The Image

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!

This movie falls somewhere between "Last Tango in Paris" and "The Story of O". It doesn't have the realism, the pathos, or the character development of the former, but it also isn't exactly an enjoyably silly sex fantasy like the latter. Like all Metzger films it is well-photographed and classy in a way, but it also contains some hardcore porn scenes which might leave a bad taste in some peoples' mouths (no pun intended).

The story is about a man who meets a jaded older woman who in turn introduces him to a younger woman "Ann" who she is training as a sex slave. Carl Parker, who also had a small part in Metzger's "Score", is pretty good as the man. The young woman played by the pseudonymous "Mary Medum" is also decent, even though she looks more like a young American "soccer mom" than an exotic Euro-beauty like Maria "Last Tango in Paris" Schneider or Corrine "Story of O" Clery. (Thus for me this movie was more of a fantasy of what I'd like to do to that idiot that nearly ran me off the road in her SUV last week while blabbing on her cellphone than it was a sex fantasy). The older woman, on the other hand, is pretty much a superfluous character--for some reason S and M seems a lot classier when it's a woman doing it to another woman at the behest of a man rather than a man directly doing it to a woman. (Not that this movie is too "politically correct" by today's standards--and thank god for that!)

I guess I'd recommend it, even though it's not that sexy on one hand, and pretty hard to take seriously on the other.

There's no point in serious argument about whether or not The Image is pornography, because it clearly is. Though it may not be considered hardcore pornography in the sense that there's no penetration shown on-screen, the sexual content is more explicit and shocking than any porn you've ever seen, to the point of going beyond arousing and into repulsive.

But The Image is also unmistakably art, and it's one of the few films that managed to merge the two successfully, much more so than the soft erotic dramas which were a dime a dozen in the 70's and 80's. Rather than just romanticizing sex, The Image is a disturbing and intelligent film about domination and sexual psychology, and in between the sex scenes you'll find surprising amounts of character development and a tight script (excluding the god-awful narration, which I could really do without); add to that excellent acting from the three leads - especially Rebecca Brooke, who truly sells her performance with her shockingly convincing face and body language (not to mention how gorgeous and sensual she is), and gorgeous cinematography which juxtaposes the brutal violence of the acts with the pastoral and serene French backdrops, to a truly eerie and enticing result.

It goes without saying that The Image isn't for everyone. It succeeds as pornography - being enticing and arousing even for those with barely even a fleeting whimsical interest in S&M - but it's also very disturbing and difficult to watch. But if you can stomach it, it's definitely recommended.

I bought several erotic movies for my girlfriend and me and out of all of them I have found this one to be the best so far. The DVD has some scenes where there are lines in the picture but they do not take away from the movie, for being such an old movie it transferred well to DVD. I have to admit that I did not think that the movie would get so explicit in some of the scenes, but I think that just made it even better.

If you want a very erotic movie then this one is great. There are some scenes that are a little annoying, like screaming for five or so minutes, but overall it is great. I would not buy it if you are looking for a porno, but there are several scenes that you would see in a porno.

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.