IMDb RATING
4.8/10
1.4K
YOUR RATING
On the surface the women at the convent are your average nuns. However, what they get up to in their spare time is far from what you'd expect from nuns.On the surface the women at the convent are your average nuns. However, what they get up to in their spare time is far from what you'd expect from nuns.On the surface the women at the convent are your average nuns. However, what they get up to in their spare time is far from what you'd expect from nuns.
Loredana Martinez
- Sister Martina
- (as Loredana Martínez)
Alex Partexano
- Silva
- (as Alessandro Partexano)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWalerian Borowczyk revealed that Olivia Pascal was replaced by a double in the masturbation scene. "We did that later. The producer wanted me to do a very explicit scene, and he got it. The nun who does it, by the way, is a very beautiful German actress, Olivia Pascal. Well, we used a body double for those inserts. However, the sequence was filmed by me and Tovoli ! - Borowczyk said.
- Alternate versionsThis film was released uncut in the UK under the title "Interieur d'un Couvent" in 2003. It was previously cut for its cinema release by 24 seconds, these cuts were maintained in the 1996 video release.
- ConnectionsFeatured in 42nd Street Forever, Volume 1 (2005)
Featured review
BEHIND CONVENT WALLS (Walerian Borowczyk, 1977) **1/2
This is one of the more notable nunsploitation films (shot in Italy), which was rushed into production after a proposed project starring Monica Vitti fell through. Being the Borowczyk fan that I am (even if about a third of his work that I've watched has proved disappointing to a degree!), I had wanted to purchase the R2 DVD ever since it was released but kept postponing it for a couple of reasons - one, because it's only available in an English-dubbed version (though it's not too bad as these things go) and, two, the somewhat prohibitive price (in fact, it's only while in London recently that I managed to find the most affordable copy, albeit still not cheap at $25!).
As is to be expected from this Polish film-maker, we're treated to an artier kind of erotica (some of the sex surprisingly involving Ligia Branice, Mrs. Borowczyk herself!) - with lush soft-focus cinematography by the renowned Luciano Tovoli. However, despite being a Stendhal adaptation, Borowczyk here pays little regard for the usual necessities of plot and characterization (in fact, apart from Branice and future muse Marina Pierro, the nuns are virtually indistinguishable from one another): this semi-improvised approach does render the whole somewhat inconsequential (especially in comparison to some of his other work), to say nothing of aloof - which eventually detracts from the impact the tragedy at the end ought to have (despite involving murder, a couple of suicides and a determined effort by the higher echelons of the church to hush up the affair altogether)!
Even so, the director's hand is unmistakable throughout, inevitably reaping the occasional reward - not only his customary fetishizing of props (such as the controversial and oft-censored scene in which the face of Christ is carved on a piece of wood, then utilized by one of the nuns as a dildo!) but also his fervent attack on figures of authority, class structure and especially the repressiveness of Catholicism (linking the film with, among others, such earlier Borowczyk fare as BLANCHE [1971], IMMORAL TALES [1974] and THE BEAST [1975]).
As is to be expected from this Polish film-maker, we're treated to an artier kind of erotica (some of the sex surprisingly involving Ligia Branice, Mrs. Borowczyk herself!) - with lush soft-focus cinematography by the renowned Luciano Tovoli. However, despite being a Stendhal adaptation, Borowczyk here pays little regard for the usual necessities of plot and characterization (in fact, apart from Branice and future muse Marina Pierro, the nuns are virtually indistinguishable from one another): this semi-improvised approach does render the whole somewhat inconsequential (especially in comparison to some of his other work), to say nothing of aloof - which eventually detracts from the impact the tragedy at the end ought to have (despite involving murder, a couple of suicides and a determined effort by the higher echelons of the church to hush up the affair altogether)!
Even so, the director's hand is unmistakable throughout, inevitably reaping the occasional reward - not only his customary fetishizing of props (such as the controversial and oft-censored scene in which the face of Christ is carved on a piece of wood, then utilized by one of the nuns as a dildo!) but also his fervent attack on figures of authority, class structure and especially the repressiveness of Catholicism (linking the film with, among others, such earlier Borowczyk fare as BLANCHE [1971], IMMORAL TALES [1974] and THE BEAST [1975]).
helpful•145
- Bunuel1976
- Feb 9, 2007
- How long is Behind Convent Walls?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Within a Cloister
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 35 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content