Emmanuelle IV (1984) Poster

(1984)

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4/10
Lost the magic
unbrokenmetal11 May 2008
The 4th installment of the Emmanuelle series is my least favorite one. Sylvia Kristel briefly appears at the beginning because she needed the money, then Mia Nygren continues as the new Emmanuelle ("Les deux visages d'Emmanuelle", the advertising tried in vain to find a reasonable excuse for the silly cosmetic surgery story). They simply wanted to continue the series because it was a successful brand name, though Kristel was meanwhile too old to play the innocent girl. Now Nygren is pretty on photos, but wooden on film. "Emmanuelle 4" lost the style of the first three movies rapidly, anyway. A stylistic means from the political thriller like inserting "Sao Paulo, 21st April 1983" tries to make it more realistic, but why? That just tears down the veil of magic.

The series was continued with 2 more cinema films (starring Monique Gabrielle respectively Natalie Uher); I voted 7/8/6/4/6/7 for the six movies. Unfortunately, further sequels were made in the 1990s and 2000s for cable TV and the video market. Don't waste your time with any of these.
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4/10
New body, old mind
kosmasp12 May 2022
Emmanuelle gets a new body ... this is just the first of many different (re)incarnations. Sylvia Krystel plays ... well Sylvia. Which is kind of weird and confusing. Like the whole movie. While the first three movies had a sort of coherent storyline - this seems to be on a different playing field.

There is quite a bit of nudity and the new Emmanuelle is quite pretty. All the Emmanuelles can be considered beautiful to say the least. Unfortunately that does not change a thing when it comes to the ... movie and its plot if you can call it that. There are a few more steamy scenes than in Part 3 ... but that made more sense when it came to character and other developments ... still if the movies got worse and worse ... but still made money, I should be glad the box set I aquired only has the first 4 movies in it. I would have watched all of them - I still might. But I am not getting ... my hopes up (stop snickering ... maybe)
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4/10
Switched
BandSAboutMovies24 August 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Director and written by Francis Leroi (who would make a ton of Emmanuelle content, such as Emmanuelle Forever, Emmanuelle's Revenge, Emmanuelle In Venice, Emmanuelle's Love, Emmanuelle's Magic, Emmanuelle's Perfum, Emmanuelle 7 and Emmanuelle's Secret) and Iris Letan, this movie pulls a big switch: Emmanuelle (Sylvia Kristel) escapes a love affair with Marc (Patrick Bauchau) by going to Brazil where near-magical plastic surgery transforms her into a twenty-year-old virgin played by Swedish actress Mia Nygren.

The original French version was shot and released in ArriVision 3-D, but new scenes were shot for the US version in StereoVision 3-D and composited within the film. There were also hardcore inserts shot for this not featuring the main actors. That explains Christoph Clark and Marilyn Jess being in the credits. I was surprised to see Brinke Stevens, who isn't in the credits.

Challenged by her therapist Donna (Deborah Power) to explore not only her new body but her new soul, Emmanuelle travels the world and pretty much takes advantage of any opportunity to have sex. That said, this may not look as gorgeous as Just Jaeckin's original, but it has a charge to it that other sequels didn't. There's definitely a budget and definitely good casting; thankfully Kristel shows up in flashbacks and dream sequences, so she doesn't totally go away. It is audacious, though, to have Nygren sitting in a wicker chair just like the superior first movie.
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More erratic than erotic
Dodger-95 February 2000
Oh dear. In a film series as bad as this it's hard to know where to rate it. If you like watching travel shows then this movie will be right up your street but if you're in search of a little erotic entertainment then forget it.

In a desperate attempt to reinvigorate the franchise, original Emmanuelle Sylvia Kristel decides to have a spot of plastic surgery and, hey, what do you know, she ends up looking like a woman 10 years her junior. Alas, the newcomer has half as much charisma although continuity is retained by her ability to drop her clothes at the drop of a hat.

Chances are you'll be watching this on video as the prospect of watching it on TV is too hideous a thought to bear so after about five minutes with your finger on the fast forward button, there's a little soft core action executed with all the passion of a director in a coma.

The movie is laid out across several days in 1983. Why we need to know the dates is a mystery as this is hardly in the realms of Se7en for attention-grabbing yet episodic drama.

Needless to say, all the girls present are gorgeous and most of the blokes look as ugly as sin.

After a slow start, there's much kit offery for the duration and symbolism is rife for those who like that sort of thing. As the eponymous nymphomaniac takes her latest flame off into the jungle, we see a snake in the grass.

Is this the garden of eden, a place of temptation or just a snake? You decide - if you can be bothered.

The movie does at least boast one hilarious line of dialogue: "Women are like mud," suggests Emmy in perhaps not the greatest analogy ever heard in a movie.

The music is dreadful - pure 1970 and for fans of the series, there is at least the reappearance of that famous wicker chair, an inanimate character far more endearing than any of the kit- free cast.

Watch it with the sound off if you like and take in the okay scenery as this erratic rather than erotic tale unfolds. Stick a CD on and better still, have a few mates round and come up with your own dialogue.

It's a lot more fun than having to put up with the poor excuse for a script on offer here.
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5/10
New Emmanuelle and the dough boys
jaibo28 September 2008
Warning: Spoilers
This misguided attempt to revive the "official" Emmanuelle series seven years after the third entry, vainly entitled Goodbye Emmanuelle, is by turns boring, confusing and deliriously camp. The ludicrous plot has the original Emmanuelle Sylvia Kristel running to Brazil to escape a man who she has an obsessive relationship with, there undergoing some serious plastic surgery to make her 10 years younger, thus allowing Mia Nygen to take over the role. Nygen is absolutely gorgeous, though devoid of acting talent or personality. The "new" Emmanuelle takes part in various swinging sessions and orgies with a plethora of tanned men before getting back with her old lover, who doesn't realise who she is but feels oddly the same about her.

The story is a load of stuff and nonsense, made even more ridiculous by the travelogue nature of the scenario (each scene is set in a different city), incessant and pretentious voice-over narration and a couple of very peculiar abstract dream (are they?) sequences in which Kristel re-appears to instruct on the best way to arouse a man - "Boys are like dough. There is a certain way of touching them that will make them rise." The sexual action is softcore (although apparently some of this was filmed as a hardcore movie), and much of it consists of a lone woman playing the voyeur to some bonking session and then giving herself a good frig. The men, being mostly fit young Brazilians, are surprisingly attractive for a straight softcore film of the era; the scene where a young horse-riding knave smacks his brother's errant girlfriend up before roughly taking new Emmanuelle to the stables is pretty hot. The most eye-popping sequence has new Emmanuelle being chased through a slum by a gang of horny youths - she grabs the "most animalistic" of them and, as he shoves her to the ground and climbs on top of her, she narrates the immortal lines "Lying on that rubbish dump, with that brute on top of me, I experienced the most intense climax of my life." You go girl! Emmanuelle 4 certainly lacks the visual splendour or philosophical and emotional nuances of the original trilogy; what's left is so off the wall and absurd that it's an absolute scream. Indefensible but, in its own way, fairly memorable. It would have been even more hilarious in its original 3D cinema release...
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10/10
Movie > They are not 4 but 2 !
lamegabyte31 January 2016
This movie is an incredible memory for me because it may be the second adult movie i have seen when i wasn't an adult ! The first « Les Bas De Soie Noire » was in March 1987 (seen my review #00) and « Emmanuelle » is likely to have been a few weeks or month later and surely before May 1988, because it was then « Emmanuelle V ». What i remember from this time is that Mia was a stunning woman but that was a pity in the fact that she didn't get involved a lot. It was really soft and a frustration she would never do the thing with a man or a woman, especially the beautiful brunette Maria ! All the famous scenes were in addition not so hot except the samba lesbian fiesta which is one of the most erotic scene ever filmed : the tribal sound, the veiled colors, the mix of colors skins and the peeping situation is totally exciting !

After all those years, my feelings stays the same and i'm surprised it's always the same motifs that come and go in my life : Sweden, Brazil… It's true that the story is totally crap (a new body, Marc's longing) but the locations are really enchanting and call for sensuality ; i like also Emmanuelle's affirmative desire quest : The movie is centered about her, her needs and it was great to have such a point of view to start instead of the usual banging flesh !
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7/10
Lush, escapist fantasy
Falconeer20 September 2009
Being a huge fan of the "Emmanuelle/Emanuelle" series, I have seen every official entry, (1 through 6.) Sexy, fun films that all possess a certain artistic quality. So what happens here? After all the steamy sexual encounters with the countless women and men, our beautiful heroine finds herself bored with her own reflection. In an effort to escape a man who she is afraid of loving, Emmanuelle has extensive plastic surgery, transforming herself, (literally) into a different woman. Actually this is a clever way to continue the series. Of course the whole premise of this film is a bit ludicrous, but undeniably, great fun to watch. Mia Nygren, the young woman who replaces Kristel, is absolutely gorgeous, and even bears a striking resemblance to the original actress. Unfotunately Nygren is utterly wooden in the role. When she tries to look sexy, she appears instead to be a woman in the throes of a seizure, making preposterous facial expressions when she is supposed to be orgasming! Emmanuelle ends up in Brazil, where she visits Rio, and San Paulo, with the tale climaxing in the steamy Amazon jungle. The sex scenes are extremely hot, and lushly filmed, and for once in the series, the men involved are as beautiful as the women, mostly dark Brazillian thugs! This one is a real fantasy that will most likely be enjoyed by women as well as men. Scenes in the rain forest, involving snakes writhing over wet bodies, lots of masturbation and voyeurism, and some scenes even border on hardcore, although none of these scenes feature the beautiful Nygren. Of course I am speaking of the Euro version, as the DVD released for North America is completely censored, omitting over 8 minutes of footage. Sylvia Kristel is actually in this fourth installment, but she doesn't play "Emmanuelle," rather she is called simply, Sylvia. It doesn't really make sense. But who cares, right? The look of the film is sleek, and the erotic scenes are nicely realised. I'm not saying this is a really good film, but for what it is, it is quite enjoyable. High production values, gorgeous cinematography, beautiful women, and men, even a memorable soundtrack. For a soft core film, this is impressive, especially compared with the cheap, shot-on-video stuff being churned out today. The fact that Emmanuelle IV is actually in 3-D makes this one even more fun, and totally bizarre. There is an impressive German DVD set containing the first 4 films of the series, all uncut versions, and it even includes 3-D glasses for Emmanuelle IV! A nice way to escape into another world for a little while.. Just remember to watch the other three first! And watch them in French. Followed by 2 more films in the series, starring different women in the title role. Though not quite as good as the first 4 entries, they are both worth a look as well.
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Emmanuelle IV
jacdewit-122 October 2012
b-film.nl Last Wednesday at the age of 60 Sylvia Kristel deceased. She will be remembered for its successful game, her paintings and her powerful autobiography. Plus Minus 58 (TV) films she has to her name. With major productions as The Concorde ... Airport '79 and Private Lessons, she remains best known for the Emmanuelle series. A huge success formula that was milked. Eventually these films degenerated into flawless b-movies. The one to one with three parts for the enthusiast perfectly palatable. Beautiful naked, rich sites and addition Kristel Umberto Orsini example that also could occur in Visconti's The Damned and Ludwig.

Part four is a different story. That part is downright obscure. Perhaps even more obscure as many Emmanuelle rip or programs created by Joe D'Amato. Many of his titles (Emanuelle with 'm') are polished, with extras and reissued by the precious Blue Underground.

Definitely something to this site even pay attention to it. This beautiful lot of fancy reissue is not played by Emmanuelle IV. The film has the title role Sylvia Kristel top stand, the producers had not thought that are the star of the film would be. They devised a diabolical plan to the 32 year old Kristel in exchange for the 24-year-old fashion model Mia Nygren. Undoubtedly the idea with the new star Just to continue the series.

But in part four first had eaten it both ways: either as Kristel Nygren present as ester. To the old Emmanuelle come to the new one that invented Kristel in the film a full body and had to undergo face-lift. The scenario motivates the drive of the character of Kristel order it do to them as an annoying boyfriend can come. Logical. Almost happy we see her in the office of the plastic surgeon, with a stylus subtly indicates what "can be off" and "what can be lifted.

The successful applicant must have been less pleasant scene anyway. Moments later, the time has come: Silvia is transformed into Mia. The film is less than fifteen minutes on the road and that's a bit too early to Kristel outside the film to. New diabolical plan of the producers: it is the imaginary love coach of the New Emanuelle. And hop: Both ladies are back on the canvas. The blootigheid is especially Nygren. Sylvia Kristel, the rattan chair may exchange it for an office chair. She is now finally coach.

Where his script see prices go? Probably the creator disillusioned industrial out-office. From their hand came into the cinema not much more justified. Silvia Kristel remained stuck with the legacy they now suddenly no longer Emmanuelle is ..? Of course not. In part five, she just returned. Fortunately. For all the films are not very good. Sylvia Kristel is super nice in game and who she is.

JdW b-film.nl
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6/10
Not as bad as all that
smatysia30 July 2002
This film is odd, but hey, it's French. The plastic surgery deal is a way to pass the baton from Sylvia Kristel to Mia Nygren, a maneuver which wouldn't really work now, and was ludicrous in 1984. The film was, however, reasonably erotic, its "raison d'etre", at least in its uncut version(~90 min.)It's worth a look to fans of the genre. Grade: C
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