Le monache di Sant'Arcangelo (1973) watch online HD

If you follow the "nuns-ploitation" genre at all, uh, religiously (sorry) you know these films generally fall into three categories. First, are the films that are more or less serious and are meant to criticize the more or less real historical crimes of the Catholic Church. These include both the earliest films like "The Nun of St. Monza", but also some of the more violent and lurid 70's films like "Flavia, the Heretic" (a personal favorite of mine). Then there are the straight-out lesbian-nun sex romps like Walerian Borozyx "Behind Convent Walls" or Joe D'Amato's "Images from a Convent". Finally, there are the post-"Exorcist", mostly Hispanic films that veer into the supernatural and full-tilt delerium like Franco's "Love Letters of a Portugese Nun" or the Mexican neo-surrealist masterpiece "Alucarda".

This film falls mostly into the first catgerory, but it does veer a little bit into the second. The plot revolves around the campaign to choose a new Mother Superior for the Convent of St. Archangel. One Machiavellian sister (Anne Heywood) tries to get the edge on her two rivals, who have more wealthy and influential family connections on the outside, by slowly poisoning one and arranging for the other (Martine Brochard) to be caught with her male lover (which she easily manages since this bisexual nun is also HER lesbian lover). She also forms an alliance with an unscrupulous nobleman by promising to deliver her virginal niece (Ornella Muti) to him. All of these machinations eventually bring down the corrupt, patriarchal church authorities on the convent. Without giving away too much, the ending is both moralistic and extremely cynical with some evil character getting more than their just desserts while many other, even more wicked characters get off scot free.

This movie may disappoint somewhat as sexploitation. Martine Brochard has a lot of nudes scenes, but Anne Heywood's could best be described as subliminal. Perhaps most regrettably, Ornella Muti keeps her clothes on, even when the older nuns are "inspecting" her virginity. The two semi-official sequels to this, "Story of a Cloistered Nun" and "The Sinful Nuns of St. Valentine's", feature much more copious sex and nudity,including scenes of the young acolytes (Eleanora Giorgi and Jenny Tamburi respectively) getting very naked (and tied-up and whipped, etc.). But for the few fans of these films out there who AREN'T lecherous perverts, this one is probably the most realistic and hard-hitting of the trilogy. It's definitely worth seeing anyway.

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.

Yet another Stendhal-inspired "Nunsploitationer" in the vein of THE NUN OF MONZA (1969) and ABBESS OF CASTRO (1974) – incidentally, MONZA's Anne Heywood dons the habit here as well, while Pier Paolo Capponi appears in all three (in this case, he is a lecherous nobleman). Actually, the film's German title translates to THE NUN OF VERONA: with this in mind, the absurd English moniker is utterly misleading…not to mention liable to confuse it with Jerzy Kawalerowicz' much superior THE DEVIL AND THE NUN aka MOTHER JOAN OF THE ANGELS (1961)! It emerges somewhat more plot-packed than usual, with several nuns being involved in illicit/corrupt business behind convent walls: apart from Heywood (who is more of a conspirator this time around and caps her performance with an effective diatribe at the obligatory trial followed by an excruciating death scene), these include Martine Brochard, Claudia Gravy (from the weird Spaghetti Western MATALO! [1970]) and Ornella Muti (most appealing when sporting short-cropped hair and masculine attire, her role is secondary but she carries it with aplomb). The Inquisition, then, is represented by a fanatical Luc Merenda (miscast) and Cardinal Claudio Gora. The oppressive medieval atmosphere is nicely caught (though the print I got hold of, featuring a reasonable English-dubbed track, is a bit too dark – furthermore, the split between its two parts irritatingly occurs in mid-sentence!) and, while the trademark nudity and violence are certainly there, these are not particularly explicit. In the long run, THE NUN AND THE DEVIL (which comedy/peplum exponent Paolella directed under the pseudonym Paolo Dominici!) is pretty solid as "Nunsploitation" films go.

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.

It is almost a shame to call this one "nunsploitation", because that term may imply that it is not a film of high standard. Yes, there are some nunsploitation elements here; the seemingly evil Mother Guilia, with her lesbian tendencies and her hunger for power within the confines of the nunnery, for example. However at the end of the film, when Mother Guila, played beautifully by veteran actress, Anne Heywood, is condemned to death, her human side comes out. She explains, very eloquently, her reasons for her actions. The rigid rules of convent existence in the 17th century must have been unbearable for these women. At least for the girls who were there against their will. And many of these girls were placed there by domineering families, to keep them away from lovers and other such "temptation", as in the case of young Isabella, played by Ornella Muti. Her character was neither in love with god, or with the idea of giving up her freedom to live under such constraints. This film deals with the subject beautifully. And although there is some nudity in the film, it is never gratuitous; There are no scenes where a nun removes her clothes unless it is absolutely relevant to the storyline. So one should be aware before watching such a film, that if they are looking for endless scenes of fetishistic "nun-sex", than this is probably the wrong film for them. The sets/cinematography are gorgeous, the nuns dress is totally authentic looking, and there is much attention given to these details. Certain scenes in particular stand out; for instance, the scenes in the flower garden, with the nuns in white walking with the blood colored roses, and the scene in the chapel, where the white sheet is lifted to reveal the new "brides of Christ", in all their "majestic virginity". That is real eroticism! And all this, accompanied by lush music and stylish film technique. It is obvious here, that the director, Paolo Dominici, cared a great deal about his creation. It shows in this beautiful film. It bothers me somewhat to hear these films referred to as trash, and exploitation. In this film fans humble opinion, it is the Hollywood productions, the movies with the over paid stars, and the obscenely inflated budgets, that are the real "trash", and usually age very badly. 'Le Monache di Sant'Arcangelo' however, remains a gorgeous and timeless piece of film-making. Surprisingly, i did not really like Dominici's other nun film, "Diary of A Cloistered Nun." But I recommend this one.

I love the nunsploitation genre when it's at its most exploitative and depicts the servants of God during various sequences of debauchery and blasphemy. Unfortunately, The Nuns of Saint Archangel prefers to spend its runtime mostly on talky drama, which does focus on blasphemy, but unfortunately not much of it is actually shown. On the plus side, the production values are great and director Domenico Paolella (who also directed decent nunsploitation Story of a Cloistered Nun in the same year) produces some nice visuals. The plot focuses, as you would expect, on a convent. The Mother Superior has passed away, and so a vacancy has arisen for that particular post. This leads to several nuns at the convent trying to get the position over the others. Giulia believes she would be best for the post; and so proceeds to take out her rivals; by poisoning one and arranging for the other to be caught canoodling with a man. Meanwhile, she's making her own bargains to secure her wanted position; and showing the corruption of the church in the meantime.

Most people that watch these films will undoubtedly do so mainly to see some hot women dressed as nuns involved in lesbian scenes (or so I've heard...), but unfortunately (err...for those people), this movie does not make lesbian sex it's main focal point. It really does have to be said that the movie is far too talky and this is a problem since a lot of the dialogue is not even all that interesting. I do have to admit that despite having seen quite a few Italian films about nuns; I really don't have that much of an interest in Christianity and how the church is ran. The film stars Anne Heywood, who is good in the lead role (and mostly keeps her clothes on). She receives good feedback from Martine Brochard and Omella Muti, as well as Luc Merenda. I do have to admit that the story itself is actually not bad in the way it is constructed; I just found it rather dull. Despite the genre label; 'nunsploitation', I've found many of these movies to be rather high quality in terms of production values - this one being above average. Overall, I can't say that this film is a favourite of mine; but it is just about worth seeing.

The obvious film to compare this to is Ken Russell's 'The Devils'. Both films are explorations of cloister depravity and resulting inquisitions. Neither are exploitation movies. 'The Devils' didn't really try and be erotic, it was more a portrait of human insanity from a spiritual dark age. 'Monache di Sant'Arcangelo' has higher moral currency because it is a purposeful exploration of the subjugation of women. There's erotic value of course, but it's not gratuitous. The suppression of human sexuality can of course be used as fodder for Women-In-Prison movies or nunsploitation but also polemically. There is a lot of scope in such movies as this, one example I have seen championed is Jesus Franco's 'Love Letters of a Portuguese Nun' (1977) which is a criticism of Catholic patriarchy. Basically the movie says that the convents are used to house affluent undesirables and heaps upon the hypocrisy of the Cardinal and his vicar. Not that I would say any of the political comment in this movie is particularly trenchant.

Whilst I'm sure that such polemic was one of the main aims of the film, the main success is to be found in the love stories. Indeed it wouldn't surprise me if this movie became some sort of lesbian underground hit, because the dynamics of the relationships in the movie are quite well done. Sister Chiara's obsessive love for example for Mother Julia is very carefully studied: After Chiara is given the cold shoulder in favour of the young initiate Agnes, she takes to self-mutilation and writing poison pen letters about the nunnery to His Eminence. When they are back together again Chiara, even though she realises that the resurrected relationship is likely to be due to Julia's fear of blackmail is content to live the lie. It's clear to me though that Mother Julia felt much regret over her abandonment of Chiara, when they are back together she tenderly kisses the scars on Chiara's knees that were caused by her purposefully kneeling on broken glass. In another scene she feels remorse when she sees that Chiara has deliberately cut herself on the thorns of a bunch of roses. She is also unable to tolerate the torture of her lover. Basically it's the sapphic romance of the movie that really works well. As laudable as the politics of the film are that part of the director's vision lacked pathos. Basically the men in the movie deliver their lines flatly and the scriptwriter didn't appear to have any passion for the politics of the period.

It's always intrigued me to see relationships unimpinged by hidden breeder agendas, to look at unhinged love. This film provides ample opportunity.

It might be of interest to readers to look at the structure of the film, it is really rather like a Jacobean tragedy in many respects. We have the gratuitous and unexpected murder of Pietro, we have the Machiavellian political powerplays and joustings, the immorality of the cast - principally Don Carlos - and the scenes of torture. And then there is the protagonist's monologue, this time delivered by Julia to the inquisitorial priests, quite similar to the repentance of d'Amville from Cyril Tourneur's Jacobean play 'The Atheist's Tragedy'.

'Monache di Sant'Arcangelo' lacks great production values for me. Others will say that they are a cut above other nunsploitation movies and they are right. However this movie is still pretty unpolished compared to other period movies even though it tries very hard. This won't matter to you too much if you are interested in this film because of the dynamics of the relationships. In that sense it is successful as, say, Fassbinder's 'The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant'.

I can't give the movie higher than 7/10 however because some of the major set pieces, like a poor soufflé, fail to rise to the occasion.

1577. The Mother Superior at the convent of Archangel is seriously ill. The determined and calculating Sister Giulia (a fine and credible performance by Anne Heywood) plots to become the next Mother Superior. She receives tough competition from tormented lesbian Sister Chiara (well played by Martine Brochard) and the lusty Sister Carmela (a solid turn by Claudia Gravy). Director Domenico Paolella, who also co-wrote the compelling script with Tonine Cervi, admirably avoids trashy sensationalism in favor of focusing primarily on the engrossing plot and intriguing characters. While this movie does deliver a pleasing smattering of female nudity and soft-core sex, it's nonetheless more of a fierce critique of the cruelty and hypocrisy of the Catholic church than a down'n'dirty nunsploitation outing. The solemn tone, a vivid and flavorsome evocation of the 16th century period setting, and a surprising element of tasteful elegance blend together to create a very potent and absorbing film. This picture further benefits from sound acting by an able cast: Heywood excels as the ruthlessly driven Sister Giulia, plus there are praiseworthy contributions from Luc Merenda as stern meddlesome priest Carafo, Ornella Muti as the charming and radiant young innocent Isabella, Muriel Catala as sweet and naive novice nun Agnes, Pier Paolo Capponi as lecherous nobleman Don Carlos, and Claudio Gora as the formidable Cardinal d'Arezzo. Both Giuse Ruzzolini's handsome cinematography and Piero Piccioni's lush orchestral score are up to speed. Well worth seeing.

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.

The coveted spot as Mother Superior is of great importance to three candidates who all yearn for such a position. Twenty minutes in Mother Julia must check between her niece's legs to see if she is a virgin. Sister Ciara, Mother Julia's secret lover, longs to have her vows revoked so she can leave the convent and not suffer emotional torment she currently endures.We see the cruelty of Catholic parents who force their daughters into the convent so that they will not run off with a boy they dislike. Mother Livinia, who many believes is first in line to the Mother Superior position has been gravely ill. Recently inducted into the convent against her will, Isabella and the young man she loves, Fernando, secretly court when time permits. There's a syrupy Romeo and Juliet romance between Isabella and Fernando. This is the time of arranged marriages and dowries so Isabella and Fernando's love is separated because of this.

In the NUNS OF SAINT ARCHANGEL, the theme very present is forbidden love. Trapped in the convent, it's not surprising that desire would arise and remain. Anyway, Julia so craves the Mother Superior position she'll poison bedridden Livinia and send young virginal Isabella to a sleazy scoundrel named Don Carlos who arranged a passage through his connections to give her access to the top. Julia is such a deplorable creature she almost breaks out in glee as she informs Livinia she plans to have her placed in an isolation cell(while informing her entourage where she plans to place her family's coat of arms on the wall of Livinia's room!). And, to send your own niece to town, into Carlos' lair to be sodomized, shows the depths of her deprivation. When the Arch Bishop allows Carafo to visit the convent of Saint Archangel, Julia's whole world comes crashing down.

As nunsploitation goes, THE NUNS OF SAINT ARCHANGEL isn't as titillating as you might expect. It's more a serious look at immoral pursuits to secure the hierarchy of a church position. Carlos is a real creep who, we can imagine, is used to getting what he wants, considering his rank. Incorrigable, hypocritical activity by those who are supposed to be serving God is often exposed in the nunsploitation genre which is why it maintains such a cult following. Anne Heywood becomes so incredibly cold-blooded while obtaining her position, I reckon many will root for her downfall and as it comes, will cheer for her eventual disgracing. Though, to the director's and Heywood's credit, her fate actually somehow garners sympathy once she is given a platform to address those in charge, whose power can lend to cruel and unusual punishment to get the desired information to instill their brand of justice. I imagine some would be appalled with certain torturous methods in order to achieve confessions.

Luc Merenda is Carafo, the one given permission to question and investigate Mother Julia. Martine Brochard is the anguished Chiara, who adores Julia, with Claudia Gravy as a nun positioned to take the Mother Superior all the while having an affair with a man. Maria Cumani Quasimodo is the slowly poisoned Mother Lavinia. With Claudio Gora as the pious Cardinal d'Arezzo who gets so worked up as his soldiers torture the nuns that it appears he almost wets himself. Pier Paolo Capponi, as the lecherous Don Carlos.