Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		2.5

Sister Emanuelle 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.

You might think that Sister Emanuelle would be a nunsploitation effort with our crusading photojournalist somehow infiltrating a convent to expose some kind of kinky sex ring inside the cloistered walls, but you'd only be partly right. In fact, this is a Black Emanuelle film in (literal) name only, where Emanuelle has taken a vow of chastity (yeah, right) in order to ostensibly atone for past sins. It doesn't take long before young quasi-troubled teen Monika (Mónica Zanchi) appears to tempt not just Emanuelle, but any number of others.

This is perhaps somewhat hilariously a relatively more reserved Black Emanuelle outing, which is not to suggest it doesn't regularly allow folks to discard their clothes (and/or habits) and have a quick frolic in the hay. Still, there's a just slightly more serious aspect to this particular tale that may not have the self aware winking qualities of some of the other Black Emanuelle offerings.

Sister Emanuelle 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.

A lot of this film is intentionally soft, almost dewy, looking, especially in some of the outdoor framings of the good (?) sister herself. Things looked just slightly too bright to me at times, with a kind of milky haze overlaying some of that same outdoor material, but on the whole the palette looks quite healthy, especially in some of the interior scenes where the milkiness doesn't pervade quite as much. Detail levels are generally very good, aided by some continued use of close-ups. Grain resolves naturally throughout.

Sister Emanuelle Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Sister Emanuelle follows suit (habit?) by offering DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono tracks in either Italian or English. In this particular case, the English track is a bit brighter, something that can elevate the perception of clarity but which probably also highlights a bit of hiss. Both tracks deliver dialogue, effects and score without any major issues. Optional English subtitles are available.

Sister Emanuelle Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Film Scholar Lindsay Hallam


• Trailer (HD; 3:47)

Sister Emanuelle Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It kind of seems inevitable that Black Emanuelle would eventually collide with nunsploitation, but what's kind of surprising about this entry is how relatively reserved it is, at least considering some of the other Black Emanuelle films. Technical merits are generally solid and the commentary by Lindsay Hallam is especially interesting.