Salo And other Disturbing flicks

Discussion
21

Nah. I’m from the high desert. I only venture to Hollywood for Amoeba and as of lately, the knitting factory for USSA and Gibson Amphatheatre for Velvet Revolver. So other than that I don’t know my way around. 15 to 210 to the 605 to the 101 If it’s off that path I’m like an ant that has had it’s trail broken.

What makes threads so depressing? The story or the imagery? or both? Funny you say that Amoeba has so much you forget what you are looking for…I have to make lists otherwise I forget as well! Too funny!

BTW Salo is one of those films that you have to dissect from scene one because(it’s the only way to makes sense of what you are watching) if you don’t you will be miserable through the whole thing, watching evil being personified.

For example I want to know or hear any theories on ending where the Libertines take turns slowly killing the kidnapped but at one point one of the Libertines turns the binoculars backwards and views the scene from an exrteme distance…Is he trying to distance himself from the scene? or what? is he mocking you the viewer? What’s going on?
Late,
grmpysmrf

22

What makes threads so depressing? The story or the imagery? or both?

It’s just so bitterly… real.

No glitz, no Hollywood hunk (lol), just terrifying truth and what if’s…
It’s really detailed in the tension of the build up to the bombs dropping, the actual event and the hardships of trying to carry on up to about 16 years after.
It’s like a docudrama with factual text popping up now and then giving body counts and how the sun gets blocked out by all the dust kicked up into the atmosphere so crops won’t grow, stuff like that.

Bleak ain’t the word…

23

Salo is actually the only movie that made me angry at movies for over a week. It’s a foul foul beast and truly is the visual realization of deSade. Lots of poop eating, naked people and anal sex. Honestly, every scene I’d tell myself I was going to turn it off and yet I watched through to the end. Don’t have much interest in seeing it again though if I started I’m sure I’d have to sit through to the end.

Well, off to see No Country for Old Men now. I hear good things.

24

Salo is actually the only movie that made me angry at movies for over a week. It’s a foul foul beast and truly is the visual realization of deSade. Lots of poop eating, naked people and anal sex. Honestly, every scene I’d tell myself I was going to turn it off and yet I watched through to the end. Don’t have much interest in seeing it again though if I started I’m sure I’d have to sit through to the end.

Did you ever notice how eloquent the sets were? Perfect contrast, absolute beauty and serenity with the suroundings yet unmistakable ugly and chaos happening within the beauty. Trashing of the earth maybe? look how beautiful the Earth is and look how we act on it.
So much shit to take in and ponder with this movie. Whats kinda cool is you don’t think of this stuff until after the movie is over. No way while it’s playing.
Late,
grmpysmrf

25

Jizzwad.

Thank you for that. THat’s all I wanted. I had this same discussion with my dad about a year ago. He’s the smartest guy I know (I know everybody says that about their dad but My Dad literally is my parents house looks like a Library they read the way most people watch tv.) Masters in Latin, B.A. In English, Masters In Computer Science and a Masters in Education. I tried to show him the flick and He tuned it out within the first 10 Min. He would look up occasionaly but afterward he pretty much said what you said.

If I am reading you right you’re basically saying that the movie is a gross display of ugly images and the Viewer draws from them what they wish.

When I told my dad about the symbolism the newscaster lady and such. He said Yeah I could make those connections but he doubts thats what passolini was doing and that I’m reading far far into it. Basically treating the movie like a Rorshak test when in actuality it’s more likely that Passolini was trying to bring S&M into the main stream either that or trying to get away with as much bullshit as he could put on film or thridly intro to snuff film 101.
Anyway since you usually present yourself as crude on here (although not as of late, refreshingly) I thought maybe you would have an opposite type view. Thanks for the Insight.
Late,
grmpysmrf

26

I’m very excited to see movies that intelligently look into the positive nature of existence rather than the negative. Sometimes it seems like our choices are either “Princess Diaries” or “Salo” (obviously an over exaggeration) where the craft and skill are poured into nihilistic movies and anything that taps into joy asks us to revert to mental midgets in order to get the message.

This is why I like Soderbergh and why I’ve been watching more and more Japanese movies (“Taste of Tea” in particular stands out). I also appreciate the way Lynch shows a positive navigation through a very dark space in “Inland Empire”. Seems to me that Lynch got over many of the issues over women that plagued a good deal of his previous work.

27

so what’s up with those films… are the people in it getting hurt / injured for real (snuff)? those things suck.
If not, how could they make it so realistic so that people get sick from it…

My stomach turned with the turtle scene in canibal holocaust… it made me sick and sad.

My girlfriend seems to like films like calligula and such…
are they in the same genre?
I don’t know if she only likes the brutality in films or if she goes more deeply into it… seing it as art, as you guys seem to do.
She mentioned a film called Ichy the killer or something to… that she also like…

would eraserhead and/or Salo be something for her you think… or am I way out of line here…

28

so what’s up with those films… are the people in it getting hurt / injured for real (snuff)? those things suck.
If not, how could they make it so realistic so that people get sick from it…[/quote]

It’s not real in the sense that no actors were harmed in the making of the film but it is real in the sense that you can for damn sure know that this type of shit has gone on somehwere and at sometime for real. Yes, the people in the films are being killed/hurt (not for real though) however they are not killed quickly they are tortured first in bizrre and cruel ways. Usually camera tricks such as in Salo when the guy shits on the floor all you see is him squat after he has undone his pants but then the camera pulls back and there is a turd on the floor and when the girl goes to eat it the camera is pulled back even further. so you can’t really see the shape or anything you can see she’s just eating something brown off of the floor apparently it was just a normal brownie. but from the distance of the camera and what you had seen just prior it seems awfully legitimate.

My stomach turned with the turtle scene in canibal holocaust… it made me sick and sad.

That was real. All of the animal cruelty in C.H. was 100%
real. As a matter of fact they killed two monkeys to get the brains because the first shot didn’t come out right. However, the sea turtle bit was not in Vain because that it how that tribe normally butchers a turtle and they use it much like native americans did with the Buffalo. No part was wasted. (or so I’ve read I’ve not actually seen the movie) everything else rubber prosthetics rubber dick rubber heads and such even lots of continuity problems…

My girlfriend seems to like films like calligula and such…
are they in the same genre?
I don’t know if she only likes the brutality in films or if she goes more deeply into it… seing it as art, as you guys seem to do.
She mentioned a film called Ichy the killer or something to… that she also like…

Holy crap dude I would be terrifed of this chick!!! If she actually enjoys these flicks and not just for the shock value…CREEPY!

Alright here’s my take if she like Caligula she will like Salo. I wouldn’t necesarrily say I “like” Salo but I think it is an important film just for the rorshok quality i think it posesses. If she doesn’t see it the way I see it (disturbing) she will probably absolutely love it! WHich should be terrifying to you. It makes caligula look like a children’s story. I have heard horendous things about icthe the killer as well so with the scenes of torture. Good luck…

[quote]would eraserhead and/or Salo be something for her you think… or am I way out of line here…

See above. IF she is into extreme hurt of others and you want to foster that you may pick Gaspar Noe’s “Irreversible” that one is not banned an it is extremely brutal it runs backward like momento(? is that the movie?) rape seen is especially disturbing to watch as if rape isn’t already but this is even more so Monica belucci has me convinced she’s taking it in the ass against her will on camera shudder

go to imdb.com and look these fims up and make sure you want to help her on her quest for this shit. there’s one called Audtion where this lady apparently kidnaps men and cuts their hand and feet off and makes them live under her bed and eat her puke out of a bow!! gross shit my friend gross shit.

I was actually planning on renting these titels (Itche and CH) though because they are those films where I read people have written “most horrifying scene ever!” and then others come along and write “that was so ridiculously fake you’ve got to be kidding!” gueni pig was like that people said it was an actual snuff film and charlie sheen apparently turned it in as one but then I watched HA HA what a joke! time cuts is all it is they slap her once cut away and then put up the words 30 minutes later and show the same first slap again to make it look like she has been slapped continously for 30 minutes. and its like 45 minutes of stuff like that, Stupid!!!

I like to check out those flicks to see where I stand. any way good luck my friend…If you want to see how foul your girlfriend is go to 2girls1cup.com and watch her reaction then you know if you need to run from this chick or not… one girl shits in a cup (although it looks like chocolate ice cream) you actually see it come out of an asshole into the cup and the girls starting eating it and kissing eachother with the shit in their mouths then they take turn puking into each other’s mouths pretty disturbing stuff however with this you will be hard pressed to see how it is faked except for the shit cause like I said it looks like ice cream but then again you see it coming out of an ass… so who knows.
Late,
grmpysmrf

29

I personally think that Salo and Caligula are in totally different categories. I think Caligula’s pretty funny at times and the sheer fact that it got made blows my mind and is a testament to the nature of the 70s. Salo’s just gross to me. As I said, it’s the only movie I’ve seen that I really thought went too far. Of course if I was into fecaphilia and rape and torture maybe I’d feel different.

If your girlfriend enjoys reading De Sade and really wishes there was an accurate film depiction - Salo’s the one!

30

If your girlfriend enjoys reading De Sade and really wishes there was an accurate film depiction - Salo’s the one!

I don’t think De Sade and Salo are even close I mean when they say Loosely based on De Sade they mean LOOSELY the book is much more graphic material and has far far more violence and torture in it I mean for starters the testicle roaster toliet seat is not in Salo what about eating out the women who have genital warts and what not…Salo I think is Quite different from the writing of De Sade. I don’t think If they were to accurately try to depict Sade no movie studio would distrribute it.
Late,
grmpysmrf

31

Speaking of Ichi the Killer, anybody seen “Gozu” by the same director? That is one beautiful film.

32

thanks for the answer grmpsmrf…

hmm… she told me she likes “splatter”.
think I should be afraid… verry afraid haha.
think she is kind of “how much can I watch before I turn my head around”.

on the other hand… she realy likes the tv-show with the serial-killer-cop… hmm… Dexter.
should have noticed this before I moved in with her haha

33

I don’t think De Sade and Salo are even close I mean when they say Loosely based on De Sade they mean LOOSELY the book is much more graphic material and has far far more violence and torture in it I mean for starters the testicle roaster toliet seat is not in Salo what about eating out the women who have genital warts and what not…Salo I think is Quite different from the writing of De Sade. I don’t think If they were to accurately try to depict Sade no movie studio would distrribute it.
Late,
grmpysmrf

I think we’ll have to wait until she’s dead before a movie studio decides to distribute a movie about Sade or not. Sorry, couldn’t resist.

Even rather literal movie adaptations tend to approach the material loosely as what works in book and film are rather different. That said I do definitely feel that Salo is an adaptation in a true sense of the word. From a story or scene sense it might not have been there but the tone was dead on.

Which is interesting because most movies about de Sade (“The Marquis” “Quills” and my favorite “Marat/Sade”) look at the man as a concept of a pioneering sexual frontiersman without ever relating the sort of work the man actual did to the myth of the man whereas Salo took the work and didn’t even cast an eye towards the myth.

Frankly, I find de Sade’s writing a lot easier to take than Salo because after a while it becomes goofy it’s so damned repetative. It’s like a pervy fifth grader was stuck in detention for seven years and wrote the perviest shit he could. I can’t honestly imagine I’ll ever finish a book by de Sade. Yeah there may be more violence and torture in his works but none of it hurts the modern reader as much as the violence and torture in Salo hurts the viewer. Back in de Sade’s day I think it was a different story. I think his works were looked on as a form of assualt and battery, which is interesting in it’s own right. Frankly Salo felt like battery to me and it used the same type of characters, debasements, story motion, etc. as de Sade so I don’t think I’m wrong to have called it a proper adaptation.

Rather disturbingly, after watching Salo I had a moment where I was pleased that Pasolini had been murdered. I thought, you know, the guy might have had it coming… Believe me when I say I don’t usually think that way about anyone at any time and certainly not about artists.

34

tetsuo: iron man (alot of oiled men gumby-skating around town)

visitor q (features extreme lactation?)

and as previously mentioned, guinea pig

audition was alright, it wasn’t as brutal as i was lead to believe, but still a good watch nonetheless

35

on the other hand… she realy likes the tv-show with the serial-killer-cop… hmm… Dexter.
should have noticed this before I moved in with her haha

She likes Dexter???!!! I take it back She’s good people! she’s a keeper I say!!

There’s really no splatter in Dexter it’s just a really good story/show.

Salo, there is no splatter just very graphic torture and really graphic scenes to make you feel really depressed. usually people become involved in movies (I would do this or i would act this way in that situation) but not this movie you just sit helpless just like the people on the screen and it’s really uneasy.
Late,
grmpysmrf

36

I think we’ll have to wait until she’s dead before a movie studio decides to distribute a movie about Sade or not. Sorry, couldn’t resist.[/quote]

Cute! [:)]

Even rather literal movie adaptations tend to approach the material loosely as what works in book and film are rather different. That said I do definitely feel that Salo is an adaptation in a true sense of the word. From a story or scene sense it might not have been there but the tone was dead on.

Point taken. I think you are exactly right. I think Salo set the tone of the man’s work. What’s trippy is what most don’t know (of the people who even know who Sade [:)] )is that he was satarist and he was totally saterizing the theocratic government. He was Jon Stewart of the 18th centrury, how funny is that?

Frankly, I find de Sade’s writing a lot easier to take than Salo because after a while it becomes goofy it’s so damned repetative. It’s like a pervy fifth grader was stuck in detention for seven years and wrote the perviest shit he could. I can’t honestly imagine I’ll ever finish a book by de Sade. Yeah there may be more violence and torture in his works but none of it hurts the modern reader as much as the violence and torture in Salo hurts the viewer…Frankly Salo felt like battery to me and it used the same type of characters, debasements, story motion, etc. as de Sade so I don’t think I’m wrong to have called it a proper adaptation

No no you make an excellent point. and I totally agree. if De Sade ideas where to make people uncomfortable (Which I think you are right) he has totally been lost in current times and I think you’re right Passolini completely captured that and brought it back to life.

[quote]Rather disturbingly, after watching Salo I had a moment where I was pleased that Pasolini had been murdered. I thought, you know, the guy might have had it coming… Believe me when I say I don’t usually think that way about anyone at any time and certainly not about artists.

Yeah that is disturbing I never felt anything like that towards the guy. I was rather sad he was killed I would’ve like to learn more about what he was trying to bring about with Salo. His specific intentions in making the flick not just to translate uncomfortableness to the audience. Sadly he was killed before he could really do any press on it.

Salo is the only movie he has down that was ever like that, everything else is pretty tame if not boring by todays standards. Decameron for example, SNOOZE!!
Late,
grmpysmrf

37

sup guys…
i’m not sure if this falls under the correct topic - but instead of starting a new “movie topic” i’d post here…

i just bought the “apocalypse now” DVD reissue… and its got two versions of the movie on the disk. what is the general difference between the original (1979) and the “redux 2001” versions?

38

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078788/alternateversions

Also, on the disturbing tip…anyone seen the Dutch film “The Vanishing”? The 1988 version, not the poor remake featuring Sandra Bullock and Kiefer Sutherland. It’s so sparse.

39

http://www.cinematicreflections.com/Salo.html

40

http://www.cinematicreflections.com/Salo.html

The last two paragraphs are excellent. The rest… Meh, what ever. not sure I agree all that much, but for sure the last 2 paragraphs.
Thanks for sharing.
Late,
grmpysmrf