Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		2.0

Emanuelle and the White Slave Trade 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.

At this point in the life of the Black Emanuelle franchise, both Laura Gemser and Joe D'Amato knew exactly what they were doing, what they wanted to do, and how to get there, and Emanuelle and the White Slave Trade visits any number of plot strands that other Black Emanuelle films had. Perhaps surprisingly, then, the film really doesn't come off as an also ran, even if Emanuelle is once again hot on the trail of what are in essence sex traffickers.

What's kind of subtly amusing about the film is how seemingly random a lot of the "plot points" are, as if D'Amato might occasionally think, "oh, yeah, I had that character back in the second scene, maybe he'd better return for some reason". Also somewhat hilariously, a denouement late in the film seems to presage certain elements of Taken, though I think it's safe to say Emanuelle has her own "particular set of skills".

This is one of several films in this set that has had a prior release on Blu-ray that I reviewed, in this case a Full Moon Features release from several years ago. Those interested in more plot points and a chance to compare screenshots may want to visit my Emanuelle and the White Slave Trade Blu-ray review of that version.

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

Sister Emanuelle 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.

I wasn't very excited by the look of the Full Moon release from a few years ago, and I have to say despite this evidently having been sourced from the original camera negative, it's still one of the rougher looking presentations in this set. There's a very gritty grain structure throughout most of the presentation, leading to a times a rather fuzzy and I'd say even blurry picture. The palette is reasonably intact, though does look a bit aged, faded and brown.

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

Emanuelle and the White Slave Trade features DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono tracks in either Italian or English. This is another case where there aren't gigantic differences between the two in terms of overall mix and amplitude, but where if you toggle between the two as the film is playing, you can discern that the English track is just a little brighter. Dialogue, effects and score are rendered without any major issues. Optional English subtitles are available.

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

• Audio Commentary with Film Programmer Lars Nilsen


• The Bohemian (HD; 10:27) is an interview with actor Venantino Venantini. Subtitled in English.


• Come in Un Film: La Vera Storia di Gabriele (Gastone) Tinti (HD; 50:26) is a nicely produced 2016 documentary by Riccardo Marchesini about Tinti. Subtitled in English.


• Trailer (HD; 2:26)

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 version inarguably improves the video of the Full Moon Blu-ray, but that doesn't mean it looks great. Audio is fine, and the supplements for this film are unusually excellent.