SALÒ, OR THE 120 DAYS OF SODOM
Special Features: Intro by Imani Davis, Film Programmer, American Cinematheque, on Tue, June 16, 9:00 p.m.
[SALÒ O LE 120 GIORNATE DI SODOMA]
The notorious final film from Pier Paolo Pasolini, SALÒ, OR THE 120 DAYS OF SODOM, has been called nauseating, shocking, depraved, pornographic — but it is also a masterpiece. The controversial poet, novelist and filmmaker’s transposition of the Marquis de Sade’s 18th-century opus of torture and degradation to Fascist Italy in 1944 — a year before Mussolini’s death and the end of World War II — remains one of the most passionately debated films of all time, a thought-provoking inquiry into the political, social and sexual dynamics that define the world we live in. Having just collaborated with Pasolini on his life-affirming, lewdly humorous Trilogy of Life (THE DECAMERON, THE CANTERBURY TALES and ARABIAN NIGHTS), composer Ennio Morricone turned his attention to scoring those films’ antithesis, famously using his arrangement of the upbeat “Son Tanto Triste” to bookend SALÒ’s horror, adding an incongruent joviality that only deepens its chilling disquiet. (Note adapted from The Criterion Collection.) DIR/SCR Pier Paolo Pasolini, from the novel by the Marquis de Sade; PROD Alberto Grimaldi. Italy/France, 1975, color, 117 min. In Italian, French and German with English subtitles. NOT RATED, but comparable to RATED R and viewer discretion is strongly advised.
About Imani Davis
Imani Davis is film programmer at the American Cinematheque in Los Angeles, and also a producer and writer. At the American Cinematheque, a 501c3 nonprofit boasting over 1,600 film screenings a year, Imani has worked to put on events with A-list filmmakers and talent such as Timothée Chalamet, Sofia Coppola, Spike Lee, Sean Baker, Jordan Peele, Daniels (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert), Damien Chazelle, Christopher Nolan and many more. Imani is also the founder and lead programmer of the American Cinematheque's short film festival called PROOF, the only festival completely dedicated to proof-of-concept short films, which has resulted in projects coming to fruition and premiering at festivals such as Sundance and Rotterdam.
Run Time: 117 Minutes
Opening Date: Saturday, June 13, 2026
Genre: Drama
Introduction