Emmanuelle Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Emmanuelle Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 30, 2019

Just Jaeckin's "Emmanuelle" (1974) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include original trailers; a segment from an archival documentary produced by David Gregory; and archival interview with producer Yves Rousset-Rouard and director Just Jaeckin. In French or English, with optional English subtitles for the French audio track. Region-A "locked".

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 Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from the same old remaster that StudioCanal used for the first high-definition release of Emmanuelle in 2009. Since then the studio has licensed the same remaster to a number of other parties across the globe. (Recently, we also reviewed the Australian release from Umbrella Entertainment here).

It is a decent remaster that offers some meaningful upgrades in quality over previous DVD releases of the film, but you should keep in mind that this exact same remaster was prepared for the DVD market. Naturally, there are certain areas that reveal the type of limitations that such remasters are known to have. For example, detail ranges from decent to good, but on a large screen plenty of the daylight footage begins to lose the fine nuances that modern 2K/4K remasters retain. So, expect to see clipped highlights and in darker footage less than optimal shadow definition (see screencaptures #11 and 13). Grain is retained, but this is the one area where the age of the remaster shows the most -- grain exposure and density are not as stable and as consistent as they would appear on a brand new remaster. Some minor surface sharpening is noticeable whenever there is plenty of light as well, but the darker footage hides it really well. The good news is that there is still plenty to like, and despite some minor fluctuations it is in fact quite easy to enjoy the film and many of its more subtle native qualities. My score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

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 am going to repost the comments I left for our review of the recent Australian release of Emmanuelle because the quality of the lossless tracks is identical. (There is no additional work done on them).

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 

• The Joys of Emmanuelle - Part One - this segment is from an archival documentary that also appeared on the French Blu-ray release of Emmanuelle. It focuses on the production history and success of Emmanuelle and utilizes clips from archival interviews with Producer Yves Rousset-Rouard, director Just Jaeckin, Sylvia Kristel, and adult film historian David Flint. There are also some very interesting comments about the famous 'cigar' sequence and how it was shot and edited. The documentary was produced by David Gregory for Anchor Bay Entertainment. In French and English, with optional English subtitles where necessary. (17 min, 1080p).

• Talking About Emmanuelle - in this archival program, producer Yves Rousset-Rouard and director Just Jaeckin discuss Emmanuelle's character, how they met Dutch actress Sylvia Kristel, and what they wanted to accomplish with their film. The program was also included on the French release that is mentioned above. In French, with optional English subtitles. (32 min, 1080p).

• Trailers - three vintage trailers for:
  
  1. Emmanuelle
  2. Emmanuelle 2
  3. Emmanuelle 3

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 countless other films that came out after it that would not have been made without its success. RECOMMENDED.