In 1967, Emmanuelle Arsan published Emmanuelle, a novel about a bored housewife and her sexual adventures in Asia. Seven years later, it was adapted into a film starring Sylvia Kristel. It was a huge success. It is also pretty good, actually (well, up until it isn’t). It is definitely beautifully shot and lovely to look at. Kristel starred in two sequels and then dropped out (she’d revisit the character periodically over the next couple of decades). A few more “official” sequels were made without Kristel and a whole industry of unofficial sequels was churned out banking on the popularity of the name.
The most famous knock-offs are collectively called the Black Emanuelle Series (notice the lack of the double “m” so as to avoid copyright violations). Most of these starred Laura Gemser as Emanuelle (though sometimes she’s called something different) and were often directed by Joe D’Amato. They are all loosely based upon the same premise of a journalist traveling to exotic lands and having all sorts of sexual exploits, but there isn’t any kind of continuity. They were made mostly on the cheap and aren’t nearly as beautiful to look at. They tend to get nastier as they go along as well. A quick look at the titles will give you a good idea of how things went for Emanuelle –
Emanuelle in Bangkok (1977)
Emanuelle Around the World (1977)
Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals (1978)
Emanuelle and the White Slave Trade (1978)
Emanuelle Escapes from Hell (1983)
That’s a long way from having some fun sexy times in soft lighting in the first film.
They remain quite popular to this day and people are still making films with Emmanuelle in the title as it has become synonymous with a certain type of film.
Severin Films is releasing a massive 15-disk boxed set of the Black Emanuelle series. It comes with 24 films (three of which include alternate cuts full of x-rated inserts) two soundtrack CDs, plus a huge 356-page book, The Emanuelle Bible. It is chock full of bonus features including documentaries, commentaries, and interviews. It is, in a word, the best possible set anyone could ever dream of for this series.
With a listing price of $289 it is also expensive for what amounts to a whole lot of softcore (and sometimes hard) exploitation films. That’s way out of my budget. I’m not entirely sure how many of these films I’ve ever seen. I’ve seen bits and pieces of quite a few of them on late-night cable TV and through various other means, but I don’t know that I’ve ever really sat down with more than one or two of them from start to finish. But I am ever so pleased to see this being put out. At a time when nearly every streaming service is dropping the ball in terms of older movies and curating the films they have the rights to, it is absolutely fabulous to see boutique Blu-ray companies like Severin continuing to create amazing packages like this.
Also out this week that looks interesting:
The Inconfessable Orgies of Emmanuelle (Severin Films): As I said there were a lot of Emmanuelle knock-offs. This one was directed by Jesús Franco and stars Muriel Montossé (a very white actress which explains why it isn’t included in the box set) as Emmanuelle.
Sex, Power, and Money: Films by Beth B (Kino Lorber): This set includes 13 films from No Wave pioneer Beth B.
New Fist of Fury (Arrow Video): This sequel to Fist of Fury starring Bruce Lee, stars Jackie Chan (in his first widely released starring role) as a kung fu master hired to protect a village from the Japanese.
The Life of Emile Zola (Warner Archive): Paul Muni stars as the famous French writer in this biopic.
Little Women (Warner Archive): Katharine Hepburn stars in this delightful adaptation of the famed book.
The Flash (Warner Brothers): A star-studded cast including Michael Keaton returning as Batman (and quite a few CGI creations of other actors who played classic DC comic characters) couldn’t save this from bombing at the box office and being murdered by a thousand critics. If you liked it, there are numerous releases in a variety of formats with various extras coming out this week so you have a lot to choose from.
No Hard Feelings (Sony Pictures): Jennifer Lawrence stars in this R-rated comedy about a down-on-her-luck delivery driver who responds to an ad asking for someone to date their socially awkward son.
Frankenstein ’80 (Cauldron Films): A mad scientist creates a monster called “Mosaico,” who breaks out of the laboratory to hunt down and kill beautiful women.
