Cover is NSFW:
The Film:
Emmanuelle is one of those films. Everybody with a passing interest in cinema has at least heard of it, yet not too many have gone through the process of actually sitting down to watch it. It's also a film that has a lot to answer for. It caused a sharp increase in 'erotic' cinema but in the UK it is a film that has always been steeped in controversy due to the British Board of Film Classification cutting the film by 37 seconds for a scene of rape. However, this controvery is now gone. Earlier this year, Optimum Releasing entered the full uncut version to the BBFC with surprising results. The previous cuts had now been waived and the film could legally be released uncut in the UK for the first time. This disc is the result.
Sylvia Kristel plays title character Emmanuelle who is a young, good looking newlywed who has a sense of sentimental love and moves to Bangkok in order to be with her diplomat husband Jean (Daniel Sarky). When she first meets the other French people living there, she tells them that she stayed honest to her husband when she was in Paris but we soon learn of her erotic experience on an airplane when she flew to Asia after she tells younger woman Marie-Ange (Christine Boisson). As the film progresses we see Emmanuelle encounter more sexual experiences, with both women and men, as she seeks more ways in which to get pleasure, ultimately ending with old man Mario (Alain Cuny), on Jean's demands.
The film is certainly no masterpiece and whilst it is a historic film in cinema, it ultimately fails to frill with it's very loose storyline and random boring sex scenes. Whilst some of these scenes are indeed erotic, the majority are very uninspiring and something that anybody who has watched any softcore film has seen before. Obviously when the film was released in 1974, it was virtually unheard of, and the impact would have been much greater than it is watching the film in 2007. This isn't to say the film is poor, it's just overrated in my oh so humble opinion. I have to say though, that the acting is good for the genre but at the same time it is hardly surprising that Kristel got stuck in similar films as her career progressed and she didn't hit the 'big time' even after the huge commercial success of Emmanuelle. This is a film that should be in any serious film fans collection due to it's historic importance, but you have been warned that it isn't as good as everyone seems to say it is.
The DVD:
Video:
Optimum have presented the film pretty well with an anamorphic transfer in the films original aspect ratio of 1.66:1. Usually, films of this genre haven't had the best of transfers, but this one has very little grain and no major noticeable damage. My only real complaint about the picture quality is that it is a little soft throughout, especially outdoor scenes.
Audio:
Unfortunately, rather than give us the original French track, Optimum have only provided us with a dubbed English Dolby Digital 2.0 Dual Mono one. Whilst the quality of the track is good, with dialogue being clear and volume levels consistent, I can't see why the original track hasn't been provided. It's made even more strange by the fact that Optimum have French company Studio Canal on their side. No subtitles are provided.
Extras:
We start off the extra features with a featurette, which is actually a thirty minute interview with director Just Jaeckin and producer Yves Rousset-Rouard and it is surprisingly in-depth. We learn everything about the whole process from securing the rights after a strike of luck (they hadn't been renewed for the first time in years) to how the film was taken into the public eye. An excellent extra that is certainly worth a watch, it's in French with English subtitles.
We end the extras with a trailer.
