murfit I feel like I have to put something against all the glowing reviews of this film. I acknowledge that it has to be seen in the context of its time, when it probably wasn't possible to produce erotica above the level of B-movies, but still the film is far from being a masterpiece.The cinematography is adequate, but nothing special. The soundtrack and voice-over narration are cheesy and uninspired. The performances of Carl Parker and Marilyn Roberts are quite wooden. Parker appears more like a brute than a writer and refined member of society, and Roberts is not only cold but also utterly unerotic. Mary Mendum's performance is better, and it is the only thing that carries the movie, in some of her scenes I actually believe her being submissive. But there are other scenes, especially when she lingers ponderingly in front of the cupboard holding the instruments of her torture, where it remained completely mysterious to me what is supposed to be going through her mind.But the main thing, and to me fatal for an erotic movie, is the lack of chemistry between the protagonists. Anne gets off on pain, but she seems to be indifferent as to who inflicts it on her, and Claire gets off on inflicting pain, but she doesn't seem to care about Anne. And I'm not saying I missed "romantic" or "cuddly" scenes – what I missed was actual interpersonal connection in the S&M scenes. There is a lot of skin contact, fellatio, cunnilingus, vaginal penetration, there is a lot of instrumentation being applied – but I never had the impression that these people truly touch each other. And while I understand Jean's sexual desire for pretty Anne, I don't see at all why in the end he would fall for Claire, who for all her libertinism comes across as extremely closed off.Oh and finally: Didn't they seriously not have any nicer lingerie in 1970s Paris? Anne's garter belt looks like a few elastic bands stitched together by an amateur.

Michael_Elliott The Image (1975) *** (out of 4) Jean (Carl Parker) runs into an old friend (Marilyn Roberts) at a party and soon she's teaching him about her slave Anne (Rebecca Brooke) and before long both are taking part in the S&M practices. Radley Metzger's erotic film isn't going to be for everyone but those who enjoy watching these older adult movies should find this one here to have quite a few good touches. Metzger would push the hardcore genre more mainstream a couple years later with THE OPENING OF MISTY BEETHOVER and while this film here isn't nearly as good you can still see the blossoming of the young director as he was experimenting with more erotic films. I think the best thing about this movie is the direction by Metzger because he certainly isn't just trying to deliver some sort of bump and grind movie and instead he's pushing something more classy. Now I'm not going to sit here as some sort of snob and say this is better than your typical porn movie because it isn't. Those mindless sex pictures serve their purpose and I think a film like this one has its own purpose so comparing the two or ripping one while praising the other would be pointless. There's no doubt that this movie is extremely well made and there's a certain craft and style to appreciate. This is especially true with the editing, which really takes the movie to a whole new level. The way the sex scenes were edited gave them a certain atmosphere and really made you feel the dirty, erotic sense to all of it. The three actors all do fine work with their roles but it's doubtful people are coming to this for performances. I'm sure some might find some sort of message but to me THE IMAGE was simply a well-made porn film and there's nothing wrong with that.

B B (ee-films-director) 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...

YAS THE IMAGE is a disturbing, erotic, scary, elegant movie that probably only Radley Metzger could have made. Most directors of 'erotica' concentrate on gynecological close-ups to the exclusion of all else; Metzger's hallmark has always been to tell the story and explain the characters by relying as much on the actors' eyes as on the dialogue. The S&M scene is as alien to me as peanut-butter-and-pickle sandwiches (which I am also told some enjoy), but in THE IMAGE I can see the gamesmanship, the role-playing and the unspoken psychological leveraging that makes it all so compellingly complex. Would I show this film to Grandma? Uh-uh. But then, that's just MY grandma, who knows, yours may have a side you never suspected. This film is hot, fascinating, and, in this gorgeous and UNCUT (thank you, thank you!) video transfer, stunningly beautiful as well.