Gestapo - Esquadrão da Tortura

The female body is a work of art, why would anyone want to see a movie where it is not treated well? I guess I'm wondering why entire sub-genres that are little more than a series of female torture and humiliation scenes are so popular (maybe we can be optimistic and say most viewers are just waiting for the 10-minute payback at the end?), but this is a discussion for another time, another place. There are certainly a lot of (often naked, usually beautiful, always natural) female bodies in "Deported Women of the SS Special Section", and the film itself is rather tamer than expected. In fact, for all the atrocities contained herein, the nastiest scene may be the one where the heroine licks the hairy leg of a fat middle-aged man! No no, the nastiest is probably what happens to that same man a little later (other reviews have already mentioned it)....Writer-director Rino Di Silvestro is better as the latter: the direction is almost arty at times (though the DVD transfer is rather murky), but the script is disjointed. As the prison camp's commander, John Steiner chews the scenery up and spits it out, contrasting with Lina Polito's quiet, dignified presence as his object of obsession. The film has its moments, but it is still recommended only to exploitation fanatics. (*1/2)

Falling somewhere between the camp excesses of the Ilsa movies and the grim nastiness of Last Orgy of the Third Reich, Deported Women of the SS Special Section is one of the more enjoyable (not sure if that's the right word to describe a film about war atrocities, but hey ho!) examples of the sleazy sub-genre commonly known as Nazisploitation.

With pretty good production values (for a film of this type), and an uncomplicated story that manages to tick most of the 'concentration-camp cinema' boxes (humiliation and degradation of the prisoners, multiple shower scenes, torture, lesbianism, rape, and murder), director Rino Di Silvestro ensures that fans of this kind of fare don't go disappointed.

Deported Women begins with a group of female prisoners being transported by train to a castle-turned-prison. Once at their destination, the women are processed, examined, shaved (each lady is given a 'Hollywood' free of charge!), and sorted into various groups: some are kept for experimentation; others become 'field whores'; the best looking are saved for the Joy Division—the prostitution wing of the camp.

Amongst these new arrivals is Tania Nobel (Lina Polito), a disgraced aristocrat who, before the war, was an object of lust for the nasty camp commandant Herr Erner (John Steiner, who excels as a maniacal tyrant who makes Caligula look sane by comparison). However, rather than reciprocate Erner's advances, Tania chose to run off with her partisan lover instead—a move which has left the Nazi with mixed feelings about the girl he once tried to woo: poor confused Herr Erner doesn't know whether to punish Tania, or attempt to win her affections.

So he does both.

After locking her in solitary confinement (for trying to escape) and threatening to make her suffer, he does an about-turn, and invites her to dinner, where he tries to impress her by forcing two of his subordinates (a couple of sadistic bitches who regularly abuse the prisoners) to give him a spot of fellatio. Needless to say, Erner's shocking display of power doesn't have the desired effect (perhaps a bunch of flowers and some fancy chocolates would've been a better way to go).

Eventually, Tania tires of Herr Erner's advances and attempts to end her life by starving herself. Admitted to the infirmary, Tania is nursed back to health by a kindly doctor, who, taking pity on his pretty patient, informs her of a secret tunnel that runs beneath the castle. Tania makes plans to escape, along with her fellow prisoners. But first, she has a score to settle with Herr Erner.

Deported Women starts off rather slow, and, to be honest, at first I thought it would be a real chore to sit through in one sitting. But as things progressed, the film got way sleazier and much more trashy, and by the end, I was pleased that I had stayed the distance. Amongst the dubious delights on display are the prolonged scene of hair removal (from all areas of the prisoner), a lesbian 'rape' that turns into a hilarious cat-fight between two of the guards, and a jaw-dropping moment where a frustrated Herr Erner finds temporary sexual release by buggering his henchman Doberman (Giorgio Cerioni).

And best of all is Tania's final act of revenge: she places razors in a cork, pops it up her cooch, and offers herself to the randy commandant... ouch!

After seeing countless 'Nazisploitation' movies, I lost hope that anything from this genre could actually qualify as "good cinema." But "Deported Women of the SS" has all the trappings of a good film; competent, sometimes beautiful cinematography, haunting and romantic orchestral score, and characters that are developed enough that you can actually care about their fate. Not to mention very authentic looking military/SS uniforms, and hairstyles correct to the 1940's. Best of all, we have John Steiner, as SS Captain Herr Erner. what a great, sinister villain he makes here. He played a similar role in Tinto Brass' "Salon Kitty," and I cannot imagine anyone looking more believable in those gorgeous black SS uniforms. In "Deported Women" we learn that Herr Erner had a passionate affair with an attractive young woman,and is reunited with her years later, when she arrives at the concentration camp..as a prisoner. His obsession for her grows to the point that it could be his downfall.

For WWII enthusiasts, this is a must-see film. As far as the exploitation elements go, this movie doesn't go overboard. You get a lesbian rape scene, that winds up not being very enjoyable, as we are made to care about the victim. This is so rare with this genre of film. The actors are attractive and the high production values prevent this from looking seedy. This is certainly the best film of it's genre. I also recommend another nazisploitation film called "Nazi Love Camp," as it has good production values, and a good story. Try to find a good copy.

As I've seen this film, and no-one else has written anything about it I thought I'd say a few words, not that it is particularly remarkable. If you're even looking at this page you're probably a fan of Italian Exploitation (god help you) and this film is certainly that. It's about women in a Nazi prison, featuring such classic situations as the odd lesbian encounter, sadistic guards, and a lengthy bit of pubic hair shaving.

The plot is handled decently, I guess, being a rare film of this sort that actually provides some interest in the individual characters. This may come from the ridiculously over the top acting (especially from the camp commandant), but at least there is an air of some competence in the production.

In terms of deranged innovation, this film features an eye-opening razor-blade-in-a cork-up-the-vagina manoeuvre to thwart the amorous commandant. That scene, amongst others, contributing to the fact that it was apparently rejected for even Cinema exhibition in Britain. Tragically it occurs quite far into the film, and is not particularly gory or amusing or otherwise of interest. The fact that it is banned probably means more people will seek it out than otherwise would (I know I did).

There are a few scenes like the above, catapulting this film from a routine exploitation movie into something that leaves a bit of a nasty taste in the mouth. Moving from the sort of obviously fake nonsense most films of this kind have, to a seeming attempt to present degrading experiences realistically, for no reason other than whatever kicks viewers can get out of that. Not very many for most people I would expect.

Nonetheless worth seeing if you like the genre I imagine, especially the scene where, in an effort to impress the heroine, the commandant makes two women give him a blow-job (interesting seduction technique, certainly, but then the guy is a Nazi); his facial expression is great. However there's really nothing here that is particularly original, and (as above) will probably leave most feeling a little dirty. Still, no particular reason for it to be banned.

When one watches exploitation films of this genre, one really wants to see things taken more absurd, but this one takes things too seriously. The train cars having a light bulb in them was a startling puzzle. But then, things got more routine. Severe looking woman guards shouting to make sure there was no talking, and the requisite nudity. The Commandant, Herr Erner/Enner clearly was a monster, as some said, but he didn't act like that. His uniform showed attention to detail and he had an obese aide. They threw in some unnecessary liaisons, and that really interrupted the flow of the movie. Herr Enner had a past history with one of the captives, and had a scenario in mind with her that was all too predictable. I felt that everyone was taking the movie too seriously. If one thinks of some memorable movies of this genre, like in the Ilsa series, or even Love Camp 7, they knew what they wanted to be. I am not sure what this movie wanted to be.