If Pasolini hadn’t been murdered back in 1975 he would have been 87 years old today and would have most likely given us many more films to ponder and “enjoy.”

Best known for the film that preceded his murder, Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodom(his comparison of the Marquis de Sade’s eighteenth-century opus of torture and degradation to 1944 Fascist Italy), Pasolini was quite a cinematic force.  He was also a poet, journalist, novelist, philosopher and general intellectual.

Film-wise, beyond Salo, Pasolini gave us Porcile, Teorema, The Hawks and the Sparrows, The Gospel According to St. Matthew and many more amazing films. He was also a favorite filmmaker of my favorite filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder, which makes his birthday worth mentioning in its own right.

Please do takepart to learn more about Pasolini and give a watch below to the opening of Salo, which is a little tame compared to the entire film but should still give you an idea of what it feels like: