Salò: Fade to Black (2001 Video) User Reviews

Very enlightening

[lucky_dice_mgt · 7/10 · 20 January 2007]

I guess one could say that the documentary on the making of Salo is better then the movie itself. The documentary will shed much light about the problems faced in filming a movie considered by many to be the most despicable of all time. Many things are revealed that may not seem obvious at first in just watching the movie Salo. Like how the child actors in the film are not actually children but young looking 16 year olds, which at the time, was not illegal to have them filmed naked for the movie even though it caused much outrage. Evidently this documentary is very rare but if you can track it down, it sheds much light on the film and director and actors involved in one of the most notorious films of all time....

Excellent and illuminating documentary

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 29 July 2016]

This 23-minute documentary centers on the storm of controversy surrounding Pier Paolo Pasolini's inflammatory final film "Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom" upon its release. Bernardo Bertolluci admits he hated "Salo" and found it painful to watch the first time he saw it because he saw it a few days after Pasolini was gruesomely murdered by a youth who could have come out of one of Pasolini's movies. French director Catherine Breillat describes "Salo" as disturbing, but important, English director points out that "Salo" isn't remotely erotic, and professor David Forgacs states a credible case for "Salo" being more anti-pornographic than pornographic due to the fact that the movie doesn't fit into a conventional category of pornography. Among the other subjects discussed are how "Salo" was shot in a detached style with no point of identification, the police raiding a cinema in England that was showing an uncut print of the picture, that "Salo" is about the corruption of power, Pasolini thought that the innocence of the 1960's had faded and was disgusted with the youth in the 1970's as well as was worried about globalization, and the use of binoculars at the film's brutal conclusion makes voyeurs out of the audience watching the movie. Essential viewing for fans of "Salo," this documentary can be found as an extra on both the DVD and Blu-ray releases from The Criterion Collection.

Good Documentary

[Michael_Elliott · 17 December 2017]

Salò: Fade to Black (2001)

*** (out of 4)

Mark Kermode hosts this twenty-three minute documentary that takes a look at the aftermath of SALO: THE 120 DAYS OF SODOM. We get an archival interview with Pier Paolo Pasolini as well as comments from Catherine Breillat, John Maybury and David Forgacs as they discuss the original impact of the picture as well as how it hasn't lost any of its power over the years. Fans of SALO will certainly enjoy this documentary. There's certainly nothing ground-breaking here but it is interesting to hear other's thoughts on the film, its subject matter and the message that the director was trying to send. We get clips from the movie as well as an idea of why the film has lasted as long as it has.