Customer Reviews

Emanuelle in America

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Sleaze director Aristide Massaccesi (a.k.a Joe D'Amato) died suddenly of a heart attack in 1999, the unfortunate culmination of a long career as the creator of numerous low budget horror and soft-core sex films. Among horror fans, D'Amato's seminal contributions to the genre include the taboo busting 1981 film Anthropophagus and the ultra gory 1977 classic Buio Omega. Joe's films crossed the borders of bad taste as often as they mixed gluey gore with sexual themes. It is perhaps this movie, "Emanuelle in America," that best personified the basic premise of a Joe D'Amato film. Lovingly reconstituted by Blue Underground, a new DVD company specializing in underground cinema, this Laura Gemser vehicle was the first of a string of Emanuelle films helmed by D'Amato. It was also the beginning of a long collaboration between D'Amato and Gemser that eventually ended with the Indonesian actress's retirement in the mid 1990s. We'll never see a new Joe D'Amato film, but with the advent of DVD fans will finally see excellent versions of all of his old classics. Up until a few years ago, many of us acquired grainy third or fourth generation dupes in order to view any film from Joe D'Amato. Those days are now over.

In "Emanuelle in America," Indonesian actress Laura Gemser plays Emanuelle, a newspaper journalist who roams the world in search of offbeat stories. There really isn't much to the plot here, with Emanuelle embarking on trips to Italy, the Caribbean, Washington, D.C., and Latin America. In each of these places, she uncovers various sexual situations ranging from a brothel controlled by a crime boss to degenerate nobility in Venice to a "dating service" in the Caribbean. The final adventure sees Emanuelle searching for the makers of grotesque snuff films. The movie concludes with little resolution in a tropical paradise where Emanuelle and her boyfriend encounter a native tribe and a mysterious "film set" (?) before running off into the sunset. Predictably, the acting is terrible, the dialogue laughable (I rolled my eyes at least four times), and the plot fails to achieve any sort of continuity. I know the whole idea of the Emanuelle films involved exotic locales mixed with cheesy soft-core erotica, but I'm willing to bet several other entries in the franchise possessed a better sense of wholeness than this one did. Moreover, the nudity and inserted hardcore scenes (yes, there is hardcore in this movie) didn't really do anything for me. Maybe it's because this is the 1970s and all of the women look rough. Whatever it was, I just didn't find "Emanuelle in America" all that erotic.

There are many intriguing elements to this film once you look past its flaws. Several music pieces, especially noticeable during the pool scene, were downright excellent. They had a sort of new age/Pink Floyd sound to them. I also thought the cigarette pack table/bar was cool. But it is D'Amato's taboo busting scenes that really take the cake here. First, there is a scene with a horse that is, well, controversial. That scene is here in its full nauseating glory. As if this isn't enough to float your boat, there's the snuff film segments. Employing stomach churning gore effects, D'Amato doctored up these sequences by scratching the film, using quick cuts, and employing jumping frame techniques to make the snuff footage look like the real thing. It is gruesome, even more so by its association with intimate relationships. On an unrelated note, I thought that the guy who pulled the gun on Emanuelle in the beginning of the movie was none other than actor Maxwell Caulfield (best known for his role in "Grease 2"). Upon further investigation, I can't confirm that it is actually Caulfield, but it sure looks like him.

The extras on this disc are simply marvelous. You get a thirteen minute interview with Joe D'Amato made shortly before his death, an audio interview with Laura Gemser, and background on the Emmanuelle phenomena (D'Amato and others changed the spelling of Emmanuelle to "Emanuelle" in order to avoid copyright problems), a franchise which ran for decades throughout Europe and America. The best extras on the DVD are the talent bios for D'Amato and Gemser. These two biographies deeply explore the careers of these two underground favorites. Any information on D'Amato is always welcome, and the bio here does a good job constructing a partial filmography of this busy director. Interspersed throughout the bios are movie posters for various cult films made by Gemser and D'Amato.

It's amazing how great the film looks on DVD. It is obvious that the technicians pieced in several scenes in order to present an uncut version of the film, but overall the picture looks splendid. I hope the release of "Emanuelle in America" signals a growing movement to release even more D'Amato works in the near future. "Troll 2," a D'Amato classic not to be missed by anyone with a love for "so bad they're good" movies is due to appear soon. If new uncut versions of Anthropophagus and Anthropophagus 2 followed, I would truly be happy. For those new to the Joe D'Amato catalogue, "Emanuelle in America" is a good place to start. This movie isn't great, but it is an important contribution to underground cinema.

This is one of the most brutal sex exploitation films ever made. Emanuelle in America not only exploits the beauty of a naked woman, it also contains bestiality (woman with a horse) and a projected snuff film that appear very real. The sex scenes appear real and there are scenes of graphic penetrations near the end of the film. Although the story is simple (about a woman photographer looking for something controversial), it is the graphic sex scenes that make this a unique and maybe irresponsible film.

The DVD image is terrific considering that this was a film in the 70's. The sound is satisfactory. I think Blue Underground really did a great job--as usual.

I would recommend this film to collectors of erotic cinema.

If Sylvia Kristel had acted in this it probably would have been more entertaining, since she doesn't mind doing a sex scene or two. Laura Gemser, on the other hand, was plenty nude in this film (about every 5 minutes or so), but she has nothing even remotely close to a "sex scene". What gives? She gets touchy feely on a few occasions, but nothing special. Maybe that's why they had to call her "Emanuelle" with one M, instead of Sylvia Kristel's "Emmanuelle", because the extra M means MORE sex.
That's okay, because there was plenty of sex to be had by everyone else, even the horse! Contrary to the review from "dirk digler", Laura did not have anything to do with the horse, and nobody had sex with it. Some lady just massaged its genitalia. Big deal.
There is a scene at a party which turns into an explicit pornographic orgy and, later, when Laura is out and about taking pictures of people having sex for some reason, they are all engaged in explicit, real behavior. So that makes up for Laura's lack of "getting it on", but her soft-core stuff would've been silly compared to what else was going on, anyway.
Now, the "snuff" stuff.....I'll admit, it was quite troubling to watch at first, until I heard in a commentary how the director scratched up some 8mm film he shot the scenes with to make it look grainy and real. His efforts paid off, as far as realism goes. I honestly couldn't tell if it was fake or not at first, until one of the "victims" (the torn breast girl) didn't quite convince me that she was being tormented. But the meathook? How could you fake that? Even if it is fake, it still is creepy to watch. Definitely effective cinema, if nothing else.

Blue Underground has proven themselves to be the current leader in the market of releasing controversial films of the past. Not only releasing them, but restoring them and adding back all those naughty little bits that countless censors have suppressed over the years. This disc, Emanuelle in America, has got to be the pinnacle of their vision. I can't imagine any movie that could top this one in terms of outrageousness! What you can expect if and when you purchase this disc: Almost constant full-frontal (and sometimes more explicit) nudity, endless softcore sex (so much softcore sex that it actually gets tiring), a naked woman explicitly shown fondling a horse's erect penis, brief but memorable scenes of hardcore oral sex, masturbation, and vaginal penetration, and last but not least the infamous snuff footage. Images of a chained woman getting her breasts hacked off with a knife, or of another chained woman having a penis shaped funnel forced in her mouth so a man can pour acid down her throat are pretty hard to forget. If you are a fan of this kind of movie, this disc has got to be the holy grail of the genre. How Blue Underground were ever able to release this uncut onto the domestic market is beyond me, but I'm glad they did!

You have to be in the right frame of mind to sit and watch "Emmanualle in America".

If you are...it can be a blast.

In this film, Emmanuelle's sexual misadventures continue-and she winds up going undercover and getting herself in the middle of a underground conspiracy smuggling snuff films into the United States.

There not much of plot or acting here--just mostly soft core sexual scenarios with a few hardcore scenes as well.

Beastiality..... check!
3 somes........ check!
Lesbianism...... check!
Orgies.......... check!

Theres a little bit of everything here. Most of it is soft-core but there are a few sequences that are definately X-rated.

The snuff film footage is quite realistic and disturbing--but intriguing nonetheless.

All in all, this movie is all about sexual "visuals". Forget about storyline or any kind of acting ability.Times sure have changed--but "Emmanuelle in America" remains a titillating piece of erotica. Worth watching for the endless nudity or if your looking to try and "shock" yourself. This reviewer spent most of the film laughing his a** off!

The title of this review refers to the horse "Pedro", which was my vote for the funniest part of this trashy little movie. ;-)

This, the most infamous film in the Emmanuelle series, will not be for people who have enjoyed the previous erotic entries. This is the polar opposite of those films. All sex is forced, coerced, paid for and/or violent. This is far from a couples' film.
D'Amato also steps into the real of ultra-violence with some great fake snuff films. Unnervingly real, though the angles and format seems to be lifted directly from the courtyard scene is Passolini's Salo.
Laura Gemser is a pure sex symbol who, when placed in the world D'Amato has created, becomes as unappealing as all the violence around her. Any eroticism she delivers is immediately displaced by either the background, violence, or an ingratiating soundtrack.
Not for those looking for a hot sex film, but for those who want to see just how far they can step over the line in their cinematic tastes.

This is really the BEST Emanuelle film that is ever made!
If your looking for erotic, hardcore porn, adventure, drama and strong violence in the same movie you must see Emanuelle in America but be shour you've got an Uncut version or copie, because in the most countries the so called snuff footage and the hardcore porn is cut out. Iv'e got an Uncut german version whitch has a running time from 96 min. that's Full Uncut!!
And on DVD not an old video tape and Iv'e bough it from ...& and for you americans you can buy it on ...so go out and buy the sickest movie there is, a reel must for lovers of Exploitation films and Joe D' Amato fans!

Emanuelle in America is a must have for any serious exploitation film collection. The film has it's flaws mainly due to a non-smooth running plot. But it is a jem to be discovered if only for the outstanding snuff footage at the end. The special effects team headed by g de Rossi have done an outstanding job of bringing the snuff myth to the screen. I would like to know what one of the reveiwers is downloading when they state that such material is available over the internet. You need to collect that reward from Al Goldstein as no true snuff film has ever seen the light of day and is generally considered to be a social myth. Most people who state they have seen one generally have seen the aforementioned footage or a copy of Cannibal Holocaust. Joe D'mato was a very accomplished camera man who new how to make money. Emannuelle in America was the film which pushed the envelope at the time not in terms of sex but violence and has a very important place in exploitation history. If you like predictable Hollywood fare avoid. Also check out D'mato's Anthropophagus(cut in America as the Grim Reaper there is an uncut German disc)and also Beyond the Darkness. Joe also made some excellent costume XXX. Well worth a look. PS They dropped the M from Emannuelle for legal reasons to disassociate from Sylvia Kristal;s movies.

I bought this DVD because I had read about the film and because Blue Underground has been doing a great job in selecting their releases. I haven't had such a negative reaction to a film in ages. I had no problem with the X-rated sex scenes and the bestiality sequence was something I've never seen before so that was kind of educational. My problem was with the snuff film sequence.
I'm an old gorehound and I don't shy away from this kind of material but I feel context is very important when watching good gore. I like people and I don't want them to be eaten by Zombies so when I watch say Dawn Of The Dead I want to be horrified by scenes of carnage and I want the director to tell me I should be horrified.
The problem with the gore in this movie is that its context is to serve as sexual titillation. Intercutting scenes of Laura Gemser having sex while looking through a window into the torture room with scenes of women being very realistically mutilated is way to perverse for me. I'm sure that about 50% of the people who read this review will be even more likely to purchase it now but for people like me who will feel "soiled" after viewing this, you've been warned.
My disk also arrived scratched up do to a very crappy box with sharp edges on the "button". Since I threw out my copy immediately after viewing it this wasn't an issue but since this will no doubt become a major collectors item after the government bans it you may have trouble getting a mint copy through [Amazon.com]

This is the raciest Emanuelle title of them all,this is not for the weak of heart. Brutal violence and and couple of hardcore sex scenes mixed in with the usual erotic softcore scenes. Laura Gemser is definitely the most beautiful women to have ever played the character of Emanuelle. Watch it if you dare.