Color, 1973, 95 mins. 8 secs. / 78 mins. 13 secs.
Directed by Torgny Wickman
Starring Christina Lindberg, Stellan Skarsgård, Danièle Vlaminck, Michel David, Erika Wickman
Klubb Super 8 (Blu-ray) (US R0 HD), Impulse (DVD) (US R0 NTSC), Media Target Distribution (DVD) (Germany R0 PAL), Another World (DVD) (Scandinavia R0 PAL)/ WS (1.66:1) (16:9)
A vehicle for a young 
Christina Lindberg made back to back with the much more legendary Thriller: A Cruel Picture, Anita (or 
as it's known on the U.S. circuit, Anita, Swedish Nymphet) was sold as sexploitation but delivers something a little more thoughtful than you might expect. As with most Swedish films of the period, it's very somber and dramatic with enough skin thrown in for maximum export value. The result is actually a pretty solid film, and Lindberg gives an admirable performance in a difficult role. It doesn't hurt that her co-star is a baby-faced Stellan Skarsgård, years before Lars von Trier films (including the not dissimilar Nymphomaniac two-parter), Exorcist sequels, Andor, and Mamma Mia! movies.
Christina plays the titular Anita, whose neglectful parents and sexual traumas have turned her into a fascinating psychological case study in sex addiction. Naturally, college psychology student Erik (Skarsgård) takes an interest in her and decides to unblock her sexual pathologies by introducing her to a commune where she might become socially acceptable. Unfortunately her behavior is still seen as a threat, and Erik decides that she must learn to experience true, fulfilling, orgasmic sex to become a more balanced human being. Ain't it the truth?
Released dubbed in the U.S. (a version that now appears to be long lost), Anita was fairly difficult to see on home video until the 2007 DVD release 
from 
Impulse Pictures. Taken from a heavily damaged Swedish-language print, it was at least subtitled and more or less complete apart from the results of reel change damage. Subsequent European DVD releases weren't much of an improvement, but in 2021 the Swedish Film Institute performed an extensive restoration working from the surviving portions of the negative and a 35mm print with full mag audio.
The result took a while to turn up on Blu-ray from Klubb Super 8 including its bow as a Vinegar Syndrome partner label in 2025. The presentation is light years better than anything we've had before; as you can see from the comparison below, the grungy teal tint is gone here, detail and colors are exponentially improved, and the image is no longer squished. The Swedish audio and the German dub are included here as DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono tracks with optional English or Swedish subtitles, plus an audio commentary with Jason Carter and Rickard Gramfors. It's a thorough and well-informed account of the making and promotion of the film including the vagaries of the title itself, the Stockholm locations, the two different versions of the screenplay including one that's much more explicit than what was shot, some pretty funny background details and optical trickery that will change how you watch the film, the co-production deal with French adult film company Alpha France, the backgrounds of 
the cast and crew, the fairly low budget conditions, the "social report" approach 
that was popular at the time, and more.
A big extra on the release is the fascinating French release version of the film, Les impures, which comes in much shorter at 78 minutes but has a huge number of differences including considerable extra softcore footage. Presumably included at the behest of Alpha France, the additions here including more butt thrusting, an eyebrow-raising bit of business in the obligatory lesbian scene, much more in the scene with Anita initiating an orgy, and more sex party frolicking. Transfered from a duplicate negative, it looks perfectly fine here if more damaged and is presented in French with optional English subtitles. It's also amusing to note that the two leads are given much younger-sounding voices in this dub which sounds comical at times. "Stellan, Sex and Psychotherapy" (11m46s) is a 2006 featurette with Lindberg and costume designer Klinga Wickman looking back at the shoot and director Torgny Wickman's process, as well as other professional highlights from the period and showing off a nice wrap party present at the end. In 2024's "Christina and Torgny" (43m4s) from a "Wickman Week" festival, Lindberg talks about her entire career starting around the time of Maid in Sweden and going through posing for men's magazines and filming all over the world. Also included are a British trailer, a poster and image gallery (8m40s), and a gallery of Lindberg centerfolds and articles from 1969 to 1984 (10m58s) which gets wilder as it goes along including some funny naked sauna shoots with celebrities like wrestling champ Frank Andersson. For some reason the Swedish market release from Klubb Super 8 is spread out over two discs and features a few more extras including two Carter visual essays, "Anita - The Story of a Bad Film" and "When the Sex Master Came to Katrineholm," and a couple of intros by Lindberg.
KLUBB SUPER 8 (Blu-ray)
Image (DVD)
Reviewed on August 3, 2025
