EDITOR’S NOTE: Emmanuelle IV was not produced by Cannon — shh, Roger Corman was the uncredited producer — but was theatrically distributed by Cannon Releasing Corporation.

Director and written by Francis Leroi (who would make a ton of Emmanuelle content, such as Emmanuelle Forever, Emmanuelle’s Revenge, Emmanuelle In Venice, Emmanuelle’s Love, Emmanuelle’s Magic, Emmanuelle’s Perfum, Emmanuelle 7 and Emmanuelle’s Secret) and Iris Letan, this movie pulls a big switch: Emmanuelle (Sylvia Kristel) escapes a love affair with Marc (Patrick Bauchau) by going to Brazil where near-magical plastic surgery transforms her into a twenty-year-old virgin played by Swedish actress Mia Nygren.

The original French version was shot and released in ArriVision 3-D, but new scenes were shot for the US version in StereoVision 3-D and composited within the film. There were also hardcore inserts shot for this not featuring the main actors. That explains Christoph Clark and Marilyn Jess being in the credits. I was surprised to see Brinke Stevens, who isn’t in the credits.

Challenged by her therapist Donna (Deborah Power) to explore not only her new body but her new soul, Emmanuelle travels the world and pretty much takes advantage of any opportunity to have sex. That said, this may not look as gorgeous as Just Jaeckin’s original, but it has a charge to it that other sequels didn’t. There’s definitely a budget and definitely good casting; thankfully Kristel shows up in flashbacks and dream sequences, so she doesn’t totally go away. It is audacious, though, to have Nygren sitting in a wicker chair just like the superior first movie.