Religious orthodoxy, human desire and institutional corruption all rise to a mesmerizing boil in multi-genre Italian director Domenico Paolella’s The Nun and the Devil/Le Monache di Sant’Arcangelo (1973), a cinematic fever dream about power plays within – and brought to bear outwardly upon – a 16th-century Neapolitan nunnery. Inspired by authentic period records and a novella by Stendhal, the film casts Anne Heywood as a senior sister scheming to become Mother Abbess, Ornella Muti as a defiant aristocrat sequestered into religious service, and policier star Luc Merenda as a righteous cleric investigating the convent’s sexual and heretical improprieties. It stands out as one of the more noteworthy cinematic successors of Ken Russell’s notorious The Devils (1971). Package design by Jim Titus.

For thoughts on The Nun And The Devil, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

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Video Quality

The Nun And The Devil arrives on Blu-Ray thanks to Screen Archives Entertainment and Twilight Time with a really lovely 1080p master from an unknown source. Based on the amount of special features taken from the overseas 88 Films release, we would guess the master used would come from the same source. Either way the label has come through with a knockout transfer that exceeds all expectations. The occasionally gritty photography captures the fitfully tawdry exploits of these nuns which shines in high definition with natural grain intact and nicely resolved. There are moments that spike ever so slightly when it comes to darker moments, but these instances are fairly brief. The contrast is well defined, and there is next to nothing in the way of print damage to be found outside a few stray moments of subtle nicks and scratches.

There is a pleasing amount of detail present with nice textures on the religious garb. There is also a grand amount of depth added to the environments, but the close-up shots hold up better than anything else. There are certain shots that look quite eye-popping in their clarity when paired with something that is a bit shocking. Black levels are deep with little in the way of black crush or compression artifacts. Some very minor fluctuations give certain darker scenes a more milky appearance, but this is mostly not an issue. SAE and Twilight Time have done an impressive job with this transfer in a way that should make fans who have been waiting for a domestic release happy.

Audio Quality

The Nun And The Devil comes with a LPCM 2.0 mono track in both Italian and English language options. The film appears to have its dialogue post-looped with none of the actors performing the same language. Due to this, there is an unavoidable case of loose sync instances that may be annoying to some no matter which track you choose, but it is a product of this period in filmmaking.

All of the various sounds in the mix seem brought to life accurately. The dialogue comes through clearly without being overwhelmed by the sound effects or score. The track is not heavy in powerful moments, but it is not anemic either. The environments create a din of sound that creeps through to provide some excellent ambient details. The music throughout brings a very distinct mood to the proceedings that is represented favorably in the mix. These tracks are presented with a favorable fidelity with only the occasional instance of sound presenting as a bit thin or boxy. This presentation is mostly free of any hiss or other age-related wear-and-tear. These audio tracks treat this one with respect.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Critic Kim Newman and Italian Cinema Expert Barry Forshaw provide a very enlightening commentary track in which they discuss the background of this story, the attitudes of the genre of the time, the relative scarcity of the feature in America, the background of the performers, circumstances around the production and much more.

Judging Luc – Interview with Luc Merenda: A nearly 24-minute interview with the actor in which he discusses his early career, the feeling about television acting in Europe, working with Domenico Paolella, his feelings about religious institutions, memories from the production, challenges during filming, impressions of his co-stars and more.

The Devil and Martine – Interview with Martine Brochard: A 17-minute interview with the actor in which she discusses the audition process, her experience during the production, her feelings about the ensemble, some of her work with these creatives after the release of this film and more.

Paolella Connection – Documentary On Writer/Director Domenico Paolella: A 35-minute documentary in which several of the writer/director’s past collaborators give insight into the process of working with the creative, his demeanor on set, memories from production, his creativity as an artist, how he impacted their career and more. Considering he is not the most well known creative to Americans, this is a very welcome and insightful piece.

Horny Devils – Nunsploitation Explained: A seven-minute featurette in which Film Historian Marcus Stiglegger explains the background of the Nunsploitation genre, where the genre is most prevalent, some of the tenets and more.

English Theatrical Trailer: The nearly four-minute trailer is provided here.

Booklet: This release comes with a booklet featuring an essay by Mike Finnegan about nuns in cinema.

Final Thoughts

The Nun And The Devil falls within the nunsploitation genre, but it never gets as tawdry as some of the worst offenders of the genre. There is more to this story than just naughty nuns, as you have a complex power struggle which shows a strong example of the patriarchy encroaching on sacred spaces and ruining things. The film is far from a classic, but it is never less than entertaining with some great performances to prop it up even further. Screen Archives Entertainment and Twilight Times have a Blu-Ray with a top notch A/V presentation and some engrossing special features. The movie has a very specific audience, so if it sounds interesting to you, you should try it out. Recommended

The Nun And The Devil is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Twilight Time has supplied a copy of this set free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.