Criterion is bringing Salo back for another release (it was one of the first DVDs they released, but it went out of print).

I've never seen it, just read about it. Doesn't seem like a movie you can say you "enjoyed watching". So--any admirers on here?

I've never really been tempted to watch it. It just sounds so wrong, you know?

I really like the early (B&W) Pasolini – Accatone, Mama Roma and The Gospel According To St Matthew are all fantastic. I've seen bits of Medea, one of his colour ones, and that did seem to merge classical myth and modern sensuality really well. I've always wanted to watch Theorem too, as it's got a cool name.

But I think Salo would leave a bad taste in the mouth for me.

Erm, to say the least.

I've only seen the Decameron, which has some really funny parts in it.

I thought this thread was going to be about

I had an Italian VHS copy of it festering away in a box until just a few months ago.

I wouldn't recommend it on any level. There's extended periods of dialogue which is extremely boring, partly because it's in Italian, partly because the acting is so bad. Then there is the unpleasant denouement which is half an hour of extreme nastiness - feces stew and young boys having their tongues cut off while appearing to enjoy it.

Perhaps its most heinous crime is the soft focus camera style its shot in, you can date it immediately to the 70s and it has the look and feel of those dodgy David Hamilton films of that era.

If you are seeking to push your cinematic boundaries then you will be much better served seeking out the brutal 'Men Behind The Sun'. That's the hardest thing I've ever found to watch.

Oh I don't know. It's quite funny, in its own way. It's sort of worth a look, you know? I don't think it deserves to be completely passed over, although of course if I was recommending Pasolini to anyone the first choice would be Medea or Oedipus Rex.

It's gross, but lots of films are gross and I think grossness can be pretty effective in the hands of someone who's got something else to say as well.

Theorem is well worth watching too, derek, I would definitely recommend finding it.