Emmanuelle et les Collégiennes

Granted, I can't claim to be a fan of the "Emanuelle" movies really, but I have seen a number of them over the years, whenever I had a chance to watch one. But it is not like I have been actively chasing after the movie in order to get to watch them. Yeah, I am not really all that keen on the exploitation genre.

But as luck would have it, then I had the opportunity to sit down in 2022 and watch the 1977 Italian "Suor Emanuelle" (aka "Sister Emanuelle") movie from writers Gerolamo Collogno, Mario Gariazzo, Ambrogio Molteni and Marino Onorati. I wasn't really harboring much of any expectations to the movie, but did sit down to watch it with an open mind and a clean slate.

As it turned out, then director Giuseppe Vari actually delivered a movie that wasn't all that bad. Sure, it was the usual type of mundane nudity and attempts of being a semi-erotic movie, but in comparison to many of the other "Emanuelle" movies I have seen, then this one was actually watchable.

For me it was the nun and cloister aspect to the storyline that actually made the different, plus the fact that it felt like the writers had actually put in an effort to make "Suor Emanuelle" more than just another archetypical "Emanuelle" movie.

And of course it is good to see Laura Gemser in the role of Emanuelle, as she single-handedly has embodied that particular role and made it hers and hers alone.

If you enjoy the exploitation genre then "Suor Emanuelle" is actually a step up the ladder and is worth checking out, if you haven't already done so.

My rating of the 1977 "Suor Emanuelle" lands on a five out of ten stars.

If you are like me, you love the whole school girl fantasy coupled with the strict nuns. This movie has a little of it all. Plus, the lesbian scenes are wonderful. If anything, they are too short. But there is one with a banana that words just can not do justice to. Highly recommend this one, but only get the Euro uncut version.

In a real change of pace for the "Black Emanuelle" series Emanuelle (Laura Gemser) has become a nun(!), and has been put in charge of a naughty teenage vixen (Swiss miss Monica Zanchi) who is being escorted to a convent school after her father catches her in bed with her young stepmother! While Emanuelle tries to morally straighten out the girl, the girl tries to immorally straighten out every guy she meets (including a dangerous escaped convict played my Gabriel Tinti)and to corrupt the nun. You can pretty much guess who wins this contest, especially since "Sister Emanuelle" turns out to be much more corrupt than the girl to begin with.

This movie was not directed by Joe D'Mato, but fits right in with the transgressive films he directed in the series in that it manages to combine "nunsploitation" (politically incorrect by today's standards) with schoolgirl exploitation (VERY politically incorrect by today's standards). I might point out though that the voluptuous Monica Zanchi is not especially believable as a schoolgirl, and the svelte and sexy Laura Gemser is not even remotely believable as a nun, so I think we're pretty safely ensconced in the world of fantasy here. The two actresses are a pretty incendiary combination, and downright explosive when you add in Italian sex bomb Dirce Funari as the stepmother.

Along with "Emanuelle, the Queen" this probably has the strongest plot of any film in the series, and unlike that one doesn't fall apart in the end. It does fall back on a hoary old cliché in the finale, but it actually works here because it leaves it pretty ambiguous whether all the degradation we've witnessed really exists in the heart of the girl or the nun. It's also pretty well made--for instance, there's a memorable scene where the girl talks in voice over about having been "raped" by three guys on the beach while the visual flashback shows what REALLY happened. (Some 15 years later I remember mainstream movie reviewers practically wetting themselves when overrated "film genius" Steven Soderberg did the exact same thing in "Sex, Lies, and Videotape"). The music is pretty good too. Recommended.

Everyone's favorite nymphet has renounced her deviant sexual past and has become a nun. Emanuelle travels to Venice to meet with a wealthy Baron. The Baron has become enraged with his daughter (Monika) who was caught having an affair with her stepmother. He asks Emanuelle to bring his perverse teenage daughter back to her convent. Doesn't this already sound like the greatest film ever made? It's definitely one of the best Emanuelle films ever made. What a perfect place for the Emanuelle character to end up in - a convent. And what a great direction for this series to take - Emanuelle turns to God. But Emanuelle isn't sure if she wants God in her heart; Emanuelle becomes seduced by the teenage girl. On top of all this sexual tension, Emanuelle and Monika take in an escaped murderer; they both fall in love with him and hide him out inside the convent. This also has to be one of the funniest Emanuelle films in the series. For example: one of the nuns in the convent has a bladder problem. One-night Emanuelle showers and runs threw the halls of the convent; however when Sister Superior finds water all over the floors she blames the sister with the bladder problem – ha ha! On a final note: Laura Gemser is as beautiful as ever. Gemser is to the Emanuelle series what Sean Connery is to the James Bond series – "simply the best!"

Sister Emanuelle (1977) follows the exploits of Emanuelle as she tries to find God and cleanse herself of sin by being a nun in a convent. Her devotion to God and not her old hedonistic lifestyle is challenged by a wild new convert. Can Emauelle resist temptation and cling to her new found love of religion or will the wild and carefree Emauelle reemerge and embrace her old lifestyle?

I was disappointed by this movie. It's okay but I was expecting a whole lot more because it's Emanuelle mixed in with nunsploitation. This could have been an instant classic, but it fails on some levels but not all. A must for die hard Emanuelle fans.