This is one of those few much talked about Italian exploitation films I haven’t seen until now (I still haven’t seen Patrick Still Lives, to name another one) when found it cheap at Monkey Beach (THE best film store in Stockholm, visit it!). I will be honest with you and say I never been that interested in nudity, especially female nudity. I mean, a movie which revolves around this subject - the MacGuffin of naked women - ain’t that interesting for me. And really, I’m not even sure I would find any more interest in male nudity on this level either. When Jess Franco does his magic it’s often so much more than the sleaze, there’s something else, a darkness, an artiness that attracts me. Joe D’Amato on the other hand seldom goes beneath the surface of his characters - but it happens, and Emanuelle in America is one of those films where he actually seems to have something to say. Kinda.
Emanuelle is of course, as usual, a famous photographer with a semi-ugly boyfriend with way too tight jeans and lots female, nude, friends around her. She’s also, I guess, a nymphomaniac and goes out on adventures all over the world to partly take cool photos she can sell to magazines, but also fuck around a lot - sometimes with ugly men, sometimes with semi-ugly women (I know, beauty is in the eye of the beholder blah blah blah). In Emanuelle in America she infiltrates a Harem, she visits an orgy (and participates, what else?!), visits an African tribe (or is it?!) and of course uncovers an organisation that delivers snuff films to the very, very, very, very, very rich people of the world! Just a day in the life of Emanuelle!
Alright, there’s a lot of female pubic hair and men with perfect helmet haircuts with eyes that glisten of cocaine, George Eastman shows up in a cameo and has I (I guess!) a stunt cock for his Tarzan-esque sex scene, some not-so-tasteful zoofilia and lots of gorgeous cinematography by Aristide Massaccesi - D’Amato himself of course, under his real name. The mix of comedy, drama, sex and in the end, thriller, makes this one helluva exploitation film - maybe one of the purest in this very special, sleazy, bizarre genre. What makes it a lot better than a lot of other similar films is how it suddenly turns around at the end, delivering some very dark, nasty fake snuff scenes. Emanuelle wants to see some real hardcore and her lovers puts on a snuff movie - and then takes her to the set of that place.
Here D’Amato goes for the throat. This is NOT fun, this is violent and nasty and very graphic. A brilliant touch is how he keeps the battered look of the snuff scenes even when Emanuelle is watching it life, to make it both very real - and maybe even just an LSD-hallucination by our heroine. Even if it’s hardly tasteful or well, close to not being arty, I find this to be a great twist during the end - before the even sillier ending, maybe a nod from D’Amato and friends that we shouldn’t take their filmmaking so serious. It’s all fun and games at the end, an illusion.
And it’s during those last twenty minutes Emanuelle in America becomes superior to a lot of other exploitation movies. It dares to provokes us in so many different ways. Mindfucking deluxe. I like that. A lot. .
The same year Laura Gemser made a guest appearence in Crime Busters. Didn´t recognize her with her clothes on.
Would have been cool if she would have been naked behind Terence Hill on that motorbike.
Posted by: Tobe | May 02, 2014 at 03:12
Yet the hair in the photo was still more mind reeling than the snuff films in the movie.
Posted by: Smallerdemon | May 03, 2014 at 06:57
"I will be honest with you and say I never been that interested in nudity, especially female nudity. I mean, a movie which revolves around this subject - the MacGuffin of naked women - ain’t that interesting for me."
I NEVER grow bored with it....hahhahahhahhah....but I understand if you don´t like it.
"I’m not even sure I would find any more interest in male nudity on this level either."
Not even Lance Henriksen...?
"Joe D’Amato on the other hand seldom goes beneath the surface of his characters - but it happens, and Emanuelle in America is one of those films where he actually seems to have something to say. Kinda."
I don´t think I´ve seen any of his films...yet.
"(I know, beauty is in the eye of the beholder blah blah blah)."
Aw....come on, Gemser is cute...?
I like her....
"some not-so-tasteful zoofilia"
Hmmm....no close ups.....I hope...?
"And it’s during those last twenty minutes Emanuelle in America becomes superior to a lot of other exploitation movies. It dares to provokes us in so many different ways. Mindfucking deluxe. I like that. A lot."
It does sound fun, good review and thanks Fred.
Posted by: Megatron | May 04, 2014 at 02:09