Which is sicker . . .
. . . El Topo, or Salo or the 120 Days of Sodom?
shareSalo is most graphic of these 3 and sicker in that sense.
Why so Serious ?
MovieChat Forums > El Topo (1971) Discussion > Which is sicker . . .
Rambo sequels are "sicker" in the broader sense of the word than either El Topo or Salò.
The latter are true masterpieces while Rambo movies (and similar ones) only glorifies violence in the most reactionary way possible. To me that's much sicker than any film boasting an "unusual and provocative" imagery.
I haven't seen El Topo yet so I can't comment on it, but to compare a film like Salo with the Rambo movies is just unfair to me. Salo is meant to be shocking, disturbing and even thought-provoking and it is. The Rambo movies are not comparable in any way; they are mostly made to be entertainment, and at that I thought they succeeded more than a lot of other silly, poorly made action american films. At least the Rambo movies still have something to say, however simplistic they are (the first one specifically actually pushed me to get to know more about post-traumatic stress suffered by numerous soldiers after war and it made me aware how unfair some Vietnam veterans were treated; even the last one had something to convey about the chaotic situation in Burma and it succeeded in making aware of the gravity of the situation there).
Bill Foster: I'm the bad guy?...How did that happen?
Rambo First Blood is a very good movie that does the complete opposite of glorifying violence... and is is thought-provoking as ma_marcil pointed out. Salo, I didn't like but can appreciate for its artistic value and the balls it took to make it but El Topo, while not as disturbing, is one of the most bizarre and fun to watch movies... its hard to describe but afterwards I felt exhilarated (same after watching Holy Mountain), not the way you feel after Salo...
There is a quality to AJ's films that cannot be found anywhere else in the movie world, he is truly one of a kind.
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salo is, it made me sick by boredom...el topo kicks ass!
shareSalo by a mile. They have pretention in common but Salo is both grosser and more lacking in sufficient substance to justify its grossness. A vague reference to Dante's Inferno and a socialist flip off before dying is just not enough. El Topo, even after discounting its pretention, mysogynism, and exploitation of deformed or damaged people (also found in other Jodorowsky movies) is still of far more substance.
Few have noted that Jodorowsky used his own son for the young Hijo, El Topo's naked acolyte at the start of the movie. (And what decent parent would let their child play that role? Today it might be considered actionable child abuse.) The movie trivia notes that Jadorowsky himself had regrets and took his son to the backyard where they dug up a teddy bear and a photo with the comment "Now you are 8 years old, and you have the right to be a kid."
However, for PETA members and other animal rights activists, El Topo might win for the number of animals apparently killed to make it. Did they just drug all those rabbits? Quite a few livestock carcasses in there as well.
CB
Good Times, Noodle Salad
People that say 'Salo' aren't looking at the big picture; 'Salo' has sicker ideas (most of which actually came from the Marquis De Sade), but 'El Topo' is sicker for one very good reason; real violence. Several animals were killed while making 'El Topo' and there's the rumor that Alejandro Jodorowsky actually raped Mara Lorenzio though it's debatable just how true that is. That being said, everything in 'Salo' is, as far as I know, fake, making it the least sick of the two.
I found 'Inglourious Basterds' to be the most sick and putrid movie I've seen in years.
Revenge porn like that is much sicker than masterpieces like El Topo or Salo.