Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		3.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		1.5

Porno Esotic Love 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.

As is described briefly in the immense Black Emanuelle Bible included with this release, Porno Esotic Love is a "hybrid movie composed of 60 percent new footage shot in the Caribbean, and the rest recylced and re-dubbed scenes from D'Amato's 1976 Gemser vehicle Black Cobra. While not quite as cobbled together feeling as its disc mate in this set, Emanuelle's Perverse Outburst, Porno Esotic Love can't quite help but feel like the Black Emanuelle equivalent of Ed Wood attempting to somehow use those last remaining frames of Bela Lugosi in something reasonably coherent. The basic plot conceit has Emanuelle (or Eva, as the case may be) trying to get the journalistic goods on some nefarious drug dealing.

Porno Esotic Love Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Porno Esotic Love 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 from dupe negative with inserts from original camera negative.

While perhaps not quite at the level seen in Emanuelle's Perverse Outburst, it's unmistakable that this film was assembled from elements with at times pretty widely disparate quality. As can perhaps be gleaned from some of the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review, there are passing moments that are fuzzy to the point of being downright blurry, with very little recognizable detail other than admittedly bright colors. The palette is in fact quite healthy looking throughout the bulk of this presentation, perhaps faltering slightly in some very dimly lit interior moments, which can look just slightly yellow-brown at times. As with some of the other presentations in this set, there is an occasional purplish hue to things, something that may be exacerbated here by an actual reliance on hues in that general spectrum as part of the production design.

Porno Esotic Love Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Porno Esotic Love features DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono options in either Italian or English. The English track can sound just slightly distressed and anemic at times, especially in some of the rather enjoyable music cues, but provides capable support for dialogue. The Italian track struck my ears as more consistently well balanced, and with a firmer midrange. Optional English subtitles are available.

Porno Esotic Love Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Lovemaker (HD; 10:45) is an interview with actor Mark Shannon. Subtitled in English.


• Trailer (HD; 3:05)

Porno Esotic Love Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

As is alluded to in the article devoted to this film in The Black Emanuelle Bible, this was a way stop on D'Amato's journey to unabashed hardcore material. It's undeniably cobbled together feeling, and that same disjointed quality attends the video side of things, if not the audio quite as much. The interview with Mark Shannon is very enjoyable.