The Roman police found the director’s body on November 2, 1975 on a beach near Ostia. His chest was crushed, his ribs broken, his face dark with bruises, his nose and jaw crushed, and his fingers broken or cut off. The services had no doubt that the controversial director had been murdered, and later it turned out that he had been run over by his own car. Passolini’s murder coincided with the announced premiere of the film Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom, which is still considered the artist’s most shocking work. The motive was unclear, but it was officially reported that Passolini died as a result of an argument with a sex worker on the beach in Ostia. To this day, it is not known what the truth is.
The death of the famous Italian director shocked the whole world. Many speculated about the motives of the crime, because Passolini made many enemies with his views and work. In his time, he was considered a great scandalist. He was not shy about talking about his homosexuality or using the services of sex workers. He was a man with left-wing views, he supported the Italian communists, and once he was even very politically involved himself. In addition, he condemned the Catholic Church and the extreme right, which he accused of corruption and links with the mafia.
Passolini killed because of a blasphemous film?
“Solo, or the 120 Days of Sodom”, which Passolini did not live to see, has a reputation as one of the most blasphemous films of all time. The action takes place at the turn of 1944 and 1945, and the story tells of four fascist dignitaries who kidnap a dozen or so selected girls and boys. The men force them to take part in perverse debauchery. The film is full of naturalistic scenes of unconventional intercourse, which scandalized the public.
According to representatives of the anti-mafia commission appointed by the Italian parliament, it was this film, scandalous to some, that could have killed Passolini. According to information provided by the Italian news agency ANSA, Passolini wanted to recover a stolen film strip with fragments of “Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom” before his death. There were missing shots that he wanted to include in the final version of his work. ANSA reported that members of the parliamentary anti-mafia committee believe that Pier Paolo Pasolini “he may have gone to the beach in the seaside area of Rome where he was killed trying to retrieve the film”. It was also indicated that they may have been involved in his murder “known criminal organizations”such as the Banda della Magilana, a gang operating in Rome.
The investigation report says that “it is unlikely that Pasolini’s killers will ever be brought to justice“. It was also indicated that “nevertheless, it is important to get to the truthMembers of the Italian commission also said that at the moment they could not provide more precise information on the matter. However, they stated that “They hope that important new evidence will come to light that will help solve it“.
He was one of the biggest scandals of cinema
Pier Paolo Pasolini was born in 1922 and was considered one of the most famous Italian intellectuals of the 20th century. During his life, he created 26 films and wrote about 50 screenplays. He co-created, among others “Nights of Cabiria” by Federico Fellini, who is one of the leading representatives of European auteur cinema. He also wrote six novels, seven collections of poetry, and published many essays and philosophical treatises.
His most famous films are “The Gospel According to Saint Matthew”, where in the original title of the production he deliberately deleted the abbreviation “St.” before the name of the evangelist. The film was an extremely realistic vision of the history of Christ, which differed from standard, sugar-coated biblical film adaptations. His other works include “The Canterbury Tales”, “Medea” or “Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom”.
His work divided society. Some admired Passolini for his innovation and lack of embarrassment, while others considered him a blasphemous scandalist. His productions often faced distribution problems, and the director himself faced 36 court trials for his artistic activities. Some of the director’s fans believe that the murder was the perfect complement to his work, because Passolini always emphasized the fascination with death in his works.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
