7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
Foreign | 100% |
Drama | 7% |
Video codec: MPEG-2
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.67:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Italian: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 2.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Nasty Habits: The Nunsploitation Collection.
Maybe just a little hilariously, the film cited in this set in at least a couple of supplements as having started the relatively brief but decidedly
provocative "Nunsploitation"
phase in global (and, notably,
Italian) cinema, Ken
Russell's 1971 The Devils, is as of the writing of this review nowhere to be
seen
on Blu-ray, but niche labels like Severin Films evidently have had little trouble finding all sorts of other films featuring randy women in
wimples
(and, frequently, little else). Two of the films aggregated in this set, Cristiana Devil Nun and Story of a Cloistered Nun, come
from
relatively early in the Nunsploitation craze (at least if one takes The Devils as a starting point), while the other two, Images in a
Convent and The True Story of the Nun of Monza, stem
from 1979 and 1980, when exploitation tastes may have moved on to other peculiar pleasures. Severin has assembled some interesting
supplements
to accompany the films, and the set is housed in a nicely designed slipbox.
The True Story of the Nun of Monza is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an MPEG-2 encoded 1080p transfer in 1.67:1. While this is another film which Severin advertises as having been "scanned uncut in HD from the original negative", this was one of the two presentations in this set which I personally found the least pleasing. Despite the apparent provenance of the source element, this is another transfer that has a "dupey" appearance which includes kind of milky, blue tinged blacks and grays, an overall anemic palette, and a very heavy grain field. As with the presentation of Images in a Convent (which at least had the benefit of being encoded via AVC), the grain here is almost pixellated looking a lot of the time, and can have glints of blue and yellow quite a bit of the time. While a reasonable amount of color is retained, the overall look here is a bit drab, tending to skew toward browns or peaches. Detail levels are adequate in close-ups, but can falter in even midrange shots, let alone wide framings.
The True Story of the Nun of Monza features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track in the original Italian. As with the video element, I found this audio presentation to be among the weaker entries in the Nasty Habits set. While there's nothing that will create any unsurmountable issues, the entire track has a kind of boxy, echo laden, ambience that can be especially noticeable in some of the fantasy and/or dream sound effects. Dialogue also just sounds weirdly hollow at times, but is certainly always audible. Optional English subtitles are available.
As mentioned above, the "true" story of the Nun of Monza has inspired a number of films, and those interested in the story may be interested in checking out some of the alternatives. This version of events is probably too melodramatically silly by half to ever really register, though it at least follows Nunsploitation tradition by offering copious bad behavior. Technical merits are improvable but probably serviceable in both the video and audio arenas, and the two interview featurettes fun, for those who may be considering making a purchase.
(Still not reliable for this title)
Immagini di un convento
1979
Cristiana monaca indemoniata
1972
Storia di una monaca di clausura
1973
Schande / Slipcover in Original Pressing
1988
Hēi tài yáng 731 wán jié piān sǐ wáng liè chē / 黑太陽731完結篇:死亡列車
1994
Tore Tanzt / Tipota kako de tha symvei / Rising
2013
La Casa Sin Fronteras
1972
Kladivo na čarodějnice / Witches' Hammer / The Witch Hunt
1969
Die Erben
1983
I ragazzi del massacro
1969
檻の中の妖精 / Ori no naka no yôsei
1977
La ragazza del vagone letto
1980
Naked Massacre / Die Hinrichtung
1976
Vizi privati, pubbliche virtù
1976
1975
Animales racionales
1983
Le journal intime d'une nymphomane / Kino Cult #4
1973
Emmanuelle Exposed / Las orgías inconfesables de Emmanuelle
1982
Left-Handed Fate | Standard Edition
1966
Les nuits brûlantes de Linda / La Felicita nel Peccato
1975