The Sensual World of Black Emanuelle Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		3.5

The Sensual World of Black Emanuelle Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 30, 2023

Kier-la Janisse gave film fans one of the most outstanding boxed sets of the last few years with All the Haunts Be Ours: A Compendium of Folk Horror, a late 2021 release that ended up making my Best of 2022 list. Janisse is back now with another gigantic boxed set, one that's even bigger than the folk horror compendium, and one that may appeal to a certain niche audience who may not have been especially interested in that earlier set. Those who may remember the rating system of days of yore will probably recall the "M" designation, which meant "for mature audiences only", and if I may be permitted an orthographic joke that is admittedly a bit arcane, some might argue that Emanuelle gave up one of her "m"'s in favor of three x's, at least with regard to some cuts of the many Black Emanuelle films. For those not conversant with the history of this perceived franchise, and who may be scratching their heads at my "joke" (what else is new?), Black Emanuelle was a pretty blatant attempt to cash in on Emmanuelle, and in order to avoid any potential legal hassles one of those original "m"'s in the title character's name got dropped. Furthermore, as supplements on many of the discs included in this set offer, there were hardcore XXX inserts (in more ways than one) that at least some of the Black Emanuelle productions offered. Joke explained, hopefully. Perhaps even more comedically than my fitful attempt at humor, the Black Emanuelle series ended up offering many more films than its perceived progenitor, and 24 of them (with additional cuts) are aggregated in this at times overwhelming collection. This is a collection where the quality of the films may be highly debatable, though it's salient to note that the supplements both overtly reference and are in and of themselves examples of perhaps unexpected critical scrutiny this franchise has engendered, and anyone interested in this kind of bizarre franchise mash up of what might be called porno, mondo and gonzo will most likely find this an amazing set to dive into.

For reviews of the films in this set, please click on the following links:

Black Emanuelle Blu-ray review

Black Emanuelle nº 2 Blu-ray review

Emanuelle in Bangkok Blu-ray review

Emanuelle in America Blu-ray review

Emanuelle Around the World Blu-ray review

Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals Blu- ray review

Porno Nights of the World Blu-ray review

Emanuelle and the Porno Nights of the World Blu-ray review

Sister Emanuelle Blu-ray review

Emanuelle and the White Slave Trade Blu-ray review

Violence in a Women's Prison Blu-ray review

Emanuelle in Prison Blu-ray review

Black Cobra Blu-ray review

Black Velvet Blu-ray review

Emanuelle's Perverse Outburst Blu-ray review

Porno Esotic Love Blu-ray review

Divine Emanuelle Blu-ray review

Emanuelle, Queen of the Desert Blu-ray review

Amore Libero - Free Love Blu-ray review

Emanuelle - A Woman from a Hot Country Blu-ray review

Black Deep Throat Blu-ray review

Porno Nights of the World N.2 Blu-ray review

Inferno Rosso: Joe D'Amato on the Road of Excess Blu-ray review

Scandalous Emanuelle Blu-ray review

The Sensual World of Black Emanuelle Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Video quality is assessed in the above linked reviews.

The Sensual World of Black Emanuelle Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Audio quality is assessed in the above linked reviews.

The Sensual World of Black Emanuelle Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Supplements associated with each film are detailed in the above linked reviews. Additionally, this is a beautifully packaged set which features a slipbox measuring 6" wide x 7" high x 2.5" deep. The slipbox encloses a nice large quasi-DigiBook, which offers cardboard sleeve "pages" securing each of the discs. The DigiBook includes 2 Bonus CDs of soundtrack music in addition to the Blu-ray discs. Also included is the absolutely massive and frequently fascinating The Black Emanuelle Bible, a gorgeous book offering tons of data on each of the films. The slipbox also has a patently cool little diecut feature that offers a revolving series of mini photos that you can adjust via a little thumb device.

The Sensual World of Black Emanuelle Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This is obviously a product aimed at a niche audience, and for the audience I can't imagine a better overall package than what is presented here. The films are what they are, and if they're approached with a kind of properly "wise" attitude, they can be at least intermittently engaging, even if they occasionally tip over into some frankly disturbing content. Technical merits are generally quite commendable throughout this collection, with an understanding that there are going to be unavoidable quality variances. But it's in the astounding array of supplements, both on disc and "extracurricular" (as it were), where this set makes its most consistently amazing contributions. For that target demographic if for no one else, The Sensual World of Black Emanuelle comes Recommended.