Between 1975 and 1980, Laura Gemser made several films in the collection commonly called either “Black Emanuelle” or “Emanuelle with one ‘M’.” After that period, there was a trickle of additional films hoping to ride the Emanuelle coattails.
1975 – Black Emanuelle
1976 – Emanuelle in Bangkok *
1977 – Emanuelle in America *
1977 – Emanuelle Around the World *
1977 – Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals *
1977 – Sister Emanuelle
1978 – Emanuelle and the White Slave Trade *
1978 – Emanuelle and the Porno Nights of the World
1978 – Emanuelle – A Woman from a Hot Country
1980 – Emanuelle, Queen of Sados
1981 – Divine Emanuelle
1982 – Emanuelle in the Country
1983 – Women’s Prison Massacre
1986 – Scandalous Emanuelle
The five denoted with an asterisk could be called a series, as they were all directed by Joe D’Amato in rapid succession. He also wrote the last three, and acted as his own cinematographer in all five. Joe was an incredibly prolific creator of erotic content in the 20th century. In the 28 years from 1972 to 1999, he directed 200 films. He was the cinematographer on 178 of them, and wrote 52. Heaven only knows how many more features he might have created had his heart not failed him shortly after his 62nd birthday.
He created films that targeted a small niche, so you have not seen any of those 200 films unless you are into vintage erotica or horrotica. Maybe not even then. As long as I have been writing about cinema nudity, I don’t believe I have ever watched one of his films from start to finish. (That was Tuna’s thing.) D’Amato was the proverbial big fish in a very small pond. Like Lucifer, he chose to rule in his own domain rather than to serve in heaven.
In the D’Amato films, Black Emanuelle is an international reporter and photographer who travels to exotic locations. D’Amato added some violence and horror to the series, such as the fake snuff film footage in Emanuelle in America, a gang rape scene in Emanuelle Around the World (1977), and gore scenes in Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals.
