Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

Emmanuelle 2 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 14, 2013

Francis Giacobetti's "Emmanuelle: L'antivierge" a.k.a. "Emmanuelle 2" (1975) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal/Universal Studios-Italia. There are no supplemental features on this release. In French, with optional English, Japanese, Italian, Spanish (Castellano), Dutch, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, Russian, and Swedish subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Different sensation

The beautiful Emmanuelle (Sylvia Kristel, Emmanuelle, Mata Hari) travels to Hong Kong to meet her husband, Jean (Umberto Orsini, Ludwig, The Damned), who spends the majority of his time mixing business with pleasure. The two are still madly in love with each other, but have agreed that they can see other people if they choose to do so.

In the mansion where Jean lives Emmanuelle meets Christopher (Frederic Lagache), a handsome American pilot who seems to prefer work over beautiful women. Sensing that Christopher isn’t interested in her, Emmanuelle decides to seduce him to prove to Jean that all men are the same if presented with the right ‘opportunity’.

Emmanuelle also befriends Anna-Maria (Catherine Rivet), the very beautiful but shy daughter of a local diplomat who is still a virgin. The two become very close friends and begin sharing some of their most intimate secrets. Eventually, Jean and Emmanuelle take Anna-Maria to an exotic massage parlor where she makes love to a local girl.

The handsome pilot repeatedly rejects Emmanuelle’s advances and she ends up seducing total strangers. In one of the best sequences in the entire film, Emmanuelle makes love to a tall jockey whose entire body is covered with beautiful tattoos.

Completed a year after Just Jaeckin's classic Emmanuelle, Francis Giacobetti’s Emmanuelle: L'antivierge a.k.a Emmanuelle 2 is easily the best film about the famous beauty. Like the first film it initially received an X-rating in France, but a few years later the dreaded rating was removed in a Parisian court.

The film has a couple of explicit sequences, but they are neither vulgar nor harmful. On the contrary, the lovemaking sequences are some of the most stylishly lensed that I have seen in a classic erotic film. The locations are also carefully selected and the emphasis on period detail is outstanding. (See the Jade Garden sequence).

The narrative is fairly straightforward, but this should not be surprising. On the other hand, there is truly great chemistry between the actors that makes the entire film notably relaxed and fun to watch. Kristel, Orsini, and Rivet are clearly the stars of the film, but there is also a memorable sequence with young Laura Gamser (Black Emanuelle).

The film is complimented by an indescribably beautiful soundtrack composed by legendary Oscar winning composer Francis Lai (Arthur Hiller’s Love Story, Claude Lelouch’s A Man and a Woman). It is not only the best soundtrack done for a classic erotic film, but arguably also one of the best done for a period film. It is as sensual and elegant as the famous soundtrack Ryuichi Sakamoto created for Bernardo Bertolucci’s timeless epic The Sheltering Sky.

Emmanuelle 2 was lensed by cinematographer Robert Fraisse (Jean-Jacques Annaud’s The Lover, Philippe de Broca’s The Gypsy, John Frankenheimer’s Ronin).

Emmanuelle 2 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.34:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Francis Giacobetti's Emmanuelle 2 arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal/Universal Studios-Italia.

The disc's main menu can be set in one of the following languages: English, Japanese, French, Italian, Spanish (Castellano), Dutch, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, Russian, or Swedish.

The high-definition transfer has been struck from a dated source, most likely a master StudioCanal had prepared some time ago for various DVD releases of the film in different territories. Regardless, the basics we typically address in our reviews are in good shape. Excluding some traces of extremely light denoising that must have been applied to the old master, the film really looks dramatically better. Especially during close-ups, depth and detail are notably improved (see screencaptures #4 and 14). The indoor footage also boasts better contrast. Generally speaking, colors are stable and look natural, but I feel that could be slightly better saturated. The entire film, however, has an intended airy look. The best news is that there are absolutely no problematic sharpening corrections. Also, there are a few tiny flecks, but otherwise the film looks remarkably healthy - there are no large scratches, cuts, debris, or stains. Finally, there are no serious stability issues to report in this review. All in all, Emmanuelle 2 certainly can look better, but I am very pleased with the current technical presentation. For a film of this caliber, the technical presentation is indeed as good as I expected it to be. If you like the film and have experienced it only on DVD, consider an upgrade. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

Emmanuelle 2 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are five standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, English DTS 2.0, Italian DTS 2.0, Spanish (Castellano) DTS 2.0 and Portuguese (Brazil) DTS 2.0. For the record, StudioCanal/Universal Studios-Italia have provided optional English, Japanese, Italian, Spanish (Castellano), Dutch, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, Russian, and Swedish subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, the split the image frame and the black bar below it.

Having the opportunity to hear Francis Lai's legendary soundtrack in lossless audio is a good enough reason to strongly recommend this Blu-ray release. The lossless French track, however, also impresses with a very nice range of nuanced dynamics. Clarity and depth are also very good. The dialog is stable and free of problematic background hiss. Also, there are no audio dropouts or distortions to report in this review.

Emmanuelle 2 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Most unfortunately, there are no supplemental features to be found on this Blu-ray release.

Emmanuelle 2 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I am very pleased with this Italian release of Francis Giacobetti's very beautiful Emmanuelle: L'antivierge. Clearly, there is some room for improvement in the video department, but the presentation is indeed a substantial upgrade in quality over the old R1 DVD release of the film. Arguably the biggest reason to strongly recommend the Blu-ray release, however, is the opportunity to hear Francis Lai's legendary soundtrack in all its glory. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.