Emmanuelle Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

Emmanuelle Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 13, 2018

Just Jaeckin's "Emmanuelle" (1974) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Australian label Umbrella Entertainment. There are no bonus features on the disc. In French or English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The wife

Note: Portions of the text below were initially used in our review of StudioCanal's original Blu-ray release of Emmanuelle from 2009.

Just Jaeckin’s Emmanuelle is the definitive erotic film. It was released in the early '70s when the European film industry was undergoing dramatic restructuring, and many of the old studios were exploring new ways to generate revenue. By contemporary standards, Emmanuelle is a genuinely harmless film, but in 1974, censors thought otherwise. It is why initially Emmanuelle received the dreaded X-rating.

While it claims to be based on Emmanuelle Arsan’s bestselling novel “Emmanuelle: The Joys of a Woman”, Emmanuelle is not a flawless adaptation of it. Played by Dutch actress Sylvia Kristel, Emmanuelle travels to Thailand to join her husband, Jean (Daniel Sarky), a diplomat with a very busy schedule. When the two reunite, Jean encourages Emmanuelle to explore her sexuality.

Soon after, Emmanuelle joins a group of bored but sexually liberated wives who quickly point her in the right direction. Emmanuelle then befriends the bisexual Marie-Ange (Christine Boisson), who likes to flirt with almost everyone she meets, and Ariane (Jeanne Colletin), an elegant lesbian who immediately attempts to seduce her. Following Marie-Ange’s advice, Emmanuelle then approaches Mario (Alain Cuny), an older man whose appetite for younger women has earned him a reputation, but ends up having an affair with Bee (the sultry Marika Green), a lesbian archeologist whom most of the bored wives dislike.

Following an unfulfilling affair with Bee, Emmanuelle then allows Mario to introduce her to new experiences — threesomes, voyeurism, etc. But eventually, the new experiences exhaust Emmanuelle, and she returns to her husband.

A couple of years ago, French juggernaut StudioCanal began re-releasing the main Emmanuelle films on DVD. In 2007, Lionsgate released the original film in America, and shortly after, independent distributors followed up with several of the Emanuelle copycats, most of which, I must admit, I have never seen. In 2008, at the Cannes Film Festival, there was talk about an upcoming retrospective, but a plan for one was not revealed.

So, what gave Emmanuelle the classic status it enjoys today? It is probably the fact that it managed to effectively walk the fine line between erotica and pornography at a time when specialty films were typically denied access to mainstream theaters. Emmanuelle broke free of the status quo and performed well at the box office, a development that gave directors the assurance that sexually explicit films would not automatically be labeled 'pornographic films'.

It is also worth mentioning that Emmanuelle is a beautiful film. It visits terrific locations and makes the most of them, and its emphasis on detail rivals that of much bigger mainstream films.

Emmanuelle can be seen in two versions: Director's Cut, which is approximately 94 minutes long, and Theatrical Cut, which is approximately 94 minutes long as well. The Director's Cut removes a famous scene.

Emmanuelle Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.64:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Just Jaeckin's Emmanuelle arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Umbrella Entertainment.

The release is sourced from the same master that StudioCanal used nearly ten years ago to produce the first high-definition release of Emmanuelle, which was almost certainly prepared even earlier. It is a decent master and if you have only viewed the film on DVD you will be quite pleased with the upgrade in quality, but obviously you should also expect to see some limitations that are typical for older masters. Indeed, detail typically ranges from decent to good, but on a large screen occasionally it is quite easy to tell that background nuances are not optimal. Also, the extremely fine details that a proper modern 4K remaster would deliver are just not identifiable here. However, the visuals still hold up quite nicely, so again, if you are only now upgrading your DVD release of Emmanuelle I am certain that you will like what you see. Grain is retained, but this is the one area where the age of the master shows the most -- grain exposure and density are not as stable and as consistent as they would appear on a brand new remaster. There is also a tad of surface sharpening that pops up during a couple of scenes, and my guess again is that it was introduced when the master was prepared with older equipment. The end result is still quite good, though, so your experience with the technical presentation will be satisfying. My score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Emmanuelle Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the French track.

I have seen a theatrical screening of Emmanuelle in English so it is good to have both tracks. (The English track was used in different international markets). However, the French track sounds nicer -- it is fuller, better rounded, and with overall superior depth. It is cleaner as well. I like it quite a lot, though a brand new remix will likely deliver some stability enhancements in the mid/high registers where some of the unevenness of the original overdubbing is most obvious.

Emmanuelle Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There are no supplemental features to be found on this Blu-ray release.

Emmanuelle Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you are interested in vintage erotic cinema your collection cannot possibly be complete without Just Jaeckin's Emmanuelle. It is one of those key films that in the early '70s defined and made erotica mainstream. It is true. You just can't have a serious conversation about the genre and not reference Emmanuelle. It was a trend-setter and there are so many other films that came out after it that would not have been made without its success. Umbrella Entertainment have gathered the first two Emmanuelle films in this set, so if they appeal to you consider picking it up. RECOMMENDED.