The genre of "nunsploitation"—films focusing on the lurid, often sexual exploits of nuns—has a long and varied history in European cinema, ranging from the art-house provocation of Ken Russell’s The Devils (1971) to the grindhouse thrillers of 1970s Italy. Mario Salieri, a defining figure in Italian adult cinema, adopted these tropes in the late 1980s and early 1990s to create a distinct brand of pornography characterized by high production values, period costumes, and melodramatic narratives. Secret of a Nun serves as a quintessential example of Salieri’s "nun" cycle. This paper examines how the film utilizes the dichotomy between the sacred and the profane to heighten erotic tension, analyzing Salieri’s specific directorial approach to the genre.
Salieri sued the distributor in 1994. The court ruled in his favor, but the master negative was damaged in storage. For nearly two decades, only grainy VHS copies of the distributor’s cut existed. mario salieri secret of a nun