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Color, 1975, 91 mins. 3 secs.
Directed by Radley Metzger
Starring Mary Mendum, Carl Parker, Marilyn Roberts
Mélusine (UHD & Blu-ray) (US R0 4K/HD), Synapse Films (Blu-ray & DVD) (US R0 HD/NTSC) / WS (1.85:1) (16:9)


Against the poshbackdrop of The ImageParis, well-dressed writer Jean (Carl Parker, a.k.a. Mike the coffee-scalded The Imagehandyman in Score) crosses paths with two women at a party: young and beautiful submissive Anne (Mary Mendum, aka Rebecca Brooke from a slew of Joe Sarno films like Abigail Leslie Is Back in Town) and her austere, sadistic mistress, Claire (Marilyn Roberts), an old acquaintance of his. An afternoon trip to the rose-filled Bagatelle Gardens results in some petty enforced larceny, perverse water sports, and punishment by thorns, as all of which sparks Jean's curiosity. After more flirtation, they finally become a threesome engaging in debauched sexual behavior around the city: in restaurants, in retail dressing rooms, in bathtubs, and so on. Claire's sadistic treatment continues to escalate, hiding a far more complex reservoir of emotions than Jean realized, and the level of Anne's willingness to go along with the brutal treatment becomes too blurry for comfort.

Directed back to back with Score, which incorporated elements of unsimulated sex into his successful template of intelligent, upscale erotica, director Radley Metzger pushed things even further with The Image, part of his line of literary adaptations. Faithfully translating the novel L'Image by Jean de Berg (actually Catherine Robbe-Grillet, with a bit of assistance and a prologue from her famous husband, Alain), this film expands on the bondage flourishes of Camille 2000 and, along with Just Jaeckin's Story of O and some of Alain Robbe-Grillet's films, remains the most potent, artistic treatment of S&M on film to date.

The Image This was also the last film to bear Metzger's real name before he embarked on his five Henry Paris hardcore classics, The Imageand The Image is as visually luscious as its predecessors. Apart from the peculiar dubbing for the American actors (especially Parker), the aesthetic value of the film is impeccable and gives it a polish that makes the subject matter even more jarring. A far cry from the rough and gritty nature of the Olga films, for example, this is a class act even when it treads into explicit imagery for a small portion of the running time. The last act of the film may be too much for many as it brutally bangs the viewer's head against preconceived notions of pleasure and pain on film, and even the most jaded exploitation vets should prepare to be shaken up even though the darkest, most gothic imagery is still rendered with an artistic flair. The actors are amazingly brave and convincing under the circumstances; all of them had done some commercial work beforehand and put themselves on the line with this unusual gambit, and the end result is definitely nothing that should cause shame. In the '70s this was extremely strong stuff, but now The Image is perhaps even more shocking as its sensibilities are so far removed from anything seen on movie screens in the U.S. On the other hand, its unique combination of full-strength kink and gorgeous aesthetics have made it a surprising perennial video favorite in the DVD era and beyond, taking it from one of Metzger's least-seen titles to one of his most popular in just a couple of decades. Even now, The Image is simply unlike any other film ever made.

Various video editions have circulated under the original title, as well as the more infamous reissue name (The Punishment of Anne) and a briefly available censored cut as The Mistress and the Slave. None of them could hold a candle, or even a moldy chunk of wax, compared to the first version Synapse released on DVD in 2002. Taken from the original negative, this was a quantum leap forward for the presentation of erotic cinema, and especially a Metzger title, on home video. The colors are beautifully rich and film-like, while detail is sharp and realistic enough to clearly expose the actors' dental fillings when they're screaming or, in Parker's case, laughing diabolically. Audio comes in either the original mono mix, a tastefully remixed stereo track with some nice ambient music separation, and an isolated mono music track highlighting the catchy, funky score, a savvy compilation of library tracks like Brian Bennet's "Image" (hmm, wonder how they chose that one) and David Gold's "Forbidden Fruit" (heard during the final scene). Artist and The Imagewriter Stephen R. Bissette, a familiar name to many a horror fan, contributed some nicely appreciative liner notes, while the disc (featuring some wonderfully atmospheric menus) also houses a Metzger filmography complete with trailers for many of his earlier soft titles. Synapse's 2011 HD upgrade went back to the original negative which was once again sourced for a Blu-ray as well as a DVD reissue (with much more striking cover art). The image quality boasts even more detail, though the color timing has some issues we'll get to shortly. The filmography is carried over here along with the same audio options, except this time the stereo track is replaced with a new, more spacious 5.1 mix (uncompressed on the Blu-ray) which sounds a bit more natural and powerful than the 2.0 version. Optional English subtitles are also included this time around.

In 2025, Vinegar Syndrome offshoot Mélusine revisited the film as one of its special gold foil UHD and Blu-ray editions with all the classy packaging that entails. The new scan once again goes back to the negative and yields the best results to date by a wide margin; colors are punchier with purer whites compared to the more yellow look from before, and detail is so fine on the UHD it nearly looks like 3-D in many shots. The HDR-compatible Dolby Vision grade really brings out nuances in the colors you couldn't see before, particularly some rich red textures in the background of many shots. The DTS-HD MA 1.0 English mono track sounds excellent and features optional English SDH subtitles. For some reason the film's history of no substantial video extras continues here, but you do get an outstanding and hefty booklet featuring an in-depth essay by Ashley West slightly updating the incredible 2021 making-of about the film featured at The Rialto Report featuring tons of tales from the production including its notorious connection to the despicable Roy Cohn. Even five decades later, it's still an essential classic of boundary-pushing erotica and definitely recommended for anyone feeling up to the challenge.

MELUSINE (UHD)
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SYNAPSE (BLU-RAY)

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Updated review on February 27, 2025