Yesterday, on July 29, 2023, my most anticipated box set ever, Severin Films release of The Sensual World of Black Emanuelle, came in the mail for me. I preordered it a day or two of when they were available to do so, back around April or so, I believe. As a huge fan of the gorgeous and legendary Laura Gemser, Joe D'Amato, and the Italian Emanuelle films, this was a must have for me. When I had it in my hands, finally, I was happier than a pig in filth!
The following is a picture based unboxing. Since I am between the houses right now, I don't have all of my equipment. Though to be fair, there is no way, I could have made this into a YouTube video, what with the nudity, subject matter, and genres/ subgenres covered and included in this set.
At top was the front of the box set, here are sides and back of it:
The front has Emanuelle's camera, which using a dial, you switch between images. They include some nudity, not surprisingly, and even a horse! And, if you know about why the later is included, uhm, sorry for the trauma you experienced, and if you don't, well just use your imagination... Anyway, I've included a few. Hey, I don't wanna ruin ever surprise for you guys!
The set comes 15 discs, 24 films in total, 21 of which are from the Black Emanuelle series plus two adjacent movies starring Ajita Wilson, and Joe D'Amato documentary Inferno Rosso. Also included are two CDs, over 40 hours of extra features(!!) including a docu on Gemser's husband/ co-star Gabriele Tinti, and shit load more. I've seen and own a couple of these movies, but many I have not. The following is where the movies are contained, starting with the front of the encasing, each sleeve where each is disc is enclosed, and ending with the back of it:
Also included in the set is the heavy and thick paperback, The Black Emanuelle Bible. It is edited by the amazing Kier-La Janisse. She wrote the incredible House of Psychotic Women, which I am currently reading. One skim through it will reveal a comprehensive, fascinating, and beautiful looking book:
As I said, I am between houses, so I can't dive into the films and the extra features, but I can't wait to do just that. The mix of horror, exploitation, softcore, hardcore, and, of course, Laura Gemser(!!) and other gorgeous women makes this one that is right up my alley. It may just be the greatest box set in film history, and dear friends and readers, that is not an exaggeration nor is it bullshit.
Title: The Green Inferno Director: Eli Roth Writers: Guillermo Amoedo and Eli Roth Cast: Lorenza Izzo, Ariel Levy, Aaron Burns, Kirby Bliss Blanton, Magda Apanowitz, Ignacia Allamand Year: 2013 (released 2015) Min: 100
Justine (Lorenza Izzo) a beautiful college freshman becomes interested in human rights, and joins a social activism group led by Alejandro (Ariel Levy). That she thinks he's good looking also weighs in on her decision to join them. She ultimately accompanies them on their trip to the Amazon rain-forest to stop a company from bulldozing down the trees and taking the land from natives. It doesn't take her, and eventually the rest of the group, long to figure out that Alejandro is all bullshit and a douchebag. But, things also turn much worse as their plane crashes as it tries to leave the rain-forest. The survivors are soon taken prisoner by a very hungry, deadly, and savage cannibal tribe.
Though made two years ago, Eli Roth's bloody and loving tribute to Ruggero Deodato's brutal and controversial classick Cannibal Holocaust (loyal horror fans in the know will note that this movie's title is that of the film with a film, found footage flick title of that movie) is finally being released via the folks at Blumhouse. This movie is very different from that company's usual teen horror, though, and though flawed ranks as one of the year's very best horror films.
Those who hate Eli Roth's style of film making won't be won over with this one. It does feature his usual college level humor, which plays oddly against the more serious aspects of the movie. In the beginning the humor works quite well. The stuff between Justine and her pretty friend, Kaycee (Sky Ferreira) works best because it feels real and natural. There is an interesting and, almost, complete tonal shift, once the tribe takes them. The camera, formally shooting in a typical manner and style, suddenly turns jarring and disorienting. It works excellently and this coming from someone who hates it when the camera moves this way. It adds a sense of neo-reality, urgency, and ups the tension to the proceedings. Strangely, Roth decides to add more infantile humor at this point, to break up the tension in the film. This bears varying degrees of success. The pooping scene makes sense to a certain degree of, "well that would happen in real life", but is slightly marred by silly and gross sounds and character reactions. Other moments play out better, still others just leave you saying "what the fuck was Roth thinking?!"
Complementing the realism of the film is the actual real setting and the use of real Peruvian tribes people as the cannibals. I also like that film, like many of the its' Italian counterparts starts off in New York City. It has deeper messages in the form bullshit artists who wish to make a name for themselves exploiting a cause and the deforestation of the Amazons adds a level of profundity beyond it's exploitative nature (not unlike the dichotomy of Deodato's aforementioned classic). One aspect of the film that I did like more than the Italian stuff is that there is no real violence against animals here. In fact, there is an undercurrent of love for animals best summed up by the black leopard shown in the film. In an opposite vein, I which he would've taken the influence of having a better score. I mean this one here ain't bad, but it is generic. Unlike the beautiful score for Cannibal Holocaust.
The acting is quite good, though. The supporting cast is strong, in particular Levy who just so good at being a despicable asshole in this film. But, it really is Izzo's showcase here. She is the heart of the film, and we are firmly on her side throughout the movie, thank God. I don't think this movie would've worked quite as well, if we weren't. She is excellent and is rapidly making a name for herself in the horror genre. She also happens to be stunningly beautiful. Those eyes! Good God, I maybe in love!
The movie doesn't feature anywhere near the amount of nudity it's Italian counterparts do. Those hoping that such beautiful women as Kirby Bliss Blanton or Magda Apanowicz will bear their flesh will be disappointed. Even the natives don't show naughty bits. But, there is one case of male frontal nudity, and the gorgeous Izzo gets nude as well. Izzo's scene is actually pretty tense and comes closest to matching the sexual violence that some of the nastier Italian films love to showcase. Speaking of nasty KNB's gore is phenomenal. This is the bloodiest studio horror film since the Evil Dead remake. As such, it features dismemberment, implaing, and more, including some wonderfully graphic cannibalism.
In all, I really enjoyed The Green Inferno. It is well worth the wait and is a great mix of fun, intensity, and shock. A sometimes nasty and wonderfully gruesome film, it does have some uneven bits, including an ending that feels tacked on to get us ready for the green lit sequel. But, I still highly recommend it. Not to Roth's haters, but to those who know what to expect from his work and want a bloody ride back to cannibal country. And, let's be honest as people haven't made this kind of movie in ages, it's a long overdue trip for many of us. Thank the gore-gods it's as good as it is here.
