For the fourth part of our continued look at Severin’s THE SENSUAL WORLD OF BLACK EMANUELLE box set, let’s move onto to disc eight and Joe D’Amato’s EMANUELLE’S PERVERSE OUTBURST (1983) and PORNO ESOTIC LOVE (1980), a pair of indecipherable cut-and-paste pictures aimed at the emerging hardcore market in Italy, which are sort of an extension of star Laura Gemser’s exotic exploits in the Black Emanuelle films.But rather than take the time to shoot all-new films, D’Amato instead ransacked his repertoire lugging even his seven-year-old BLACK COBRA out of the dusty vaults and manipulated miles of previously-viewed footage with perhaps a few newly-shot insert scenes.
In EMANUELLE’S PERVERSE OUTBURST (which by the way is credited to ‘John Bird’, a pseudonym that is occasionally used by producer and sometimes director Paolo Moffa, which only adds to the film’s mysterious genesis) leading lady Gemser here appears as Emanuelle in copious amounts of footage from D’Amato’s previously mentioned BLACK COBRA, EMANUELLE AND THE WHITE SLAVE TRADE, and several of his Caribbean-shot hardcore films, as it attempts to weave its way through a convoluted storyline involving arms dealers, elusive double agents (one of whom is played by Gabriele Tinti), and missing microfilms. Gemser’s snake-dance routine from BLACK COBRA, and an extended sex show from PORNO ESOTIC LOVE, alongside tons of hardcore sex doesn’t help sort out all the confusing characters, some of which are dubbed in the English version multiple times by the same voice talent artists including the ubiquitous Ted Rusoff.
A huge amount of the footage seen in the above film was earlier reused by D’Amato in patching together PORNO ESOTIC LOVE, another Black Emanuelle wannabe, wherein Eva (Laura Gemser) attempts to uncover a vast drug cartel after her best friend Iris (Annj Goren) is found dead of a drug overdose. Set amidst the shadow world of high-end drug runners, Eva’s investigation eventually leads her to Hong Kong and the Dominican Republic, and a thriving drug empire overseen by someone known as the Counselor. Virtually half of BLACK COBRA has been re-cycled here, albeit with its continuity drastically rearranged including the reworking of Michele Starck’s character from said film into an investigative reporter. Combined with long stretches of hardcore sex with Italian superstud ‘Mark Shannon’/Manlio Cersosimo and several uncomfortable-looking Dominican locals, PORNO ESOTIC LOVE is all strung together by composer Alessandro Alessandroni’s effervescent score and a total disregard for any continuity whatsoever, but that’s in no way to say you shouldn’t watch it… perhaps even more than once!
Released on French Canadian VHS during the ’80s as LES DÉCHAÎNEMENT PERVERS DE EMANUELLE and EMANUELLE À TAHITI, respectively, these films bypassed DVD altogether, so it’s no surprise that Severin’s new 2K scans look quite stunning here, especially given the films’ patchwork assembly of previously viewed footage. The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 tracks include French (with optional English subtitles) and English on OUTBURST, while PORNO ESOTIC LOVE includes Italian (again with optional English subtitles) and English, and despite the abundant choice of audio options, both films remain as incomprehensible as ever no matter what language is chosen! Although, it must be said, it’s always nice to hear familiar voice talent such as Ted Rusoff and Richard McNamara in the English versions trying to navigate through all the silly dialogue.
Extras on disc eight begin with an audio commentary on EMANUELLE’S PERVERSE OUTBURST from author Bryan Connelly and film programmer Amber Adams who expand on the confusing nature of this film and the series itself, some of the cut-and-paste work from D’Amato’s vast filmography, Emanuelle’s “sense of style”, the obligatory presence of Mark Shannon, and the work it takes to try and figure out this muddle of a movie. Bryan and Amber work well together and this easy-going and informative discussion definitely helps to try and clear everything up in the space of the Black Emanuelle series. Next up, actor Mark Shannon is interviewed in The Lovemaker (10m45s) where he speaks about his time working with D’Amato, how he got his pseudonym, the many re-cycled scenes which wound up in other films, a funny anecdote involving Laura Gemser, and much more in this frank and revealing talk. The original English export trailer for PORNO ESOTIC LOVE (3m05s) concludes the extra features.
Despite the alternate video title given here - which brazenly rides the coat-tails of the Black Emanuelle series – DIVINE EMANUELLE (1981), is better known to most viewers under its far-less flashy title of LOVE CAMP. Directed by Christian Anders, a German renaissance man who also wrote and produced the film, DIVINE EMANUELLE (1981) is an amazing, unprecedented slice of Eurotrash (in the truest sense of the word!), which hasn’t received the trash film accolades it so richly deserves. However, it should be noted that this bit of praise is based on the previously-unseen 114-minute ‘director’s cut’ of the film FANATICO… WHEN THE GODDESS CALLS, which Severin have meticulously reconstructed and included alongside the film’s more familiar – and drastically different – 99-minute theatrical cut, both of which are included on disc nine.
Frenetic, outright, bizarro meld of the once popular Guyana / Jim Jones craze (i.e., Rene Cardona’s GUYANA, CULT OF THE DAMNED [1979] and Umberto Lenzi’s EATEN ALIVE! [1980]) with the light-hearted appeal of a German sex-report film, DIVINE EMANUELLE goes beyond the usual trash film scenarios. Anders stars as Dorian, a smooth-talking recruiter who lures young girls into joining The Children of Light, a sex-obsessed cult located somewhere in Cyprus. When Patricia (Simone Brahman), his latest newcomer (and daughter of a prominent U.S. senator [Maximilian Wolters]) is indoctrinated into the cult, he soon becomes love-struck with his latest recruit, which eventually raises hostilities between him and the cult’s enigmatic leader and self-proclaimed prophet, The Divine One (Laura Gemser).
Steeped in messy soap opera and some occasional kinky sex, Anders packs in as much lunacy into the proceedings as he can, including some out-of-left-field musical interludes and an irresistibly catchy main title theme (which he also wrote and composed!), which are crucial to the film’s overall whacky ambiance. Promoted in most publicity materials as the film’s main selling point, Laura Gemser is quietly menacing as the svelte cult leader (“The Divine One is everything!”), who derives pleasure from watching her muscle-bound Grecian goon Tanga (Sacha Borishenko) administer “twenty lashes of the whip” to any rebellious followers. However, Gemser’s appearance herein is merely secondary to Anders’ role as the conflicted Dorian, who at his best, chews the scenery aplenty, allowing viewers to saviour his distinctly oddball charisma, where he even gets to partake in some sloppy kung-fu. Despite the potentially controversial material, Anders serves it all up with such non-hypocritical gusto that you actually find yourself enjoying its sleazy, unforgettable charms. Despite the brief extras, which include some deleted scenes (2m30s) and the film’s English export trailer (“A free for all sex cult designed to intrigue you…”), Severin have gone above and beyond with disc nine and their new reconstruction of this neglected trash classic.
An early proponent of the DVD format, budget label Simitar Entertainment released Bruno Fontana’s THE DIRTY SEVEN (1982) on disc in 1999, a title which has since been endlessly bootlegged, so it’s nice to see Severin give this enjoyable – but admittedly minor actioner – some respect on disc ten. Based upon Fontana’s own novel, The Time of the Wild Beasts, this Italian/Greek co-production shot entirely in Cyprus boosts long-time character actor Angelo Infanti to the lead role alongside Laura Gemser, his co-star from BLACK EMANUELLE. A crack commando unit led by Falk (Angelo Infanti), whose trigger finger is even looser than his tongue (“I should have shot her in her twat!”), are on the run after completing a high-risk mission, but like some ill omen foreshadowing their violent near future, local girl Sheila (Laura Gemser) has plans of her own for this group of bloodthirsty mercenaries…
Confusingly retitled EMANUELLE QUEEN OF THE DESERT to try and cash-in on the presence of Laura Gemser, Fontana’s script predominantly accents mind games over action between the two-timing soldiers and their adversary Sheila. A local farmer (Gabriele Tinti) recruited as the soldiers’ impromptu guide, keeps vigil on Sheila’s mysterious activities as she plays the men against each other using her sexuality (“She’s a tigress and I’m a lion! We’ll fuck like beasts in the jungle!” remarks Falk). Brimming with unapologetic mean-spiritedness (“Murder is tattooed on your stinking soul!”), the film’s tension runs high, and Gemser smoulders with a volcanic, pouting intensity, as she quietly pursues her vengeance among this group of smug, self-assured mercenaries enveloped in their own criminal omnipotence.
Although usually regarded as a throwaway title within Gemser’s filmography, Severin have spared no expense delivering a fine presentation of this generally overlooked film, streaks, scratches and all. The English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track also sounds relatively clean given the source material with Paolo Rustichelli’s simple but effective synth score adding to the overall edgy ambiance. While EMANUELLE QUEEN OF THE DESERT, the slightly shorter, non-linear version of the film plays in favour of Gemser’s character Sheila, Severin have also included THE DIRTY SEVEN, which is eight minutes longer. The differences are quite substantial with this version playing out in chronological order (Gemser’s character isn’t introduced until the halfway point in the film), and includes an extended – and far more distressing - rape scene. Other extras include Violent Cyprus (21m57s), an interview with actor Giovanni Brusatori who goes over a “quick re-cap” of his career including his directing stint on ESCAPE FROM WOMEN’S PRISON (1978), the genesis of THE DIRTY SEVEN and his relationship with Bruno Fontana, the invaluable help of DP Nino Celeste, the benefit of having Greek-born Vassili Karis on set, working with the “beautiful exotic girl” Laura Gemser, and Tinti’s “sincere and spontaneous” working methods. Nino Celeste also has plenty of nice things to say about Gemser in Sunlight and Violence (15m42s) whom he recalls as being “nice and very reserved” in a film which he regards as a “mixed-bag with some interesting elements.” He also discusses Fontana’s technical incompetence, working around the extreme Cyprus heat, and many of the lighting techniques he used. The spoiler-laden English export trailer (3m42s) is also included.
However, the most significant extra included on disc ten is the inclusion of LOOKING GOOD (60m58s), an ’80s aerobics video produced by Dick Randall for his Spectacular Trading Co. and directed by his wife Corliss Randall. Hosted by Gemser (here dubbed by prominent voice talent artist Carolyn De Fonseca), she appears periodically throughout the video discussing the benefits of proper exercise (“My job requires me to keep fit and look good. My body must be attractive and sexy.”) while sitting in a rattan chair similar to the one seen in BLACK COBRA and in all of that film’s promotional material, an image which itself was stolen from Jaeckin’s EMMANUELLE. Barely released on home video, this wholly unique curiosity piece was released on VHS videocassette by Intercontinental Film & Video Enterprises, a Canadian based adult film label, which should give you an idea who this video was really meant for with its sexually suggestive stretches and exercises. Severin’s new transfer of this shot-on-video obscurity looks infinitely better than any previous VHS edition, and also includes another entertaining audio commentary, this time with film historian and academic Amanda Reyes and The Hysteria Continues’ Erik Threlfall, in which they enthusiastically discuss the fitness craze of the ’80s and the “interesting elements that aerobicizing brought to the decade, the film’s cast and crew including choreographer Marit Beck and director Corliss Randall, and other fitness-themed films such as James Bridges’ FITNESS (1985).
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