The British Film Institute has announced a new 4K restoration and release for Pier Paolo Pasolini’s hugely controversial Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom, a loose adaptation of the Marquis de Sade’s novel The 120 Days of Sodom, which follows a group of libertines in fascist Italy who capture a number of teenagers and subject them to extreme physical, mental and sexual violence and torture. Check out the cover artwork and special features below…

Banned, censored and reviled the world over since its release, Pier Paolo Pasolini’s final and most controversial masterpiece is presented here in a new 4K restoration. The content and imagery of Salò is extreme: it retains the power to shock, repel and distress. But it remains a cinematic milestone: culturally significant, politically vital and visually stunning.

Based on a novel by the Marquis de Sade – and taking as its setting the miniature fascist republic which Mussolini established in Italy – this is a film about power, corruption, and the degradation of the human body. It is a devastating, angry cry from one of the most controversial auteurs in cinema history.

• Newly restored in 4K
• Original Italian language, and alternative English language versions 
• Audio commentary by film critic Kat Ellinger 
• ‘OSTIA (The Death of Pasolini)’ Coil’s 1986 track with video accompaniment from 2008 
• Open Your Eyes! (2008, 22 mins): Pasolini and his actors at work on the set of Salò 
• Walking with Pasolini(2008, 22 mins): documentary featuing Neil Bartlett and Noam Chomsky 
• Whoever Says the Truth Shall Die (1981, 101 mins): classic documentary on the life and death of Pasolini 
• Salò: Fade to Black(2001, 24 mins): documentary exploring Pasolini’s Salò 
• Ostia(1987, 27 mins): features Derek Jarman, and also includes optional audio commentary 
• The End of Salò (2008, 40 mins): documentary looking at the film’s production 
• Enfants de Salò(2009, 18 mins): French filmmakers including Gaspar Noé deconstruct Salò
• Original Italian trailer

Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom will release on 4K ultra HD from BFI on October 26th 2026.

Originally published August 10, 2026. Updated August 11, 2026.