EMANUELLE IN AMERICA (1977)
Label: Mondo Macabro
Region Code: Region-FREE
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 100 Minutes
Audio: English & Italian DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono with Optional Newly Translated English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Joe D'Amato
Cast: Laura Gemser, Gabriele Tinti, Roger Browne, Riccardo Salvino, Paola Senatore, Lorraine de Selle
Here we are once again with a filth-ridden film from director Joe D'Amato (Sex and Black Magic), coming at us with a slice of lurid exploitation starring the always striking sex-goddess Laura Gemser (Violence in a Woman's Prison) as intrepid investigative journalist/fashion photographer Emanuelle. The film opens in New York City with Emanuelle being assaulted by a man with gun, the motivation for this attack is that he is mad at her for photographing his model girlfriend in the nude, but she turns the tables on him by seducing him with her mouth, which scares the prude off. It's a strange opening, but perhaps not as strange as a notorious sex-act seen later in the film, or how little of the film actually takes place in America given the title.
After the opening Emanuelle travels to Europe on assignment, going undercover in a sex harem run by an arms dealer, rubbing shoulders and bumping naughty bits with various men and women as you might expect from an Emanuelle film. On a purely erotic level the film does not disappoint, there's lots of sex and orgies with plenty of organic hardcore action, these apparently aren't the usual hardcore inserts. The most shocking stuff by a country mile would the the notorious image of a woman pleasuring a horse named Pedro by stroking it's stallion rocket - that's right - this film has a smidgen of bestiality in it, so strap yourself in and prepare to be pummeled. To be fair there's no penetration happening with the horse but it's definitely getting a hand-job!
Emanuelle's investigative travels eventually land her on a tropical island where wealthy sex-deprived women pay for stud-men to sex them up. It's on this island that Emanuelle uncovers an underground snuff film operation, and I was a bit surprised how gory and visceral the snuff film footage is, it's pretty gruesome stuff, and wouldn't have been out of place in a harder edged exploitation film. That's what I love about director Joe D'Amamto, he throws a little bit of everything into his films, unafraid to mix up violence and sex in preposterous but entertaining ways, and this film is no different.
Audio/Video: Emanuelle In America (1977) arrives on region-free Blu-ray from Mondo Macabro with a fresh 4K scan from the original 35mm negative, framed in 1.85:1 widescreen in 1080p HD. It's a wonderfully filmic presentation with natural-looking grain and some nice depth and clarity throughout, only looking softer during some steamy - on more ways than one - spa scenes. There's not much damage to the source either, it's a solid looking presentation, with the colors looking accurate and well-saturated. The multitude of skintones seen throughout also look natural, with some good-looking fine detail in the close-ups accentuating every nipple and naughty bit.
Audio on he disc comes by way of both Italian and English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono with optional English subtitles. Dialogue is always crisp and clear, and there's some good depth and fidelity to the score from Nico Fidenco (Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals) which sounds terrific.
Extras begin with an excellent audio commentary from Euro-cult enthusiasts Bruce Holecheck (Cinema Arcana) and Nathaniel Thompson (Mondo Digital), it's a well-researched and entertaining commentary that touches on the history of the Emanuelle films, star Laura Gemser and her relationship with director Joe D'Amato, and digging into both of their careers as well as the Emanuelle series of films. It's a solid track, loaded with info and colorful commentary on the film.
We also a 62-min archival interview with the late director Joe D'Amato who speaks about his career, starting out in westerns before getting into horror and exploitation films, his views on erotic film and hardcore sex in those films, plus his relationship with star Laura Gemser. This is an interview I've seen before, not sure which release but it was, but definitely something from Shriek Show back in the day on DVD. We also get a new 36-min interview with author David Flint who deep dives into the history of the Em(m)anuelle films, beginning with the source novel, into the Sylvia Kristel films and the ensuing cash grab films including the Black Emanuelle films with Laura Gemser that were directed by D'Amato. It's a good watch, to be honest I'm not all that familiar with the lineage of the series so I appreciated him filling in the cracks so to speak. The disc is zipped-up with a Mondo Macabro trailer reel that runs about 14-min and is an event unto itself.
The single-disc release comes housed in a standard Blu-ray keepcase with a reversible sleeve of artwork, I I also like that the spine logo font for the film are different for each option. The film was previously issued by Mondo Macabro as a Red Case Limited Edition featuring a red keepcase with an exclusive reversible artwork option, plus a booklet containing an essay on the film by Heather Drain and a set of collectible postcards, none of which are found on this standard release version, but the feature and disc-extras are exactly the same.
Special Features:
- Archival Documentary: Joe D'Amato Totally Uncut: The Erotic Experience (62 min)
- Audio commentary by Eurotrash aficionados Bruce Holecheck and Nathaniel Thompson
- From To M’s To One: The Story Of Em(m)anuelle: Brand new interview with author David Flint (36 min)
- Mondo Macabro Trailer Reel (14 min)
For me just seeing sexpot Laura Gemser in glorious HD is reason enough to need this Blu-ray, on top of that if you're a fan of the Black Emanuelle series or are into naughty Euro-trash this is a must-own slice of D'Amato directed exploitation, it's hot stuff, and peppered with plenty of D'Amato's trademark lunatic touches that keep it interesting for the whole 100-minutes.
