Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Woodyanders Famous journalist and carnally insatiable hedonist Emanuelle (the always delectable Laura Gemser at her most insanely desirable) goes to Bangkok for an assignment. Emanuelle not only embarks on her usual exploration of sensual pleasure, but also has her passport stolen and gets gang raped by a bunch of slimy creeps. Director Joe D'Amato, working from a blithely sensuous and eventful script by Maria Pia Fusco, relates the entertainingly ridiculous story at a steady pace, makes fine and evocative use of the exotic globe-trotting locations, and, naturally, crams this baby with loads of delicious bare distaff skin and scorching simulated soft-core couplings. The nice cast of dependable Italian sleaze cinema stalwarts keeps the movie bubbling along: Gabriele Tinti as handsome, but vulgar archaeologist Roberto, Ivan Rassimov as the suave Prince Sonit, Ely Galleani as ditsy and cheerful American tourist Frances, Giacomo Rossi-Stuart as Frances' amiable husband Jimmy, Venantino Venantini as helpful ambassador David, Koike Mahoco as enticing masseuse Gee, and Debra Berger as sweet and fragile teenager Debra, who understandably develops a heavy Sappho crush on Emanuelle. A nude massage set piece, a racy nightclub strip act involving ping-pong balls, and a soapy lesbian bathtub frolic rate as the definite arousing highlights. D'Amato's slick cinematography gives the picture a bright and sumptuous look. Nico Fidenco's funky throbbing score hits the right-on groovy spot (the giddy'n'goofy recurring theme song "Like a Sailing Ship" is an absolute dippy hoot!). Good sexy fun.

Coventry This is the first, and most likely the only Joe D'Amato film ever to hit Belgian television screens. Quite logical, since the titles on his repertoire go from nauseating horror films ("Anthropophagous", "Beyond the Darkness") to hardcore porno flicks ("Tarzan X") and sometimes even a combination of both ("Erotic Nights of the Living Dead", "Porno Holocaust"). D'Amato pretty much behaves himself here and follows the formula of the original "Black Emanuelle" film, released one year before, but that doesn't mean avid D'Amato-fans have to worry, as there still is an enormous amount of genuine sleaze to enjoy. "Emanuelle in Bangkok" has virtually no plot at all and you can't even fully believe the title, as our sexy protagonist's journey to the Far East is very brief and she only has contact with two Asian people (a masseuse and a bell-boy). The film most "crucial" sequences are set on a cruise ship and in Morocco, where she has an off/on relationship with a persistent archaeologist. I have no complaints, though, since the camera beautifully captures Laura Gemser's erotic adventures with men, women, couples and herself. Joe D'Amato's trademarks are bizarrely tinted sexual situations, and there's only one such sequence in this film, namely the Japanese stripper who puts ping-pong balls up her vagina. Weird… One aspect about "Emanuelle in Bangkok", as well as in the entire cycle, is downright brilliant and that's the music. Nico Fidenco's score is mesmerizing and, without exaggerating, at least ten times better than every other score that ever won an Oscar. The dazzling soundtrack alone makes "Emanuelle in Bangkok" a true cult classic that every fan of the genre will enjoy watching.

nickroosa In the summer of 1995, Showtime aired this movie almost every night, after "Red Shoe Diaries" and usually around 1 AM. I thought then this was the strangest soft-core thing I've ever seen. Over the years, I've seen far more bizarre, but this one still remains memorable to me after all these years.First off, the music. Bad '70s porno music meets Asian karaoke. Seriously. There are really only 2 songs here, and I don't know the names of them, so I'll give them names: "Like A Sailing Ship," which has a ship horn in its chorus ("TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!"), and "I Wander Safe At Night," which is played most prominently during the big group drug/orgasm scene, perhaps the standout scene in this film: a bunch of people smoke pot (or some mind-altering drug), then get horny and get freaky. All to the strains of a bad guitar solo. This should be a requirement for all soft-core porn.Laura Gemser is pretty hot, she could easily still stand out even today. Come to think of it, all the women here are not bad-looking at all. If you can stand the fact that a lot of George W.'s last name is in full force here (personal grooming wasn't in in 1976, kids), you might like the ladies."Emanuelle in Bangkok," a standout film from my lonely teenager years. I don't even remember the plot, and I don't care. Seeing this now brings back memories of me with Cool Ranch Doritos and a bottle of Pepsi, keeping the volume low so my parents wouldn't hear it, settling back to Showtime's late-night lineup, which included this film and "Red Shoe Diaries." Those were the days...

JohnnyOldSoul "Um...ok." is what I heard myself say quite often during this picture. This sequel to Emanuelle nera (1974) is basically just a travelogue as Laura Gemser goes to and fro from place to place and in the process destroys two marriages and smokes opium with Ivan Rassimov. Yep, that's all there is to it.Gabriele Tinti actually comes off best, and the sex scenes between he and Laura Gemser are quite nice. I was confused by Emanuelle's "struggle" with her lesbian feelings for Debra Berger's character. I remember seeing her have sex with two women in the last film.Ely Galleani is her usual smiling self (I've never seen her not smile in a film) and Ivan Rassimov has those sexy eyes, and of course Laura Gemser is gorgeous as ever, but this film is just kinda a time-passer. Now, the series would reach it's pinnacle soon with "Emanuelle Around the World," but that's another story...EDIT (June 2007): On reflection, having seen this film again after several years, I have to admit that I have a new appreciation for how the romance between Emanuelle and Debra was handled. It's really quite sweet. Emanuelle's struggle isn't with feeling attracted to a woman, but feeling stronger emotions, thus she flees India, back to her old ways. If you watch their scenes in Italian with the English subs on (on the Severin DVD release,) the dialogue between Emanuelle and Debra is a bit different, and more moving. It makes the bathtub scene much more significant, rather than just a random moment of titillation as it appears in the English dub.