Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		2.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		2.0

The True Story of the Nun of Monza Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 25, 2021

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.

While it's true that there was indeed an historical figure known as the Nun of Monza, and her life and "adventures" were so memorable they've been adapted into films several times, it's debatable just how "true" The True Story of the Nun of Monza actually is. The actual Nun of Monza had a somewhat checkered "career" that included a long running affair with a local Count which resulted in two children, and a plot to kill a nun who threatened to expose her "sins". There's some of that content here, albeit in a florid tale that also works in a number of sidebars which allow writer Claudio Fragasso and director Bruno Mattei to offer depictions of all sorts of naughtiness.

In this "version" of events, Virginia de Leyva (Zora Kerova) who ultimately becomes a Mother Superior through a chain of succession which is a bit odd and arguably haphazardly detailed. There's a power struggle at play which may not exactly be at Black Narcissus levels of intrigue, but which involves some machinations among the "sisterhood". Virginia seems to be a devoted "Bride of Christ", especially if that means she can engage in carnal relations with her (literal) idol, as evidenced by a number of provocative fantasy sequences.

A rather Oliver Reed-ish priest (Franco Garofalo) who dresses in a Satan costume enters the fray and is also connected to Giampaolo Osio (Mario Cutini), who is this film's version of the Count with whom Virginia has a relationship, though in this iteration the whole genesis of that relationship is considerably more twisted. And in fact there's an almost deliberately perverse element to The True Story of the Nun of Monza which seems to suggest that Fragasso and Mattei wanted to make a film to shock "true believers". The result is typically over the top, with an abundance of sex helping to elide some pretty significant narrative lapses.

The True Story of the Nun of Monza Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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.

The True Story of the Nun of Monza Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Cross and the Sin (HD; 26:32) is an interview with wrtier Claudio Fragasso. In Italian with English subtitles.


• Sister Zora (HD; 28:37) is an interview with Zora Kerova, who played Sister Virginia Di Leyva in the film. In Italian with English subtitles.

The True Story of the Nun of Monza Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

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.