This is the finest example of soft core movie-making I have watched yet, with a great title song and melodious instrumental accompaniment that gives it all a sensuous and alluring ambiance, very effective slightly hazy photography that makes the bodies even more desirable, and a sweet/ingénue character in the superb shape of angelic-looking Sylvia Kristel who gives you an erection in no time. The upshot is that it makes for a spiritual and physical experience that requires you to take yourself in hand.<br /><br />I had always thought that once you had watched one erotic or more explicit film you had basically watched them all but there is a persistent charm about Emmanuelle that keeps me retrieving it from the cupboard and falling in lust with Sylvia and her nubile female company over and over.<br /><br />It is no longer the shocker that it was in 1974, and anyway I have never been able to watch the 105' French version... so this film has also been a kind of Holy Grail to me, and I am still hoping to watch the full original.<br /><br />There is only one aspect that I regret about this otherwise marvellous erotic experience: That I never got to caress, pore over, and do Sylvia Kristel's ins and outs. But many a mark on my mattress, sofas, carpets, towels, and other items bore evidence in my youth of the indelibly sensual impression this film -- and Sylvia in particular -- left on me. May you enjoy it as much as I have!