Black Box Laure

First, a so-so review of Black Emmanuelle's Box from Pop Syndicate. Basically, "you'll like it if you like this kinda stuff." But we like seeing our names in print, so it's offered here for your perusal.

Better, here's one from Andre Salas, at Filmmaker Magazine, who gives us this Laure review:

"LAURE

I admit it, I'm obsessed with Severin Films' DVD ouput as of late. Their recent releases include titles by cult maestros Walerian Borowczyk, Jess Franco and Lucio Fulci; their website list of upcoming releases is a mouthwatering roster of 70s Euro rarities.

Out now is a forgotten gem called Laure ($29.95), touted as being written and directed by (and starring) Emmanuelle Arsan: author of the now-infamous book Emmanuelle. This is and isn't exactly true, but I'll let the bonus features on the disc explain the whole story.

Laure is a soft-focus little gem starring Annie Belle as the title character, a free-spirited female who encounters hunky Al Cliver (of Zombi 2 fame) on the way to hear her Professor dad speak at a local university in Manila. Immediately smitten, she brings him along and soon he's caught up in her world of intellectual, libertine friends and lovers. As our sexy cast heads into the jungle to find the lost Mara tribe (reknowned for their enlightened sexual philosophy) every taboo is broken.

If it all sounds a bit like the plot of a lost Emmanuelle movie, well, it basically is (It even was released as Forever Emmanuelle in some territories). Belle proves as ideal and likeable a heroine as needed to pull this sort of thing off, and Cliver is game enough to match her. A kick-ass score of groovy lounge/psychedelica heightens the mood.

Sexy, stylish and good-natured fun, Laure is an ideal choice for your next swinging singles cocktail party."

New reviews: Laure, O, Mansion

Movieline Online sent along this review for Laure. Say they: "The sex scenes rarely move beyond unclothed heavy petting, paced with a deliberate feminine sense of eroticism that really works. Laure is soft-sell soft-core, unlike the ugly hurriedness of D'Amato or the clumsy fumblings of Franco. And it's all the better for it."

And here's a review from Ed Demko over at Bloodtype for Mansion of the Living Dead that's just darned entertaining. Franco fans can be so apologetic for their love of the man. Or maybe "defensive" is the word. Did he like Mansion? He says he did. Judge for yourself.

Here's another one from Jay Reel with our friends from Deadpit. A review of The Sexual Story of O. He kinda dug it. He recommends it for "Franco completists only" however. He does say this: "One thing I'll say about the movie (originally released in 1984), and that it's pretty to look at. I'm not just talking about the female nudity, and there's plenty of that, but there's a lush style to the whole movie that's impressive considering the films budget ("Two cents" according to director Jess Franco in the interview included on the DVD)."