21 May 2008

If you like you're film experiences easy and inoffensive then Pier Paolo Pasolini's notorious final film, Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma), is most definitely not for you. Variously described as nauseating, shocking, depraved and pornographic, it's also been hailed as a masterpiece. The controversial poet, novelist, and filmmaker's transposition of the Marquis de Sade's 18th-century opus of torture and degradation to 1944 Fascist Italy 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.

If you've dodged the experience of viewing the film so far, then maybe the announcement of a Criterion double disc special edition for August will persuade you to take the plunge. The release features:

• New, restored high-definition digital transfer;
• The End of Salò, a 40-minute documentary about the film's final scene;
• Salò: Yesterday and Today, a 35-minute documentary featuring interviews with Pier Paolo Pasolini, actor-filmmaker Jean-Claude Biette, and Pasolini's friend Nineto Davoli;
• New interviews with set designer Dante Ferretti and filmmaker/film scholar Jean-Pierre Gorin;
• Optional English-dubbed soundtrack;
• Theatrical trailer;
• Optional English subtitles;
• A booklet featuring new essays by Neil Bartlett, Roberto Chiesi, Naomi Greene, Gary Indiana, and Sam Rohdie, and excerpts from Gideon Bachman's on-set diary.

Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom will be released on US DVD in August (exact date to be confirmed) by Criterion at the SRP of $39.95.