Emmanuelle (1974)

Popularity:

Up 3% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.

Director:

Just Jaeckin

Writers:

Emmanuelle Arsan (novel)
Jean-Louis Richard

Release Date:

26 June 1974 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Let's you feel good without feeling bad.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Bangkok | Trip | Extramarital Affair | Female Protagonist | Sex Scene

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

Directed by
Just Jaeckin

Writing credits
Emmanuelle Arsan		(novel)
Jean-Louis Richard

Produced by
Yves Rousset-Rouard	....	producer

Original Music by
Pierre Bachelet

Cinematography by
Richard Suzuki		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Claudine Bouché

Costume Design by
Georges Bril		(costumes: men)

Makeup Department
Christine Fornelli	....	key makeup artist (as Christiane Fornelli)
Andrea Pfister	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Michel Choquet	....	production manager
Lionel de Sousa	....	unit manager
Jean Pieuchot	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Philippe Leriche	....	assistant director

Art Department
Léo Kouper	....	poster artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
Paul Bertault	....	sound mixer
Jean-Claude Duval	....	sound re-recording mixer
André Hervée	....	sound engineer

Camera and Electrical Department
Louis Balthazard	....	key grip
Robert Fraisse	....	camera operator
Jean-Paul Lemaître	....	first assistant camera
Jean-Claude Naour	....	chief electrician
Marie Saunier	....	still photographer

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Dan Beranger	....	dresses
Jean-Charles Brosseau	....	hat designer
Sylvia Panigel	....	costumer (as Sylvia Panijel)
Andrea Pfister	....	shoe designer (as Andréa Pfister)
Helene Tourin	....	swimming costumes (as Hélène Tourn)

Editorial Department
Olivier Froux	....	apprentice editor
Jérôme Richard	....	apprentice editor
Dany Zuchowicki	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Hervé Roy	....	musical director

Other crew
Nitya Phenkun	....	interpreter
J. Thévenet	....	titles
G. Veinat	....	titles
Alice Ziller	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Trinacra Films
• Orphée Productions

Distributors

• Parafrance Films (1974) (France) (theatrical) (as Para France Films)
• Columbia Pictures (1974) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed) (subtitled)
• Gloria Filmverleih (1974) (Austria) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Tuschinski Film Distribution (1974) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Warner-Columbia Films (1985) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Breien Film (1984) (Norway) (VHS) (as Videoklubben Månedens Film)
• Columbia Pictures Home Video (1980) (USA) (VHS) (dubbed)
• Fox Lorber (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Fox Lorber (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Home Video Hellas (HVH) (1984) (Greece) (VHS)
• LK-TEL Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• LK-TEL (198?) (Argentina) (VHS)
• NBCUniversal Entertainment (2015) (Japan) (DVD)
• NBCUniversal Entertainment (2015) (Japan) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Panorama Distributions (2008) (Hong Kong) (DVD)
• Panorama Distributions (2010) (Hong Kong) (DVD) (Blu-Ray)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• RCA Home Video (19??) (USA) (VHS)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (19??) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• RCV Home Entertainment (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Sandrew Metronome Norge (2002) (Norway) (DVD)
• Star Video (1982) (Australia) (video)
• StudioCanal (2003) (France) (DVD)
• StudioCanal (2009) (France) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Universal Home Video (2006) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Zon Lusomundo Audiovisuais (2012) (Portugal) (DVD) (PAL subtitled)

Special Effects

• Eurocitel (special effects)

Other Companies

• Le Terrain Vague  novel published by (as Editions du Terrain Vague)
• Pre-Vision  casting
• Bijoux Fabrice  jewelry (as Fabrice)
• Emesse  dresses
• La Bagagerie  leather props and wardrobe accessories
• Andréa Luraschi Immobiliaria  location (as Villa Luraschi)
• Pan American Airlines  product placement (uncredited)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

105 min | Argentina:98 min | USA:89 min (R-rated version) | USA:95 min | South Korea:85 min | West Germany:93 min (cut version) | Portugal:90 min (dvd release)

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:X (original rating) | Argentina:18 (re-rating) (1985) | Australia:R18+ | Brazil:18 | Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Canada:18+ (Quebec) (original rating) | Canada:16+ (Quebec) (re-rating) (2003) | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-18 | France:-16 | Germany:16 (re-rating) | Hong Kong:III | Iceland:16 | Ireland:(Banned) (original rating) | Ireland:18 (re-rating) | Italy:VM18 | Japan:R-18 | Netherlands:18 (original rating) | Netherlands:16 (re-rating) | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:18 | Portugal:M/18 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | UK:18 (video re-rating) (2007) (uncut) | USA:Unrated | USA:R (cut) | USA:X (rating surrendered) | West Germany:18 (cinema release) (re-rating) (cut) | West Germany:(Banned) (original rating) (cinema release) | West Germany:Not Rated (video rating)

Filming Locations:

Bangkok, Thailand

Company:

Trinacra Films

Trivia:

Star Sylvia Kristel was apparently fairly unhappy that she was not approached regarding the English-language dub of the film, as she herself spoke fluent English and felt she was capable of doing the job herself.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: (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.

Quotes:

Mario:All fear should be totally abolished. The fear of questioning oneself and the fear of being happy engender the values of a false morality, taboos, conformism, the refusal of life... in a word: lies.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Twisted Sex Vol. 14 (1996) (V)

Soundtrack:

Opium Den

The ambiguity of Emmanuelle

The biggest cinema surprise hit of 1975, based on a book by Emmanuelle Arsan, made Dutch model Sylvia Kristel a famous actress. The first thing you'll notice is that over 30 years later, the fascination with the exotic is still strong. It was worth going to Thailand and present the real thing instead of shooting "Asian" scenes in a park in Spain or Italy like many other European film crews did at the time. And it surely is one of the very few erotic films where you have to pay attention to the dialogs. It was important to explain the bizarre idea of "freedom" which the scandalous novel had introduced - arguably a two-edged sword. It is said that dependency is humiliating, but aren't scenes like when Emmanuelle is given as a "prize" to the Thai boxer even more humiliating? Easy to see why the movie stirred up discussions - which made even more people want to watch it. The ambiguity of this "freedom" in "Emmanuelle" thus was used for marketing. In her autobiography "Undressing Emmanuelle", Kristel recalls one scene with real horror: near the end, when she is raped by the opium smoker. The young man didn't understand a word of what she or the director said, so he just grabbed her. Sylvia's disgust is visible, and if the sequels hadn't been softer, she probably wouldn't have made them. The first Emmanuelle film still was experimenting with both visual style and a provocative attitude; it may have created a certain formula even though it didn't completely obey its rules, since it was rather the more gentle and glossy second Emmanuelle film which perfected the formula. I voted 7/8/6/4/6/7 for the six cinema films of the series.