Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		2.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		1.5

Emanuelle, Queen of the Desert 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.

This may not exactly qualify as a quiz in what is pejoratively called the "New Math", but what do you get when you cross The Dirty Dozen with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs? The answer is probably not divinable courtesy of any function like addition or multiplication, but for a cinematic answer of sorts one need look no further than Emanuelle, Queen of the Desert, which also exists in an alternate version (commendably also offered on this disc by Severin) called The Dirty Seven. This is yet another film which has virtually no connection to the Black Emanuelle franchise other than the fact that Laura Gemser is featured, and in fact in the original The Dirty Seven version of the film, she's not even featured that much.

Had things been played a little more darkly, this actually could have been quite an interesting film, since it offers a gang of quasi-black ops types who actually pull off a mission only to then make some pretty serious missteps, before meeting the alluring Gemser, who uses her wiles to outfox them after they're clearly all in lust with her. Instead, this is a pretty formulaic piece that offers action in both the combat and sexual categories within a pretty rote narrative.

Emanuelle, Queen of the Desert Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Emanuelle, Queen of the Desert is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. 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 from 35mm print.

If any burgeoning videophile out there is interested to see what sourcing something from a release print versus sourcing something from an interpositive or original camera negative leads to, this presentation is a good example. While everything here is decently watchable in both versions Severin offers on this disc, the underlying video quality can't help but look compromised when compared to some of the more relatively lustrous offerings in the Black Emanuelle set. The print(s) utilized here often look pretty decidedly faded, with pretty widely variant densities and color timings, and with noticeably gritty grain structures that are especially roughhewn in a number of darker scenes. There's also more evidence of age related wear and tear throughout both versions than can be spotted in some of the other transfers in this set.

Emanuelle, Queen of the Desert Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Emanuelle, Queen of the Desert is presented with only an English language DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track. While the Main Menu music has noticeable hiss and background noise, it was evidently sourced from the pretty badly damaged trailer offered on this disc as a supplement. The actual track is nicely reverberant with regard to the synth drenched score, though the high end is pretty brash at times, so that sound effects like some marauding crickets can actually be a little bright and maybe even painful. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Emanuelle, Queen of the Desert Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Dirty Seven (HD; 1:36:22) is the longer alternate cut of the film under its original title.


• Violent Cyprus (HD; 21:58) is an interview with actor Giovanni Brusatori. Subtitled in English.


• Sunlight and Violence (HD; 15:43) is an interview with cinematographer Nino Celeste. Subtitled in English.


• Trailer (HD; 3:43)


• Looking Good (SD; 1:00;58) is a workout video hosted by Laura Gemser, giving Jane Fonda a run for aerobic money.


• Audio Commentary for Looking Good features Film and Television Historian Amanda Reyes and Podcaster Erik Threlfall (The Hysteria Continues)

Emanuelle, Queen of the Desert Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This is another disc in the Black Emanuelle set where the supposed "main" feature may not be as interesting as some of the really excellent supplements (including what some might reasonably argue is a better version of the film). Technical merits are a bit iffy in this instance in terms of video, but audio is fine.