Tragically, shortly before the film was released in late 1975, Pasolini was brutally murdered on a beach near Rome. The circumstances of his death remain mysterious, with many speculating that his political views and the volatile nature of Salò played a role.

Reading about Pasolini's life, his tragic murder shortly before the film's release, and Italian wartime history will provide the necessary framework to understand why the film was made in such an unyielding manner.

Pasolini did not create this film merely to shock his audience. By moving the setting from De Sade’s medieval Switzerland to the Republic of Salò—a puppet state of Nazi Germany in northern Italy—the film becomes a scathing critique of fascism, capitalism, and the abuse of power.