– XXX is Celluloid Dimension’s latest weekly column featuring the hottest and naughtiest side of cinema. –
Directed by Bitto Albertini
Written by Bitto Albertini and Ambrogio Molteni
Starring:
- Laura Gemser as Mae Jordan/Emanuelle
- Karin Schubert as Ann Danieli
- Angelo Infanti as Gianni Danieli
- Isabelle Marchall as Gloria Clifton
- Gabriele Tinti as Richard Clifton
- Don Powell as Professor Kamau
Rating: 
France’s Emmanuelle added a bit of exotic pizzazz to the cinematic erotica of Euro sleaze, yet it was Italy’s Emanuelle that pushed the eponymous nymphomaniac to her maximum narrative potential in exploitation mode. Removing just one “M” from the spelling of the legendary moniker and introducing a bold ethnicity to the raunchy scheme, Bitto Albertini’s Black Emanuelle is everything an Emanuelle movie should be but with the honorable distinction of being more than just fun mainstream pornography capitalizing on the X-rated movie craze.
Dutch Indonesian goddess Laura Gemser brings with her breezy and sultry portrayal of Emanuelle an incontestable degree of sophistication that few actresses manage to bring when virtually all their acting roles involve being naked 24/7 and performing a barrage of sapphic and straight sex with an endless stream of pervs. She incorporates class into the sleaze. But it is also her svelte sexy figure that seems to have been fashioned to be photographed by a motion picture camera. The first glimpse we get of Mae Jordan a.k.a. Emanuelle, a hip photographer and journalist, is on a commercial airliner sitting in economy class observing her surroundings. Next to her is a horny couple fondling each other and she briefly looks at them with a certain provocative curiosity. This is enough for Bitto Albertini’s slinky filmmaking to reveal everything we need to know about our alluring protagonist. Laying the groundwork for a hedonistic persona with these patterns of sexual innuendo and revelations, the first installment of Black Emanuelle lays down a whole mythology that will serve as a philosophical guide for the rest of the future productions in the Emanuelle series starring Gemser. After this introductory act wonderfully conducted by Albertini’s audiovisual flair following the enticing cutting style by editor Vincenzo Tomassi, Black Emanuelle lands in the Kenyan capital to be welcomed by a libertine couple (played by Karin Schubert and Angelo Infanti) who hired her for a shooting assignment in the breathtakingly beautiful wild landscapes of East Africa. Triangular courtship and polyamorous kinkiness quickly ensues after this first encounter. Everything that comes after is an obvious but entertainingly photogenic worship of Laura Gemser’s physical magnificence. It’s a kaleidoscope of sizzling poses and delicate lighting featuring the perfection of her curvaceous contours.
Black Emanuelle immediately from the first sex sequence makes it clear that it is a silly sexploitation romp with little or no plot. Having no concrete framework and no specific narrative directions certainly precludes its entertainment as a movie having only perfunctory conceits from being thoroughly flawless. Nevertheless, its erotic superficiality is enjoyable, not everything is shallow or meaningless fornication, Albertini understands very competently the dynamics of a soap opera and instills it in the horny aura that surrounds the characters. This is not necessarily a consistently entertaining watch, but it does have a delightful flair that is consistently engaging; it’s all about getting along with Laura Gemser’s awesomeness. While it is evident that the film is not driven by a storyline, conservatively speaking, what does prop it up are the intimate matters such as the sexual identity of our sexually desirous Emanuelle. One could describe Black Emanuelle as exciting erotica about a woman exploring her sexuality until she hits her stride.
It’s kinky stuff anyway, let’s not forget that despite being a lovely aphrodisiac of a movie, this is Emanuelle’s flick where she gets gangbanged not once but twice, the first time by a tribal group and the second by a group of jocks. Ultimately it is an intimate quest into the depths of sexual desires as seen through the unethical prism of Italian exploitation cinema. It’s not the most solid start to take off the mythology of Black Emanuelle but it is an intriguing and light-hearted way to flesh out the titular character, giving shape and boldness to the fabulous Laura Gemser in the role that has secured her a spot as one of the most iconic actresses in the annals of Italian exploitation cinema. Strange and hokey as sexploitation of this sort usually is, but there’s a subtle type of intelligence behind this fun, laid-back form of cosmopolitan erotica that I find mesmerizing – it’s a juicy piece of filmmaking exotica.
