Pasolini's final film - he was murdered a couple of moths after its completion - Salo is a masterpiece of perverse cinema. Chiefly known for its abundant scenes of coprophagy (poop eating), which had never really occurred in cinema outside of a Vienna Aktionist movie, Salo is based on the Marquis de Sade's 120 Days Of Sodom. Four wealthy but morally corrupt Fascist libertines earmark a castle, in the last remaining Italian fascist enclave of Salo, for some seriously nasty goings-on with prostitutes, assorted perverts and some poor kidnapped children. There's perversion aplenty, with the whole debacle ending with torture and murder. Some would call Pasolini a bold visionary when it comes to Salo, while others would call him a filthy pervert. The man was such an amazing director, who left such a wonderful body of work behind him, it seems unfair to label him a pervert, even though Salo is perverse. The film, as an indictment of modern Italian politics and society, is a great deal more complex than the director's detractors give him credit for.
My first film watched was Carrie aged 2 on my dad's knee. Educated at The University of St Andrews and Trinity College Dublin. Fan of Arthouse, Exploitation, Horror, Euro Trash, Giallo, New French Extremism. Weaned at the bosom of a Russ Meyer starlet. The bleaker, artier or sleazier the better!
