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Emmanuelle (film)
Encyclopedia
Emmanuelle is a 1974
French softcore
erotic film
, directed by Just Jaeckin
, and starring Sylvia Kristel
. The screenplay was written by Jean-Louis Richard, based on the novel Emmanuelle: The Joys of a Woman
by Emmanuelle Arsan
. The music score is by Pierre Bachelet
. The film was highly successful in France and around the world. In Japan the film coined a new phrase, "emanieru suru" literally, "to do Emmanuelle", meaning "to have a casual and extravagant love affair". The film's popularity led to softcore erotic films briefly becoming "chic". The fact that it received widespread U.S. distribution by a major Hollywood studio has seen Emmanuelle referred to as the softcore equivalent of the hugely successful hardcore porn release Deep Throat
. Columbia Pictures
only agreed to distribute it after noting that most of the film's audience in French cinemas were women. The studio reasoned that female interest meant Emmanuelle could not be regarded as mere pornography. It spawned several sequels and influenced many similar films. Much of the movie is filmed in soft-focus, which was a trademark of Jaekin. Robert Fripp
won an out-of-court settlement over the use of music in the film based on King Crimson
's "Larks' Tongues in Aspic". The film had a total of 8,893,996 admissions in France where it was the number one highest grossing film of 1974.
to meet her husband Jean, who asks her if she had any other lovers while she was in Paris, to which Emmanuelle replies she has not.
In Bangkok, Emmanuelle finds herself bored and somewhat disgusted with the worldliness of her fellow French expatriates, until one day at a pool when she spies Bee, a Frenchwoman whom she is informed is outside of most of the expatriate circles. After taking a nude swim, she is approached by a pretty young girl named Marie-Ange, who asks to meet Emmanuelle at her house. Intrigued, Emmanuelle agrees.
Marie-Ange arrives at the house and finds Emmanuelle sleeping, and takes advantage of the situation to feel the older woman's body. Emmanuelle wakes up and they go outside to the porch. Marie-Ange asks Emmanuelle if she has any photos of herself and Jean having sex, to which an incredulous Emmanuelle replies no. Marie-Ange takes a French magazine with a picture of Paul Newman
and begins to masturbate in front of Emmanuelle, who watches her in fascination. Emmanuelle confesses to Marie-Ange that while she did not cheat on her husband in Paris, she did have sex with two strangers on the flight over to Bangkok. Emmanuelle begins to pleasure herself for Marie-Ange as she recounts this.
That night, Emmanuelle tells Jean about Marie-Ange, expressing her amazement at the younger girl's seemingly complete lack of shame, and Jean encourages her to pursue the friendship further. During a squash match the next day, Emmanuelle's friend Ariane comments on her being damp from sweat, and begins to feel her up.
At a party soon afterwards, Marie-Ange introduces Emmanuelle to one of her older lovers, a gentleman named Mario, who tells her that he will send a car for her the next night, but Emmanuelle is unimpressed. She spies Bee and strikes up a conversation, wishing to meet with Bee in more private quarters. Bee, an archaeologist, tells Emmanuelle that she is leaving the next day for a dig, but tells her to meet her at the klongs.
When they meet up at the klongs, Emmanuelle follows Bee around, but Bee is uninterested in playing with Emmanuelle. Undeterred, Emmanuelle gets on Bee's jeep as she is about to leave for the dig site.
Back at the house, Jean is angered that Emmanuelle has left without telling him anything. Suspecting that Ariane is behind it, he goes and demands answers from her, but Ariane tells him that all she has to offer is consolation sex. An enraged Jean takes her on a table.
At first, Emmanuelle's affair with Bee is on rocky footing; they stop to go skinny-dipping on the way to the dig site, but when Emmanuelle tries to relax next to Bee while they dry off, she brushes her off, saying that they've already lost time. After reaching the dig site, Bee starts to warm up to her new companion, but throughout the day, Emmanuelle distracts her from her work. They finally make love, but afterwards, Bee informs Emmanuelle that while she's very fond of her, Emmanuelle has been too much of a distraction, and thus she must ask her to leave. Emmanuelle returns home in tears, feeling humiliated. Jean tries to comfort her, advising her that the best way to get over Bee is to take another lover.
At the squash courts the following day, Emmanuelle and Ariane argue. Ariane is jealous that Emmanuelle ran off with Bee, as she herself had hoped to be Emmanuelle's first female lover, while Emmanuelle is displeased at Ariane for having sex with Jean. Ariane protests that it was more like rape than consensual sex, then advises Emmanuelle to meet with Mario, telling her that at his age, making love becomes so difficult that any man capable of it must be an artist.
Later, Emmanuelle consults with Jean, who has decided to encourage the relationship between her and Mario by leaving her with him for two days. She expresses a desire to take Marie-Ange as her new lover instead, but Jean informs her that Marie-Ange has gone off on a trip with her parents - a fact that he knows because he has slept with her - and so Emmanuelle resigns herself to a meeting with Mario.
At their first dinner together, Mario explains his philosophy on sex to Emmanuelle, telling her that he believes that monogamy will soon die out. He tells her that she must learn to let lust, rather than guilt or reason, guide her when it comes to sex. This, he says, will lead her to greater levels of pleasure than she ever imagined possible. To begin instilling this lesson in her, he takes her to an opium den, where she is raped by one of the denizens while he watches.
Later, Mario takes Emmanuelle to a makeshift boxing ring, where he talks two young men into fighting each other for the right to have sex with her. At Mario's insistence, Emmanuelle chooses one of the men as her favorite, then watches as they fight. Her chosen champion prevails, and she is so aroused by his willingness to fight for her that she licks the blood from a wound on his forehead and then allows him to take her from behind. She soon climaxes and drops to the floor with exhaustion.
Sometime later, Emmanuelle is awakened by Mario, who takes her into another room. She is told to undress, so that she can change into a dress with a zipper down the back, allowing Mario to strip her naked in an instant. This, she understands, is in preparation for her next sexual encounter. Emmanuelle protests that she is tired, and asks Mario if he himself will ever have sex with her, to which Mario replies that he is waiting for the "next Emmanuelle" (presumably meaning that he will not have sex with her until he's decided that her training is complete.) As the movie ends, Emmanuelle sits at a mirror and begins applying makeup, hoping that by following Mario's instructions, she will reach the higher levels of pleasure that he has promised.
The movie was one of Kristel's first film roles.
1974 in film
The year 1974 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 7 - Blazing Saddles is released in the USA.*August 7 - Peter Wolf, lead singer of The J...
French softcore
Softcore
Softcore pornography is a form of filmic or photographic pornography or erotica that is less sexually explicit than hardcore pornography. It is intended to tickle and arouse men and women. Softcore pornography depicts nude and semi-nude performers engaging in casual social nudity or non-graphic...
erotic film
Sex in film
Sex in film refers to the presentation in motion pictures of sexuality and sex acts, including love scenes. Sex scenes have been depicted in film since the silent era of cinematography. Many actors and actresses have exposed parts of their bodies or dressed and behaved in ways considered sexually...
, directed by Just Jaeckin
Just Jaeckin
Just Jaeckin is a French film director.-Life:He was born in Vichy France during the Nazi Occupation, but left with his mother and father for England: after the war, he returned to France where he studied art and photography, much of it he did before and after serving with the French Army: while...
, and starring Sylvia Kristel
Sylvia Kristel
Sylvia Kristel is a Dutch actress, model and singer. Her most famous role is in the French film Emmanuelle.- Early life :...
. The screenplay was written by Jean-Louis Richard, based on the novel Emmanuelle: The Joys of a Woman
Emmanuelle (novel)
Emmanuelle is an erotic novel by Emmanuelle Arsan originally written in French and published in France in 1967. It was translated into and published in English in 1971 by Mayflower Books...
by Emmanuelle Arsan
Emmanuelle Arsan
Emmanuelle Arsan, the pen name of Marayat Rollet-Andriane, born in 1932 as Marayat Bibidh, is a French novelist of Eurasian origin, most famous for creating the fictional character Emmanuelle, a woman who engages in an exploration of her own sexuality under varying circumstances.Arsan was born in...
. The music score is by Pierre Bachelet
Pierre Bachelet
Pierre Bachelet was a French singer-songwriter with a gentle romantic voice.Bachelet spent part of his childhood in Calais and developed a lifelong appreciation of the North of France, which inspired his hit song "Les corons" .His other hit songs include "Elle est d'ailleurs" , "Écris-moi" ,...
. The film was highly successful in France and around the world. In Japan the film coined a new phrase, "emanieru suru" literally, "to do Emmanuelle", meaning "to have a casual and extravagant love affair". The film's popularity led to softcore erotic films briefly becoming "chic". The fact that it received widespread U.S. distribution by a major Hollywood studio has seen Emmanuelle referred to as the softcore equivalent of the hugely successful hardcore porn release Deep Throat
Deep Throat (film)
Deep Throat is a 1972 American pornographic film written and directed by Gerard Damiano and produced by Louis Peraino and starring Linda Lovelace ....
. Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
only agreed to distribute it after noting that most of the film's audience in French cinemas were women. The studio reasoned that female interest meant Emmanuelle could not be regarded as mere pornography. It spawned several sequels and influenced many similar films. Much of the movie is filmed in soft-focus, which was a trademark of Jaekin. Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp is an English guitarist, composer and record producer. He was ranked 42nd on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and #47 on Gibson.com’s "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". Among rock guitarists, Fripp is a master of crosspicking, a technique...
won an out-of-court settlement over the use of music in the film based on King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
's "Larks' Tongues in Aspic". The film had a total of 8,893,996 admissions in France where it was the number one highest grossing film of 1974.
Plot
Emmanuelle, the wife of a French diplomat in Thailand, flies to BangkokBangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
to meet her husband Jean, who asks her if she had any other lovers while she was in Paris, to which Emmanuelle replies she has not.
In Bangkok, Emmanuelle finds herself bored and somewhat disgusted with the worldliness of her fellow French expatriates, until one day at a pool when she spies Bee, a Frenchwoman whom she is informed is outside of most of the expatriate circles. After taking a nude swim, she is approached by a pretty young girl named Marie-Ange, who asks to meet Emmanuelle at her house. Intrigued, Emmanuelle agrees.
Marie-Ange arrives at the house and finds Emmanuelle sleeping, and takes advantage of the situation to feel the older woman's body. Emmanuelle wakes up and they go outside to the porch. Marie-Ange asks Emmanuelle if she has any photos of herself and Jean having sex, to which an incredulous Emmanuelle replies no. Marie-Ange takes a French magazine with a picture of Paul Newman
Paul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
and begins to masturbate in front of Emmanuelle, who watches her in fascination. Emmanuelle confesses to Marie-Ange that while she did not cheat on her husband in Paris, she did have sex with two strangers on the flight over to Bangkok. Emmanuelle begins to pleasure herself for Marie-Ange as she recounts this.
That night, Emmanuelle tells Jean about Marie-Ange, expressing her amazement at the younger girl's seemingly complete lack of shame, and Jean encourages her to pursue the friendship further. During a squash match the next day, Emmanuelle's friend Ariane comments on her being damp from sweat, and begins to feel her up.
At a party soon afterwards, Marie-Ange introduces Emmanuelle to one of her older lovers, a gentleman named Mario, who tells her that he will send a car for her the next night, but Emmanuelle is unimpressed. She spies Bee and strikes up a conversation, wishing to meet with Bee in more private quarters. Bee, an archaeologist, tells Emmanuelle that she is leaving the next day for a dig, but tells her to meet her at the klongs.
When they meet up at the klongs, Emmanuelle follows Bee around, but Bee is uninterested in playing with Emmanuelle. Undeterred, Emmanuelle gets on Bee's jeep as she is about to leave for the dig site.
Back at the house, Jean is angered that Emmanuelle has left without telling him anything. Suspecting that Ariane is behind it, he goes and demands answers from her, but Ariane tells him that all she has to offer is consolation sex. An enraged Jean takes her on a table.
At first, Emmanuelle's affair with Bee is on rocky footing; they stop to go skinny-dipping on the way to the dig site, but when Emmanuelle tries to relax next to Bee while they dry off, she brushes her off, saying that they've already lost time. After reaching the dig site, Bee starts to warm up to her new companion, but throughout the day, Emmanuelle distracts her from her work. They finally make love, but afterwards, Bee informs Emmanuelle that while she's very fond of her, Emmanuelle has been too much of a distraction, and thus she must ask her to leave. Emmanuelle returns home in tears, feeling humiliated. Jean tries to comfort her, advising her that the best way to get over Bee is to take another lover.
At the squash courts the following day, Emmanuelle and Ariane argue. Ariane is jealous that Emmanuelle ran off with Bee, as she herself had hoped to be Emmanuelle's first female lover, while Emmanuelle is displeased at Ariane for having sex with Jean. Ariane protests that it was more like rape than consensual sex, then advises Emmanuelle to meet with Mario, telling her that at his age, making love becomes so difficult that any man capable of it must be an artist.
Later, Emmanuelle consults with Jean, who has decided to encourage the relationship between her and Mario by leaving her with him for two days. She expresses a desire to take Marie-Ange as her new lover instead, but Jean informs her that Marie-Ange has gone off on a trip with her parents - a fact that he knows because he has slept with her - and so Emmanuelle resigns herself to a meeting with Mario.
At their first dinner together, Mario explains his philosophy on sex to Emmanuelle, telling her that he believes that monogamy will soon die out. He tells her that she must learn to let lust, rather than guilt or reason, guide her when it comes to sex. This, he says, will lead her to greater levels of pleasure than she ever imagined possible. To begin instilling this lesson in her, he takes her to an opium den, where she is raped by one of the denizens while he watches.
Later, Mario takes Emmanuelle to a makeshift boxing ring, where he talks two young men into fighting each other for the right to have sex with her. At Mario's insistence, Emmanuelle chooses one of the men as her favorite, then watches as they fight. Her chosen champion prevails, and she is so aroused by his willingness to fight for her that she licks the blood from a wound on his forehead and then allows him to take her from behind. She soon climaxes and drops to the floor with exhaustion.
Sometime later, Emmanuelle is awakened by Mario, who takes her into another room. She is told to undress, so that she can change into a dress with a zipper down the back, allowing Mario to strip her naked in an instant. This, she understands, is in preparation for her next sexual encounter. Emmanuelle protests that she is tired, and asks Mario if he himself will ever have sex with her, to which Mario replies that he is waiting for the "next Emmanuelle" (presumably meaning that he will not have sex with her until he's decided that her training is complete.) As the movie ends, Emmanuelle sits at a mirror and begins applying makeup, hoping that by following Mario's instructions, she will reach the higher levels of pleasure that he has promised.
Cast
- Sylvia KristelSylvia KristelSylvia Kristel is a Dutch actress, model and singer. Her most famous role is in the French film Emmanuelle.- Early life :...
as EmmanuelleEmmanuelleEmmanuelle is the lead character in a series of French softcore erotic movies based on a character created by Emmanuelle Arsan in the novel Emmanuelle... - Daniel Sarky as Jean
- Alain CunyAlain CunyAlain Cuny was a French actor.He was born René Xavier Marie in Saint-Malo, Brittany, and studied medicine for a while before entering the film industry as a costume and set designer. Cuny started acting in the 1930s...
as Mario - Marika GreenMarika GreenMarika Nicolette Green is a Swedish-French actress. She is mostly famous for playing the starring role in Robert Bresson's Pickpocket , and also for appearing in Emmanuelle ....
as Bee - Jeanne Colletin as Ariane
- Christine BoissonChristine BoissonChristine Boisson is a French actress.After she registered in a model agency, Just Jaeckin liked her photo, and she got a part in the film Emmanuelle starring Sylvia Kristel, in which she played a lollipop-sucking teenager who masturbates over a picture of Paul Newman...
as Marie-Ange
The movie was one of Kristel's first film roles.
External links
- Emmanuelle at Allmovie
- Emmanuelle at Rotten TomatoesRotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...