Black Emmanuelle, White Emmanuelle

Director - Brunello Rondi (Violent Life, The Voice)

Starring - Laura Gemser (End Game, Violence in a Women's Prison), Annie Belle (Forever Emmanuelle, House on the Edge of the Park), and Al Cliver (Zombi 2, The Beyond)

Release Date - 1976

Genre - Drama/Romance

Tagline - "The seamy side of paradise will excite you, delight you and ignite you!"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     The Bleack Emanuelle, or Emmanuelle, series is a bit of a confusing franchise that is rewarding but very chaotic to understand.  The Black Emanuelle series has fans all over the world which made Laura Gemser one of the many faces of exploitation cinema of the 70s.  Her beauty and willingness to bare it all for the camera made her extremely popular.  However, the Emanuelle series is unable to connect itself to the character aside from starring Gemser.  I had heard fans talk about Black Emmanuelle, White Emmanuelle several times over the years in movie groups and one thing that is always mentioned is how the title of the film reflects Emanuelle but Gemser does not star as Emanuelle the journalist.  Instead, she is a model named Laura (her real life name).  When Full Moon announced the blu release of this one I was too curious to pass it up so I reached out to MVD to see if I could review it.  They were kind enough to send a copy my way.

     The film follows model Laura (Gemser) and her abusive boyfriend Carlo (Gabriele Tinit) who is also her photographer.  They pair travel to Egypt to meet up with a friend and her lovely daughters who are very open with their sexuality.

     Black Emmanuelle, White Emmanuelle was also released under the titles Velluto Nero, Smooth Velvet Raw Silk, and Emanuelle Black Velvet and is one of the more popular titled in the Black Emanuelle series.  Hell, I enjoyed it but it's a confusing film and a loose entry in the series.  It's obvious that it was not meant to be part of the Emanuelle series with the alternate titles that it was meant to be another sexploitation film starring Laura Gemser but the popularity of the Black Emanuelle character forced the studio change the title.  It's a fun film but should be taken with a grain of salt.  The acting in this one is a little above what you would expect from a sexploitation film.  Gemser delivers a little more timid performance than what most of her fans would expect.  Her character is not as forward and bold as her portrayal of Emanuelle.  With that being said, the remainder of the cast does a great job at bringing their characters to life.  They are fun and make the film what it is.  The story for this one is simple and very basic.  We have beautiful women exploring their sexuality with random men while the movie is set in Egypt.  That's basically the premise.  As I stated, it's the characters that make the film so much fun and not the story.  Finally, if you are looking for blood and gore you will be greatly disappointed.  However, if you are in the mood for beautiful women then you are in the right place.  Overall, Emanuelle Black Velvet is an extremely fun and sleazy treat starring the always gorgeous Laura Gemser.  It's not the best Black Emanuelle film but it's extremely enjoyable.  The blu from Full Moon looks great but the lack of supplemental material is a bit of a disappointment.