Pier Paolo Pasolini

[Balor/SS1535]

Seeing that devotees of underground arts and extreme culture have (rightly) always found inspiration and greatness in Pier Paolo Pasolini's final film, Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom, I thought it would be fitting to open up a general topic on the director, philosopher, poet, and novelist in the centenary of his birth year.  Beyond just Salò, however, I imagine that his other films, poetry, novels, and thought are/have been of interest to other users here.

Personally, Salò is my favorite of his movies, both as a natural and inevitable culmination of his style and thinking, as well as simply being an accurate and thoughtful rendition of de Sade's novel.  Following that, I also love the shorts "La Ricotta" and "Pier Paolo Pasolini and the Shape of the City" as brief examinations of his artistic style and philosophical concerns.  Of course Pigsty, The Hawks and the Sparrows, and Mamma Roma are all beautiful and fascinating in their own ways.

The most important legacy for me, however, of Pasolini is his stark and oftentimes extreme opposition to consumer culture and society's inevitable (and increasingly worsening) tendency towards conformity and bland uniformity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IA1bS1MRzw

What are your favorite/least favorite of his films?  Why do you find him interesting?

[Andrew McIntosh]

"Medea" 's a personal favourite. Enjoy the depiction of Greek myths as having material origins in pre-historic Greece, the "magical realist" atmosphere, the soundtrack of course.

[BlackCavendish]

His books "Ragazzi di vita" and "Una vita violenta", depicting kids lives in the post war society in Rome were really good, and also the movie "Accattone" that deals with the same subject.

"Vangelo secondo Matteo", his take on the biblical scripture, is really something. And also "Uccellacci Uccellini" with Totò, a minimal almost neorealist movie with just two actors wondering around talking about poverty and issues of life.

And obviously "Teorema", a movie with a strong critic to the bourgeoisie. There's a certain resemblance between this movie and Miike's "Visitor Q" (unknown visitor that changes completely the life of a family). If I remember correctly this movie was censored right after its arrival in the theaters.

[Balor/SS1535]

"Medea" 's a personal favourite. Enjoy the depiction of Greek myths as having material origins in pre-historic Greece, the "magical realist" atmosphere, the soundtrack of course.

While the mythological films weren't my favorite (though watching really low quality versions might have a big thing to do with that), I did really like the design style and the sort of eclectic location choices.  The strange and totally impractical armor and weapons in Oedipus Rex stood out especially!

[Lysergikon137]

So far I haven't ventured far outside of his mythological movies, but those are among my favorite movies and I've watched The Flower of 1000 Nights probably more times than I can count. As the other user said, the magical realism is really it for me. I need to rewatch the Decameron and Medea since it's been a while but The Canterbury Tales is a close second. Just bawdy and surreal, but still poetic and beautiful. Salo didn't really do anything for me, but his style is great enough and I don't know enough about the background of the film to have any critiques. The rest of his stuff has been hard for me to stay awake through, but I am interested in The Gospel According to Matthew.

[Andrew McIntosh]

The rest of his stuff has been hard for me to stay awake through, but I am interested in The Gospel According to Matthew.

For mine, I found it a bit dreary.

[Balor/SS1535]

Personally, I also found The Gospel According to Matthew to be the most boring of all of his films.  I appreciated the cinematography and the materialistic take on the story of Christ, though.  From what I understand, it is supposed to be his most highly regarded film? 

[AdamLehrerImageMaker]

Teorema is my favorite Pasolini.

There are few artists I have as much respect for as him. He enraged everyone, ever principled in his thought and beliefs. He enraged his fellow commies by taking the side of the police over the students ("the songs of the bourgeois") during '68, and to this day it must be hard pill to swallow that perhaps the most profound work of Catholic art "The Gospel According to St. Matthew" was made in fact by a gay communist. Politically, he's as interesting as he was artistically, standing alongside Debord and Fassbinder as communist artists highly skeptical of the radical chic of the new left. He also, quite literally, died for his art.

[KillToForget]

Personally, I also found The Gospel According to Matthew to be the most boring of all of his films.  I appreciated the cinematography and the materialistic take on the story of Christ, though.  From what I understand, it is supposed to be his most highly regarded film? 

"Gospel" might actually be my favorite of his. It's definitely the one I put on the most often. Then it would probably be Saló and Pigsty. I haven't seen all of his films, but I've loved all the ones I have seen

[Balor/SS1535]

Personally, I also found The Gospel According to Matthew to be the most boring of all of his films.  I appreciated the cinematography and the materialistic take on the story of Christ, though.  From what I understand, it is supposed to be his most highly regarded film? 

"Gospel" might actually be my favorite of his. It's definitely the one I put on the most often. Then it would probably be Saló and Pigsty. I haven't seen all of his films, but I've loved all the ones I have seen

Well, when I say "most boring" it is still in the context of Pasolini!  What keeps you coming back to it?  I don't know which ones you have not seen, but they are all worth watching.

[KillToForget]

Personally, I also found The Gospel According to Matthew to be the most boring of all of his films.  I appreciated the cinematography and the materialistic take on the story of Christ, though.  From what I understand, it is supposed to be his most highly regarded film? 

"Gospel" might actually be my favorite of his. It's definitely the one I put on the most often. Then it would probably be Saló and Pigsty. I haven't seen all of his films, but I've loved all the ones I have seen

Well, when I say "most boring" it is still in the context of Pasolini!  What keeps you coming back to it?  I don't know which ones you have not seen, but they are all worth watching.

Haha I definitely get that. I'm not too sure why I'm always drawn to it. I was raised catholic and I guess it's just a comfort film for me for some reason? I put it on in the background sometimes when I'm reading or recording etc.
I haven't seen Mamma Roma, Accattone, or a couple others. I might change that tonight!

[Balor/SS1535]

Personally, I also found The Gospel According to Matthew to be the most boring of all of his films.  I appreciated the cinematography and the materialistic take on the story of Christ, though.  From what I understand, it is supposed to be his most highly regarded film? 

"Gospel" might actually be my favorite of his. It's definitely the one I put on the most often. Then it would probably be Saló and Pigsty. I haven't seen all of his films, but I've loved all the ones I have seen

Well, when I say "most boring" it is still in the context of Pasolini!  What keeps you coming back to it?  I don't know which ones you have not seen, but they are all worth watching.

Haha I definitely get that. I'm not too sure why I'm always drawn to it. I was raised catholic and I guess it's just a comfort film for me for some reason? I put it on in the background sometimes when I'm reading or recording etc.
I haven't seen Mamma Roma, Accattone, or a couple others. I might change that tonight!

That makes sense.  I take it you first saw it when young?  Both of those other films, especially Mamma Roma are worth watching.  Definitely less Catholic, at least in terms of the values of the characters (though there are several major reconstructions of religious paintings in them), but very similar in terms of cinematography.

[Balor/SS1535]

So I watched The Gospel According to Matthew again last night (I didn't realize that he was not called a saint in the title until rewatching!), and I definitely need to reevaluate what I said above.  It's such a fantastic movie for so many reasons: as a series of portraits, as a compelling rendition of the story of Christ, and it's even pretty brutal at parts.