Review by Mario

 

Studio:

Theatrical: Trinacra Films/Orphee Productions

Blu-ray: Optimum Home Entertainment

 

Disc:

Region: FREE!

Runtime: 1:34:13.375

Disc Size: 35,771,449,284 bytes

Feature Size: 35,771,449,284 bytes

Video Bitrate: 40.01 Mbps

Chapters: 20

Case: Standard Blu-Ray Case

Release date: March 1st, 2010

 

Video:

Aspect ratio: 1.66:1

Resolution: 1080P / 24 fps

Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Audio:

DTS-HD Master Audio English 914 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 914 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 16-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio French 936 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 936 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 16-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio Spanish 880 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 880 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 16-bit)

 

Subtitles:

English, Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese, none

 

Extras:

• An Erotic Success (53:59)

• An Interview on Emmanuelle (30:18)

• Trailer

 

 

The Film:

"Emmanuelle" is a silly, classy, enjoyable erotic film that became an all-time box-office success in France. It's not remotely significant enough to deserve that honor, but in terms of its genre (soft-core skin flick) it's very well done: lushly photographed on location in Thailand, filled with attractive and intriguing people, and scored with brittle, teasing music. Now that hard-core porno has become passe, it's a relief to see a movie that drops the gynecology and returns to a certain amount of sexy sophistication.

Excerpt of review from Roger Ebert located HERE

Image:     NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

There's an old joke that goes something like this. What's the difference between erotica and pornography? The lighting. This seems to be the attitude that director Just Jaeckin takes with "Emmauelle". Bathing his film in soft lightening, Jaeckin's "Emmanuelle" can at times appear faded or even washed out. This is of course the look that Jaeckin wanted, and because of it his film often looks like a '70s "Penthouse" pictorial. The most noticeable problem with the print is its heightened grain structure. I'm not sure why the film is so full of noise, but the print used here could have benefited from a substantial cleaning. That being said, it does have its strong points. I only noticed one instance of damage in the entire film and saw no dirt or dust. Yet, the film doesn't really have a strong HD look about it in most scenes. The colors aren't terribly vibrant, the clarity is strong but not as strong as other mid-70s production, and the film lacks the layered or textured look that some HD material has. I'm sure that most of this has to do with Jaeckin's predilection for soft focus, so just don't go into to this looking for a transfer that hits all of the same high points as say "Avatar". It aint going to happen.
 

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Audio & Music:

Viewers get the choice between DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 in French, Spanish, or English. While only 2.0, there aren't any problems with the HD track, as both the dialogue and music comes through crystal clear. Note that at before loading the main menu, the disc gives you a choice of several viewing locations. Clicking on the UK option takes you to the the English dubbed version. The disc also comes with optional English, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese and Japanese subtitles.

 

 

Extras:

There are three extras on the disc. First, there's a theatrical trailer that's fairly rough and beaten up, and only plays in the original French without English subtitles. Second, there's an interview with producer Yves Rousset-Rouard and director Just Jaeckin in which they discuss many topics, from how they got the rights for the film adaptation of the novel, to their desire to make a sexy film instead of a pornographic one. Third, there's a lengthy documentary in which the makers of the film and scholars detail it's history.

 

Bottom line:

Despite the less than stellar image, this is a fairly good package. The film rises above the average skin flick and tells a story that somewhat compelling story. It's certainly worth checking out if you're interested.

Mario
May 7th, 2010