Salo DVD (Uncut 2 Disc Special Edition)

This notorious film is finally being released on DVD in Australia after its long-standing ban was recently overturned. Pasolini updates the Marquis de Sade’s novel, 120 Days of Sodom, to fascist Italy at the end of World War II. The scene is Salo in southern Italy, where Mussolini is briefly freed from Italian partisans by Nazi forces. In a remote chateau, four powerful and prominent men (representing the forces of church, state and economy) who are also leaders of the local fascist mechanism, kidnap a hand-picked collection of young men and women, and inflict extremes of sexual perversion and cruelty upon them. Four ageing courtesans enflame the proceedings further by spinning tales of monstrous depravity, which are then acted out on the hapless victims. By exercising their power to degrade and destroy, the fascists illustrate how the misuses of power lead to the murder of innocents. This is an extremely disturbing and controversial film, and it was only issued a certificate for viewing on condition that it came with an accompanying disc of extra material which helps to put the original film in context.  Ironically enough, this was Pasolini's final film - he would be murdered in suspicious circumstances very soon after its completion, which is the subject of the documentary Whoever Speaks the Truth Shall Die, included in the extras.

Region Code: ALL
Rating: R
Duration: 292 minutes
Original Release Date: 1975 DVD Release Date: 2010
Presentation: PAL, Colour, 16:9 Widescreen, Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Language: Italian with English subtitles
DVD Extras: Open Your Eyes! - documentary by film journalist and Pasolini expert Gideon Bachmann; Walking with Pasolini - documentary with Neil Bartlett, Noam Chomsky and others; Whoever Says the Truth Shall Die - Philo Bregstein's documentary on Pasolini's life and death; Fade to Black - Documentary with Mark Kermode exploring the ongoing relevance and power of this movie, with Bernardo Bertolucci and other leading directors; Osita - rarely seen short film about the last days of Pasolini, starring Derek Jarman (with optional director commentary track).