart and not with the mind, we shall see that we are surrounded completely by angels ~ Carlos Santana