Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom
Four corrupted fascist libertines round up 9 teenage boys and girls and subject them to 120 days of sadistic physical, mental and sexual torture.
Arabian Nights
The final part of Pasolini’s Trilogy of Life series is rich with exotic tales of slaves and kings, potions, betrayals, demons and, most of all, love and lovemaking in all…
The Canterbury Tales
Glimpses of Chaucer penning his famous work are sprinkled through this re-enactment of several of his stories.
Notes Towards an African Orestes
The director presents takes and scenes filmed on location in Africa for a film-that-never-was, a black Oresteia.
Medea
Based on the plot of Euripides’ Medea. Medea centers on the barbarian protagonist as she finds her position in the Greek world threatened, and the revenge she takes against her…
The Decameron
A young Sicilian is swindled twice, but ends up rich; a man poses as a deaf-mute in a convent of curious nuns; a woman must hide her lover when her…
Pigsty
Two dramatic stories. In an undetermined past, a young cannibal (who killed his own father) is condemned to be torn to pieces by some wild beasts. In the second story,…
Love and Anger
Five short stories with contemporary settings. In New York, people are indifferent to derelicts sleeping on sidewalks, to a woman’s assault in front of an apartment building, and to a…
Theorem
A wealthy Italian household is turned upside down when a handsome stranger arrives, seduces every family member and then disappears. Each has an epiphany of sorts, but none can figure…
Oedipus Rex
In pre-war Italy, a young couple have a baby boy. The father, however, is jealous of his son – and the scene moves to antiquity, where the baby is taken…
The Hawks and the Sparrows
A man and his son take an allegorical stroll through life with a talking bird that spouts social and political philosophy.
The Witches
Five short stories loosely dealing with the roles of women in society. A superstar actress travels to a mountain resort, only to evoke jealousy from women and lust from men….
The Gospel According to Matthew
This biblical drama from the Catholic Marxist director focuses on the teachings of Jesus, including the parables that reflect their revolutionary nature. As Jesus travels along the coast of the…
Love Meetings
Pier Paolo Pasolini sets out to interview Italians about sex, apparently their least favorite thing to talk about in public: he asks children if they know where do babies come…
Mamma Roma
After years spent working as a prostitute in her Italian village, middle-aged Mamma Roma has saved enough money to buy herself a fruit stand so that she can have a…
Ro.Go.Pa.G.
Four short films by four different directors dealing with the principles of modern life.
Accattone
A pimp with no other means to provide for himself finds his life spiralling out of control when his prostitute is sent to prison.