Emmanuelle (1974 film)
Emmanuelle | |
---|---|
Directed by | Just Jaeckin |
Screenplay by | Jean-Louis Richard[1] |
Based on | Emmanuelle by Emmanuelle Arsan |
Produced by | Yves Rousset-Rouard |
Starring |
|
Cinematography | Richard Suzuki[2][3] Robert Fraisse[4] |
Edited by | Claudine Bouché[4] |
Music by | Pierre Bachelet |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Parafrance Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 94 minutes |
Country | France |
Language | French |
Box office | 8.9 million admissions (France) $20.2 million (overseas) |
Emmanuelle is a 1974 French erotic[2] drama film directed by Just Jaeckin.[5] It is the first installment in a series of French softcore pornography films based on the novel Emmanuelle by Emmanuelle Arsan. The film stars Sylvia Kristel in the title role about a woman who takes a trip to Bangkok to enhance her sexual experience. The film was former photographer Jaeckin's debut feature film and was shot on location in Thailand and in France between 1973 and 1974.
Emmanuelle was received negatively by critics on its initial release and with a more mixed reception years later. On its initial release in France, it was one of the highest-grossing French films,[6] making it the first X-rated film released by the company. The film was popular in Europe, the United States, and Asia and was followed in 1975 by Emmanuelle, The Joys of a Woman. Several other films influenced by Emmanuelle were released including the Italian series Black Emanuelle.
Plot
Emmanuelle flies to
The next day at a party, Marie-Ange introduces Emmanuelle to one of her lovers, an older man named Mario. Emmanuelle then sees Bee, a French archaeologist who is outside of most of the expatriate circles. She strikes up a private conversation with Bee and hands her a bracelet. At Emmanuelle's insistence, Bee agrees to meet her at the Watsai klong. However, once they are there, Bee seems uninterested. She attempts to return the bracelet, but Emmanuelle refuses to take it back. Undeterred, Emmanuelle gets on Bee's jeep as she is about to leave for a dig site. Meanwhile, Jean is angry that Emmanuelle has left without informing him and suspects that her squash partner Ariane is behind it. Ariane does not know, and says that all she has to offer is consolation sex. After a horseback ride, Emmanuelle and Bee reach a waterfall site where they take a bath. At the dig site, Emmanuelle flirts with Bee while she is working. The two have sex, but afterward, Bee asks Emmanuelle to leave. Emmanuelle returns home in tears, feeling humiliated. Jean tries to comfort her and suggests that she should take another lover.
The next day Emmanuelle and Ariane attempt to play squash but have an argument. Ariane seems jealous of Bee, as she had hoped to be Emmanuelle's first female lover. On the other side, Emmanuelle is displeased at Ariane for having sex with Jean. Frustrated, Emmanuelle decides to meet with Mario, stating that at his age, making love becomes so difficult that any man capable of it must be an artist.
At dinner, Mario tells Emmanuelle that monogamy will soon die out and that she must learn to let lust, rather than guilt or reason, guide her when it comes to sex. This will lead her to greater levels of pleasure. To instill this lesson, Mario takes her to an opium den. There, she is raped by one of the denizens while Mario watches. Mario then takes Emmanuelle to a boxing ring, where he talks two young men into fighting each other for the right to have sex with her. Mario tells Emmanuelle to choose one of the men as her favorite. In the match, her chosen champion prevails. Aroused by his willingness to fight for her, she licks the sweat on his forehead and allows him to have sex with her.
Later, Emmanuelle is awakened by Mario, who tells her to change into a dress with a zipper down the back, allowing him to strip her instantly for her next sexual encounter. Emmanuelle protests that she is tired and asks Mario if he will ever have sex with her. Mario replies that he is waiting for the "next Emmanuelle". Emmanuelle then sits at a mirror and applies makeup, hoping that, by following Mario's instructions, she will reach the higher levels of pleasure that he has promised.
Production
Pre-production
Due to the success of the film of Last Tango in Paris which contained explicit sexual scenes and rise of interest in hardcore pornography, producers became aware of an audience that was willing to watch adult films.[7][8][9]
Producer Yves Rousset-Rouard obtained the rights to the novel Emmanuelle in 1972.[8] Emmanuelle was not the first adaptation of that novel; the first was an adaptation made in the late 1960s by producer Pierre Thron which was less explicit than the original novel.[7][8] Rousset-Rouard offered the film to artist and photographer Just Jaeckin, who had never directed a feature film previously.[8] After reading the novel, Jaeckin felt daunted by the film's subject matter and agreed with Rousset-Rouard to make what he described as "something soft and beautiful with a nice story"[8]
Casting
Actor | Role | |
---|---|---|
Sylvia Kristel | Emmanuelle | |
Alain Cuny | Mario | |
Marika Green | Bee | |
Daniel Sarky | Jean | |
Jeanne Colletin | Ariane | |
Christine Boisson | Marie-Ange | |
Gabriel Briand | Gaby Brian | |
Romain Micmande | Luc |
Casting sessions were held throughout Europe to find the right actress to play the leading role.[8] According to Sylvia Kristel, she auditioned for the film by accident, having planned to audition for a commercial and entering the wrong door.[10] She auditioned in clothing with a simple tie-up string that came off during the interview accidentally; she continued to take interview questions as if nothing had happened.[8] After taking some nude photographs of Kristel, Jaeckin hired her for the role of Emmanuelle.[8]
Filming
Emmanuelle was shot between December 10, 1973 and February 6, 1974.[4] The film was shot on location in Thailand while interior shots were done in Paris, France.[8]
Kristel found it very difficult to film the scene involving Emmanuelle being raped by two men in an opium den in Bangkok.[11] Kristel stated that she "couldn't see how a rape would be pleasurable. These two Thai people were not actors. I really had to fight for my life there."[11] The scene was filmed in one take using several cameras.[11] Jaeckin has denied directing the scene that involves a young woman in a Thai bar who smokes a cigarette out of her vagina.[11] Just Jaeckin states he first saw that scene when viewing the film in a theater.[11] The horseback ride of Emmanuelle and Bee was filmed with a camera man as a double for Sylvia Kristel, who did not know how to ride.[10]
Sylvia Kristel accidentally arrived at the Emmanuelle auditions, where the director Just Jaeckin offered her the role. "He asked me to take my dress off," she said. "Luckily it was an easy dress to take off. It had spaghetti straps which I just slipped over my shoulders and it just fell off. I carried on talking and smoking in the nude. I was not inhibited at all. I'd done nude modeling and he thought I was very graceful."[12]
Christine Boisson was 17 years old when she got her first role in this film. While her parents signed a release so that, as a minor, she could shoot in this erotic film, her mother never stopped putting her down, repeating "Do you think your father is proud to have a daughter who shoots in Emmanuelle?", while pocketing her entire fee...[13]
Post-production
The soundtrack to Emmanuelle was composed by Pierre Bachelet.[4] The online music database AllMusic described the soundtrack to Emmanuelle as "both more sophisticated and more banal than your average stroke-film soundtrack" as well as stating that "the composers strive for a complexity and intimacy largely absent from the genre".[14] The review compared pieces of the music anticipating the music of British musician Brian Eno's ambient music. The soundtrack employs synthesizers and acoustic guitar.[14] The film featured tracks that were nearly indistinguishable from the King Crimson song "Larks' Tongues in Aspic Part Two". Robert Fripp in order to prove the similarities of the two song had to sit and record the entire film in a theatre, he would later get the credit for composing the track.
Release
The film was initially held up for several months by French censorship authorities, but permission was given after Valéry Giscard d'Estaing had won the Presidential elections in May 1974.[10] Emmanuelle was released in France on June 26, 1974.[16] The film sold 8.89 million tickets in France.[17] One theatre on the Champs-Elysees in Paris played the film for 13 years.[18]
In the United Kingdom, Emmanuelle was the first
Emmanuelle was distributed in the United States by
Box office
In France, the film sold 8,893,996 admissions at the box office.[21]
Overseas, the film earned $11.5 million at United States box office.[22] and it helped Columbia to recoup from their losses after the box office failure of Lost Horizon in 1973.[11] It also earned ¥2.6 billion ($8.7 million) in Japan,[23] bringing its overseas gross to $20.2 million.
Reception
The film received generally negative reviews from American critics on its initial release.
Later reviews had mixed opinions.
Feminist reception
In France, feminist viewers complained that the character of Emmanuelle was "an object of male fantasies."[32] In a review from 1974, Variety opined that Emmanuelle was "more a come-on for the civil service than for femme lib."[24]
Film historian Danny Shipka wrote that "In Asia, many women saw it as a liberating piece focusing on the power and strength of Emmanuelle and not her exploitation."[33] Sylvia Kristel stated that "Japanese feminists were rather delighted with the film because they thought Emmanuelle was dominant, just because of this one scene where she climbs on top of her husband. That was the moment when all the Japanese women stood up and applauded."[32]
Legacy
- Emmanuelle was followed by a sequel titled Emmanuelle, The Joys of a Woman in 1975. Not wanting to be the director for the series, Just Jaeckin suggested his friend, fashion photographer Francis Giacobetti, direct the film.[33]
- Sylvia Kristel reprised her role of Emmanuelle in both the 1975 sequel and in the 1977 final film of the original series, Goodbye Emmanuelle.[34][35]
Italian film producers wanted to capitalize on the international popularity of Emmanuelle by making a similar product that could be made cheaply.[36] To work around copyright rules, these producers altered their spelling of Emmanuelle to create their series Black Emanuelle, starring Laura Gemser.[36] The British comedy film Carry On Emmannuelle is a parody of the Emmanuelle series. In Japan, the film popularized the phrase "emanieru suru," which directly translates to "to do Emmanuelle,"[37] meaning "to have a casual and extravagant love affair."[37] A later film making use of the Emmanuelle title is Emmanuelle in Soho (1981).[38]
See also
Notes
- ^ a b "Credits". BFI Film & Television Database. London: British Film Institute. Archived from the original on November 16, 2013. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
- ^ a b "Emmanuelle". www.tcm.com. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
- ^ a b "Emmanuelle (1974)". Archived from the original on April 8, 2016.
- ^ Cinémathèque Française. Archived from the originalon February 2, 2014. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
- ^ Shanahan, Ed (25 September 2022). "Just Jaeckin, Whose 'Emmanuelle' Was a Scandalous Success, Dies at 82 - His first film, the story of a young woman's erotic adventures, was initially blocked by French censors but became a runaway hit". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
- ^ "Soft Sell: Emmanuelle in America" (DVD feature). Lionsgate
- ^ a b Shipka, 2011. p.296
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Shipka, 2011. p.297
- Rovi Corporation. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
- ^ a b c Clélia Cohen (2021). Emmanuelle, la plus longue caresse du cinéma français (Television production) (in French). ARTE.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Shipka, 2011. p.299
- ^ "Sylvia Kristel, star of Emmanuelle, dies". www.bbc.com. 18 October 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
- ^ "Christine Boisson traumatisée par une mère incestueuse". www.voici.fr. 16 January 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
- ^ Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
- ^ a b c d Bernstein, 2000. p. 257
- ^ Chaffin-Quiray, p.g 144. 2004
- ^ Lanzoni, p. 432. 2004
- ^ Conway, Isabel (2011-07-30). "Emmanuelle uncensored". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
- ^ Cox, Alex (December 15, 2000). "My kind of woman". The Guardian. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
- ^ Cocks, Jay (January 6, 1975). "Cinema: Queen Klong". Time. Retrieved November 16, 2013. (subscription required)
- ^ "Sylvia Kristel French box office information". www.BoxOfficeStory.com (in French). Box Office Story. Retrieved 10 April 2022.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Demspsey, John. "One-sheet wonder.", Variety, July 21, 1997
- ^ "'Disasters' Most Successful". Japan Report. 22 (3). Japan Information Center, Consulate General of Japan: 2. February 1, 1976.
- ^ a b Variety staff (1974). "Review: 'Emmanuelle'". Variety. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (1975). "Emmanuelle". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
- Monthly Film Bulletin. 41 (480). London: British Film Institute: 223.
- ^ Meremu C. (March 4, 2008). "Emmanuelle". PopMatters. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
- ^ Phipps, Keith (October 31, 2007). "Emmanuelle". The A.V. Club. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
- ^ "Emmanuelle: Review". TV Guide. Archived from the original on September 24, 2009. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
- ^ Thomas, Will. "Emmanuelle". Empire. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
- ^ "Emmanuelle". Total Film. April 23, 2007. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
- ^ a b Brown, Mick (October 18, 2012). "Sylvia Kristel interview". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
- ^ a b Shipka, 2011. p.300
- ^ Shipka, 2011. p.305
- ^ Shipka, 2011. p.306
- ^ a b Shipka, 2011. p.215
- ^ ISBN 0-8248-2572-1.
- ISBN 9780226503035.
References
- Andrews, David (2006). Soft in the middle: the contemporary softcore feature in its contexts. ISBN 0-8142-1022-8.
- Chaffin-Quiray, Garrett (2004). "Emmanuelle Enterprises". In Mathijs, Ernest (ed.). Alternative Europe: Eurotrash and Exploitation Cinema Since 1945. Wallflower Press. pp. 134–145. ISBN 1903364930.
- Lanzoni, Rémi Fournier. French Cinema: From Its Beginnings to the Present. Continuum, 2004. ISBN 0826416004.
- Shipka, Danny. Perverse Titillation: The Exploitation Cinema of Italy, Spain and France, 1960-1980. ISBN 0786448881.
- Bernstein, Matthew, ed. (2000). "The Stigma of X". Controlling Hollywood: Censorship and Regulation in the Studio Era. Continuum. ISBN 0485300923.
External links
- Emmanuelle at Allmovie
- Emmanuelle at Rotten Tomatoes
- Emmanuelle at IMDb