SALO, or THE 120 DAYS OF SODOM
Masters
Storytellers
Male victims
Female victims
Daughters
Militia
Collaborators
Servants
Written and directed by
Northern Italy, during the Nazi-Fascist occupation
ANTE INFERNO
Your Excellency
President
Your Grace
All things are good when taken to excess
Come on, let's go
Where are you going?
Claudio! Your scarf, my son!
Sorry, we're obeying orders
Marrying each others' daughters will seal our destinies for ever
President, take as your lawful spouse His Excellency's daughter, Tatiana
President, I will marry your daughter, Susy
Your Excellency and my brother the Bishop will marry my daughters
The preparations for our undertaking are completed
In puberty's ambush, maidens bloom, all unaware of impending doom
They listen to the radio, drink tea, unaware they will lose their liberty
Bourgeois recoil not from slaughter though victim be son and daughter
-What's this one's name? -Claudio Cicchetti
-What is your name? -Franco
I knew you'd consider him
A girl helped us catch him
The fool thought he was in for romance, and ended up in a sack
-What is your name? -Sergio
Shouldn't we inspect them?
Trousers down, shirts up
That will do
Lamberto Gobbi
Carlo Porro
Umberto Chessari... just look at him, gentlemen
I waited two whole weeks to ambush him
...and this is Ferruccio Tonna, from Castelfranco
From a subversive family
The one with the curly hair, Tonino Orlando
I know him
I've waited two long years for him
Your Excellency, please help me
His father was a senior judge, like myself
A southerner, aren't you?
Don't expect me to deflower you. In time we will decide..
...who will do you that delightful honour
That's right, Tonino
Eva, come along
Try to behave yourself
Come, no one will harm you
Show these nice gentlemen all your hidden charms
What a beauty
A delicious bum, solid yet bouncy
Tits to revive a dying cripple
Bring us another one
Signora Castelli, your turn. The gentlemen are waiting
Please let me go home
Albertina's father is a professor in Bologna
To slip her out of the convent school we had to convince two nuns
You'll prefer us to the sisters, won't you?
I don't know yet, sir
Very well, undress her
Just a moment
We didn't notice her blemish. She's a pretty virgin, too
Don't you disgrace me, I know your little tricks
We waited until she came out with her mother...
...pushed the mother into the river, where the damned fool drowned...
...right before this angel's eyes
There were nine boys, now only eight
Anyone know the difference between "8", "no-no", and the family?
What's the difference?
"8" is twice four, "no-no" is twice not for
-What about the family? -They're fine, thank you
Everything is prepared according to your wishes
You herded, feeble creatures, destined for our pleasure
Don't expect to find here the freedom granted in the outside world
You are beyond reach of any "legality"
No one knows you are here
As far as the world goes, you are already dead
These are the laws which will govern your lives
"At six p.m., the company will assemble in the "Hall of Orgies"...
"... where our Storytellers...
"...will tell us stories, each with a particular theme
"Our friends have the right to interrupt at any moment
"The purpose of the stories is to inflame lust; all will be permitted
"After dinner, the gentlemen will conduct the so-called orgies
"The Great Hall will be adequately heated
"Participants, appropriatedly dressed...
"...will lie on the floor like animals...
"...they will intermingle...
"...copulate indescriminately, incestuously and sodomistically
"That will be the daily procedure"
No servants here!
"Any man caught in flagrante delicto with a woman...
"...will be punished by the loss of a limb
"The slightest religious act by anyone will be punished...
"...by death"
CIRCLE OF MANIAS
I was born at a girls' boarding school, where my mother was a servant
One day, my sister asked if I knew Professor Gentile
"Well, look outside, he's waiting for you...
"...to show you something he's shown me"
She said: "Don't run away
"He'll give you some money"
I ran out to meet him. I couldn't believe it
-"Where are you going?" -"To put away the chairs, Professor"
"Your sister will do that. I'll show you something you've never seen"
I followed him into a room
He took his huge penis from out of his trousers and began to masturbate
"Have you ever seen the like?
"I've shown your sister and girls of your age
"Give me a hand. Provoke the semen from which we're all created
"I'll make it spurt on your face
"This is my sole passion, my child...
"...and you are about to see it"
At that very moment...
...l was immersed in a white jet, drenching me from head to toe
You mustn't omit any detail...
...otherwise your stories will not arouse us sufficiently
I know I was urged to give every detail...
...every particular, even the slightest...
...that may illuminate the human passion
I've not overlooked anything
You haven't given us details about the size of the Professor's penis...
...or the nature, the consistency of his emisssion
Did you fondle his genitals, did he oblige you to do so?
Dear Signora Vaccari, more clarity
From now on I shall conceal nothing. May I continue?
Time the staff of my old age had some fun
Shortly after my seventh birthday...
...l took a girl friend to see the Professor
One of his colleagues was with him. They drew me inside
Looking at me, one said to the other:
"Goffredo, didn't I tell you she was a little beauty?"
"She is a rare little jewel", replied Goffredo
Then he took me onto his lap and gave me a kiss
-"How old are you?" -"Seven, Professor"
"You are fifty years younger than me"
Then he gave me another kiss
Meanwhile, the other prepared some kind of strange syrup
They made me drink it, saying: "It will make you pee"
"All we want of you, dear child, is that you urinate
"And that you do that with me, alone together"
I want this miserable boy punished severely
We are at your service
He had the insolence to pull away from me
You can choose one of ours
No, thank you
It would take too much to satisfy me now
A moment ago, only the slightest effort would suffice, but now...
You know to what we're driven by frustrated desire
All I ask of you...
...is exemplary punishment for this bastard
My Lord, I feel ready to satisfy you
I need no instruction
No, let me be
There are a thousand occasions when one does not desire a woman's anus
I'll wait. Let Signora Vaccari continue her story
Everything was so arranged that he swallowed every drop of my piss
At that moment his penis, overcome by victory...
...cried tears of blood over me
Then, passion consumed, the Professor seemed to realize...
...his idol no longer inspired such religious fervour
Without ado, he put ten lire in my apron pocket and pushed me out
The boy's hopeless at masturbation, he needs a lesson
You'd think he'd never seen a man's tool
Well, friends...
...Signora Vaccari will turn them into first-class whores
Nothing is more contagious than evil
You are mistaken, Your Excellency
Some can do evil only when passion drives them to it
They are always unhappy, regretting the evils of the previous night
Umberto, Franco... what do you say?
Handsome
Efisio, it's my turn
On the Peratibridge
A black flag flies
The mourning of the Julian regiment that goes to war
The best young men lie under the earth
The gentleman are not satisfied with you
The first thing you must learn is how to hold it
Go on
Up and down
Squeeze it harder...
...and stroke beneath with the other hand
Slut! See how it's done
There were nine girls, now only eight
Here's a number eight story
It's about a man who had a friend named Six-times-eight
Going home in the blackout one night they lost each other
Our man tried to find his friend, looking everywhere
At last he thought he saw something in the darkness
He was overjoyed, thinking he had found his friend
-He cried: "Six-times-eight!" -"Forty-eight", came the reply
Music! Signora Vaccari will tell us another story...
...to stimulate us for another skirmish
I was nine when my sister took me to Milan to meet Signora Calzetti
She examined me and asked if I wanted to work for her
I said I would, if the pay was good
My first client, a stout man named Vaccari, looked me over carefully
At once I showed him my pussy, which I thought was very special
He covered his eyes: "Out of the question
"I'm not interested in your vagina, cover it up"
He covered me up, making me lie down
He said: "All these little whores know is to flaunt their vaginas
"Now I'll have to recover from that disgusting sight"
He wrapped me in a sheet, like a mummy...
...leaving only my behind uncovered
He caressed it gently, opened and closed the cheeks...
...began to suck it greedlily
Then he carefully...
...put his member between my buttocks, his movements became frenzied
"Such an adorable behind, the sweet little anus. Now I'll anoint it"
He said that three or four times
I never saw him again
Your first client...
...had an idea of women that most of us do not share
Homage to the rear temple...
...is more fervent than the other
I put this question to the company
How can we determine the true inclination of a boy or girl?
Their best part, in other words
I believe by masturbation of the requisite body areas
Let's take the youngsters about whom we have doubts...
...and take them aside to verify
Observing, with equal passion and apathy, Guido and Vaccari...
...masturbating the two bodies which belong to us...
...inspires a number of interesting reflections
Would you care to elaborate, dear Duke?
We Fascists are the only true anarchists
Naturally...
...once we've become masters of the state, true anarchy is that of power
However, look at their obscene gestures...
...like deaf-mute language...
...with a code none of us can break, no matter how great our power
There is nothing to be done
We must restrict our impulses to a single gesture
He came. Now he is a man
Little Sergio, we're proud of you
-She's a woman now -Our first couple has been formed
Sergio, you've proved you're a man
She is your prize
Come forward
Appreciate the goodwill of these gentlemen...
...who allow you to enjoy such a great privilege...
...we will solemnize your marriage
What a fine thing
What a whore
Get out, you sluts!
Let us resume the ceremony
Will you, Sergio...
...take Renata for your wife?
I pronounce you man and wife
Clear off, all of you!
If you salute him, then you are bound
If you are for him, if you are sound
Then you must join up, honour bound
Lustily! Aren't you newlyweds?
Give rein to your feelings
Get busy, idiot
No! That flower is reserved for us
The principle of all greatness on earth...
...has long been bathed in blood
My friends, if memory does not betray me:
"Without bloodshed, there is no forgiveness
"No forgiveness without bloodshed". Baudelaire
Excellency, the expression is not to be found in Baudelaire...
...but in Nietzsche's The Genealogy of Morals
It is neither from Baudelaire nor Nietzsche...
...nor in Saint Paul's Epistle to the Romans
It's Dada
Sing me that sweet melody l loved so much, that goes da-da
Delicious creature, do you want my dirty underpants?
My old underpants. What incomparable refinement
You see how sensitive I am to the value of things
Little angel, my greatest desire is to grant your wish
You know I respect all tastes and whims
However baroque, all deserve to be respected
Because we're not their masters, even the most bizarre manias...
...derive from a basic principle of refinement
Yes, old buggers, it's a question of delicacy
One day Madam sent me to another libertine
He took me to a room with a splendid Chinese carpet
After making me undress, he ordered me on all fours, like an animal
Having stroked my head two or three times...
...he said: "I want to see if you're as quick as my dogs"
He threw two chestnuts across the room...
...saying: "Good bitch, fetch!"
I thought it best to go along with the game
You have two beautiful eyes... then look
Piss
"Filthy muck, putrid bitch", he shouted, approaching me
Then he ejaculated over my back
Then he left
I dressed...
...and discovered 25,000 lire in my coat
Eat!
Your Excellency, are you convinced?
It is when I see others degraded that I rejoice...
...knowing it is better to be me than the scum of "the people"
Whenever men are equal, without that difference, happiness cannot exist
So you wouldn't aid the humble, the unhappy
In all the world...
...no voluptuousness flatters the senses more than social privilege
My next story is about the mania of Minister Missiroli
I went to the Minister's office at ten one morning
The moment I entered, the doors closed
"What are you doing here, you little bitch?
"Who gave you permission to disturb me?"
I hadn't been warned of what would happen...
...so I was frightened by the welcome
I can't take any more
He tore off my clothes, shredded them...
...and threw them into the fire
Then he stretched out seemingly semi-conscious...
...in a chair...
...and ejaculated...
...making his sperm fall upon the charred remains of my clothes
CIRCLE OF SHIT
Don't you think, Signora Maggi...
...that before your stories, you should show us your best part?
With the greatest of pleasure
These buttocks merit our attention
I have seldom seen better
Very kind of you to say so
We thank you. Please begin
I see that you gentlemen esteem the rear end...
...so I shall devote my stories to this subject
My story will interest you all...
...especially our dear President; it concerns a particular mania...
...his dearest caprice, which enabled me to make his acquaintance
Conceal my turpitudes from these innocents
Enough. I am eager to hear Signora Maggi's voice
My childhood years were spent in endowing my body with the capacity...
...to satisfy the basest, most outrageous desires
I soon became expert in that difficult task...
...and my fame spread throughout ltaly
My clients included many celebrities...
...and to them I gave the best of myself
My first story concerns a most curious episode in my life
Signora Evola, the Madam I worked for...
...sent me to a client after feeding me a large laxative-spiced meal
The client was an old Carabinieri General
He made me undress him and put a nappy on him
I was used to such fixations, I was ready to help him
Suddenly, my bowels rebelled and he ordered me to relieve myself...
...which I did without embarrassment
He made me dip my fingers in the excrement...
...and feed it to him like a baby
He swallowed everything, imitating the cries of a baby...
...and ejaculated into his nappy
I knew a man capable of quite diverse refinements of the sort
We expect only the best tales of you
My next story took place in Verona
I was told that the client waiting at a hotel...
...was an old nobleman, notorious for his depravity
My curiosity was immense
That evening my mother was more intolerant than usual
She pleaded with me not to go
I couldn't resist the temptation, so I killed her
The only thing to do
The excitement awaiting you was supreme...
...meriting the utmost sacrifice
It's folly to say one owes anything to one's mother
Must we be grateful for her having pleasure with a man?
That should have been enough reward for her
Long ago, I was cursed with a mother...
...who aroused the same feelings you felt for yours
As soon as I could, I sent her to the next world
It was a profound pleasure when she closed her eyes for the last time
Why is that child crying?
Your words remind her of her mother
Her mother died trying to protect her
Splendid!
It's your mother you're crying for?
Come here, let me console you
Come back to Papa's arms
He'll sing you another lullaby
What an opportunity you offer me
Signora Maggi's story merits immediate re-enactment
I beg you to have mercy on my suffering
My mother died for me and I'll never see her again
Undress her immediately
Kill me! God will take pity on me! Don't dishonour me!
This howling is the most exciting thing I've ever heard
Kill me! Free me from this torment, seeing and hearing such horrors!
You all heard her call on God
Your Excellency, enter her name in the Penal Register...
...for a terrible punishment
Do away with me, so that I can be with my mother
You will be punished and deflowered when we decide the time is ripe
Don't think your tears restrain my desire; they make me more ruthless
Come here, my child, it's ready
On your knees!
Go on!
Eat it
That stupid girl's making a scene over such a delicacy
A friend insisted that all the excrement he ate every day...
...come from a beggar woman, so it would be more putrid and delicious
I found an old woman of seventy for him
Spoiled food can provoke excellent diarrhoea
The subject should eat hastily, at odd hours, to overload the stomach
We must try that at once
Dear President
I am eager to know how you first met Signora Maggi
She will tell you after His Honour has married his Sergio
Then you'll laugh at my expense
I won't deprive you of that pleasure
Today's story demands a revision of our rules
If we wish to enjoy the fruit...
...of our stay within these walls...
...let us revise some of our rules
For example, we put containers in the latrines to collect all excrement...
...so that nothing goes to waste
Let's follow Signora Maggi's example, giving our dear President...
...the joy of seeing his dream come true
Good day, Signora Castelli
I'm sorry, we'll be ready in a moment
I've come to make sure
The chamberpots, quick!
You know the rules!
Tell me your name!
I couldn't help it, with the muck we're given to eat
Your name?
It's Doris, the most undisciplined of our girls
She will be company for those already listed here
-Whose is this? -Mine. Help yourself
Is that how you obey our rules, impertinent brat?
Show me this boy's arse
You even dared to wipe yourself. You'll get what you deserve
We're ready...
...but preparing this one meant that I couldn't watch these rogues
There is no evasion
Unless the German people fall...
...we are prepared for any eventuality ...
...to save a human soul, even in this part of Africa
We are happy to carry out your every command
Those I considered the most capable...
...were fed appropriately
Thus as this solemn wedding feast we shall enjoy the greatest delicacy
Our girls abstained from relieving themselves all day...
...in compliance with your decree...
...that we produce this for you
Let the rite begin
Our guide restored the divine character of monstrosity...
...thanks to reiterated actions, that is to say: rites
No more intoxicating desire exists...
...endowing you with the vigour...
...to meet the challenge awaiting you
Eat, my exquisite bride
You must prepare for our night of love
Nothing's worse than a breath without odour
I can't do it
Offer it to the Madonna
Do this
Say: "I can't eat rice with my fingers like this"
Then eat shit
I refer, as you will have guessed...
...to our illustrious President
After having satisfied him...
...I was impressed by such special tastes in one so young
Tastes that will become clearer later
Liberated from my mother...
...I found life rich in all its delights
One day Madam presented me to the libertine in question
His passion will strike you as somewhat unusual
The scene took place in his house. I was shown into a darkened room
I saw a man lying on the bed...
...and a coffin in the middle of the room
"You see before you...", he said...
"...a man on his deathbed...
"...but he doesn't want to close his eyes...
"...without making a last homage to the object of his adoration
"I adore the behind
"Although I am dying, I wish to die kissing one
"When life has left my body...
"...place me in the coffin...
"...wrap me in my shroud and close the coffin lid
"I insist that you observe my orders to the letter
"In this supreme moment with the sole object of my lewd desire
"Come quickly!"
He went on, his voice broken, sobbing
"Hurry! I am at death's door"
So I went to him and showed him my backside
"Oh, what a marvellous arse
"Having seen this, my life can end. I've never seen one as alluring"
He fondled it, opened it
He played with it, kissed it, just as would the healthiest of men
He made me relieve myself of all that was in my bowels
I was not at all embarrassed
"Now it is the time for me to die. The supreme moment has come"
As he said that, he gave a profound sigh
Piss over me
I can't, it won't come
I've finished
The limitation of love is that you need an accomplice
Your friend will know the libertine's refinement...
...is being executioner and victim
My sister knew an official in the Controller's office
A little pig-like man, with a disgusting face
A chamberpot was arranged...
...for two to sit on, back to back, and relieve themselves simultaneously
He stirred it with his fingers, and swallowed it
My sister told me...
...he'd only to see her dirty arse and he ejaculated
Did your sister have a pretty backside?
You must judge by this. A famous painter...
...was commissioned to paint a Venus with a splendid backside
He selected her as his model after many weeks...
...looking at hundreds of behinds throughout ltaly
How old was she then?
Fifteen, Duke
Why don't you arrange a competition to find the nicest bottom here?
I'll do that. I'm an expert
Your Excellency, doesn't this situation suggest anything to you?
It might
-Aren't you ready? -Just a moment
The act of the sodomite signifies the death of the human species
Ambiguously accepting social standards while transgressing them
More monstrous than the act of the sodomite...
...is the act of the executioner
True, but the act of the sodomite can be repeated again and again
I think there is a way to repeat the act of the executioner
Turn off the lights
Here is my masterpiece
I have a proposal to make
We have not yet decided on the winner's prize...
...for the best bottom
Here is my proposal
He or she whose bottom is judged the best...
...will be killed immediately
Agreed
This way we'll be impartial, not knowing whose bottom we are viewing
-A shrewd observation -Thank you, Your Excellency
For if we knew we were looking at a boy rather than a girl...
...we might be influenced in making our decision
We must be completely free in our choice
A clever trap I wish to avoid
When one prefers men, it is difficult to change one's perspective
The difference between a boy and a girl is enormous
One cannot consider what is obviously inferior
But if we consider all the stories we have heard...
...in certain cases a girl might be preferable to a boy
Let us try to remain objective
Look at the elasticity of those buttocks
There can be no question here
Allow me, Duke
I don't wish to contradict, but may I re-examine a most impressive one?
We'll be delighted to grant your request
I don't think the heaviness of these buttocks...
...can be compared to the most beautiful we have here
However, I will yield to the opinion of the majority
I vote for the Duke's candidate
My vote goes to the Duke's candidate
Dear President, three votes to one
I bow to the majority
But I request that my candidate be reserved for me to deflower
Granted
We'll reveal this mystery
Fire!
You must be stupid to think that death would be so easy
Don't you know we intend to kill you a thousand times?
To the end of eternity, if eternity can have an end
Once I had a very mysterious client
His mania was closely related to...
...the subject of Signora Castelli's stories, for which I apologize
The man wanted only women...
...who had been condemned to death
The closer they were to death, the more he would pay
He would visit them when the sentence had been pronounced
Thanks to his exalted social status, enabling him to pay the price...
...not a single one escaped him
He did not possess them casually
He insisted on inspecting their rumps and that they defecated before him
He was convinced that the tastiest faeces...
...were those of women who had just heard the sentence of death
CIRCLE OF BLOOD
Your Reverence, I am ready
We want a marvellous wedding
The President wishes to be first, he is the most randy
You whoresons!
What is this, a mortuary?
These parasites do nothing for this festive day
Do anything you like. Laugh, all of you
Go on, idiots, show how happy you are
Go on, laugh
Why aren't you yelling forjoy? Go on, sing!
You two, what are you doing?
Excellency, note their names
If you like to whimper, we'll make you, for your last few days
Shouldn't you have paid your bills, Monsieur Royale?
Of course, Monsieur Juju
Shouldn't you also pay mine?
Why so?
Because two and two make four and I'm broke
Earn some money
-How do I do that? -Through manual labour
I don't know how
Then become an actor
That's difficult
Try to write then; all you have to write...
...is any old thing
Are you crazy?
I have a duty to perform; I'll return later
Your friend here is ready whenever you are
-Please, may I speak to you? -Of course, my dear
What will you do to me?
Talk about that tomorrow; many things will be decided then
I know a secret. Someone is violating your law
Graziella had a photograph under her pillow
Give me that photograph
Spare me and I'll tell you what Eva and Antoniska do
They're breaking your laws
Don't kill me. I have secrets to tell you
Speak, dirty whore!
Every night Ezio goes to the black servant girl
I can take you there
Queers!
You make me puke
Those who are named will wear a sky blue ribbon
You can imagine what that means
Others, if they collaborate, are reprieved. They will return to Salo
What are you going to do to us?
You'll soon know the gravity of your crimes
The main character...
...figured in a number of the previous stories
He is forty, very powerfully built...
...with a member like a stallion
He is enormously rich, very powerful, very cruel
A heart of stone
He owns a house near Milan, which he uses exclusively for his pleasure
At his parties, at least fifteen young girls are present...
...aged from fifteen to seventeen
Those who are chosen must present themsleves completely naked
He touches them, caresses them, examines them...
...then makes them defecate into his mouth, but he does not swallow it
After these first rituals, with fearsome gravity...
...he brands each girl on the shoulder...
...burning a number into their tender flesh
After these preliminaries, he opens the window...
...and places a girl standing in the middle of the room, facing the window
Then gives such a powerful kick to her behind...
...that the poor thing flies across the room...
...through the window and vanishes into a dark cellar
Our hero is familiar not only with Nietzsche, but Huysmans as well
In the cellar, a masked executioner with the devil's emblems...
...presides gravely over the horrible machines
When all the girls are in the cellar, our hero...
...is highly aroused, having so many contacts without once ejaculating
Naked, his huge member jutting from his belly
Now all the machines have begun to function...
...all tortures at once, with terrifyingly loud screeching
The first apparatus is a huge wheel with razor blades...
...to which is bound a girl to be flayed alive
Another has a live rat sewed inside her vagina
Oh Lord, why hast thou foresaken us?
A rationalperson...
...is not content to kill the same person
He would recommend murdering as many as possible
Umberto, come here
Bravo, always ready
What does a Bolshevik do when he dives into the Red Sea?
You don't know what a Bolshevik does?
No, tell me
He goes splash!
Poetry Corner. Ezra Pound. The Cantos
Canto 99
The whole tribe is from one man's body
What other way can you think of it?
The surname and the nine arts
The father's word is compassion
The son's, devotion
Small birds sing in chorus. Harmony is in the proportion of branches
The gay face of spring is set before the world
The sharpness of winter now flees defeated
In various apparel Flora reigns
And in the euphony of the woods...
...she is hymned in song
Can you dance?
Let's try
-What's your girlfriend's name? -Margherita