“E-‘MAY’-NUELLE”
FORMAT: BLU-RAY
Even though I’ve seen about a dozen or so Black Emanuelle movies, I somehow never got around to seeing the first one. Since Severin’s Sensual World of Black Emanuelle box set has been sitting on my movie shelf for a while, I figured it’s high time to remedy the situation.
Laura Gemser is Emanuelle, a famous photographer on assignment in Africa. She stays with a wealthy couple on their vast estate and soon learns her new hosts, Ann (Karin Schubert) and Gianni (Angelo Infanti) know how to get freaky. She also becomes acquainted with the various freewheeling couples who are in Ann and Gianni’s inner circle. (Including a perpetually drunk Scotsman played by Gemser’s real-life husband and frequent co-star, Gabrielle Tinti.) Predictably, Emanuelle gets so caught up with boning everyone in sight that she forgets she actually has to take some photos or else she’ll lose her job. After snapping exactly one photograph of a waterfall, it’s back to boning.
Gemser (who is simply billed as “Emanuelle” in the credits) looks as stunning as ever. Some might complain that she spends a lot of time admiring the bedroom antics of others before she finally gets down to business. However, once she does…. YOWZA!
Schubert is no slouch either. I liked the scene where she is seduced by a gas station attendant while director Bitto (Black Emanuelle 2) Albertini not-so-subtly intersperses suggestive shots of a car at the pump getting refilled. (The final scene where Emanuelle is gangbanged on a train is similarly accompanied by shots of steam whistles and pistons, although it's noticeably less effective.) There’s also a great sequence where she and Gemser go on a photo safari and wind up taking more shots of themselves nude than the animals.
All this seems rather tame compared to the wilder entries that came later. Then again, I guess that’s to be expected from the first film in such a long running series. Still, it’s surprisingly well made, which is something that can’t be said for some of the Emanuelle rip-offs that were released further down the road.
This will be the first film of many in Severin’s The Sensual World of Black Emanuelle Blu-Ray box set. I don’t tend to discuss bonus features in this column, but I have to give a shout out to Severin for designing what has to be the physical media release of the millennium. Not only is it packed with special features, commentaries, and documentaries, it has some of the best bonus items I’ve ever seen. Most box sets include a book, as this one does, but how many home video releases include a magnetic fashion play set, a board game (which is a helluva lot of fun), a necklace, passports, and even a travel bag! To say Severin outdid themselves is an understatement. With this set, they have cemented their status as the best boutique home video label working today.
AKA: Wild Emanuelle. AKA: Emanuelle’s Holiday.
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