Rating summary

Movie		1.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		1.0

Black Emanuelle nº 2 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 30, 2023

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Severin's The Sensual World of Black Emanuelle release.

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.

Emanuelle is suffering from an identity crisis in Black Emanuelle No. 2, and not just because she's suddenly being portrayed by Shulamith Lasri instead of Laura Gemser. In just one of several kind of weird sidebars that arise throughout the entire Black Emanuelle "franchise", this supposed second effort bears very little (like no) relationship to the first film, other than that our title character is named Emanuelle . In this outing she's a supermodel who has suffered some kind of psychological trauma which has placed her squarely in a mental institution, and the film follows her analyst's attempts to figure out what has scarred her so significantly. This description probably makes the film sound like it actually makes sense, which it only does in fits and starts, and it's a rather glaring example of what is often called a "sophomore slump".

Black Emanuelle nº 2 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Black Emanuelle No. 2 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Severin's almost overwhelming book included with this set offers a brief description of the transfer, as follows:

Source: 4K scan from original camera negative.

Even a 4K scan from an original camera negative has to contend with the information that negative provides, and there are some transitory deficits on display here that my hunch is stem from a less than fulsome shooting budget as well as what was perhaps some haphazard curation in the ensuing years. For the most part the palette pops quite appealingly, though there are some rather curious variances in color timing, some of which just kind of arise out of thin air and then revert after a while. Some outdoor material in particular has a kind of odd purple-blue tint to it at times that is nowhere to be seen in other portions of the film. Detail levels are generally good, if not outstanding. The entire presentation is pretty gritty looking and there are moments that are soft and blurry enough that they look out of focus (see screenshots 8 and 9 for two examples).

Black Emanuelle nº 2 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As with many of the films in this set, Black Emanuelle No. 2 features DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono tracks in either Italian or English. As is my standard operating procedure, I toggled between the two as I watched and to my ears the Italian track is just slightly brighter and louder, something that may give a bit of extra energy to effects and score in particular. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Black Emanuelle nº 2 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• XXX Inserts (HD; 6:45)


• Adalberto AKA Bitto (HD; 36:18) is an interview with Film Historian Davide Pulici discussing the director. Subtitled in English.


• Diva '70 (HD; 15:52) is an interview with Dagmar Lassander. Subtitled in English.


• Trailer (HD; 3:26)

Black Emanuelle nº 2 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This is a pretty sad "sequel" by any stretch of the imagination, but for completists, this presentation offers generally secure technical merits and some appealing supplements.