The Monk

Luis Buñuel and Jean-Claude Carrière attempted to film Matthew Lewis's famous gothic novel in the mid-1960s, but the project was shelved for lack of funds. Their screenplay was used in this multinational production, with Buñuel's friend, Greek surrealist Ado Kyrou, in the director's chair. Franco Nero stars as the intellectual cleric whose attempts to resist the allure of novice Nathalie Delon draw him into the world of magic and an alliance with Satan. All Buñuel's preoccupations with religious hypocrisy and repressed sexuality are present and correct, but Kyrou's direction lacks the master's touch.