Search - Emmanuelle 5 on DVD

Those Were the Days...

Zagnorch | Terra, Sol System | 11/21/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Hey, there. Remember those days of hormone-ridden adolescence when you snuck into the TV room in the middle of the night while the 'rents were asleep, and switched the cable box on to your fave premium channel in the hopes of seein' a few nudies and (hopefully) some other less-than-pure visuals? You probably had your special video tape ready to record those precious moments for future reference too, didn't ya? Boy, those were some fun times, weren't they? I know they were for me...Emmanuelle 5 © was a particularly memorable naughty flick for me. The star, Monique Gabrielle, shows just about all she can-- in skin, that is, not acting ability-- as she cavorts through parts of mainland Europe and the Middle East in this little flesh-fest, and having her way with a few nerdy-yet-hunky guys (I've got the 'nerdy' part down, myself). Hey, you didn't think people watched this stuff for the Oscar-worthy performances, did'ja? Let's face it, the reason this baby was made is pretty plain: to grab the attention of the socially-inept heterosexual male demographic! Yep, it's all about the marketing, which I fell for just like that! I feel so dirty now...Oh yeah, there's some silly excuse of a plot about a Middle Eastern Sheik who tries to make Emanuelle a prized addition to his harem, but that's neither here nor there...''Late"

Not enough sex- and I am a woman!

Zagnorch | 10/04/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The Emanualle series is unique in that it is sensual and sexual. It reaches the ladies in the audience WITHOUT being offensive! This one seemed far too concerned with the safe sex concerns of the actors. It was Emanuelle- almost- reimbraces- secondary viginity. Of the ones I have seen in this series, this one is the worst. I suggest you try Emanuelle 1 or 2! Enjoy!!"

Softest-soft-core if that's possible

Jerry McDaniel | 02/12/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"the only thing that i liked about this film is the scene between the two women from the middle east behind the curtain that the Sheik ripped apart. a good 20-25 seconds of pure lesbian lust...before the camera pans back to the Sheik again! i'm appalled at how mainstream the film tries to be. for me, part of the Emmanuelle success was showcasing a woman with a sexual appetite no matter who it was from: man or woman. yet, with the Emmanuelles that followed in Kristel's footsteps, somewhere along the way the series became nothing but a sophomoric, naughty movie one might expect to find late at night on the USA Network back in the early '90s with Gilbert Gotfreid with zero titilation and sexual overtones...but heavy on bikini clad bimbos. Laura Gemser has been the ONLY other woman to successfully play this role...and her films are MORE explicit than Kristel's. Emmanuelle 5 came along in 1987 as just another skin flick...showing hardly any skin. the mood for me is always interrupted by the so-called 'hero' of the film who's trying to break Emmanuelle out of the Sheik's harem! if it were me, i'd re-record the lesbian scene on a blank tape and throw Emmanuelle 5 out the window."

Walerian Borowczyk's erotic masterpiece!

A. Salas | Brooklyn, New York United States | 06/16/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Emmanuelle 5 is Polish surrealist Walerian Borowczyk's penultimate theatrical feature, a film who's merits are hotly debated among cult and artfilm lovers. Some see the movie as nothing more than a commercial sell-out, others as an interesting addition to his body of work. It's also the last quality entry of the official Emmanuelle franchise.
Adding to the confusion is the fact that there are at least three versions: the theatrical European version, the heavily edited US version (including new scenes produced by Roger Corman!), and a European home video version including extra hard-core scenes that feature none of the principal cast.

This time round Emmanuelle is portrayed by Monique Gabrielle, who is, in a jarring change, a bleach blonde American actress. Never mind that the character is supposed to be French, it kind of works, mainly because Ms. Gabrielle has the sense to play the role with just the right nod and wink. And while no actress came close to Sylvia Kristel's beauty, charm and class, Monique makes the role her own. Since the film dispenses with any previous character back story, here she portrays Emmanuelle as a single, free-spirited woman who makes erotic art-films and runs a dance studio out of her beloved loft in Paris.

The movie opens with a "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" style montage of Cannes, with a documentary-like narration giving us an overview of the famous film festival held there every year. It seems Emmanuelle is premiering her latest film, Love Express, in Cannes... causing a scandal in the process. In fact, we first see her in this film within a film, in a beautifully shot sequence on a set of craggy rocks overlooking the roaring ocean. At a press conference later, she must defend her film to close-minded reporters who accuse her of creating pornography. It's all obviously a reference to Borowczyk's own experiences at the very same festival.
After the Q&A, Emmanuelle's producer, a smarmy French type, introduces her to Prince Rajid, a wealthy sheik who own's the fictional Arab country of Benglagistan. He's apparently obsessed with Emmanuelle and wants to premiere the film in his homeland.

Outside, an adoring throng of male fans awaits Emmanuelle, all desperate for a touch of the famed beauty. Things quickly escalate and soon the mob is stripping her of every last article of clothing, sending her jumping onto a stranger's departing boat for safety. Her unwitting saviour is Charles D. Foster, a nerdy, but handsome young millionaire who disapproves of Emmanuelle's erotic films. Sparks fly, and before you know it, love is in the air. Is a happy ending in the works? Perhaps, but not before a journey back onto the Love Express and Prince Rajid kidnaps Emmanuelle, putting her in his harem.

The version most people know is the English language American edit (which in addition to the new Corman scenes also utilizes Borowczyk's outtakes), perhaps the reason Emmanuelle 5 is dismissed by some. The new scenes, while amusing, just don't gel with the traditional European style that people expect from Emmanuelle films. While the original release of Emmanuelle 5 certainly doesn't lack a sense of humor, Corman's New Horizon version goes over the top with campy 80s comedy, seeming more like a companion to Bachelor Party (also starring Ms. Gabrielle) and other films of that ilk. It's also clumsily edited - the transition between film quality is jarring. What they attempt is admirable (give the story more cohesion, tighten the pacing), but apparently they didn't even bother doing a final film print edit, it was all put together on 3/4 video with a series of bad fade-ins and bleeds. Apparently they opted for a quick home video release and couldn't be bothered to finish it off right. This version is also only available in a terrible full-screen DVD transfer.

If you can track down a copy of Borowczyk's original theatrical edit of Emmanuelle 5, do so. It's a smart, interesting film well worth owning, and has a lot more going for it than Monique Gabrielle's bare [...]."