Emmanuelle (1974)

Director:

Just Jaeckin

Writers:

Emmanuelle Arsan (novel)
Jean-Louis Richard (writer)

Release Date:

3 December 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

X was never like this.

Plot:

Emmanuelle is a beautiful young model and lives in Bangkok together with her husband Jean, who's several years older...

Plot Keywords:

Emmanuelle | Trip | Extramarital Affair | Sexual Frustration | Pubic Hair

Cast

Alain Cuny	...	Mario
Sylvia Kristel	...	Emmanuelle
Marika Green	...	Bee
Daniel Sarky	...	Jean
Jeanne Colletin	...	Ariane
Christine Boisson	...	Marie-Ange
Samantha
Gabriel Briand		(as Gaby Brian)
Gregory

Directed by
Just Jaeckin

Writing credits
Emmanuelle Arsan		(novel "Emmanuelle: The Joys of a Woman")
Jean-Louis Richard		(writer)

Produced by
Yves Rousset-Rouard	....	producer

Original Music by
Pierre Bachelet

Cinematography by
Richard Suzuki

Film Editing by
Claudine Bouché

Costume Design by
Georges Bril		(costumes: men)

Makeup Department
Christine Fornelli	....	key makeup artist (as Christiane Fornelli)
Andrea Pfister	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Michel Choquet	....	production manager
Lionel de Sousa	....	unit manager
Jean Pieuchot	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Philippe Leriche	....	assistant director

Art Department
Léo Kouper	....	poster artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
Paul Bertault	....	sound mixer
Jean-Claude Duval	....	sound re-recording mixer
André Hervée	....	sound engineer

Camera and Electrical Department
Louis Balthazard	....	key grip
Robert Fraisse	....	camera operator
Jean-Paul Lemaître	....	assistant camera
Jean-Claude Naour	....	chief electrician
Marie Savnier	....	still photographer

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Sylvia Panigel	....	costumer (as Sylvia Panijel)
Helene Tourin	....	swimming costumes

Editorial Department
Olivier Froux	....	apprentice editor
Jérôme Richard	....	apprentice editor
Dany Zuchowicki	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Hervé Roy	....	musical director

Other crew
Jean-Charles Brosseau	....	hat designer
Nitya Phenkun	....	interpreter
Alice Ziller	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Trinacra Films
• Orphée Productions

Distributors

• Parafrance Films (1974) (France) (theatrical) (as Para France Films)
• Columbia Pictures (1974) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Tuschinski Film Distribution (1975) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Fox Lorber (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Fox Lorber (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• RCV Home Entertainment (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Universal Home Video (2006) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Gloria Filmverleih (1974) (Austria) (theatrical)
• LK-TEL Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Panorama Distributions (2008) (Hong Kong) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• RCA Home Video (19??) (USA) (VHS)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (19??) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)

Also Known As:

Emmanuelle (USA)

Runtime:

105 min | Argentina:98 min | USA:89 min (R-rated version) | USA:95 min | South Korea:85 min | West Germany:93 min (cut version)

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Canada:16+ (Quebec) (re-rating) (2003) | Canada:18+ (Quebec) (original rating) | Iceland:16 | West Germany:18 (cinema release) (re-rating) (cut) | West Germany:(Banned) (original rating) (cinema release) | West Germany:Not Rated (video rating) | USA:Unrated (rating surrendered) | UK:18 (video re-rating) (2007) (uncut) | Portugal:M/18 | USA:X | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Chile:18 | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-18 | France:-16 | Germany:16 (re-rating) | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:(Banned) (original rating) | Ireland:18 (re-rating) | Italy:VM18 | Japan:R-18 | Netherlands:16 (re-rating) | Netherlands:18 (original rating) | Norway:18 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R (cut) | USA:X (MPAA: 1974, 1984)

Filming Locations:

Bangkok, Thailand

Company:

Trinacra Films

Trivia:

Some of this film's score stole King Crimson's tune called "Larks' Tongues In Aspic, Part 2", which was composed by the band's leader Robert Fripp. A lawsuit ensued and was settled out of court.

Quotes:

Mario: Love between couples should be outlawed. Every act of love must include a third person.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Studio Julmahuvi: (#1.3)" (1998)

The ambiguity of Emmanuelle

The biggest cinema surprise hit of 1975, based on a book by Emmanuelle Arsan, made Dutch model Sylvia Kristel a famous actress. The first thing you'll notice is that over 30 years later, the fascination with the exotic is still strong. It was worth going to Thailand and present the real thing instead of shooting "Asian" scenes in a park in Spain or Italy like many other European film crews did at the time. And it surely is one of the very few erotic films where you have to pay attention to the dialogs. It was important to explain the bizarre idea of "freedom" which the scandalous novel had introduced - arguably a two-edged sword. It is said that dependency is humiliating, but aren't scenes like when Emmanuelle is given as a "prize" to the Thai boxer even more humiliating? Easy to see why the movie stirred up discussions - which made even more people want to watch it. The ambiguity of this "freedom" in "Emmanuelle" thus was used for marketing. In her autobiography "Undressing Emmanuelle", Kristel recalls one scene with real horror: near the end, when she is raped by the opium smoker. The young man didn't understand a word of what she or the director said, so he just grabbed her. Sylvia's disgust is visible, and if the sequels hadn't been softer, she probably wouldn't have made them. The first Emmanuelle film still was experimenting with both visual style and a provocative attitude; it may have created a certain formula even though it didn't completely obey its rules, since it was rather the more gentle and glossy second Emmanuelle film which perfected the formula. I voted 7/8/6/4/6/7 for the six cinema films of the series.