The innkeeper watches Justine undress. Meanwhile, Juliette is fitting right in at the brothel. We have flashes of nudity from both Justine, Juliette, and a random whore. At the inn, the upstairs tenant tries to take advantage of Justine but she fights him off. No violence or nudity. The innkeeper, who was planning to use her to steal from the upstairs tenant, is upset and spanks Justine. She is framed for stealing anyway, and carried off to prison by a constabulary that values position and patronage over justice.

At the prison, Justine falls in with a murderess, and escapes with her. The murderess's cronies decide to rape Justine, but the murderess stops them. There is a nice lead-up as they surround her and cut at Justine's shirt, followed by a brief tussle, but ultimately no nudity or violence or rape. Justine flees. She meets the only nice guy in this whole movie, a painter, and willingly poses naked for him in a lovely nude scene. But the soldiers come looking for her and she flees again.

Juliette, meanwhile, hatches a plot to steal from the madame of the brothel, murders the madame, makes off with the money with a fellow prostitute, frolics naked in the river with her for a while before drowning her, and sets out to make her way in the world solo, searching for a rich older guy. There is quite a bit of Juliette nudity and a brief struggle between two naked babes during the drowning scene.

In her flight from the corrupt authorities (as if there are any other kind), Justine meets a marquis who is frolicking with his male lover. They take Justine to the Marquise de Bressac (Sylva Koscina), who employs Justine as a maid and they become good friends. We get some nice bare breast nudity from the marquise as she bathes, in case you're a Sylva Koscina fan. The marquis wants Justine to poison his wife, but Justine reveals his plan to the marquise. The marquise tries to poison her husband instead, but he switches wineglasses and enjoys some rough foreplay with her as he tells her she is dying. She briefly struggles but dies. Justine is framed for the poisoning. Who didn't see that coming? Justine is roped to a tree. She is branded with an "M" for "murderess" and released.

Justine goes to a monastery where four pious men, the "Brethren" (one of which is Franco favorite Howard Vernon) are indulging in all sorts of debauchery. However, since, like most Christians, Justine is blind to the evil done behind the veil of faith, she becomes their victim as well. In a confused jumble of an over-lighted and artistically unfocused montage, Justine is chained down and needles are stuck into her back, mostly in extreme close-up and out of focus, she is shackled AOH to a stone wall, and she is chained face down on a stone slab and something makes her scream. (We see nothing in addition to the standard low-level torture that would justify such a scream.) She is imprisoned in a cell with other semi-naked women, chained AOH.

The head Brethren (Jack Palance, in an over-the-top orgy of overacting that must be seen to be believed) decides it is Justine's fate to suffer, and has her brought, bound, into their sacrificial chamber. Justine is chained AOH, but still clothed, in the middle of the room. Jack Palance takes a torch in the shape of a cross and does something with it, although it looks like he's just lowering it in front of the bound and helpless Justine.

God apparently takes pity on Justine (better late than never, I suppose) and lightning strikes the monastery, allowing Justine to escape. She ends up back in Paris where she is taken in by the murderess, who has a stage show, and made to stand naked on stage. Her "M" brand is visible, so the French townspeople, acting in a very American fashion, decide that seeing her put to death would be more fun than watching her naked on stage. She flees, but the hypocritically self-righteous always seem to have the upper hand and she is captured. Suddenly the profligate Juliette, who has done well for herself, steps in and rescues her virtuous sister. Justine is reunited with the painter and lives a virtuous life under the protection of her sister's influential husband.

SUMMARY: First, we have several random naked women in chains and bondage and with blood applied in a manner suggesting torture. There's a spanking scene, but fully clothed. There's an attempted ravishment, also fully clothed. There's an attempted gang rape, with very good build-up and the use of a knife to cut away Justine's clothing, but it is aborted. There's a scene where a naked Juliette drowns her naked fellow whore and partner in crime, with some struggling. There's an exceptional bit where Justine is tied to a tree, her blouse torn open, and a red-hot brand applied between her tender young breasts. There is a montage of torture and bondage in the monastery that is generally out of focus and oddly lighted, and employing close-ups that are not as satisfying. And finally, several instances of AOH bondage featuring Justine and random women, more often than not nude.

Well, you know, Jess Franco and the Marquis de Sade's Justine, which I have read in both translation and illustrated novel form, but not in the original French. Sweet and innocent looking Romina Power, and costars Maria Rohm (a Franco favorite) and Sylva Koscina make for nice eye candy. And the DVD cover art is kind of exciting as well. I had high hopes.