Sister Emanuelle
AKA: Suor Emanuelle
Sor Emanuelle
Emanuelle in a Convent
Emmanuelle Nunnaluostarissa
Emanuelle I Nonneklostret
Die Nonne Und Das Biest
Emanuelle et les collégiennes
A Nunsploitation.Net review
It was indeed a great pleasure to be able to watch one of my all-time favorite nunsploitation flicks again. This time, instead of a grainy old Nth generation VHS copy, I was able to enjoy my favorite film in a pristine, remastered X-Rated Kult DVD made available through HK Flix.
Even though I have a lot more nunsploitation flicks under my belt than I did the first time I saw Suor Emanuelle (AKA: Die Nonne und der Biest), the story and the eroticism still hold up and it remains one of my guilty pleasures.
The movie has two ingredients to its enduring formula: a strong, character-driven story, and a beautiful Laura Gemser (and a director who's not afraid to show her off ... okay, three ingredients).
Laura Gemser is the definitive Emanuelle having played the character in a number of films, including the bizarre Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals (in which a nun (not Gemser) makes an appearance only to be eaten).
The character is old ground, but the film makers manage to find a new direction to take her and a new way to challenge her by placing her in a convent.
Emanuelle is not a wild element or a fish out of water. She is sincere in her desire to be a nun. That's what makes the film so good. The storytellers take her character seriously. In fact, she makes the perfect candidate for nunhood, given her colorful past. She is the ultimate Mary Magdalene. Although she has lived a sinful life, she throws herself on God's mercy and works hard to earn forgiveness.
That's not to say there is no devil in the machine works. That role goes to Monica (Monica Zanchi).
The spoiled rich-girl is introduced as a chaotic sexual element after she shares a way-too-friendly kiss good-bye with her father's trophy wife. She's convinced her father has sent her to a convent school because he's jealous.
Monica continually tugs at Sister Emanuelle's strings, talking openly about lust and lesbianism. She teases the beautiful young nun, unaware that she is essentially taking a swig in front of a recovering alcoholic. Emanuelle's Achilles' hell is sex. She is struggling desperately to distance herself from lustful thinking and to chasten herself, and here this upstart waltzes in and rudely disrupts the safety and tranquillity of the cloister.
Monica runs rampant through the convent school, first she seduces her saintly roommate. Then, she commits the most egregious transgression. She shelters a violent fugitive named Rene (Gabrielle Tinti, also from Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals) in an abandoned tower, seducing him and returning nightly for sex.
This girl is so incorrigible, that having a man and a woman at her fingertips isn't enough. She arranges for Sister Emanuelle to catch her and Renee in the act. When Rene threatens to massacre the school if Sister Emanuelle ... er ... "exposes" him, she is forced into keeping his secret and becomes Monica's unwilling accomplice.
Next Monica tricks Emanuelle into thinking Rene wants her virgin roommate. Angry, Emanuelle sacrifices herself to satisfy the lust of the beast while Monica and her roommate Anna watch in secret.
I wont' give away the ending, but the climax of the film is one true to Emanuelle's strengths. Her domain is sex and she knows it well. Using the subtle pushes and pulls of sexual intimacy as her weapon, she punishes Monica and teaches her a lesson she'll never forget: Don't mess with Emanuelle!
The ending is one that allows Emanuelle to remain true to her character without breaking her vows or embarrassing the Mother Superior who gave her a chance to repent.
X-Rated Kult DVD did a fine job with the video transfer offering a clearer, sharper picture than I'm used to for a film like this.
German, English and Italian audio are offered with forced German subtitles that fly by even when there is no dialogue....
The DVD is packed with some nice extras including the original German-language trailer, a gallery of lobby cards, and my personal favorite, hardcore scenes cut from the movie.
It would have been perfect it viewers were given the option to watch the movie with hardcore scenes in or out. Maybe in a future release...
Another nice addition would have been more features: cast and crew interviews, commentary, and maybe a featurette. Understandably, this may be difficult to do. Director Joe D'Amato has since passed away and Laura Gemser has been living in seclusion since her retirement (last I heard).
This DVD is region 2 PAL, so non Europeans will need a versatile DVD player to watch it, but it comes with our highest recommendation.
The movie has a strong story that keeps the viewer entertained. The sex is non-stop, especially if you're a big fan of girl-on-girl scenes. Laura Gemser is absolutely stunning, as usual, and she gives us several slow, sultry strip scenes as she sheds her nun's habit and coronet.
You don't have to be a fan of nunsploitation to enjoy this movie. We bet our reputation on it!
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This movie is available from HK Flix!
