Diagonaldi Very well executed

StunnaKrypto Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

crystallogic My first thought on viewing this was that this is an incredibly, absurdly, intensely silly film. Yes, it's exploitation, and sure, it arguably trivialises a really awful period in European history. Absolutely, you can see this entire sub-genre as something loathsome and reprehensible, and it's possible to argue taht some films within this category are just that. But this? Come on. This is wall-to-wall silliness, and totally harmless. The worst crime this movie commits, possibly, is being naieve. I know that's a weird thing to say about a Nazi exploitation picture, but I think the people who made this intended it largely as a comic farce, and I think on that level, it succeeds rather well. My girlfriend and I had a great time with this movie and there were moments when neither of us could stop laughing.Now that I've had a chance to calm down, though, I realise that the film-makers did something kind of genius here. Actually, there's a huge frisson of sadness around everything here, but it only really comes to the surface later, when you find you have a lot of sympathy for some of the characters here and not only what they are forced to do, but how it makes them question their very ideology. I'm referring, specifically, mostly to the girls, including Kitty, erstwhile owner of the salon, trainer of prostitutes and so on. You might just be surprised that this film tries to inject some class into proceedings. Granted it's not subtle, but would you want this kind of film to be? The scene in the aquarium, where the fish bear witness to a little national socialist girl stepping on some poor jewish kid's toy, is a strange mix of poignant and heavy-handed, and the fact that the film stops its crazy antics for a moment to dwell lingeringly on this carefully constructed scene should tell you a few things about the makers' intentions. I say again, this is a really interesting mixture of the crass, the downright hilarious and the tragic.Another facet of the production that i thought was worth commenting on was that although it's wall-to-wall nudity almost right from the start (and just as much male as female, I might add), you'd be hard-pressed to find much eroticism here because the situations are just so absurd. The idea is that these people treat sexuality as a military exercise. All the tests, rigors, mingling; its' all a kind of official gymnasium activity. It's only later, once you sort of spend time with some of the girls and their situations, does something approaching pathos start to sneak in. Maybe there's actually a bit of subtlety going on here, after all, because I can't think of any other movie of this type that tries to engender its characters with sympathy.As i said, i watched this with my girlfriend, and therefore I can vouch for the fact that there's always something interesting to look at. Lots of crazy costumes, bizarre scenarios, wild antics. And the songs! How could I forget? During the first half of this movie they com at you pretty fast, making you feel like you're experiencing some insane Nazi cabaret musical film. The music ranges from pretty-damn-catchy to bloody awful, basically at the film-maker's whim. Some of it is certainly rather good, which underscores my idea that everything garishly absurd in this film is intentionally done to make you groan or laugh. The songs mostly seem like the sort of thing that would be popular in Nazi Germany at the time, and are often both traditional and boisterous. Things settle down later on. In fact, the whole tone of the movie starts to shift beyond the second half into something much more dramatic. I must admit that, as this is quite a bit longer than your average exploitation film, probably because the creators tried to imbue it with a real sense of artistry (!), I did find my attention beginning to wander a bit. But make no mistake, as far as these Nazi flicks go, you're not going to get any classier or more interesting than this. I guess you could say this is the "Caligula" of nazixploitation, considering how much is visually on display here. This film probably has more extras in it than the rest of the genre combined.I recommend this film if you are in the mood for this kind of thing. it has a bit of ambition that might surprise you, and if you can relax about this sort of thing, it's actually really funny in parts. And while I can't say that "good" really triumphs in the end, there's nothing here glorifying national socialism -- you'll find quite the reverse to be true, and on a basic level, I'd say this film works as a particularly bawdy form of satire.

sol- Hoping to record private conversations for blackmail, a high ranking Nazi officer bugs a brothel that he has populated with women loyal to National Socialism in this fictional drama from Tinto Brass. As one might expect from the director of 'Caligula', rampant nudity abounds, but it scarcely feels excessive as it mostly exists to showcase the Nazi's plan in detail. As the officer in question Helmut Berger is solid with ample moments in which his weaknesses slip through his face of strength and certainty. The best performances here though are from Ingrid Thulin as the brothel Madame and Teresa Ann Savoy as a teenager handpicked by Berger to work there. Thulin delivers impressive cabaret routines throughout and her opening two-faced number is startlingly good, plus she is convincing in her dramatic moments. Savoy is the real revelation here though and the film is sort of a character study of her; shirked off by her affluent parents, she joins the Nazis out of spite and it is only through her experiences as Berger's puppet and seeing the damage that she finds her humanity. Not to oversell the film too much, it runs at least half an hour too long with a lot of time spent on cabaret routines and training scenes of the brothel workers to-be, all of which add little to the project. The finer details of Berger's plot to gain power are sketchy too. In general though, 'Salon Kitty' is encapsulating and well made. The costumes are wonderfully creative and the production design is appropriately detailed. The cross-eyed Aldo Valletti of 'Salò' fame has an amusing brief role too.

The_Void "Nazisploitation" is a genre that I would have no qualms in calling completely useless. The genre is riddled with drab and depressingly bad nonsense with films such as The Beast in the Heat and SS Hell Camp being among the worst examples. It's for that reason that I didn't go into Tinto Brass' Salon Kitty with any big expectations - but to my surprise, not only is this film a million times better than the rest of the Nazisploitation that I've seen; it's also a rather well made and actually quite noteworthy slice of classy exploitation cinema that is well worth tracking down. Naturally, the film takes place in Nazi Germany and we focus on the Nazi party. The early parts of the film show various depravities, including some of those experiments that every exploitation fan knows the Nazi's were a big fan of. From there, we move into the film's main plot which focuses on a brothel. Kitty Kellermann has her house of ill repute closed down by the Nazi's and they've given her a new one, complete with new girls...who happen to be SS spies dedicated to revealing detractors within the party.My main problem with this film is undoubtedly the runtime; as while Salon Kitty never actually gets boring, two and a quarter hours is way too long for a film like this and it would have benefited a lot from some more streamlined editing. That being said, I'd rather this film be over two hours long than any of the other Nazi flicks I've seen! Naturally, the film features some rather depraved sequences; including some sex experiments with freaks that I didn't enjoy very much. The majority of the film focuses on the brother, however, and that is a very good thing! Tinto Brass takes his time in building up a sordid and sleazy atmosphere and the central location is very memorable indeed. There are some decent sex scenes in the film too and the cast of beautiful women really does help matter. A lesbian S&M style sequence (that unfortunately only lasts about a minute) was the highlight of the entire film for me. I think it's clear that the director was keener to make an exploitation film than a serious drama; but Salon Kitty does succeed on both fronts, and while this film may be a bit too strong for the art house crowd - if you're looking for some classy top quality exploitation, you will find it here.

slayrrr666 "Salon Kitty" is certainly a fine exploitation effort, if only a little long at times.**SPOILERS**At the start of WW II, Kitty Kellerman, (Ingrid Thulin) runs in the infamous Salon Kitty in the heart of Berlin, Germany. Soon, Helmut Wallenberg, (Helmut Berger) is installed as the leader of the SS in the area, and takes an extreme interest in the special studio. Recruiting a special selection of women from Germany, he selects them to be prostitutes in the Salon, putting them through a rigorous process that will determine whether they will actually go into service there. After going through the process, Margherita, (Teresa Ann Savoy) manages to gain employment and is soon apart of the burlesque show it puts up as a front. When she starts to develop a friendship with Nazi officer Biondo, (John Steiner) they talk of leaving the order and striking out on their own. When he hears of their treachery and orders his execution, they all learn that the reason for the instituting the facility was to discover whether anyone within the Nazi regime would defect, and must now stand up to his tyranny within the order.The News: One of the biggest and most surprising aspects of the film is the unbridled and purely intentional sleaze on display. There is plenty of nudity, both male and female variants that are shown completely exposed, with lengthy scenes showcasing both in that state, as well as such scenes as close-ups of women shaving their privates or playing with men's privates, which are all the more disturbing. There's almost an obsession with the female rear-end here, as this one has a large amount throughout it. There's also a lot of twisted sexual fantasies re-enacted, featuring a scene where one goes down on a giant dildo made of bread, the prospective hookers having their eroticism tested by forcing them to sleep with hunchbacks, gypsies, and amputees, a giant orgy, actual hardcore masturbation, sex, and lesbianism. Mixed in with the nudity are plenty of scenes of simulated sex. The segment with the eroticism being tested is merely one of the single sleaziest scenes around, presented as a montage where they observe all the actions taking place with no regard for what's happening but just for the cause, and are very disturbing visuals. There's also an incredibly disturbing scene that works just as much for the nudity as what's suggested. As her charge barks orders at her, one of the women places the General's boots on her naked legs and goose-steps around her bedroom. The lights are struck and a single projector image crawls across the wall as scenes from a Nazi propaganda film play out. As the General continues his demands, the prostitute lays on her bed and lets the black-and-white images of Hitler and his Aryan nation wash over her. She does a seductive, serpent like set of poses and then breaks into the Nazi salute. The entire time, Brass keeps his camera firmly in a medium shot, so we can see the monochrome images of insanity projected upon the naked flesh tones of the actress. Even with all of the sleaze as possible, the behind-the-scenes technicians have all accomplished a real work of art. The various garish costumes of Madam Kitty and her girls all personify the 1930s and early 1940s perfectly, as does the superb set design, recalling the Art-Deco movement. Kitty indulges in a number of musical numbers, all summoning the spirit of the early musicals of the past and featuring a strange half-man half-woman makeup job, stylish lighting, and gay chorus boys dressed to the tee. It's appropriately over-the-top in it's decadence and gloriously enjoyable wonders. All of these, though, would be acceptable in a film that simply was either trimmed down or actually went somewhere. Though there's a semblance of a plot, it has far too much down-time to actually do anything with it, simply going along and merely just going from one scene to another with a dull expression, especially in the later half when there's little perversion to get in the way. That needed beefing up with sleaze or toned down considerably, as there's too much in here to take at the time. Had it been shortened, it would be as effective without the boredom.The Final Verdict: A strong, but just inherently dull art-house exploitation epic that will really divide most viewers instantly because of the subject matter. If this sounds like something that will appeal to you, you're a fan of the genre or just extreme films in general, give this one a real watch, otherwise ignore it.Rated UR/NC-17: Continuous Full Male and Female Nudity, strong sex scenes, Graphic Violence, Graphic Language and violence against animals