Black Velvet Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.0

Black Velvet 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.

Black Velvet is one of several films in this collection which really probably shouldn't be thought of as part of the "true" Black Emanuelle franchise, even if this does feature Laura Gemser and her frequent co-star and real life partner Gabriele Tinti, along with Annie Bell and Al Cliver (also a real life couple) as co-stars. This is also not a Joe D'Amato effort, and as such there may be less of the kind of self aware winking quality that pervades some of the other "real" Black Emanuelle offerings. There's actually a somewhat smarmier than usual feeling to some of this story, as Tinti plays a kind of abusive photographer type (take that, Emanuelle) who likes to take kind of kinky photos of his wife (Gemser of course) in what might be called "mondo" settings. There are also at least hints of some other Gemser vehicles (of course), including a kind of sex cult with a Svengali like guru. As with many of the Black Emanuelle offerings, Black Velvet offers some luscious locations to help sweeten the pot.

Black Velvet Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Black Velvet is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. Severin's almost overwhelming book The Black Emanuelle Bible included with this set offers a brief description of the transfer, as follows:

Source: 2K scan of original camera negative.

This is a somewhat variable looking presentation that offers some definite pluses along with a few noticeable minuses. The widescreen cinematography is often surprisingly ravishing, and a lot of the location work looks great, if perhaps just slightly bland due to a prevalence of dusty, sandy locations that tend to emphasize neutral tones like beiges and ochres. Detail levels are also generally good when lighting conditions allow. There are rather wide variances in densities and especially grain structure throughout the film, at times related to lighting conditions, but not always (look at the slightly dirty grain in the sky of screenshot 2, for one example).

Black Velvet Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Black Velvet features DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono tracks in either Italian or English. Once again, there's really not a huge difference between the two, and in fact slight hiss can be heard on both tracks, which at least points toward a relatively clear high end. I'd say the Italian track is a bit more forceful and full bodied overall, but both tracks provide capable support for dialogue, effects and score. Optional English subtitles are available.

Black Velvet Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Black Velvet (HD; 18:28) features interviews with stars Annie Belle and Al Cliver. Subtitled in English.


• The Roots of Evil (HD; 17:14) features biographer Alberto Pezzotta on director Brunello Rondi. Subtitled in English.


• A Relationship of Confusion (HD; 17:16) features film critic Joseph Fahim on Velluto Nero.


• English Opening Credit Sequence (HD; 1:48)


• Italian Theatrical Trailer (HD; 3:46)


• English Theatrical Trailer (HD; 3:46)

Black Velvet Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I kind of half expected Hercule Poirot to show up an announce there had been a Death on the Nile in this film, and frankly even that sudden plot development might have paled when compared to some of the other melodramatic nonsense that goes on in this film. Gemser is as alluring as ever, but her character here is a far cry from Emanuelle, black, white, yellow or any other color. Technical merits are generally okay if variable, and the three main supplements are very enjoyable.