Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1957) - Official Trailer
Another film that inspires discussions about art versus filth, this one from an acclaimed director who was murdered, violently but mysteriously, before it was released. Based on the work of the Marquis de Sade, Salò depicts its mostly anonymous teenage characters being subjected to torture and sexual violence (boy does it!) to a degree that’s earned it a reputation as one of the hardest-to-watch films in cinema history—certainly coming from a prestigious director like Pier Paolo Pasolini, who has a lot to say here about consumerism, capitalism, and totalitarianism. Just, he says it via depicting the plight of characters forced to, quite literally, eat shit. Not a bad metaphor, come to think of it.
Though never formerly banned in the United States, it became part of a small tempest in 1994 when a video store owner was arrested for renting out a copy. Numerous artists, including Martin Scorsese, came to his defense and the case was dropped.
Banned in: Australia, Finland, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Australia, the UK, Italy, Canada; still banned in Iran and Singapore.
Where to stream: Nowhere currently, but the movie is now part of the prestigious Criterion Collection, so you can be disgusted by it in high definition.
