Emmanuelle Collection (1993) SD on Blu-ray

[McCrutchy]

The seven Emmanuelle films originally shown on French TV in 1993, Francis Leroi's Emmanuelle Forever, Emmanuelle's Love, Emmanuelle's Magic, Emmanuelle's Revenge, Emmanuelle's Perfume, Emmanuelle in Venice and Emmanuelle's Secret, will be released as an Emmanuelle Collection in Germany on 31 August 2020.

Note: This is an SD on Blu-ray release. All seven films will be presented in standard definition on one Blu-ray Disc.

[McCrutchy]

These, of course, are the films in which Emmanuelle is played by Marcela Walerstein and Sylvia Kristel and George Lazenby (!) make supporting appearnces. I remember at least one or two of these from airings on premium cable in the US (I want to say Showtime) and I would like to see them again, even if they aren't the best series of films in the world.

I am potentially intrigued by this release, because it may have English audio for the films. I am somewhat aware that the company distributing it (DigiDreams) is known for poor quality releases, so I am ready to temper my expectations. However, these films have been a bit difficult to get hold of the past few years, even though many if not all of them were released on DVD in various European countries. I remember that there was a Dutch DVD box set that supposedly had the English audio tracks for the films, but I never was able to buy it and I believe it is now out of print.

Hopefully, one day someone in France might remaster these films for true full HD on Blu-ray, but until that time, I am hoping that all seven films are presented on this SD Blu-ray uncut and have English audio, or at the very least, are uncut with German dubbing.

[CouncilSpectre]

Pass.

SD on BD isn’t thrilling but not necessarily a deal breaker. DigiDreams otoh, is.

In terms of Emmanuelle, we still need 4-7 on blu....

[indiana]

what are audio and subtitle options?

[McCrutchy]

Originally Posted by indiana

what are audio and subtitle options?

The audio formats are not known, although obviously we can assume that German audio will be included. However, at least one German site is listing this as having both German and English audio. They might well be wrong, but perhaps not.

[PaulaMadigan]

I've been waiting for a Blu-Ray release of Francis Leroi's Emmanuelle series of films for quite some time, so for them all to be released on the format in standard definition feels like a wish granted by a monkey's paw. LOL

Hopefully Kino Lorber will release these in full 1080p one day!

The wait continues...

[PaulaMadigan]

Does anyone know if this is a new transfer? The DVD transfers of these films are very dark and muddy.

[PaulaMadigan]

According to the publisher of this Blu-Ray SD collection, HD transfers are impossible as the series did its post-production on videotape (it premiered on cable television). Is this very common with cable series of the '90s?

Very disappointing news. I wonder if the original film elements still exist?

[janoroh]

Originally Posted by PaulaMadigan

According to the publisher of this Blu-Ray SD collection, HD transfers are impossible as the series did its post-production on videotape (it premiered on cable television). Is this very common with cable series of the '90s?

Yes, mastering on video was what pretty much all shows of the late 80s through late 90s did. But the comment that it's "impossible" is nonsense, at least when it's meant in general. If the original film negatives are still archived somewhere, it's most certainly possible. They would just have to be scanned and then recut again like the original (plus all visual effects recreated). That's exactly what Warner did with a big part of their tv show catalog or CBS recently with Charmed and MacGyver, both of which were originally mastered on video, too.

So usually, unless the original footage was lost, it *is* possible to do an HD remaster of such shows and films. But if it's really done in the end depends on how niche a title is and how much demand for a better version there might be because it's much more complicated and expensive than just doing an HD master of something that was originally mastered on film.

[mike962]

no Emanuelle in Space with Krista Allen ?

[PaulaMadigan]

Bad news. I emailed Platinum, the publishers of this Blu-Ray, to ask if the negatives still existed. This was their response:

No, unfortunately nothing of the film elements exists anymore.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen / best regards

OLIVER KREKEL
(Freelancer/DigiDreams - Inhaber/ASTRO)

Königsberger Straße 7
34317 Habichtswald/Ehlen

[The Mole]

If Krekel says, film elements don't exist anymore, it doesn't mean sh*t. He also claimed that of LEVIATHAN until the Shout BD came out and of CLASS OF 1999 until the Vestron BD appeared. Confronted with his obviously false claims he did the usual: insuling people.

[PaulaMadigan]

Originally Posted by The Mole

If Krekel says, film elements don't exist anymore, it doesn't mean sh*t. He also claimed that of LEVIATHAN until the Shout BD came out and of CLASS OF 1999 until the Vestron BD appeared. Confronted with his obviously false claims he did the usual: insuling people.

It's somewhat of a relief to learn that he's not the final word on this! I would love to see this series in high definition at some point.

I emailed Kino Lorber with a request that they release the Marcela Walerstein Emmanuelle series in HD. Perhaps they can find the negatives and give the series the release it deserves!

[PaulaMadigan]

Originally Posted by mike962

no Emanuelle in Space with Krista Allen ?

Did the New Concorde Emmanuelle in Space BluRay ever come out? I’ve seen clips from the series in 1080p, but I believe they were captured on an HD cable station.

[The_JLR]

Originally Posted by PaulaMadigan

It's somewhat of a relief to learn that he's not the final word on this! I would love to see this series in high definition at some point.

I emailed Kino Lorber with a request that they release the Marcela Walerstein Emmanuelle series in HD. Perhaps they can find the negatives and give the series the release it deserves!

I've also emailed Kino Lorber. Was that you that recently posted a youtube video with some scenes? I ask because I remember it mentioned the same thing, but I think the video is gone.

Regarding this release, has anybody happened to come upon it? I'm not able to get it right now for several reasons, but I'm wondering if the quality does happen to be noticeably better than previous DVD releases or if the director's cuts have any meaningful footage.

Speaking of which, doesn't the original film element have to exist in order to even have director's cuts?

[PaulaMadigan]

Originally Posted by The_JLR

I've also emailed Kino Lorber. Was that you that recently posted a youtube video with some scenes? I ask because I remember it mentioned the same thing, but I think the video is gone.

Regarding this release, has anybody happened to come upon it? I'm not able to get it right now for several reasons, but I'm wondering if the quality does happen to be noticeably better than previous DVD releases or if the director's cuts have any meaningful footage.

Speaking of which, doesn't the original film element have to exist in order to even have director's cuts?

I took it down thinking that maybe the email campaign would annoy Kino Lorber and be counterproductive. But maybe I'll reupload...

Is this supposed to a "director's cut"? I was not aware.

I'm also very curious about the quality of this new release. You can see how bad the old transfer is in the opening credits. It includes scenes from the series and they're bright, well-defined, and have vibrant colors. But once it starts, the footage is so dark! I seem to remember it looking better on TV.

[PaulaMadigan]

Has Kino Lorber said anything one way or another?

[DeepBlue81]

I just got this Blu-ray off of Amazon. I’ll repost about quality once I have watched it. 🤞🏽

[DeepBlue81]

It’s about what you’d expect. It’s like watching a vhs tape on an hdtv. If I wasn’t wanting to own the films, I’d say it would be an easy return for me. It would probably look a lot more like how I remember, if I watched on a box tv.

[DeepBlue81]

Calling this “standard definition” is a definite stretch, as I would consider dvd standard definition. This is blurry and muddled, watchable, but just barely.