The 120 Days of Sodom
in the late 80s i recorded undertow, a local band with an intriguing original — housework at 3. the lyrics referred to marquis de sade. i'd searched for more info on de sade since then, but for some reason never hit the correct spelling or whatever. BTW, here, for the hell of it, are the opening lyrics of the song, as i recall:i met this girl at a party
she introduced me to her friend
her friend who i became
very interested in
so we three got talking about what was mod,
politics, and god,
and then our conversation turned
to the writings of the marquis de sade
printed lyrics don't do it justice; was good, and well done. undertow was also the band that was dumb enough to agree, minus the keyboard player, to go flying with me soon after i got my "license". i still remember easing into a 50-degree bank on the return trip (we flew to a restaurant) and then turning around to see the faces looking at me from the back seat. ROFL. being considerate, i'd asked them if they were ready to wring it out a bit, but still it was a composite look of surprise, mingled with a request for mercy, that peered back at me as the Gs built up a bit.
anyway, browsing wikipedia the other day, i hit it by accident. what a story. i had no idea. didn't even know that the word sadism is from "de sade".
this is a pretty cool part from a related article:
Sade wrote The 120 Days of Sodom in the space of thirty-seven days in 1784 whilst he was locked up in the Bastille. Being short of writing materials, he wrote it in tiny writing on a continuous, twelve-metre long roll of paper. When the Bastille was stormed and looted on July 14, 1789 during the height of the French Revolution, Sade believed the work was lost forever and later wrote that he "wept tears of blood" over its loss.
However, the long roll of paper on which it was written was later found hidden in his cell, having escaped the attentions of the looters. It was first published in 1904 by a Berlin psychiatrist Dr. Iwan Bloch (although to avoid controversy he used a pseudonym). It was not until the latter half of the twentieth-century that it became more widely available in countries such as Britain, the USA and France.
posted by saltypig @ 06:33
Hey Charley,
"Quills" with Geoffrey Rush and Kate Winslet is a great (but dark!) movie about the Marquis de Sade. It reminds me in some ways of another favorite, "Dangerous Liaisons," which you may have seen. Happy endings rarely seem the least bit believable anyway...
Btw, did you ever see "Return of the Native" with Catherine Zeta Jones?
>^v^<
cat! thanks for the recs. i love kate winslet (mostly based on her tasty first film), but haven't seen quills. on the lookout. yep, i have dangerous liaisons and like it, especially for its beautiful writing desk shot. i've had my eye out for "return of the native" (despite my mixed feelings re CZJ), but haven't seen it around yet. might have to order it.
Charley, "Heavenly Creatures" sounds interesting - I haven't seen it, and may look for it in the future. If you like dark movies "Quills" is terrific; like Dangerous Liaisons it bears repeated watchings. Kate and Geoffrey Rush put in great performances, but I think my favorite character in Quills was Joaquin Phoenix... it's a stunning movie with an unforgettable ending.
"Return of the Native" is such a gorgeous movie that it's a shame to miss it especially if you have a taste for dark movies. I've got it on VHS, but it's one of my all time favorites so I don't lend it out... :P
>^v^<
oooh, don't tell me a movie has a good ending! i like to preserve my virginity. i'm one of those annoying people.
well, cat, if you're not going to loan me your movie, i'd say there's nothing for me to do but wait for the thomas hardy box set to come out, which hopefully will also include (finally) a decent print of tess.
oh, and i'm not going to loan you my car wash DVD either (one of my faves, believe it or not).
:P
A Thomas Hardy box set? Is one due to come out? Be a sport and let me know when it's available - I'd look for that too. "Far From the Madding Crowd" was lovely... I haven't seen "Tess." My TV has sat unused for so long that when I recently turned it on to find a particular scene on a video that I have, I discovered the volume control has gone screwy. At least I can watch DVDs on the 'puter.
Okay, it's a deal - you hold onto yours and I'll hold onto mine... :P
>^v^<
nah, sorry. the TH box set was just wishing. given the legal problems, i doubt it would ever happen anyway. they can't even release a decent tess by itself, apparently.
um, you're not dabbling in risque talk are ya there, cat? because...
If the TH box set was wishful thinking maybe if we both wish hard enough it'll eventually materialize.
You know how I love to play with words, Charley... I believe in practicing safe risque behavior. :P
>^v^<
Sample text from eBook ($) Mark Odell
yeah! thanks, mark. i looked around a little for sample text but hadn't found any.
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