MovieChat Forums > Quills (2000) Discussion > Does any one think of De Sade as a hero?

Does any one think of De Sade as a hero?

posted 10 years ago by adamknox
7 replies | jump to latest

hey!! Please excuse typos im typing this on a touch screen phone lol and i cant get the hang of it.

I have noticed alot of people on here describing De Sade as a hero and a role model.. At first i thought they were referring to the 'character' de Sade as he was portrayed in this movie, by the amazing Rush. However, it seems they are actually referring to the real person. The person who,if the reports are to be believed,carved up prostitutes for sexual pleasure, forced women to use objects to mutilate themselves in a sexual nature and beat them if they refused, made multiple cuts to a servant girl then poured hot wax into the wounds, raped his manservant and multiple prostitutes and the list goes on and on.

I can see why people could fall in love with Rushes portrayal of the De sade's in this movie as he comes across as a loveable dirty old rebel. However for some to be calling him a "Genius", "Hero of his time" and a "role model"..? That kind of disturbs me somewhat lol This was a very sick and twisted individual and if these crimes were carried out today he would in no way be looked at as a hero or a role model. Am i honestly alone in this thinking?

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I ate my twin in the womb. :<

[–] sarizonana 10 years ago

Yes this movie obviously shows him as a hero or likable Villain something like an old times Hannibal Lectter who only hurt the people who messed with him.
The man is portrayed as a someone ahead of his times who's only crime were his explicit literature

As for real marquis I guess he is a mystery.
Some say he was a monster one of the most evil man on earth but some others argue that the crimes many have mentioned are just false rumors spread by his mother in law who hatted him.

About being a Genius or a monster, can't he be both ?
Many famous real life monsters were geniuses the best example Hitler he was a very smart but used his gift in an evil way.

Now a film portraying the marquis as a hero I guess it suggest that there is nothing really monstrous proved about him otherwise no director would dare to portray him as a type of hero.

Very well known monsters are never portrayed in something similar to a good light

[–] adamknox 10 years ago

A genius is fine by me. As you say, Hitler had an amazing mind. Same with most serial killers. However, i do not agree with the title 'Role model' or 'a hero.' I myself am dubious about some of his crimes and the allegations that were made against him. While some he admmited too.. did he admit to them under torture or freely? That was one of the reasons i put "if the reports are to be believed" However, unfortunately, that is all we have to go on. We have to use all of the facts to base an opinion. I just can't get how people can research De Sade and call him a hero or Role Model. :( Seems a bit..creepy to me :| Then again many people call Anders Behring Breivik A hero of the next generation and other such praises..So maybe i am blind or can't see past the horrendous crimes of a person. lol. I think on the Anders Breivik though..i am right :)

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I ate my twin in the womb. :<

[–] sarizonana 10 years ago

Personally I'm not sure on my opinion of him as a person.
I won't call him a role model or hero till we know the whole truth, if did admit some of those crimes I guess I will never say he was a hero or role model.

But as a writer I recognize him as a pioneer In erotic or SDSM literature, fifty shades of Grey probably wouldn't have existed without him lol

No seriously like you say it all about an IF but I can't defend him or truly hate him without facts on his crimes. I said it before I'm very suspicious that all many of those nasty rumors are just that since if it was proved he was monster no director would dare to make him look as a Hero.

Again using the Hitler example everyone knows with proves and documents that he was a monster and for that reason no one would dare to make a film about him and showing him in a positive light.

[–] oneiroi 10 years ago

Oftentimes, Sade's fiction is transposed to his real life, with the myth eclipsing the man. I don't view him as a hero, but I do consider him an extremely fascinating historical figure. There's a lot of misinformation, blurring of fiction and fact and people believing his fictional stories are based on real events. Filmmakers and authors continue to co-opt Sade and perpetuate a lot of the myth. Read Sade, a Biography by Maurice Lever and Letters From Prison translated by Richard Seaver, both very good.

As for this movie, I didn't care for it, there's too many inaccuracies. Bizarrely, this movie defeats its own purpose. It revolves around freedom of expression, with Sade compelled to continue writing Justine, no matter what. Yet they couldn't be bothered to use any excerpts from that work.

[–] Prismark10 10 years ago

I regard him as a sadist not some heroic fighter of free speech.

Its that man again!!

[–] twominds79 7 years ago

He was a sadist who tortured women sexually . Hero ?? Manson , hitler too maybe .

[–] halomaniac88 (1736) 5 years ago

the theme of the movie is free speech