1. The Devils (1971)
You may dispute with me that The Devils is nunsploitation. It is a serious, brilliant film based on an historical incident and features a terrific storyline. However, in it worst excesses - the demented naked nuns behaving like sex maniacs in an orgy - The Devils actively courts nunsploitation and these scenes look rather OTT and silly from a contemporary perspective. In 17th century France, Cardinal Richelieu has persuaded the King to destroy all town and citizen fortifications to prevent Protestant uprisings. Father Grandier is trying to stop this from going ahead in his town of Loudon. He is carrying on an affair with another priest's relative and Sister Jeanne - the head of the local convent has a serious sexual crush on him. She invites him to be the convent's new confessor but gets Father Mignon who is not half as sexy as Oliver Reed instead. When she hears about his marriage to a woman named Madeline, Sister Jeanne is driven to insanity and out of spite tells Mignon about Grandier's sexual proclivities and hints at witchcraft. The film creeps into nunsploitation territory with the arrival of Father Barre - a professional witch hunter who performs a public exorcism on Sister Jeanne and the nuns who take off their clothes in religious ecstasy. Duke Henri de Conde arrives bearing a sacred object that he says will cure the women. They start acting normal until it is revealed that the Duke is the King in disguise and the sacred object is a sham. Growing wild with hysteria the nuns sexually assault and desecrate a statue of Jesus. If that's not nunsploitation I don't know jack about religion! Grandier is burned as a heretic after an agonising torture scene where he gets his ankles mashed in. The city walls are torn down to boot. Father Mignon is convinced of Grandier's innocence at the last minute but he can't prevent him from going up in flames. The final scenes feature Sister Jeanne masturbating with his charred bones. Every girl's best friend. Ken Russell, the film's director, was a Roman Catholic and knew his stuff. The film is anti-clerical in tone - Russell is definitely a secularist who despises the melding of state governance with religion. He also brings to light carnal desires of priests and the issue of priesthood and marriage. Despite his frolicking with women, Grandier has more religious and moral integrity in his little finger than the pious Mignon or frankly demented Father Barre have in their entire bodies. Even the lunatic Sister Jeanne knows that she has gone too far with her "revelations". In the end Grandier is spiritually redeemed and the politicians are corrupt. I must confess to a real passion for The Devils. It contains all of Russell's trademark madcap energy which is harnessed for the good. It is a compelling film, not easy to sit through but infinitely rewarding. Only slightly marred by some silly exploitative nun nonsense.