Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		1.5

Emanuelle and the Porno Nights of the World 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 and the Porno Nights of the World pretty much duplicates the mondo exploits of Porno Nights of the World, with Emanuelle once again a veritable tour guide leading the audience through an unabashedly bizarre array of stock footage of both kinky sex (including implied bestiality) and probably even more disturbing imagery of animal violence. There's also a kind of "gender affirming surgery" (though not the kind currently in vogue) sequence that may raise significant eyebrows. It's a near perfect example of what I term, "porno, mondo and gonzo" above, and simply needs to be accepted on its own terms, if it's accepted at all.

Emanuelle and the Porno Nights of the World Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Emanuelle and the Porno Nights of the World 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 of original camera negative.

While not cribbing footage from other Black Emanuelle outings like Emanuelle's Perverse Outburst did, the fact that the mondo element here is often comprised of stock footage means that the "original camera negative" term may be just slightly misleading, as there can definitely be a more ragged appearance to some of those sequences. The contemporary footage with Emanuelle can be soft, as often tends to be the case with the series, and also just slightly skewed toward brown, but with a generally healthy looking palette and agreeable detail levels.

Emanuelle and the Porno Nights of the World Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Once again as with many of the other films in this set, Emanuelle and the Porno Nights of the World features DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono tracks in either Italian or English. There's not a huge difference between the two, but the Italian track can be just a little thinner sounding, which may brighten the high end and expose hiss a bit more. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Emanuelle and the Porno Nights of the World Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Crazy, Crazy World (HD; 13:33) is an interview with makeup artist Pietro Tenoglio. Subtitled in English.


• After Hours with Joe D'Amato (HD;12:28) is an archival interview with the director from 1994.


• Trailer (HD; 3:32)

Emanuelle and the Porno Nights of the World Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This is another pretty blatant attempt at an easy cash in designed to attract fans who had "thrilled" some of Emanuelle's prior mondo exploits. Technical merits are decent enough for such an enterprise, and the supplements, especially the archival interview with D'Amato, very enjoyable.