Good concept, poorly executed.

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

Blistering performances.

Writer Jean (an excellent performance by Carl Parker) gets reunited with aloof, but alluring old flame Claire (well played with steely resolve by Marilyn Roberts) at a posh party. Claire introduces Jean to her enticing, yet passive sex slave Anne (a remarkably brave and startling portrayal by the gorgeous Mary Mendum), which inspires Jean to become a willing participant in Claire and Anne's sadomasochistic games.Writer/director Radley Metzger adroitly crafts a deliriously erotic and intoxicating atmosphere, makes nice use of various lovely Paris, France locations, and brings his usual sly wit and elegant style to the bold and absorbing premise. The three leads all do sterling work in their demanding roles. Fetching brunette Valerie Marron has a memorable small part as a salesgirl who happily engages in a steamy threesome with Jean and Anne. Robert Lefebvre's sumptuous cinematography presents a wealth of breathtaking visuals. Best of all, the character of Jean even embarks on an eye-opening journey of carnal self-discovery whereby he finds out that he has a natural penchant for the hard kinky stuff while the provocative story explores in shocking and unflinching detail the extremely fine line that separates pain and pleasure. A supremely exquisite, if overall unsettling 70's adult cinema gem.

What we have here is a classic slice of pornography, which is wrapped up in excellent production values in spite of the lurid and sleazy nature of most of it's action. Indeed, this film has just about everything a porn fan could want and more, as we get to watch the title character go through a number of 'pleasures' including whipping, public humiliation and mutilation. The film takes place in the upper society of France, and this serves in making the film more shocking as it features an eloquent voice over from the central character, which runs over most scenes, and offsets the gratuitous sex sequences nicely. The plot focuses on a man named Jean, who bumps into his friend Claire at a dull cocktail party that the pair are attending. It's not long before he is introduced to Claire's "friend" - the completely submissive Anne, who delights in bending to her mistress' will, even if that means having to urinate in public or undress in front of strangers. We then follow the trio through a series of sex scenes, most of which see the title character bear the brunt of the less savoury acts.One thing I've learnt about porn flicks is that there often isn't much of a plot to speak of; and this one is no different, although the slim plot is excellently fleshed out by the three central characters; who are very different and equally interesting. The beautiful Rebecca Brooke takes the lead role and does well with it thanks to her good looks and willingness to show off her 'assets' at every opportunity. Marilyn Roberts plays the older, yet equally sexy woman who is also the labyrinth character of the piece and provides the film with a degree of intrigue. Carl Parker rounds it all off with a brilliantly sleazy performance, and his character actually goes through a bit of development, which is rather odd for a porn film. This film is really head and shoulders above its counterparts, as the production values are good and director Radley Metzger actually seems to care about how good his locations look, as he succeeds in capturing France at its best. Overall, The Punishment of Anne comes highly recommended to anyone that interested in high-class porn films!

A romantic S/M story, that is rather elegant filmed and show naughty games with a beautiful young lady... Yes, she look a lot more lovely, than the bad picture on the DVD's front cover.But this film is partly too slow, has only a few rather interesting scenes, some S/M scenes are actually silly (type not authentic) and the deeply fascinating masterpiece "Histoire d'O" is dramatically better in every way, even if that one show mush less explicit ordinary sex and even if many critics seem to regard this film, as the ultimate S/M erotica! In other hand, is the basic story more realistic and possible a slightly better introduction to S/M games, compared with "Histoire d'O" and the film may be worth a second view...

Arguably the finest S/M movie ever made, Radley Metzger's 'The Image'(aka The Punishment of Anne) tells of Jean, a writer who meets an old friend, Claire, at a party and is soon drawn into her world of S/M along with her slave, Anne. Based on the French novel 'L'image' by Jean de Berg, a nom de guerre for Catherine Robbe-Grillet, this may be Radley (Score!, Therese and Isabelle, The Opening of Misty Beethoven)Metzger's best film. Beautifully filmed and acted and very erotic. If your up for some primo euro-erotica at its finest, look no further!