Le monache di Sant'Arcangelo

There are some really scandalous nunsploitation films available for those who want to indulge their fantasies or prurient interests. This is not one of them. Before you go running away, however, you should know that this film is well worth watching for the quality of the film.

It is all about the machinations that go on in and out of a convent after the Mother Superior dies. Three nuns: Mother Giulia (Anne Heywood), Mother Chiara (Martine Brochard), and Mother Livinia (Maria Cumani Quasimodo) are vying for the position of Mother Superior.

The latter two have very wealthy and influential connections on the outside. Sister Giulia uses poison to get rid of one rival, and is going to expose the other's immorality with a man. This is easy for her as her rival is bisexual and her lesbian lover. No, we don't get to see Heywood in the buff, but we do see Brochard.

Another player in this game is a young, virginal novitiate, that also happens to be the niece of Mother Giula. Isabella (Ornella Muti) was put in the convent to get her away from her boyfriend. Mother Giula is using her to get a nobleman on her side. What she doesn't know is that Isabella and her boyfriend have been secretly meeting at the convent, and now they will have a chance to be together.

The sets are exquisite and the story is compelling. There is some nudity, but it is just the right amount for the story, not exploitative.

There is a torture scene, including water-boarding at an inquisition to discover the truth behind the campaign. Cardinal d'Arezzo (Claudio Gora) screams for more torture. He is a symbol of the evil and corruption in the church at the time.

Justice is meted out for some sinners, but certainly not for all.

According to open credits this film is based on authentic 16th Century records and a story by Stendhal . During the 1570s , in the convent of Sant'Arcangelo di Baiano , after the illness of the mother superior, taking place a tragic fight power . Stars one ambitious nun , Mother Giulia (Anne Heywood) who comes from a wealthy family, as she wants to become the new abbess , that's why she will stop at nothing to get it and at any cost . Along the way, the aristocrat Spanish nobleman Don Carlos (Pier Paolo Capponi) enjoys in the convent of Sant'Arcangelo di Baiano, satisfying his desires with Sister Giulia di Mondragone and other nuns . Mother Giulia is as interested in the coveted title of abbess and she attempts to please him, and provides nuns to Don Carlos . Then a power struggle emerges and rages on. Meantime , other sisters, especially Sister Carmela (Claudia Gravy) , schemes against her . Giulia offers herself on several occasions to Don Carlos , despite being a lesbian and eager to be alone with her sweetheart : Sister Chiara (Martine Brochard) . Giulia pleases Don Carlos even when he asks her to spend a night of love with the attractive young, Sister Isabella (Ornella Muti) . Soon after , step by step , the scandal bursts : anonymous messages , murder , threats and sudden appearance of strong accusations by the sending of thorny letters to the high ecclesiastical authorities . It results in the corrupt vicar Carafa (Luc Merenda) , representative of the Inquisition is sent by the Archbishop of Naples , Cardinal d'Arezzo (Claudio Gora) to open immediately an inquistive trial against the unfortunete nuns , including tortures and beatings.

A dramatic film about the sad messes taking place at the convent of St. Archangel , in which there is a struggle for lust & love among wicked nuns . Somewhat surprising for such an exploitative , eroticism type of cinema, this film is actually handled with a degree of seriousness . It shows a religious community in which predominates bad actions as jealousy , corruption, treason , poisonings , wickedness , traps , complaints and fake accusations leading to a wild war to determinate who will succeed to the deceased abadess in her duties and functions . Well set in XVI century in the Kingdom of Naples, 1577 , providing an actual authenticity , -in fact , the production got permission to shoot the scenes in a real , ancient convent : Fossanova Abbey in Priverno, Latina, Italy-, when the Roman Inquisition and the witch-hunt were in complete action and torture is authorized in the trials , while the people live in misery , despair and fear , leading eventually to degradation and punishments , resulting in an inquisitive process in which various sisters are tortured and made to confess . Interpretations are acceptable enough , such as Anne Heywood as a powerful ecclesiastic who aspired to the title of abbess of the convent and is willing to do anything to get it . She's well accompanied by a number of gorgeous actresess usual in B-films in the Seventies and Eighties , such as : Ornella Muti , Martine Brochard , Muriel Catalá and Claudia Gravy . Le monache di Sant'Arcangelo (1973) belongs to nunsploitation tendry , being one of the first fims in this peculiar exploitative sub-genre that would be politically incorrect for nowadays's standards. The main representives of this kind of genre with full of lesbian-nun sex , luridness , erotism, delirium and sleaziness were the Italians with directors as Joe D'Amato , Bruno Mattei, Claudio Fragasso and others , with pictures as "The Nun of St. Monza", Joe D'Amato's "Images from a Convent", ¨Suor Emanuelle¨ by Giuseppe Vari with Laura Gemser, "Flavia, the Heretic", Bruno Mattei's ¨The True Story of the Nun of Monza¨, ¨Le couvent infernal¨, Walerian Borozyx's "Behind Convent Walls" . And Spanish directors also made some films like Jess Frank's "Love Letters of a Portugese Nun" and Jorge Grau's ¨Love Letters of a nun¨. And in the 2000s prevailed supernatural , terrifyng and pseudo-slasher ghost stories in which find evil nymph nuns seeking vendetta against unfortunate people, such as : ¨The Nun¨ 2005 by Luis de la Madrid with Anita Brien , Belén Blanco and The nun (2018) by Corin Hardy with Demián Bichir and Taissa Farmiga.

The motion picture was professionally directed by Domenico Paolella, though it has some flaws, gaps and failures . He was a director and writer, known for filming all kind of genres such as Nunexploitation : ¨The nun and the devil¨, ¨Unholy Convent¨ , Peplum : ¨Maciste Nell'inferno Di Gengis Khan¨, ¨Il Gladiatore Che Sfidò L'Impero¨ , ¨Golia Conquista Di Bagdad¨ , ¨Ercole Contro Tiranni , ¨Maciste against Mongols¨, among others . Rating : 5.5/10 . Acceptable and passable .

Intrigues in a 16th century Italian cloister near Verona lead to gruesome happenings. Sister Giulia, pretending to save the Mother Supreme from her sickness, is really trying to kill her in order to become Mother Supreme herself. The cardinal suspects something about sister Giulia's intrigues and raids the cloister, bringing all those who did wrong to trial...

This Italian nun movie may be called "exploitation", but it certainly offers an interesting view on some historic happenings and how it might have been back then. The film even claims to be based on a true story. Whether this is true or not, it probably isn't too far away from reality. There's not very much nudity or violence in this, so fans of sick exploitation films will probably be disappointed. Surprisingly well made, and watch out for a very young Ornella Muti in a supporting role.

THE NUN AND THE DEVIL, in spite of its sensationalized title, is a decent film about the corruption, greed, and treachery within a 16th Century convent, as well as the Church at large. When the Mother Superior dies, Mother Giulia (Anne Heywood) will stop at nothing to fill the position herself.

While the movie does contain some obligatory nudity, secret liaisons, and self-torture, it's mostly about the politics and competition between the religious devotees involved. The real gruesomeness is saved for the last act, when an inquisition does its work, and confessions are sought. Up until then, this is a fairly mild example of its subgenre.

So, don't expect rampant debauchery or wall-to-wall sadism, and prepare instead for a solid indictment of religious pomposity and hypocrisy. Mother Giulia's final speech is well worth the wait...

This was given to me by a crestfallen guy who was bitterly disappointed in the nunsploitation genre, along with Jess Franco's 'Les Demons'. I can see why the guy was let down: There's not much by way a lesbian trysts or what not to be encountered here. This is a more serious film about power within the Catholic church, and, as usual, the subjugation of women.

The Mother Superior at a convent is ill, and there's a race against time to see who's gonna be the new Mutha on the block. Could it be the old nun? Or how about the one having an affair with a guy? Or the other one who's poisoning the old nun and grassing in the nun who's having an affair with that guy? She's the one I would bet on, especially seeing as she's got complicated relationships all over the place, with a jilted, flagellating ex-lover, an impossibly young novice nun lover all set up and ready to go, and her own niece to deal with (the chick from Umberto Lenzi's 'Dirty Pictures'). It's a busy life being a Mother Superior, because she owes a local Spanish guy a favour and he wants it in the form her niece! Even more trouble: Her niece is having an illicit affair with Fernando, who went on to star in major zombie/stupid people movie Night of Terror! It's all too much to bear for a baldy Scotsman weaned on Nightmare City, The Beyond, and Strike Commando! Worse still (or even: greater still) Luc Meranda shows up and gets all Torquemada on everyone's arse. Yep – Luc Meranda, the guy who looks somehow like a deflated Arnie, from The Violent Professionals and The Corpses Bare Traces of Carnal Violence. He's out for some confessions and suspects all is not orthodox at the convent, and he'd be right. So, before you can say 'didn't we see this in The Devils?' the nuns are getting all racked up and ready to go.

As I said about sixteen paragraphs ago, this is not really a nunsploitation film. It plays out more like a period drama about how women lived under the Catholic church, and is fairly engaging due to the complicated plot and many characters. I'll tell you this, though – the film looks gorgeous and the colour schemes used are genius. Mostly red, black, gold, and white. Like them or not, you've got to hand it to Italian films, they almost always look great. If you're wanting a change of pace from the usual seventies Euro madness with food for thought thrown in (not to mention some familiar faces), the Nun and the Devil is a good time waster. Please note: There's no devil in this film.