Emmanuelle na América

"Emanuelle in America" has the reputation of being one of the sleaziest, most vile films ever made. Well, having watched it a couple of times I have to say that its reputation is a tad overblown. Yes, the average movie-going public would probably be offended by many parts of EIA but when you think about those objectionable scenes, they're not that freaky. There is much worse on the internet right now than what is seen, briefly, in EIA. EIA was made during the greatest period of exploitation films, a period, which alas, will never be recreated again. The mores of the 1970s made it possible for films to explore the sleaziest, darkest part of the human psyche. Remember, these films were released theatrically. There's almost no chance today for a film like EIA to be released on the big screen, no matter how many sleazy or super violent films have been made recently, like, hmm, "Passion of the Christ"? Arf!

Anyway, there's something backwards and ahead of its time about "Emanuelle in America". It's painfully backwards in the attempts the producers tried to shock jaded 42nd ave viewers with bestiality and such but forward thinking in the way sex is shown so carefree and dare I say fun? It's like the realization of a silly Penthouse forum story made come to life...seriously, the film is sexy in only the way 1970s can be. The beginning is great. Seeing Laura walking around New York, which the groovy theme song, makes EIA look like an adult version of the MARY TYLER MOORE show intro: Laura is a free woman (who's almost always in control), a career woman and is sexually active. The only thing missing in the intro is Laura tossing a hat in the air.

The biggest problem with "Emanuelle in America" is the script. Films like this are not known to have solid scripts but the producers actually tried to create a semblance of an interesting story, amidst the sleaze and lurid goings on, but then completely forgot a satisfactory ending for this. I love the fact that film suddenly veered into snuff-like territory at the very end but it became sorta pointless without a proper conclusion to that last minute plot line.

All in all, I think "Emanuelle in America" is a masterpiece of 1970s exploitation. It has almost every exploitation element in it (the only thing missing, like most of exploitation films, is male homosexuality). Laura Gemser is hot. The music is amazing and the cinematography is actually pretty good. I only give it 8 because of the missing ending and because of some boring, drawn-out spots.

If want to see a film that captures the warped side of the 1970s in all its Euro-cult glory, make sure to watch "Emanuelle in America".

EMANUELLE IN AMERICA is clearly a testament to the declining CineCitta film industry of this time. Exploitation film-makers were being forced to throw genres together in bizarre hybrids to try and cover as many commercial bases as possible.

This film, without doubt, is the flat out WEIRDEST example of that I've ever seen. The first 50 minutes or so play like a typically flaccid D'Amato softcore sex movie, before kicking into high octane with hardcore bestiality footage, hardcore porn, and pretty grueling "snuff" footage (shot in a verite, hand-held and shaky style that reminds me of the latter half of CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST). None of it really fits together well within the narrative (particularly the XXX footage which is clearly spliced in from another film) and all the excessive stuff is quite brief. I don't really understand what the commercial motivation for the production of this film was, but that certainly interests me. The whole film has an air of not being complete, especially when you consider the bizarrely truncated ending.

An interesting and VERY sleazy watch, but don't expect the rest of the film to be anything but appalling. D'Amato's straight horror (specifically BLUE OMEGA and ABSURD) do the job way more for me, and I usually love sleaze with all my grimy heart. Before anyone yells at me, the copy I own is the "fully uncut" Venezuelan print so I really don't think I'm missing anything here.

A good film by sleaze-master Joe D'Amato? No chance. Wait a minute, this one actually isn't too bad. Emanuelle's (notice, one "m", not Emmanuelle ©) forays into the aristocratic decay lifestyle get weirder and sleazier, culminating in the snuff footage in the end (modeled after Pasolini's "Salo", how ironical). It's not all bleak however, as Joe has a sense of humor. Case in point, Emanuelle and cohort having sex in the next room to an orchestra playing, and hysterically editing the sex with close-ups of the geek musos playing Ludwig's fifth. Or what about the ending? Emanuelle getting a vacation as a reward for her investigative journalism, only it turns to be a movie decor. It is only a movie after all. Hah.

If pernicious is a stronger word for ugly, then it applies here, but I'm not referring to the "snuff" footage sequence, I'm referring to the non-sex/non-horror scenes. They're so unbelievably boring and poorly acted that you could end up leaving the theatre (or living room) and missing out on the sleaze.

The film's soundtrack is outstanding and captures the era wonderfully.

As always, Laura Gemser is captivating and too sexy for words, and the film's explicitness verges on hardcore for most of the time and crosses the softcore line once or twice.

But it's the "snuff" footage sleaze fans want and it doesn't disappoint. Almost SALO-esque in its intensity and terribly well executed, it arrives in context but blurs its context quickly because it is unexpectedly extreme and realistic.

Worth seeing once or twice. Or owning, if the inclination's there.

Extreme depravity, hardcore sex, and ultra violence: I'd heard that this sleazy offering from Italian trash-movie king Joe D'Amato (Aristide Massaccesi) was the epitome of exploitation, so I borrowed a copy from a friend and settled down to enjoy a prime slice of deviancy. Unfortunately, this supposedly spicy dollop of D'Amato sauce actually turned out to be rather bland.

Laura Gemser plays Emanuelle, an investigative reporter determined to get her scoop, whatever the risk. Using her womanly wiles, she digs up the dirt on an organised-crime boss and his harem, some lust-crazed Venetian aristocrats, and a sex club for lonely women where our horny heroine eventually stumbles on the story of the century when she discovers a couple enjoying a genuine snuff movie.

The first half of the movie is rather dull, packed with plentiful female nudity but hardly any of the 'rough stuff' that I had read so much about; only a brief scene involving a happy horse named Pedro is worthy of note.

Eventually D'Amato hits his stride and, during an orgy scene, he delivers the first of many hardcore moments; from here on in, the XXX action is more plentiful, but the clumsy direction and editing means that they are far from erotic.

At the end of the movie, Joe throws in a smattering of very gory pseudo-snuff footage for good measure, but this only serves to make the film feel even more disparate. The end result is neither a soft-core adventure, a hardcore porn movie or an all out gore-fest, but a disappointing (and often boring) half-assed mixture of all three.

See it so that you can talk knowledgeably about the genre to like-minded sickos, but don't expect anything too amazing.