My College Review of Salo or 120 Days of Sodom
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- Опубліковано 1 чер 2024
- I was onto something back then.
The Letterboxd Post: letterboxd.com/nyxfears/film/...
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#disturbing #letterboxd #review - Розваги
i will now start all my college essays with "fucking", thank you for this queen
It takes balls of steel to say "fucking hard" in the opening of a college essay. I salute you
I suppose it's interesting that the Marquis de Sade wrote from the perspective of an actual libertine aristocrat. He has little condemnation of what the four men do in 120 Days because his general view was that this form of hierarchical abuse and power was justified as a function of Nature- also prob because he was bored and horny in jail. It's wild that Pasolini pretty much used the same set dressing + plot to convey almost the opposite of de Sade's philosophy. I also agree with your original essay/review. I'm pretty sure one of the biggest differences between the film and book is the inclusion of scenes where soldiers abduct the victims (absent in the book).
Yup, the man was genuinely a menace who did rape people and largely got away with it because he nobility. I’m being slightly mean saying this but figures Simone de Beauvoir who had her own “consent and power” issues (don’t look up the petition to abolish a particular law she signed) made a fairly effusive defense of his work.
that's basically the exact same situation with Starship Troopers, right? Heinlein and Verhoeven had very different intentions with that story.
may leitz? More like, may postz!! On account of how many posts you’re making!
Eyyyyy 😎
ur so right for this
real
So true
"This College Review is fucking hard. Its hard af."
May is finally letterboxed famous. I am so proud
Doing backflips in the club seeing another May upload so quickly
A recent film that does the opposite of Salo to the same effect is the Zone of Interest…. Both make the watcher complicit in the horrors of fascism in a voyeuristic way… Salo shows the most gratuitous grossness and ZoI brings the audience so near the monsters in an intimate subdued way.
Also, great analysis of a really hard movie to watch, both as a student and now! (In my case I think its ok to have a personal boundary and not watch a movie more than once, but I understand your point!!!!)
Thank you for this post. You said more clearly, exactly what I was thinking. I mean, exactly.
Get out of my head, please. There is only room here for one.
@@joeyj6808 Oh damn! I didn't know that other people were making the connections but it makes me feel less crazy.
LOL, will try to give your brain some space!
I'm a newer fan of yours! Around a year ago I got really into iceberg videos about all kinds of stuff and I found that your disturbing movies iceberg had so much nuance and reflection about the genre. It made me go through a lot of your other videos, and honestly equipped me to seriously engage with and understand transgressive art in a way I really couldn't before. It was probably your positive opinion of Berserk that got me to finally read it, and it was definitely your recommendation of Ichi The Killer that led to me finding my current favorite director. I really appreciate how you tend to review media in more of a fly-by "here's the context, here's what I liked, here's what stands out" way than by giving full summaries that could spoil the *experience* more than the plot. As a viewer I don't feel like I'm being spoonfed the correct view about a movie, I feel like I'm seeing someone else grapple with something and encouraging me to fuck around and find out and see how I feel myself. It's refreshing, especially in the weird ai cyberapocalypse of Content we live in now. That doesn't mean you don't go in depth, you still manage to be incredibly thoughtful about the nature and content of a film like you are in this video.
I think you really got it in one at then end there, people really do what this kind of film conversation and we don't really get it. There's a cyclical trend where people get enticed by horror every once in a while, they watch a few videos mentioning big titles like Salo or Saw and how fucked up they are, and then since they don't find anything deeper they just move on. The actual interest and understanding you bring to the table is unique and encouraging. It hooks people in a way that hardly happens. I (like a lot of fans probably) will be thrilled with whatever you decide to bring to the table in the future.
Also, mostly unrelated question but I would love to see you answer it somewhere: which book of yours would be best to start with? You've got three and they all have different premises that appeal in different ways. I don't know if you've reached the point in your writing where you have a definitive entry point or anything, but I'm split on starting with Girlflesh or Rosalind even though I'm still interested in Fluids.
Fluids is an engrossing read. Kinda... Gilliam's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas mixed with more depression, the dangers of codependency, and a bit on how ostracization/loneliness can open people up to being dominated by someone with a more authoritarian bent/narcissistically fueled charisma/cults/etc. Enough of a fever dream aspect where I need to read it again, especially during the finale. Those bits reminded me of parts of An American Psycho now that I reflect on it.
Haven't read the other books yet. Life stuff keeps hitting my budget when I remember that I haven't bought them.
fluids was FANTASTIC. i need to read it again tbh, but i've been putting it off because some of it is soooo... eeuughhh. but upon first read those eugh parts are mandatory, it lends itself to the characters so well. i recommend it for sure but keep an eye on those trigger warnings lol.
@@thisisgonnabegone Agreed on the TW content. Pretty sure I'd have a different opinion on the experience if I hadn't been introduced to the splatter-punk, Jack Ketchum inspired realm of literary horror before hand.
I can see why it might be talked about now. We are slipping fairly fast into fascism ourselves.
I haven't watched Salo I do like disturbing movies, but I don't think i can stomach it. Please do more college essays they are very interesting.
Seconding this!
Have you seen Come and See yet? I had it recommended to me quite a bit, but I don't have the stomach for it.
It's for free on youtube, btw.
It doesnt help much, but knowing the cast had a great time filming it is nice. Also the poo was dried fruit and chocolate... ah... ya know what, nevermind.
I picked Salo from a list of films for an assignment about finding the hero's journey in film. I came to the conclusion that it doesn't conform to the hero's journey, and the professor agreed (that's why she put it on the list). And then she let me change my movie to The Matrix and I got a B+.
I don't think I actually watched Salo to the end.
I just had to leave a comment. Your videos helped me through one of the most difficult times of my life. You brought me comfort and I want to thank you. You are a wonderful individual and I only hope you continue this journey with a proud heart and mind. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart. 💜
Wow this is really insightful and has me thinking hard. The first time I watched this I was shedding my nihilistic youth and also didn't want to acknowledge my own past traumas/abuse so it didn't seem so outrageous. I'm scared to rewatch it now honestly because I remember it being wrong but nothing edgy horror hasn't shown me.
I actually just wrote about this movie in one of my college classes!!! It's so fascinating and hearing May talk about it is even more so!!
Oooh this would be an interesting series to do: reading and reacting to your older Letterboxd reviews. Be neat to see how your views and opinions have changed over the years.
I haven't seen Salo yet, so I won't speak on that. But I will say:
Everyone should watch Pasolini's Theorem/Teorema. It's a brilliant film that's also filled with political subtext and satire, but it's also a much easier and more enjoyable experience that most people could handle. It's occasionally twisted, surreal, a bit disturbing, but it's also funny, melodramatic, and strangely sexy (Terrence Stamp speaking Italian oh my lord). I don't hear people talk about it as much as it should, even though the "interloper" genre of films like Saltburn, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Parasite, and The Killing of a Sacred Deer share its DNA.
hi, may! i love your calm vibe while talking about these wild movies
I just saw the movie a couple weeks ago and found your post on Letterboxd soon after. I thought it was well written and had good points. Happy coincidence to see you talk about it now.
My partner has expressed interest in seeing it sometime, so I may very well see it a second time, ironically.
POV: You're May's college prof's teaching assistant grading student papers
couldn’t eat anything for a whole day because of the shit eating.
still, don’t regret having seen it at all. masterfully made film, that i do not want to see ever again!
Love that we've gotten three videos in rapid succession! This one is awesome timing, too, as I've just started reading the book.
Not getting this kind of discussion enough, yes, literally that's why I'm here, on this channel, and when I'm able to, I financially support your work- you've always talked about movies in a way I can relate to a lot more/that's a lot more interesting than "oh my god this is fucked up!!". You care about the art of messed up stuff and analyze it, not sensationalize it. What you do, imo, is so rare and always a joy to watch.
(Also I'm a big effing baby and I don't think I could watch these messed up movies on my own/I don't want to subject my friends to them lol- but want to understand the artistry behind them, and I'm hoping when I stop being a baby I can see them with the context/analysis you've given and enjoy them even more)
Wow, two May uploads in one month?
That essay made me contemplate things differently. In Chile, until the end of the 80's, the agents of the dictatorship did their "job" and then returned home as nothing happened. It was a real decades of hard work to get some of them to be on trial. But obviously, that did not happened only in my country, but almost in every part of the world.
When you said “Salo is fucking hard” I thought you were like “hell yeah this movie’s dope as hell”
I like this film journal style of video! May's film videos are my favorite way to get recommendations lol
I'm pretty sure i own the criterion of this, might watch it with my mum, she's seen american psycho, she's ready
Good lord that'll be alot lol
🤣
Since May mentioned Tampopo, I didn't realize it was the same director as the Marusa no Onna films! Now I'm gonna have the score from the latter film stuck in my head all week...
I love you, May.
"At the time, in my self-serious state of trying to be both an intellectual and aggressive about it" ... oh, my own joyride on that Donna Kruger thing
i watched Salo already knowing the history of the book and pasolini's death. for years i'd seen it on disturbing movie lists and people talked about it like it was unwatchable somehow, which made me curious enough to buy the criterion dvd (bc how bad could it be, really, if i could buy it from the Criterion Collection?).
it was a fascinating watch! the horror for me definitely comes from knowing the fascist soldiers got to go home and blend back in with society. i rewatched Inglourious Basterds last night, so that thought has been on my mind. i dont remember feeling shocked or disturbed at the content when i watched the film though. it might be the intellectual distance or that i was expecting More from all the reviews i'd seen over the years and my imagination was worse than reality. regardless i am glad i've seen it, if only to finally demystify it. i might give Salo another watch just to see if i feel any differently now.
College May was cooking lol
Edit: Still haven't watched it ngl
You inspired me to keep streaming, making content and pursuing any kind of art for the shit of it. Your essays have a wonderful feeling of “I’m doing this for me and if you like it that’s awesome but you don’t have to, no, seriously…LOVE EACH OTHER, THE WORLD SUCKS EVEN WORSE THAN THE FICTION I COVER…FFS!!” And I listen to that section of your four-hour fucked up movie iceberg whenever I start thinking positive content won’t make it.
Thank you May Lietz/Nyx
Love, Puck
'dinner' scene .... my brain having to exist in this society thinking 'ye it do be like that sometimes'. Well good thing we're not going back to the good 'ol days. Not at all. Not at all.
as someone who owns this movie on DVD, i honestly couldn't describe my appreciation and admiration for it better than you did. i have such high regards for you may
I like these more intimate, vlog-style videos over the iceberg deep dives and the heavy memeing. Appreciate everything you do regardless, been watching since 2014.
Watched that movie recently because of what you said about it and I'm excited to hear more of your thoughts yayyy
im actually enjoying the new bw filter! I started watching back in 2020 and I wish you the best :p
Salò is a beautiful film. I would put it on my list of the 10 Greatest Movies if I were surveyed by Sight and Sound. I love it. The combination of de Sade’s nihilistic view on the destructive nature of sexual desire and the seduction of power which culminates in fascism is a truly transgressive critique that only Pasolini would’ve come up with.
I haven’t seen so far any other movie that invites the audience to read. The opening credits say the movie was based on texts from great French philosophers and scholars such as Simon de Beauvoir and Roland Barthes about their readings of the Marquis de Sade. The film encourages intellectual engagement.
There are many things to like, truly like, not just what it represents: the music of Ennio Morricone, the structure of Dante’s Inferno and its Circles of Hell, the adaptation of de Sade, the darkly funny moments, the narrations of the prostitutes which at one point are done in French, the character of the maid, the rebel who gets caught with the maid and raises his fist before being gunned down…
I love how the black and white filter combined with the hat and large mic make it look like you're heading a women's rights rally. Slay
Missed you Queen happy to see you back
Absolutely loved this and would definitely watch more videos like this!
Do you think you will ever bring back the talking skeleton?
its been like 10 years
I had to watch it twice, the first time I was so overwhelmed that it was hard to follow on any level beyond the surface.
Very insightful. Im glad you can explain the theams and messages, so i can get them without subjecting myself to salo.
I had to watch this for a college film class. Lotta people walked out during the screening. Since then, I've gone back and forth on whether or not it was okay to expect people to watch this for a course. We didn't get content warnings or a chance to debrief. But, like, it's art. It's film. Cinema is a language and a history. There are probably other classes for other subjects which deal in terrifying and repulsive subject matter because the world is sometimes like this. Idk, I think I'll always be torn. But I guess I'm glad I stuck it out so I can say I watched it?
I found your review of this movie quite helpful in changing my mind to some degree. I’ve watched Salo once, years ago, and was just so fkn annoyed that I never bothered with it again. But your insights made me think twice. I’m less annoyed by it now. Well done!
We actually went to the same high school, the same graduating year. We were just acquainted, though, so I'm not sure if you would remember me. I was glad to see a new video in my feed! I hadn't seen one in a while. UA-cam is grrrrreat. I haven't watched this film, but honestly, you kind of made me want to with your essay. Not sure if I could stomach it, though.
12:50 THANK YOU for this. Schindler's List is a good movie, no doubt, but as a German, it always felt a little off to me, and for lack of a better word, very.. American. With the hero and happy ending and all, it had an odd vibe and generally felt less authentic than the other WW2 movies I had seen before
Yo, hon, found your work through "We're All Going to the World's Fair", and it's been really fun throughout. Just wanted to say, as a middle aged trans woman who was doing university in the late 90s in Texas right when Bush 2 was elected, I too hit that too many essays point in a gay literature/poetry course, which led one night (while on acid) to concluding that Whitman's poetry was best understood as "Hey let's all penetrate the earth and each other and I'm big gay Walt with a beard". That essay got an A...
Oh gosh, and I saw In a Violent Nature up here in Ontario with 3 of the cast members in attendance for a Q&A, and I cannot WAIT to hear your thoughts on it!
new nyx video yippie!!
Loved the vid!!
ok this is really weird but does anyone else get a 404 error when going to the nyx fears youtube channel from this video by right clicking the username under the video to open a new tab, but *not* when just clicking on the name and leaving the page?
I've been watching a lot of movies from the American New Hollywood era, and a huge takeaway I've had with many of them is "I can see how this was influential and life changing at the time, but in 2024, we've seen this done in many different and better ways." The era and context in which a movie was made and released is super important. People saying that movies have to be viewed devoid of cultural context absolutely confuse me.
Maaaayyyyy missed you 😢😢😢
Love how the sunset is visible during the video
Nyx and Salo? Dream Come True!
LETS GOOOOOOOOOO
i wish i could be that opinionated and swear like that in my essay and not get expelled lmfao
This essay goes so fucking hard. This better have gotten an A, because it deserves an A
Salo is a beautiful film and one very dear to my heart and I'm saying this without any sense of irony.
My grandfather used to run an arthouse cinema in Greece back in the days, he showed Salo not long after the fall of the Junta dictatorship and it somehow became a big sucess with people coming in from all over the country to watch the film and use the screenings as a means to celebrate the end of fascism and censorship in Greece. My grandfather had to hire extra security to prevent people from breaking down the doors to get in if a screening had sold out, and one woman even gave birth during a screening of Salo... oh the power of cinema.
You have an amazing voice in your writing it’s very UA-cam but educational sounding it sounds like you
cool to see this one in video form, though 🤘🏻
Great vid. Thanks. This got me to think about similar experiences writing essays in college.. I have a few from a literature class I took that got positive feedback but were totally out-there and written in that 'blasé ass' voice. Fun times.
Damn.
That essay goes FUCKING HARD.
missed u queent
My first thought in your use of the world mentality was that there's a definition I'm not recalling and there is. A dated definition of the word is "the capacity for intelligent thought." So I'm going to hazard that was what you meant. My second thought is it's rather disconcerting sometimes to think that we give these movies or films such life in the process of either making them or exploring them, that they can possess their own mindset that has to be considered.
Yes that was very entertaining!
I think a lot of people are kind of starving for movie critique that is interesting to them and aligns with their beliefs, but more that they're also starving for GOOD movies. That's my take. That there's not too much to talk about that's new. Anyway great vid!
Gaspar Noe once said that his mother showed him Salo or The 120 Days of Sodom when he was a teenager. That might explain how Gaspar Noe turned out so...Gaspar Noe.
I can’t believe I clicked on this video and it’s you what an amazing surprise
I'm not watching that 😂 very entertaining video 🙌 you da gal 😊
May this is actually such an interesting essay great work I really enjoyed it
Shes back! .... I graduated uni over a decade ago??? Lol thanks for that reminder May
I would be interested in watching you review films of a similar intensity as Salo because I think your perspective on a lot of NSFW/NSFL media is more nuanced than that of others willing to sit through said media on this platform. Also, I'm too squeamish to watch many graphic films.
You should read some of Pasolini's poetry and short stories.
I've never seen Salo and I have no idea what it's about other than I know there's a shit ton of torture and rape.
After watching this video I think it's important to highlight why people look down on this film, even the people that have never seen it before. I think the problem was that it used to be talked about like a Tom Six film for several years.
Back in the day, when you were a young teen, you'd hype your friends up to rent The Human Centipede on DVD and watch it together at a sleepover, probably because you heard an older sibling or a classmate talk about how wild and fucked up it is, and how its impossible to watch without throwing up. To a 14 year old, who could usually just rent R18 DVDs without needing an ID as long as they're decently tall and not renting porn, this sounds like a really funny and crazy challenge. This trend went viral around middle school for years on end.
Not being able to rent it out because of ID didn't matter at all either. You could just beg someone's older sibling. If nothing else worked out you could just torrent it and possibly download malware but hey fuck it.
So the only time Salo was ever really brought up to my generation, who are now people in their late 20s, was as an adjacent viral film challenge. The difference is that even back then, Salo just sounded like a really insensitive "challenge" film. The human centipede was fun because at the end of the day, the concept was really fucking stupid and the so was the film. Salo didn't sound funny and stupid at all, it just sounded needlessly dark and that on its own doesn't really appeal to anyone.
When your internet crush uploads and you have to abandon all tasks (this is me avoiding applying for work benefits LMAO)
i'm so excited. i'm italian i was raised by communists i study arts and cinema at university and took extra classes just on the off chance that i'd get to tell someone about pier paolo pasolini. this is FOR ME !!
have u ever thought about making a hacker/gaming channel called May 1337z where u do like epic gaming shit and hack and stuff? give it some thought.
honestly my experience watching Salo was kind of wild because I actually never used to watch anything that scary/'fucked up' growing up. And in the last few years started get into more things like that and basically picked it from a list of recommendations of fucked up films that really varied in intensity and quality. I think I just have a bad memory and am easily confused but I had no idea what kind of film I'd see.
So i watched it around 1am the day before I was moving house just to have smth interesting to watch and it was such a strange and shocking experience. I do think it is such a striking and emotionally impactful film... and I would like to try rewatching it again some time when I'm ready for it... but definitely I think the context is so interesting and importanf. And while I didn't initially have that I think I did look it up ans try to understand more about the film after watching and crying dbdjjdjd it really is Fucking Hard
Tbh this review has convinced me to finally watch this movie
Fun video, I love the idea of going back and looking at ones bold statements of youth & seeing how one feels about them when they're older and more experienced! This was a fun exercise and a great show of growth! As for the movie I funny enough have seen it twice, and it will live rent free in my head until death lol! As for the director, the only other movie I've seen of his was PIGSTY (PORCILE) which I personally liked way better, but it was also a very unsettling transgressive film, that I'm surprised didn't get him as much fascist hate as Salo did as it has a plot about Hitler (I'm sure you've seen it,)but yeah...... Fun video ROCK ON!!
Where have you been, I've looked everywhere!
NEW MAY BOOK COMING LETS GOOOOOOOO
Baby, get up! May posted!
For the first second of the video, I legit thought you were holding a plastic gun to the viewer.
May I love your art. No one will see this but I like her a little she’s kinda cool read her books!
Ayo new may vid??? Let’s gOoOoOo
I read stuff of mine that's even just +5 y/o, and I find it tough to believe it was me who wrote it. All of it. lol
HECK YEAH SALO VID WOOHOO MAY!
"I am going over my college review of Salo"
Me: Oh neat, I wonder what the review is like.
"Later, I posted in on letterboxd on 2017"
...well I am certainly not that bold to submit that review to a film class.
While I haven't seen the film, I thought your review was well articulated back when I read it. Honestly, I have no desire to see this movie unless I have someone with me to watch it with. I floated it as a joke to see with my partner at the time and the only other guy who said he'd see it was a guy who saw it already who was laughed when I asked if he saw it. So I don't think I will be seeing itg for a long time. Also, yeah ppl can have fun on fucked up movies (there were funny cast photos of the human centipede).
Let's go baby!!!
Reading the wiki on it rn and HFS. That's all I can say, really. WHOA. I DOES make one want to curse. A LOT. lol
I read the book, then went into watching the movie with trepidation in the pit of my stomach...and was utterly underwhelmed. I covered my reaction and feelings on both on my channel.
I saw it in a film festival in the 80's... I like dark stuff but this was brutality with no aim except brutality I could not follow any story line except. These people are here and they will do or have done to thim terrible things. Well filmed but not sure what the point was except maybe to point out how deprave people can be
New book let fucking go!!!
mayy!!! i missed you:) right on time for pride month, happy pride btw, can´t wait to watch the video!!!
Is there a better way to interact with you? I like talking about the uncomfortable and just genuinely want a connection with like minded people. Love your books btw!
Patreon discord is the best place
@@nyxfears that would require me getting out of bed right now. But I will join lol. Love you dude so proud of you.
If they release it would you watch the day the clown cried?
Missed u May!!!