MovieChat Forums > Le monache di Sant'Arcangelo (1973) Discussion > As far as production values go, one of t...

As far as production values go, one of the very best nunsploitation films

posted 4 months ago by DoctorThirteen (15227)
10 replies | jump to latest

The Nun and the Devil (AKA Sisters of Satan, AKA The Nuns of Saint Archangel)

Italian nunsploitation directed by Domenico Paolella. In a 16th century convent near Naples the Mother Superior is dying. There are three candidates to take over the role. One of them is not content to wait for the process of voting and selection, deciding to take matters into her own hands by means of poisoning and blackmail. She achieves her goal and is elected the new Mother Superior. However, the games she has played to get there and the people she has upset along the way result in anonymous letters to the Cardinal detailing her crimes including her intimate relationships with other nuns. The Cardinal orders his deputy, Carafa, to conduct an inquisition into the affairs of the convent, and especially the behaviour of the new Mother Superior.

This is well above the average nunsploitation flick, with a damn good story centred around the corruption and hypocrisy of the Catholic Church (on the one hand clamping down on the moral failings at the convent, whilst on the other accepting 'questionable' donations and brokering land deals with powerful local figures). The production values are terrific. It was filmed at a real convent with a large cast, the costumes are lavish (especially those of the Catholic hierarchy), and the performances are all very, very good. The gorgeous cinematography of Giuseppe Ruzzolini also deserves a mention. English actress Anne Haywood plays the scheming would-be Mother Superior, Italian exploitation favourite Martine Brochard and Muriel Catalá play her lovers, Claudio Gora is the Cardinal, and astonishingly exceeding expectations with the best performance of the lot, exploitation 'himbo' Luc Merenda puts in a terrific turn as the Cardinal's deputy and chief inquisitor, Vicar Carafa. Ticking the nunsploitation boxes there's a lot of skin on show, some very softcore nun/nun sex, and quite a hard-hitting torture sequence towards the end as various nuns are forced to admit their sins and transgressions. Not just an enjoyable nunsploitation, but a very good film in its own right. 8/10

[–] letess (1789) 4 months ago

You redirected me here with a link you posted on Apollonia in Godfather discussion. So, there’s such a thing as nunsploitation? Would Ken Russell’s The Devils be on this list? I really liked that movie. I had no idea this was a genre. Are they mostly Italian and in the 70s or I guess Japanese or should be Spanish - I just looked it up? This is a well written review. I think when I get a chance I will watch it based on your review. Are there others you can recommend? There is a movie I loved - not nuns - but a historical mystery with medieval Franciscan monks with Sean Connery called The Name of the Rose. It’s a little different but kind of similar.

What about this one? STORIA DI UNA MONACA DI CLAUSURA.

[–] DoctorThirteen (15227) 4 months ago

Thanks for the kind words. Yes, nunsploitation is absolutely a thing. You're right, its heyday was 1970s Italy - although there are other entries, including as you say Spain and Japan (as well as a few from the UK and US). Japan surprised me. It never occurred to me that the Japanese would be making Roman Catholic nunsploitation flicks! I haven't seen any of their entries yet, but I'm keen to. Re The Devils, many people do count it as part of the nunsploitation genre. I do remember watching The Name of the Rose some years back and enjoying it.

Storia di una monaca di clausura (AKA Story of a Cloistered Nun) is by the same director as The Nun and the Devil. It isn't bad (I rated it 6.5/10).

Some others I watched recently (along with my ratings, for what they're worth);

The Sinful Nuns of Saint Valentine (1974) ~ 6/10
The Killer Nun (1979) ~ 4/10
The Other Hell (1981) ~ 7.5/10
Sacred Flesh (2000) ~ 5/10
Dracula's Fiancee (2002) ~ 5.5/10
The Nun (2005) ~ 6/10
Nude Nuns with Big Guns (2010) ~ 4/10
The Nun (2018) ~ 5/10
St. Agatha (2018) ~ 4/10
A Nun's Curse (2019) ~ 3/10
The Nun II (2023) ~ 7/10

Some of those are horror, some are pure sleaze. I've posted reviews for most of them on their MovieChat pages.

With the exception of a couple, even those I gave low ratings to had enjoyable moments!

[–] letess (1789) 4 months ago

I enjoyed the movie. At first I had trouble following the plot, and I figured out why. I watched the Italian language version and it looks like 20 minutes were cut. I was so confused with the story. I then watched the English version and it was the full movie. I understood everything. In between some of the nude scenes are very important scenes that explain the politics of how some of nuns were orchestrating to get to be Mother Superior. I now understand the killing of Sister Carmela’s lover. Don Carlos’s malevolent design on Isabella. The most fascinating reveal was that many nuns were contessas and duchessas whose prominent families placed them there so that they or the church could take hold of their inheritance. I can’t tell if the Italian version is actually in Italian because it doesn’t really match to their lips.

Anne Heywood was excellent. Apparently, she did another nun movie called The Lady of Monza. The actor Luc Merenda is in a lot of giallos - I love that genre. Do you think Black Narcissus is in the nun subgenre. Black Narcissus is a beautiful mesmerizing movie and one of my favorites but I think many of these nunsploitation movies probably work better if there’s ia bit of sleaze and voyeurism, which Black Narcissus might not have but there is mighty sexual tension that goes to crazy.

This movie was very well done. Well written. Cast is great and locales and sets and costumes excellent. Even though this is an inquisition of nuns, Guilia - Carmela, Chiara, I can’t help but think that Carafa wished he had not pursued it. Your review was spot on.

[–] DoctorThirteen (15227) 4 months ago

Glad you got to see the full-length version. You definitely need that. Yes, Anne Heywood was very good. I haven't seen The Lady of Monza although I plan to at some point. Always nice to meet another giallo fan! 👍 I love them. Interesting to think about Black Narcissus. I guess some would put it in the genre as a very early example. I haven't seen it for many, many years and certainly wasn't looking at it from a nunsploitation perspective when I did see it. Absolutely agree with you about Carafa's thoughts at the end there. Glad you enjoyed the movie 👍

[–] letess (1789) 4 months ago

When you viewed The Nun and the Devil, did you watch it in Italian or English? It’s hard for me to tell what the original was as the English one lines up more than the Italian. I don’t like most movies dubbed in English, but this one looked like Italian was dubbed over the English.

A long time ago, I was trying to get a good copy of a DVD of The Bird with the Crystal Plumage with Tony Musante - a giallo in the ‘70s. It turns out this movie is originally in English, and I was expecting it to be in Italian: “To accommodate the international cast and better facilitate English-language distribution, the film was shot primarily in English and MOS, with all dialogue and foley dubbed in.”

Was this the same in The Nun and the Devil? I can’t tell.

[–] DoctorThirteen (15227) 4 months ago

I think that was the case with The Nun and the Devil as well. I watched it in English and it seemed to fit very well. Ah, yes, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage. Good film that I haven't seen in a long time.

Like you, I'm perfectly fine with subtitles - and sometimes prefer them. I don't know if you've seen the Mexican horror movie The Curse of the Crying Woman (1963), but the English dub on that is dreadful. Subtitles are definitely the way to go there!

[–] Mrmojo4700 (21695) 4 months ago

I’m glad to see The Other Hell so highly rated! It’s a really odd film more people should see.

[–] DoctorThirteen (15227) 4 months ago

Absolutely! I don't own it, but if I find it I will buy it!

[–] Mrmojo4700 (21695) 4 months ago

You need to build up your Bruno Mattei collection, and this one is definitely in my top 5 of his films.

[–] DoctorThirteen (15227) 4 months ago

The man is certainly a legend in his own way!