Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		2.0
Audio		2.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.0

Emanuelle and the White Slave Trade Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 3, 2021

There's an understandably problematic and provocative description about certain folks who are deemed to be "white trash", but in that regard, and with tongue planted firmly in cheek, when one considers what fans will know is the "color" often added to Emanuelle films in general, Emanuelle and the White Slave Trade might arguably be called "black trash". Some readers will be aware that the Laura Gemser Emanuelle films are frequently nicknamed the "Black Emanuelle" offerings in order to differentiate them from so-called "White Emmanuelle" films, just in case no one is paying attention to the spelling of the titular name (and further adding to the confusion is that Gemser herself appeared in a 1976 effort which was released under a number of titles including Black Emmanuelle, White Emmanuelle). In fact, Severin released a bunch of the Gemser "Black" Emanuelle films on DVD several years ago under the titles Black Emanuelle’s Box: Volume 1 and Black Emanuelle’s Box: Volume 2 . Both of those sets are apparently out of print and are now going for significant moolah, but for fans of Gemser and/or the Emanuelle films, Full Moon is now offering some of them on Blu-ray.

Does it really matter that crusading journalist Emanuelle (Laura Gemser) is on the hunt for a story involving organized crime, which more or less morphs into an investigation of a "white slavery" prostitution ring? Probably not, but that very plot point plays like the Grade Z progenitor for plot points featured as tangents in films like Taken. Emanuelle is teamed with a BFF named Susan (Ely Galleani) for some globe trotting gallivanting, which at least gives the film some occasionally interesting scenery, aside and apart from the regular appearance of fully nude women in a variety of sexual activity (with both men and women).

The fact that this was a Joe D'Amato picture should be enough to either commend it or disparage it to various potential viewers, and it has the "traditional" sleaziness that is frequently associated with D'Amato's name. The film's story is downright ludicrous to the point that it is often laugh out loud funny, and the whole ramshackle feeling of the film is probably only exacerbated by a really shoddy dubbing job for the English language version featured on this disc. There are a number of really gonzo elements at play at various times in the story, including Emanuelle working with a cross dressing character who turns out to have a "particular set of skills", in yet another presaging of a certain Liam Neeson franchise.

Emanuelle and the White Slave Trade Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Emanuelle and the White Slave Trade is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Full Moon Features with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. The back cover of this release only offers a generic "completely uncut and remastered in HD", and there's unfortunately no real information given about the provenance of whatever element may have been utilized. This has signs of having passed through a video (as opposed to film) source somewhere along the way, as there is a curious fuzzy appearance throughout that is especially noticeable on the edges of things and which may remind some of the halcycon days of VHS. It looks like some sort of filtering has been applied, though little clumps of grain can occasionally pop up. There's recurrent if minor age related wear and tear, including scratches, nicks and other blemishes. A number of compression issues accrue on occasion, including some macroblocking and pixellation, which further adds to the "vintage" feel of it all. On the plus side, the palette is rather nice a lot of the time, with primaries looking especially strong.

Emanuelle and the White Slave Trade Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Only lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 and 5.1 tracks are offered here, and that perceived deficit, at least for those who (as I do) prefer lossless audio on their Blu-ray releases, is probably only made worse by the fact that this is one of the more hilariously inartfully dubbed films of its era. Sync is not just "loose", as is often kind of humorously stated in various technical verbiage offered by a number of boutique labels, it's positively non existent at times. The surround track arguably opens up the porn lite score by Nico Fidenco, as well as occasional ambient environmental effects in some of the outdoor material, but it's hardly a consistently immersive track. Dialogue, while rarely if ever matching lip movements, is reasonably easy to decipher. No subtitles are included on this disc.

Emanuelle and the White Slave Trade Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Euro Cult Trailers includes:

  Barbed Wire Dolls (HD; 00:55)

  
  

  Naked Girl Murdered in a Park (HD; 1:28)

  
  

  Love Letters of a Portuguese Nun (HD; 2:37)

  
  

  Sexy Sisters (HD; 1:02) actually features the title Satanic Sisters in the trailer itself.

  
  

  Voodoo Passion (HD; 00:56)

  
  

  Women in Cellblock 9 (HD; 1:00)

Emanuelle and the White Slave Trade Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Fans of the Laura Gemser Black Emanuelle films are probably already well aware of the smarmier aspects of many (all?) of the films, but there's also a kind of gonzo sense of humor percolating just beneath the surface of some of these entries which actually may recommend them to more self described high falutin' types. This is one of the more scenic Emanuelle films, with some nice vistas which may or may not have a few naked women frolicking through them. The "plot" is pure insanity, as only befits an Emanuelle film, where, in true Emanuelle fashion, there's no problem like white slavery that can't be solved by a quick roll in the hay. This presentation has deficits in both the video and audio departments, for those who may be considering making a purchase.