The Real Blue Nuns (2006)

Director: Gavin Claxton

Starring: Jesus Franco, Eman Penny, Ken Russell,Nigel Wingrove

More info: IMDb


Plot: Documentary from 2006 originally shown on Channel 4 that takes a look at ‘nunsploitation’ in cinema, literature and pornography and asks whether the image of ‘the naughty nun’ has lost its power to shock. Ken Russell, Jesus Franco & Nigel Wingrove are all interviewed along with a number of academics who try and put this imagery into some sort of historical context.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again? Maybe but not if a better doc on the subject comes along.

Part of the Nunsploitation Project (July & August 2013). Click here for more naughty nun insanity!

I've watched a fair amount of Nunsploitation (but never enough).  It's a fun genre.  I don't have a religious bone in my body so I don't have a horse in that race.  I go into all movies as a pure cinefile, ready to enjoy just about anything.  I was REALLY anxious to see this the instant I discovered it as it's the only documentary on the subject that I'm aware of.  Naturally I want to learn more about the genre, see some great, wild images of exploitation and discover some new films.  I've alreay got nearly 50 Nusploitation movies in my collection and there's got to be more out there.

The first 15 minutes of the film gives you an overview of the genre and touches on too few of the titles that caused a big ruckess back in the 1970s, with interviews with some of the film makers like Ken Russell and Jess Franco.  The remaining 30 minutes focused on modern Nunsploitation (now porn) and where the genre is going.  That's all good if it's the last 20 minutes of a 90 minute film but not with such a short runtime as this.  What's worse is a good amount of attention paid to Muslin porn (women in hibabs and burkas) which isn't Nunsploitation; Religionsploitation, yes,  but not Nunsploitation.

I might give this one another shot at some point but I'll also be on the lookout for a more comprehensive doc that stays focused on the subject. The habib/burka stuff should have been a side note.  There's plenty of Nunsploitation out there (even if you focused only on the 1970s you'd have enough for an hour of goodness).  Check out the Nunsploitation wiki.  That's a good place to start and there are some sites out there that will give you lots of fun images...or you could just check out what I've seen so far...

The Nunsploitation Project has officially begun!