Customer Reviews

Emmanuelle II, The Joys of a Woman [VHS]

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This rating is not for the movie which is good and every bit what the other reviewers have noted. My beef is with the DVD which is 85 minutes and even shorter than the VHS version which is 92 minutes. Can someone tell me why? If anything, the director's cut should have been produced on DVD. What a disappointment!

Strange...I have the full 92 minute version (with French Subtitles) and it is made by Fox Lorber. Anyway, that is the movie I will review...

Sylvia Kristel knows what female sexuality is. She does not have a fantastic body and her face looks typically Dutch, but she has this mystical look that most women nowaday have no clue about (Catherine Deneuve has this same look). She plays the now experienced Emmanuelle (from the first movie), who now has a new husband and lives in Hong Kong.

There is little plot, and the movie is based on a series of vignette sexual encounters, but the European soundtrack and exotic locations are so sexual. If there is a movie to put anyone in the mood, without being obvious, this is it. I feel that it is better than the first one, which was very seventies, raunchy and had artsy dialogue.

The DVD is still pretty bare, but the transfer is very good (absolutely neccessary for such a visual movie). Sound is average, but hell, I read much of the dialogue anyway (I absolutely love the emmanuelle song).

So, you want to a little raunch in your collection, skip Pamela Anderson and all those fake blondes and try this erotic gem that will show you the true meaning of sexiness......Rating: B

While I lived in France, I had a chance to see this film in it's uncut verison. I had thought by buying this DVD, that I had in fact had the orginal uncut film. Not quite! I was somewhat disappointed by the missing/removed parts which were very important to this film. I hope this is of some help to you?

If you're looking for the true erotic masterpiece that people talked to you about or the one you saw somewhere and dying to have in your collection STAY AWAY FROM THIS VERSION!!! This one is cut! And most disturbingly, the actual scenes for which you buy this film are missing!! Forget about it, go find yourself another movie...

I saw this film in the theater with my husband in 1976. It was advertised as a mainstream X-rated film that would appeal to woman. They were right. To this day, it is the best of this genre I've seen. But the previous reviewer says this NC-17 version is "spoiled" by the cuts, and we should look for the original X if we could get it. It certainly was not overly "hardcore." in my view.

In any event, the one I saw, rated X, was outstanding. If anyone finds it in the original form, please let us know.

An Adult, not rated, film

This is the second film in a "trilogy" (like Asimov's Foundation Trilogy was a Trilogy; i.e. more books and more films followed the trilogy) that stars Sylvia Kristel as Emmanuelle and spawned a large number of copy-cats (most of which go by the name Emanuelle). This particular film is based on Emmanuelle Arsan's book "L'antivierge." This film has been alternately titled "Emmanuelle 2," "Emmanuelle L'Antivierge," and the US trailer says that this film is titled "Emmanuelle: The Joys of a Woman."

The second film starts with an older longer-haired Emmanuelle setting sail on a passenger ship in the group sleeping quarters. While lying in the cot that the ship has provided, Emmanuelle starts talking with one of the many women sleeping nearby (some of these woman seem to prefer sleeping barely clothed; some in hammocks, some in cots). The blonde mentions how she can't sleep with all these other women nearby as she was attacked at school by some women. Emmanuelle "comforts" her with some of the other women looking on.

When Emmanuelle arrives at her new Asian home, she finds an unexpected guest, a male pilot. After finding that pilot, wife and husband try to make up for being apart for 2 months but husband has an appointment. After the meeting, the husband and wife are able to make up for lost time.

Emmanuelle goes out on the town shopping with the pilot, and ends up receiving an acupuncture massage in front of the pilot. While receiving the massage, Emmanuelle nude massage, she fantasizes about her husband, while the pilot looks on with disgust.

There are numerous interesting scenes, besides the ones already mentioned, including: Emmanuelle visits a dance study and spots a machine with an erotic/bondage picture show inside (hand-drawn), and while watching is visited by the dance instructor; Emmanuelle, her husband, and a young blonde friend visit a special massage parlor where all the customers are messaged by women, who start off using their hands, but who quickly use their naked bodies against their naked clients, front and back (a very interesting massage parlor (actually it is a place where people are cleaned using soap and asian women); Emmanuelle visits a nightclub filled with naked (some dressed or semi-dressed) women, and men having fun (most of the women are asian and most of the men are in uniforms); then their is the scene where Emmanuelle and her husband have fun with the blonde woman (Anna Marie) from the parlor.

Emmanuelle is less naive in this film and takes pleasure everywhere she can find it.

Interesting music choice, I kept expecting to see that guy from the Incredible Hulk TV show to turn up, similar sounding music. (4.45)

Following the hugely successful first Emmanuelle came this lushly photographed classic sequel, perhaps even surpassing the original. What it has in common with the first Emmanuelle: wonderful score, beautiful locations, and the lovely Sylvia Kristel. These are intelligent films with a sense of humour, much in the spirit of the novels the films are based on.

Those looking for hardcore thrills will be let down, this is strictly R rated fare by todays standards... but if you are looking for a beautiful world of fantasy and desire, this is the film for you.

Shame on Fox Lorber for sucking the blood out of this movie with their editing of the film's sexiest scenes. Don't bother buying this movie, and keep this in mind when considering buying others of their film reissues.

Perhaps this movie stands out for me, since I saw it as a doubleheader with Emmanuelle I in original movie release. Of the two, it was clearly the more sensual. Yes, there is sex, but clearly there is more sensuality. I have been in S.E.Asia, so I did make a connection (although my time was certainly not like that). The bathhouse scene certainly raises the temperature of the room, and perhaps other things.... This movie certainly captures the time when sex was guiltless and without any health concerns (pre AIDS). This movie certainly is not R rated, but does not have the hard edge that more explicit movies can have. Perhaps one can think of it as how sex could be in a hedonistic environment with no concern of any consequences. This is a good DVD to have in a collection of sensuality.

There is something about Kristel, this genre, this era, that I must have a lack of good judgement. Perhaps I can blame it on my adolescence. My utopian sex life would mirror these cheesy videos. Kristel is beatiful, her lovers are too. The soft core sex scenes definitely work for me. This video makes for a great escape from the realities of sexual freedom. There are no jealousies, ugly consequences or ugly people. -- Again, I think that I could be a bit more critical if this movie were made with another actress. I have a soft spot for Kristel in my cynical view of soft porn. All of her Emmanuelle films are fun to watch.