01-26-2017, 08:51 PM
it's graphically weaker, somewhat -- all the gore is concentrated on the last quarter, though the rest do have lots of sex and coprophagia -- but as far as i know most horror films of this sort don't set themselves in an era when such depravity was exceeded (World War 2), with the presentation somewhat cinema verite. it's also probably more intelligent, as i think pasolini had a clearer message for what he wanted to say throughout the film, and it's peppered with references to other works of art; in fact, i think pasolini himself was an accomplished poet, and i suppose that greatly informed his work, not only this but his other, far more accessible films.
as for the numbers, if i remember right the book was divided into roughly four parts: the simple passions, which lack penetration; the complex passions, which involve penetration; the criminal passions, which involve far sketchier circumstances, stopping short of murder; and the murderous passions. the film, if i remember right, sort of follows this scheme, with the first quarter being the four libertines choosing their victims and establishing the rules, the second quarter involving the first host of rapes, the third quarter involving episodes of mass blasphemy and coprophagia, and the fourth quarter being the gruesome murder of most of the victims. i suppose i just expanded the first and eliminated the coprophagia (i don't think i could ever capture how disgusting that episode was -- i couldn't eat chocolate cake for days after that), but the intent to follow is still there.
again, thanks for the critique!
as for the numbers, if i remember right the book was divided into roughly four parts: the simple passions, which lack penetration; the complex passions, which involve penetration; the criminal passions, which involve far sketchier circumstances, stopping short of murder; and the murderous passions. the film, if i remember right, sort of follows this scheme, with the first quarter being the four libertines choosing their victims and establishing the rules, the second quarter involving the first host of rapes, the third quarter involving episodes of mass blasphemy and coprophagia, and the fourth quarter being the gruesome murder of most of the victims. i suppose i just expanded the first and eliminated the coprophagia (i don't think i could ever capture how disgusting that episode was -- i couldn't eat chocolate cake for days after that), but the intent to follow is still there.
again, thanks for the critique!