It may have been largely ignored by the generations that followed it, but Emmanuelle was one of the more influential movies of the '70s. Is it a great movie? Hell no, and its paper-thin characters and bizarrely unerotic sex scenes look even worse three decades later, but Emmanuelle is still an important part of movie history. Sylvia Kristel and director Just Jaeckin were pioneers in the softcore porn industry. Without Emmanuelle, there wouldn't be dozens and dozens of late-night cable movies and the fact that it was an international smash actually opened the doors for better films to be made in its wake. Hardcore film historians (no pun intended) will want to include the newly released unrated DVD from LionsGate in their collection.

"An Erotic Success: The Making of Emmanuelle" runs almost an hour long and gives fans the entire history of the production of the softcore classic, along with some interesting information on the impact the film had on the history of sex in film. The latter topic is even better addressed in the other featurette, "Soft Sell," but the first featurette should give most Emmanuelle fans a lesson in everything they need to know about the film.

Neither featurette is bad, but that's it? Where are the deleted scenes or the commentary track? There have to be film historians willing to discuss Emmanuelle and its impact while they watch it with you and it seems like a wasted opportunity to not include any sort of commentary.

Filmmakers took more chances in the '70s than they have in the three decades since and, while it doesn't often get mentioned in the same breath as Clockwork Orange, Last Tango in Paris, or Midnight Cowboy, Emmanuelle was an important part of the risk-taking of that decade. The new DVD from LionsGate looks fantastic (the widescreen transfer is perfect), but does leave fans wanting more in the special features department. That's the story with Emmanuelle - she always leaves you wanting more.