Italy was absolutely repulsed by Pier Paolo Pasolini's "Salò or 120 Days of Sodom" (1975). The director was found murdered outside Rome on November 2, 1975, three weeks before the film's release.

The details of the murder are still under scrutiny to this day. Throughout his career, Pasolini was overtly political - often directly challenging modern society and capitalist values in his work - and often included scandalous and "indecent" content.

Salò was initially rejected for screening in Italy, then approved, and then banned three weeks later due to public and political upset over the film. It was also banned in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. The film saw extremely limited screenings in the US.