Page 156 - Alternative Europe Eurotrash and Exploitation Cinema Since 1945

FIGURE 29 Sexual sequels: Sylvia Kristel (middle) and friends discover the erotic Orient in Emmanuelle 2 (1975)

sexual imagery equally set a standard for future productions. So too was its appeal to audiences of all
social strata, but especially women.
Columbia Pictures president David Begelman expressed his interest in distributing the studio's
first-ever X-rated film in Emmanuelle, according to apocryphal research done on a Parisian sidewalk.
'The line outside the theatre was made up of about 75 to 80 per cent women. We would have had no
interest in the film if its appeal was totally to men. Then it could be taken as pornographic.'22 Shrewd to
the last, Begelman pioneered the American movie markets for more adult titles just as he was lambasted
for diminishing 'good taste' in favour of lower moral standards.23 As Variety noted at the time:

with the combination of'class' generally associated with European product imported for U.S.
consumption and the kind of softcore that shocked the U.S. perhaps 15 years ago - but which
is still torrid going in many European countries - Emmanuelle producer Yves Rousset-Rouard
came up with the right picture at just the right time. 2 4

Foremost in Begelman's consideration was the key difference between softer and hardcore
entertainment. That is, the differences between simulation and realisation, representation and
presentation, professional distance and amateur proximity. Always a capital market, the movie
industry of 1974 was in a state of recovery. Focusing just on the United States where box office has
long been carefully studied, 1974 was the first time box-office grosses improved on the national record

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