Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)

Pier Paolo Pasolini’s controversial adaptation of the Marquis de Sade’s novel, relocated to Benito Mussolini’s fascist republic.

Pier Paolo Pasolini’s final work, a controversial transposition of the Marquis de Sade’s novel to Benito Mussolini’s fascist republic of 1944, may prove too strong for some, with its explicit scenes of the humiliation and torture of young men and women by a group of wealthy, sadistic libertines.

1975 Italy, France
Directed by
Pier Paolo Pasolini
Produced by
Alberto Grimaldi
Written by
Pier Paolo Pasolini
Featuring
Paolo Bonacelli, Giorgio Cataldi, Uberto P. Quintavalle
Running time
118 minutes

Ranked in The Greatest Films of All Time poll

Sight and Sound