Emmanuelle (1974)

The wife of a French diplomat in Bangkok, Emmanuelle embarks on a voyage of sexual discovery.

Director:

Just Jaeckin

Writers:

Emmanuelle Arsan (novel), Jean-Louis Richard

Stars:

Sylvia Kristel, Alain Cuny, Marika Green

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Alain Cuny	...	Mario
Sylvia Kristel	...	Emmanuelle
Marika Green	...	Bee
Daniel Sarky	...	Jean
Jeanne Colletin	...	Ariane
Christine Boisson	...	Marie-Ange
Samantha
Gabriel Briand	...	(as Gaby Brian)
Gregory

Storyline

Emmanuelle is a beautiful young model and lives in Bangkok together with her husband Jean, who's several years older. She likes him because he's taught her much, and he likes her because she's learning so well - and wants to often. Both are very tolerant in matters of extramarital affairs, so he doesn't mind the young Marie-Ange coming over every so often, although she obviously wants more than talk from his wife. But Emmanuelle is more fascinated by the older Bee, and joins her on a trip into the jungle.

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Plot Keywords:

extramarital affair | erotic 70s | female frontal nudity | opium | bangkok | 

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Taglines:

X was never like this.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

3 December 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

Emmanuelle

Filming Locations:

Bangkok, Thailand

Box Office

Budget:

$500,000 (estimated)

Gross:

SEK 2,011,741 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Trinacra Films, Orphée Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min 89 min (R-rated) 93 min (cut) 90 min (dvd release)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The character Marie-Ange masturbates in front of a shocked Emmanuelle while watching a large photo of Paul Newman in a magazine.

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Goofs

(at around 1 min) When Emmanuelle is on the plane, she closes the blind fully and curls up. A fellow passenger sits down and embraces her. In addition to the high spotlight on her cleavage, there's a bright light coming from the direction of said covered window.

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Quotes

Emmanuelle: l knew then that a cascade is only beautiful if you can say so to the one you love.

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Connections

Spin-off Emmanuelle, Queen of the Galaxy (1994)

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Soundtracks

Mood
Written and Performed by Pierre Bachelet and Hervé Roy

User Reviews

I won't bother thinking up a pun to go with Bangkok...

Going into this film, the only thing that I was really worried about was that it might be boring. It's not that I particularly have anything against pornography; but what's taboo now and what was taboo over three decades ago are different things, and besides that; you can only watch people having sex for so long before it begins to get dull. However, I was wrong; the film isn't boring, and while the focus is usually on sex; there actually is a story, and it actually is quite interesting! The film is unlikely to appeal to people that are interested in the more perverted side of sex as the film doesn't feature anything above lesbian sex, but the tender way that the story is presented as well as the French style give it a very erotic feel throughout. The plot, as you might expect, focuses on the character 'Emmanuelle', a young woman that lives with her husband; an older man, in Bangkok. They share a sort of teacher-pupil relationship, and they're also very liberal where adultery is concerned, as neither one cares too much about the other's antics with other people.

This film inspired a barrage of slightly less tasteful sequels, as well as a range of Italian films, many of which were directed by sleaze God Joe D'Amato. I don't think the filmmakers intended Emmanuelle to be associated so closely with sleaze, and actually at times; it doesn't really feel like a porn film; more of a drama with sex. I've got no idea how many taboos this film broke upon it's release over three decades ago, but the fact that it doesn't really break many today does it a favour where class is concerned as the film never feels too dirty, and this bodes well with the high class of the lead characters and setting. Sylvia Kristel takes the lead role, and is believable as a sexually naive young woman. She is joined by a number of eye-pleasing actresses, including Christine Boisson and Marika Green, and all get to take their clothes off in several scenes. The settings in which it all takes place are pleasing also, and the film is of a much higher class than a lot of nowadays porn. I'm surprised that Emmanuelle still has a notorious reputation, as it's only soft-core at best; but it's definitely worth seeing, if only to see how much things have changed!