Set in the Nazi-controlled, northern Italian state of Salo in 1944, four dignitaries round up sixteen perfect specimens of youth and take them together with guards, servants and studs to a palace near Marzabotto. In addition, there are four middle-aged women: three of whom recount arousing stories whilst the fourth accompanies on the piano. The story is largely taken up with their recounting the stories of Dante and De Sade: the Circle of Manias, the Circle of Shit and the Circle of Blood. Following this, the youths are executed whilst each libertine takes his turn as voyeur.(Here)

User Reviews 17 January 2005 | by world_of_weird (England) – See all my reviews
Pier Paolo Pasolini, as is well known, was murdered not long after he finished work on this, his most audacious and confrontational film, yet even the most casual viewing of SALO begs the question - had he not been murdered, would he have taken his own life anyway? Every sequence, every shot and practically every moment of this film is so burdened with despair, barely concealed rage and a towering disgust with the human race, one gets the impression that Pasolini was barely hanging onto life - and any attendant shreds of hope - by his fingernails. Although ostensibly an adaptation of one of DeSade's most depraved works channeled through the horrifying excesses of the Second World War with the Fascist ruling classes as its (authentically vile) villains, SALO also contains a lot of contemporary criticism - Pasolini hated the modern world, and explained the stomach-churning 'banquet of s**t' as a none-too-subtle attack on the encroaching global domination of the fast food chains. (The scenes of sexual excess can similarly be read as a despairing attack on the permissive society - those who come to SALO expecting titillation or B-movie sleaze will be sorely disappointed.) Beyond the nihilistic content, which has been well documented elsewhere, the film has an overall mood that seems to have been engineered to make the viewer thoroughly depressed. Shot on washed-out, faded film stock using primarily static cameras, long shots, choppy editing and very few cutaways, SALO has a visual style reminiscent of cinema-verite documentary. Add to this the unnerving use of big band music, piano dirges and the (intentionally?) scrappy post-dubbed dialogue, and the distancing effect on the viewer is complete. SALO comes across as one long primal scream of rage, designed to shake the viewer out of his complacency, and in this respect, the film succeeds unequivocally. Whether or not you would care to watch this more than once, or indeed for 'entertainment', is another matter, but SALO is an important film that demands a careful viewing ONLY by those prepared for it.(Here)

Young girls(13-20's) are drawn into the web of prostitution where they are bought and sold like slaves.(Here)

User Reviews
L'inferno a Milano
27 July 2008 | by andrabem (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) – See all my reviews
After reading some of the comments you may think that "Storie di vita e malavita" (The teenage prostitution racket) is just another of these sexploitation films with some social comments thrown in, just to make it look good. I don't think so.

"Storie di vita e malavita" tells the stories of teenage girls attracted into prostitution. Once inside, they can't leave. If they try to run away, this can lead to beating, mutilation and even death... And the film has a documentary feel - It was shot around 1975 in Milan and many different stories are told. We see the stories from the girls' point of view. We see them from the beginning - coming from poor backgrounds, or middle-class ones, or arriving in Milan and looking for a job. Poverty, ignorance, a repressive education and even hunger may lead them to the "teenage prostitution racket". But there's no organized "teenage prostitution racket" - different gangs and groups exploit this type of business - some very violent, others less so.

The film doesn't slip into moralizing and finger-wagging (like a Hollywood movie would certainly do) and avoids the cold and "objective" look that a very politically-correct film would offer. "Storie di vita e malavita" is a passionate film, but it's not melodramatic, it doesn't pass any judgement, and while it titillates the viewer, it may also make him feel very angry about the situation described!

"Storie di vita e malavita" is ruthlessly realistic and engrossing, the characters feel real and have emotional depth - it is an example of how a controverted subject should be tackled.(Here)