The Image
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Movie Reviews of The Image
Movie Review: The Image
Summary: 3 Stars
The plot is very slow to develop. I would recommend it if asked by a friend.Movie Review: not my cup of tea
Summary: 2 Stars
The only thing about this film that I really liked was the Paris locations. Although I enjoy erotic films (e.g., "The Emmanuelle Collection") and can handle a little softcore S&M ("L'Histoire d'O"), I dislike porn. "The Image" is arguably not pornographic, and it has garnered mostly positive reviews here, but it is too explicit for my taste. There is a fine line in explicitness that, when crossed, destroys the erotic intent of a film. Sorry, S&M fans, but a lingering close-up of female urination is not my cup of tea...
As for the quality of the film, it is light years ahead of embarrassingly amateurish (e.g., "The Erotic Ghost"), but does not compare favorably to the classic erotic films in my modest collection ("The Image" was an attempt to expand this collection; I cannot yet comment on my newest acquisition, "Delta of Venus"). The characters are not very appealing, the acting is just so-so, and there is no plot to speak of. I will allow that "The Image" is well lensed. While not on a par with say, "The Red Shoe Diaries," the director does have an eye for artistic direction.
I am giving this film two stars because it failed to meet my criteria for erotica. As a straight S&M film, perhaps it is one of the best, as others have opined. In my mind, that merely suggests that the genre has not produced good films.
An 'erotic film' can include a bit of S&M (if tastefully done), but I'm having serious doubts, after viewing this highly praised entry, that an 'S&M film' can be truly erotic. Maybe that film exists, and I just haven't found it yet...
I would like to mention that I viewed "The Image" immediately after watching "Roman Holiday" for the first time. I thought the delicate sexual dialogue between Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck was a lot more erotic! A lot more fun, too.
To be honest, I'm a bit embarrassed to have "The Image" on my shelf. If it weren't for those great shots of Paris...
Movie Review: Somewhat erotic but badly writen and acted
Summary: 2 Stars
This movie is marginally more than a porn flick. There are some fairly erotic scenes and an interesting exploration of sado-masochism. Sadly the acting and script are so weak that they become distracting. It is done in a narrative form that tries so hard to be sophisticated and cool about the subject matter yet comes off looking just silly making it slightly more than a mere porn film. There's no real story here and no real humanity, so it cannot be truly erotic. An exploration of the submissive and dominant personalities are what's missing here. Mostly it's an excuse to showcase bdsm. I guess I'd recommend this film for those interested in S&M but would like to steer you toward The Night Porter, The Piano Teacher and Secretary as far superior dramatic works.Movie Review: More non-erotic softcore from Metzger.
Summary: 1 Stars
The Image (Radley Metzger, 1975)
The Image, aka The Punishment of Anne, stands alone in a sea of mediocrity as the single most boring softcore movie I have ever come across. I actually had to start watching it four times over the course of about a year before I could finally finish it. I've read a few reviews of it since, and they all talk about the subtlety of the movie and how that differentiates it from most erotica. That may all be well and good, but it seems to me that if you're going to try and make a serious drama with erotic elements, you should probably make a serious drama with erotic elements, which would involve actually focusing on, you know, the drama. And, yes, I do mean to imply that it should be able to be held up to non-erotic dramas for a favorable comparison. Just because it's better drama (and that is a highly debatable proposition) than, say, Debbie Does Dallas does not a great, or even a good, film make.
The plot is quite simple: we meet Jean (Carl Parker in his final film role), a seemingly wealthy chap who is acquainted with a stylish lady by the name of Claire (Marilyn Roberts in her first film role; these days she's probably best remembered for a bit part in Looking for Mr. Goodbar). Claire has a young acquaintance by the name of Anne (Misty's Rebecca Brooke), a beautiful, submissive lass who will do anything Claire asks of her. Jean gets it in his head that it would be fun to test these limits, though of course things get complex as he finds himself developing feelings for Anne.
Or they would get complex, had that serious drama been addressed. Instead, these characters are about as three-dimensional as stalks of hay, and we grow to care as much about them as we would the plant in question. (Actually, I could see myself developing more empathy for hay.) And, yeah, some of the softcore works, but not nearly well enough on its own to carry the entire movie. It's an awful script that I can't imagine could have possibly been based on anything written by a member of the Robbe-Grillet family, though IMDB tells me this is so. Eh, well, Georges Bataille's wife wrote really, really bad erotica as well. (A quick trip to wiki tells me she wrote this before she married her novelist husband; I hope some of his immense talent rubbed off on her eventually.) This is really, really bad. Avoid like the plague. *
Movie Review: not a good image
Summary: 1 Stars
based on the novel with the same title by jean de berg. i am sorry: everything is unconvincing, the setting in paris, the actors (except perhaps for claire), the sadomasochistic relationship between the two women and between the two women and the man. this is in part due to the fact that this is an american movie which strictly follows american codes; there is no hint of the real paris and parisians.