Home :: DVD :: Cult Movies :: Blue Underground  

Action & Adventure
Animated
Blaxploitation
Blue Underground

Camp
Comedy
Drama
Exploitation
Full Moon Video
General
Horror
International
Landmark Cult Classics
Monster Movies
Music & Musicals
Prison
Psychedelic
Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Westerns
Emanuelle In America

Emanuelle In America

List Price: $29.95
Your Price: $26.96
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 2 >>

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: it certainly has its moments....yeah...it goes there!
Review: I admit I was sceptical about how good this '70's erotic movie would be. Unfortunately it was a slow moving film until the final 30 minutes or so. The main actress is less than exciting, its all about the situations she gets into that make this movie worth watching. There are some actual hard core sex scenes that are welcome to the viewer, by the time you get through seeing so many phony "soft core" sequences. Again...towards the end of the film the real hard core scenes present themselves. Of course its simulated "snuff" action...but what action! Its unfortunate the director didn't show more than snipetts of those very strong scenes! I was impressed by the reality of the snuff stuff...I would have enjoyed more raw sex with the star participating, however she came across as frigid as a dead cod for sale in a fish market! If it wasn't for the tension of certain parts of this film, it would be a zero star film. The very hot hard core sex scenes and the snuff movies being shown in the background gives this film 5 stars from me!
I don't anticipate seeing anything else quite like it...made during the 1970's or anytime before or after this film. Hollywood may be making billions from the porn industry these days, but they sure don't make erotic films like this one, or the best one ever, "The Image". This film may be too strong at some times for your girlfriends to watch with you, however, if they are very "freaky" little pigs....they'll get wet all over the couch with you!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Brutal Sex Exploitation Film
Review: 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.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Disturbing
Review: A friend of mine showed this video to me. The only words that describe this movie is "Disturbing." I hope every part of the "snuff" scenes were fake. I could barely stomach any of those scenes. The sad thing is that stuff like this actually happens. Anyone who finds that entertaining should be shot. All you people that get off from watching this stuff and would prefer the "uncut" version of this movie because of the snuff scenes should be shot as well. Movies like this are helping these sick [people] watch their snuff legally.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Joe D' Amato's Best !!!!
Review: 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!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Laura Gemser: the worst Emanuelle character
Review: 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.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Draining the horse
Review: That's awesome how Emmanuelle jacks off the horse then turns around and takes it in the rear! Next time I get near a farm I'm gonna do the same thing!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Well, You Wanted Something Different....
Review: 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.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Cheap Thrills in a Cheap Case
Review: The movie depicts mostly soft-core material, though it surprises the viewer with a few explicit scenes. There are, however, some vivid moments that hard-core enthusiasts would no doubt appreciate. The picture quality is mediocre.

If you're interested in a few thrills, then get this flick. However, good luck in getting a disc that isn't scratched or cracked. The studio, Blue Underground, has used the worst of all DVD cases to house this movie: the one whose hub consists of four sharp-edged high-pressure prongs that do little more than damage a disc. My disc arrived with multiple scratches and a small crack in the center. I note that another reviewer had a similar complaint. The company eagerly publicizes the resurgence of an uncut classic but decides to supply low-cost, inferior cases with a DVD that isn't cheap. Foolish.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An excercise in endurance.
Review: 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.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Best
Review: This has to be one of the best exploitation films ever made, completely going beyond all sense of taste and decorum. Joe D'Amato does a brilliant job in showing us some of the most deprived and hard-core sequences in film history.

The bit where the girl is masterbating the horse is an absolute classic. You literally can't believe what you're seeing!

Definitely a collector's item in every sense and no doubt soon to be withdrawn/banned, get this while you still can - especially with the excellent extras on the disc.

You might be disgusted, but you won't be disappointed!


<< 1 2 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates