The Image

The Image (1975)

*** (out of 4)

Jean (Carl Parker) runs into an old friend (Marilyn Roberts) at a party and soon she's teaching him about her slave Anne (Rebecca Brooke) and before long both are taking part in the S&M practices. Radley Metzger's erotic film isn't going to be for everyone but those who enjoy watching these older adult movies should find this one here to have quite a few good touches. Metzger would push the hardcore genre more mainstream a couple years later with THE OPENING OF MISTY BEETHOVER and while this film here isn't nearly as good you can still see the blossoming of the young director as he was experimenting with more erotic films. I think the best thing about this movie is the direction by Metzger because he certainly isn't just trying to deliver some sort of bump and grind movie and instead he's pushing something more classy. Now I'm not going to sit here as some sort of snob and say this is better than your typical porn movie because it isn't. Those mindless sex pictures serve their purpose and I think a film like this one has its own purpose so comparing the two or ripping one while praising the other would be pointless. There's no doubt that this movie is extremely well made and there's a certain craft and style to appreciate. This is especially true with the editing, which really takes the movie to a whole new level. The way the sex scenes were edited gave them a certain atmosphere and really made you feel the dirty, erotic sense to all of it. The three actors all do fine work with their roles but it's doubtful people are coming to this for performances. I'm sure some might find some sort of message but to me THE IMAGE was simply a well-made porn film and there's nothing wrong with that.

So the question is, was Anne punished? Oh yeah. You can bet your ass Anne was punished in this movie. Young Anne is a bad little girl and you've got Sleazy Jean and Bossy Clair to tell her what's what. The Punishment of Anne aka The Image is a moderately sleazy film, but done in a sexy way. Usually when I think "sleazy" it reminds me of gritty, exploit flicks with a rape or two. But not here, TPoA has it's share of sleazy scenes, but overall like I said, it exudes more sexiness.

Not being a big fan of porn I really can't fill you in on any historical importance of this movie. I can't tell you if the main actors are famous porn & S/M stars. I can't even tell you if this is one of the better old school porns out there. Nevertheless I can tell you that this movie has a good amount going for it. For one, for me, this movie had me laughing. Quite a lot. For starters, to open the movie, you see Jean at a party making his rounds. But the funny thing about this scene is he'll just go up to one person at a time, say "Hello" and then a moment later say "Excuse me." "Hello.....Excuse me." Such silly behavior. One scene in particular where Anne is getting punished the first time by both Jean and Clair, Jean begins telling Clair to whip Anne in a rushed manner, and then a moment later he's laughing his head off in a insane manner. And I was laughing right along with him. To top that scene off, Jean looks down at Anne and says "You're about to reap the fruits of your labor." Now that line is pure gold. And like this comical yet sexy scene, the whole movie is filled with "too smart for it's own good" type of lines. There's are numerous scenes where you'll probably be shaking your head with a smile and this is where the movie shines brightest. But the movie does slow down towards the end with "harder" S/M scenes and this is where I got bored. If you're a big fan of porn or S/M you'll probably like this, but for me, they should have stuck to the "weird situation punishment".

Overall, I enjoyed The Punishment of Anne. Anne was played by a beautiful girl and Jean's dubbing, lines and expressions made me laugh at a good rate. The movie sometimes slows a bit between scenes, but if you have a funny bone for silly dialogue, you'll enjoy these scenes because Jean fills them with cheesy narration. So all in all, it was funny, sexy and pretty entertaining. The Punishment of Anne is a recommendable porno in my book.

Arguably the finest S/M movie ever made, Radley Metzger's 'The Image'(aka The Punishment of Anne) tells of Jean, a writer who meets an old friend, Claire, at a party and is soon drawn into her world of S/M along with her slave, Anne. Based on the French novel 'L'image' by Jean de Berg, a nom de guerre for Catherine Robbe-Grillet, this may be Radley (Score!, Therese and Isabelle, The Opening of Misty Beethoven)Metzger's best film. Beautifully filmed and acted and very erotic. If your up for some primo euro-erotica at its finest, look no further!

What we have here is a classic slice of pornography, which is wrapped up in excellent production values in spite of the lurid and sleazy nature of most of it's action. Indeed, this film has just about everything a porn fan could want and more, as we get to watch the title character go through a number of 'pleasures' including whipping, public humiliation and mutilation. The film takes place in the upper society of France, and this serves in making the film more shocking as it features an eloquent voice over from the central character, which runs over most scenes, and offsets the gratuitous sex sequences nicely. The plot focuses on a man named Jean, who bumps into his friend Claire at a dull cocktail party that the pair are attending. It's not long before he is introduced to Claire's "friend" - the completely submissive Anne, who delights in bending to her mistress' will, even if that means having to urinate in public or undress in front of strangers. We then follow the trio through a series of sex scenes, most of which see the title character bear the brunt of the less savoury acts.

One thing I've learnt about porn flicks is that there often isn't much of a plot to speak of; and this one is no different, although the slim plot is excellently fleshed out by the three central characters; who are very different and equally interesting. The beautiful Rebecca Brooke takes the lead role and does well with it thanks to her good looks and willingness to show off her 'assets' at every opportunity. Marilyn Roberts plays the older, yet equally sexy woman who is also the labyrinth character of the piece and provides the film with a degree of intrigue. Carl Parker rounds it all off with a brilliantly sleazy performance, and his character actually goes through a bit of development, which is rather odd for a porn film. This film is really head and shoulders above its counterparts, as the production values are good and director Radley Metzger actually seems to care about how good his locations look, as he succeeds in capturing France at its best. Overall, The Punishment of Anne comes highly recommended to anyone that interested in high-class porn films!

THE IMAGE is a disturbing, erotic, scary, elegant movie that probably only Radley Metzger could have made. Most directors of 'erotica' concentrate on gynecological close-ups to the exclusion of all else; Metzger's hallmark has always been to tell the story and explain the characters by relying as much on the actors' eyes as on the dialogue. The S&M scene is as alien to me as peanut-butter-and-pickle sandwiches (which I am also told some enjoy), but in THE IMAGE I can see the gamesmanship, the role-playing and the unspoken psychological leveraging that makes it all so compellingly complex. Would I show this film to Grandma? Uh-uh. But then, that's just MY grandma, who knows, yours may have a side you never suspected. This film is hot, fascinating, and, in this gorgeous and UNCUT (thank you, thank you!) video transfer, stunningly beautiful as well.