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(1978)

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8/10
Better Than Emmanuelle!
Karl Self17 October 2008
Felicity is essentially an Australian ripoff of Emmanuelle with a good measure of Histoire d'O, Fear Of Flying and the collected works of David Hamilton thrown in. The movie isn't exactly trying to hide its paragons -- instead when young Felicity witnesses a copulating couple on a jetliner (like in Emmanuelle), she describes this scene to a friend as "just like in that movie, Emmanuelle". In case anyone hadn't noticed.

Felicity is your average innocent finishing school girl (magna cum laude in "Ballet In Very Skimpy Costumes" and "Showering With The Gardener Getting A Good Shufti") on her odd trip to Southeast Asia to explore her sexuality. And get laid. This sounds like a movie which will just go through the motions, but the movie surprised me by being pretty good nevertheless. In fact, although Felicity follows the road most traveled and leaves out no softcore stereotype (including the sponge bath at a Chinese brothel (which in this case is partially staffed by blondes)), it's a rare case of a copy improving on the original.

Much of the accolade is due to the actress playing the heroine, Glory Annen. She's pretty and natural, and she plays the difficult role of the saucy ingénue with great aplomb and enthusiasm. I was especially impressed by her voiceovers, her husky voice is like aural Viagra. And dramatically she is well matched by her love interest, played by Chris Milne.

Unusually for a softcore movie, the story is surprisingly subtle and convincing, and at least gives some consideration to the female perspectice. It's obviously not exactly the DA Pennebaker type of realism, and I'd urge anyone watching this movie to use condoms for Christ's sake if you must have casual sex on a Chinese brothel junk, but Felicity does have bad experiences (a lousy "first time"), inhibitions and desires, and she wants to both have sex, and love and emotions.

What sets it even further apart from Emmanuelle is the omission of intellecto-philosophical blatherings and swinger-"what gives her pleasure gives me pleasure, especially if can have carnal knowledge of the crème of the crop of Thai prostitutes and their younger sisters in the meantime"-ideology. And whereas Emmanuelle is pretty much game for anything depraved old men are into, Felicity is slightly less kinky and make-believe; and also there are no rape scenes and dungeons.

Yep, you'll even be able to watch this with your girlfiend or wife without risking her mentioning it in the divorce proceedings one week later.
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My all time favorite erotic movie
squeezebox30 September 2003
When I was twelve or thirteen, my family first got cable. One hundred channels right there at our fingertips. For the first time, we had access to MTV (still a novelty), HBO (R rated movies!!!) and Cinemax. It was the latter that would prove to be prophetic in my life, as I soon discovered that on Friday nights, after 10:00PM, Cinemax showed softcore erotica. My parents, I'm sure, would have preferred me not to view these movies, but they trusted me enough to assume that if it was something I knew I should not watch, I'd turn it off. For the most part, they were right. But when it came to FELICITY, I had no choice but to bend the rules.

FELICITY is an obscure Australian/Chinese co-production which deserves a lot more recognition than it has ever received. It is just as intensely sensual now as it was when I first saw it twenty years ago, staring wide eyed at the TV.

It tells the story of a young woman, Felicity (Glory Annen), who is attending a finishing school for girls. Her budding hormones are slowly driving her wild, as she finds herself uncontrollably turned on by watching her classmates in the showers, or even being spied upon by horny local boys and groundskeepers. Her only outlet for these desires are a few unfulfilling trists with her schoolmates. Her salvation comes in the form of a free trip to Hong Kong, courtesy of Dad. She travels to China, where she is shown the sights--and the night life--by a young Asian woman (Jodi Flynn). And so begins an Emmanuelle-esque odyssey of sex and self-discovery.

What is so amazing about FELICITY is how it manages to steer clear of sleaze and seediness without ever shying away from explicit scenes of eroticism. The movie is chock full of sex scenes, including quickies on the bus, in an elevator and a hallway, a very long Asian bathhouse sequence, Felicity spying on her aunt and uncle making love, and an intensely erotic sequence in which she is taken from behind by a man she never even sees, while watching her friend engaged in her own makeout session.

This may all sound extremely sordid, but somehow the filmmakers manage to keep it from ever becoming a sleazefest, as most of the sex scenes are portrayed as innocent, experimental encounters. Felicity eventually meets a nice guy (Christiopher Milne), and soon discovers that, while sex itself is great, it's much better when it's with someone you love. The movie definitely has a more European attitude toward sex; in other words, sex is a normal, healthy part of life, which exists to be experienced and savored, an attitude which has been buried under sensationalism, puritanism and conservatism in America, if it ever existed here at all.

FELICITY is worth seeking out if only to behold the vision of female sensuality that is Glory Annen, a lovely young woman who looks like a cross between Traci Lords and Kate Winslet. Annen is one of those wonderfully likeable actresses of the late 70s/early 80s like Diane Franklin or Judy Aronson whom one wishes had moved on to bigger and better things. Alas, although she currently runs a successful casting agency in London, Annen fell into obscurity after a few film appearances in the early 80s. It's a shame, she should have been a star.

Anyone who enjoys a good erotic movie without the sleaze should try and get their hands on a copy of this masterpiece of soft core cinema. It may seem naive by today's standards, but after such cynical and paint-by-numbers "eroticism" like RED SHOE DIARIES and Cinemax's current After Dark line up, it's a breath of fresh air.
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The Aussie "Emmanuelle"
lazarillo6 December 2008
Although it's rarely acknowledged, there are probably few films in history that were as influential as the 1974 softcore French classic "Emmanuelle". Besides the truly countless number of films with the word "Emmanuelle" (or the less legally-actionable variation "Emanuelle") in the title, there were any number of others that borrowed the basic plot of a young woman traveling to the Orient and/or having a sexual awakening. There was, for instance, the German film "Vanessa" with Olivia Pascal, the British film "Emily" with Koo Stark, the French-Italian films "Laure" and "End of Innocence" both with Annie Bell. And there was this Australian film with English actress Glory Annen.

Like "Vanessa", "End of Innocence", and a few others this features a slightly younger female character than the original "Emmanuelle", which allows it to start out in a girls' boarding school with a lot of hot showers and hot lesbian action. But the virginal "Felicity" (Annen) eventually finds her way to Hong Kong. She stays at first with a friend and her lover,and loses her virginity to an Aussie with a walrus moustache after one of her hosts' parties. After that "Felicity" meets a local,"Me Ling" (Joni Flynn),and embarks on an erotic tour of Hong Kong, having more anonymous sex on a Chinese junk. She then falls in love with another, nicer Aussie guy, but his job and the couple's mutual infidelities threaten to derail the relationship.

On the plus side, this movie has very good productions values and the girls--Annen,Flynn, etc.--are all very attractive. The movie pretty shamelessly steals from the "Emmanuelle" series in several places--it borrows the massage parlor scene from "Emmanuelle 2" and the improbable sex on a commercial airplane scene from the original "Emmanuelle". It's also more literary than your usual sex film, referencing not only the original novel "Emmanuelle", but other erotic classics of the 70's like "Histoire de O" and "Fear of Flying" (all of which "Felicity" is reading at some point). "Felicity" is generally odd character. She starts out as the world's horniest female virgin (witness her reading list), and remains a contradiction to the end, complaining about the hedonism of a Hong Kong bar they visit one minute, then having "zipless" sex with the bartender in the back room the next. But that's the 70's for you I guess. The love story is a little annoying and the theme song will stay in your head like a bad flu virus. All in all though, this is a pretty OK Aussie knock-off of "Emmanuelle".
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SHE AIN'T MAMA'S LITTLE GIRL NO MORE! (AND HOW!)
newnoir13 November 1999
This kooky and kool soft core skin flick I remember seeing as a teenager on the old Private Screenings channel. It's the kickaxe story of a sweet, fresh young thing's sexual awakening in the mysterious Orient. I fell head over heels in love and lust with the main actress Glory Annen in this film when I first saw it. She only did a few films besides this, "Spaced Out", "Alien Prey" etc...but this was definitely her crowning achievement. I guess she stopped acting cos I haven't seen her in anything in years. It's too bad, cos she was so absolutely gorgeous! She wasn't your typically busty, perfect looking Hollywood bimbo, but that's what I liked about her! Who wants to like the girls that everyone likes? Not me! You can keep Pamela Anderson Lee, I like women that look like women, not Barbie dolls. I'll take Glory any day of the week!
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7/10
A Natural Awakening
augustian5 June 2003
I first saw this film back in the eighties and I still consider it to be the most erotic film ever made. Filmed on location, production values are high. Our eponymous heroine travels from her convent school, filmed at the artists' community at Montsalvat, Eltham, then Healesville train station, Victoria, in Australia to stay with her aunt in Hong Kong. There she meets the people who awaken her latent sexuality. All the female actors are incredibly gorgeous in a natural girl-next-door sort of way, especially Glory Annen who plays the lead. She spends a fair amount of time bathing and showering so the director certainly knew his job. Felicity offers a refreshing naturalness compared to the pumped up plasticity of modern erotica. Thoroughly recommended - naturally.
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7/10
Sexual Awakemanuelling
kosmasp24 June 2022
Can that be considered a pun? If so that I would ask you to ... forgive me. As you may be able to forgive Felicity ... actually she doesn't need your forgiveness at all. She may need my puns ... nah she does not need those either. What she does need is ... well I think you know where this is going ... and who is coming? Yes another pun arrived.

One can say that this seems more than inspired by Emmanuelle. And while it is not direct copy it does have a lot of things you will recognize (like the chair and of course loads of nudity and sexual situations). I reckon the first "real" encounter, is not really pleasing for Felicity ... but she her curiosity has been awakened by that point. And there is no stopping now ... as a song would suggest.

The movie does have cliches in it and it is predictable. But it also is really well played. And while the exploitation tag may be deserved to a degree, there is more here than meets the eye (or any other body part for that matter, excuse the pun).

It does miss opportunities though. Like when she and a lover come out of the elevator and are asked "goind down", they could have said, "we just did" ... instead we get a corny "what a lovely couple" a few seconds later from the woman getting on the elevator (alone).

I watched the uncut version, apparently there was a version that was cut a bit. Funnily enough in its home country of Australia ... it had most of the issues there. Something that is being discussed in extreme length in deleted scenes from the great documentary "Not Quite Hollywood" - included on the disc version of this. Don't be easily offende ... and you'll enjoy what you are being served.
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8/10
Delightful Aussie teen coming of age soft-core romp
Woodyanders6 May 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Sheltered and virginal innocent Felicity Robinson (winningly played with infectious vivacity by the adorable Glory Annen) can no longer ignore the erotic yearnings of her budding sexuality, so she goes to Hong Kong and sheds her inhibitions in order to embark on a bold odyssey of carnal self-discovery.

Director John D. Lamond, who also co-wrote the surprisingly thoughtful and sensitive script with his wife Diane, keeps the compact and eventful story moving along at a brisk pace, makes nice use of the exotic Hong Kong locations, and does an ace job of crafting a pleasant and intoxicating sensuous atmosphere. Moreover, Lamond warrants additional praise for maintaining an open, positive, and nonjudgmental attitude towards the sexual adventures of its highly charming female protagonist; the tone remains remarkably sweet and upbeat throughout instead of sleazy and cynical. The presence of a few lovely ladies certainly doesn't hurt matters in the least: Slinky brunette Jodi Flynn as bubbly and unabashed rich gal Me Ling, fetching blonde Jody Hanson as enticing schoolmate Jenny, and attractive Marilyn Rogers as Felicity's more worldly friend Christine. Christopher Mine contributes an excellent and engaging performance as amiable photographer Miles. The abundant nudity and hot, yet tasteful sex scenes provide plenty of sizzle. Garry Wapshott's dewy soft-focus cinematography gives this picture a sumptuous sunny look. Spot-on groovy theme song, too. A real treat.
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7/10
The best of the bunch, no doubt
jadavix30 March 2016
Warning: Spoilers
After trudging through such dire Aussie "sexploitation" fare as "Alvin Purple", "The True Story of Eskimo Nell" and "Plugg" to name a very few, it is tempting to call "Felicity" a kind of masterpiece. Whereas all other Australian films from this time that used sex as a selling point generally forgot to include any and only showed the occasional naked person for a few fleeting seconds - with longer, more graphic shots for the hideous male leads - this one doesn't disappoint those looking for a sex movie - and what's more, it's a SEXY movie.

It's not an exaggeration to say that there was no eroticism to be found in any of the sexploitation movies made in Australia at this point in time, with the exception of this movie. Glory Annen is no great beauty like Sylvia Kristel, but she is nevertheless well cast as Felicity, the pampered young girl discovering sex abroad - Hong Kong this time, rather than Bangkok.

The ending is strangely drawn out, with what feels like a series of false conclusions, making you want it to be over, but at least it does what it says on the box.
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2/10
Third-Rate Knock-Off of a Second-Rate Film
JamesHitchcock21 August 2020
Warning: Spoilers
"Felicity" is one of the innumerable imitations from the seventies and eighties of Just Jaeckin's notorious "Emmanuelle". Like that film it is a piece of softcore erotica chronicling the amorous adventures, both heterosexual and lesbian, of a young white woman in a Far Eastern city, in this case Hong Kong rather than Bangkok. Whereas Emmanuelle had been a married woman, the wife of a French diplomat, Felicity is supposedly a teenage schoolgirl, even though Glory Annen, the actress who played her, would have been 26 in 1978. (Sylvia Kristel was only 22 when she first played Emmanuelle).

I don't need to say much about the plot. We first meet Felicity as a girl in a convent boarding school, where she has a lesbian crush on one of her classmates. She then moves to Hong Kong, where she loses her heterosexual virginity in a joyless coupling with an older man, watches a friend and her husband making love, has another lesbian tryst with a beautiful Chinese girl called Me-Ling and eventually falls for a handsome young man named Miles.

The film shares some features with "Emmanuelle" such as the soft-focus effects used for the love scenes. Annen is even seen sitting on a chair very similar to one used by Kristel. It lacks, however, the portentous (and pretentious) philosophising of the earlier film; the closest it comes to philosophy is the heroine's conclusion, after falling in love with Miles, that sex should be reserved for someone you really love, a conclusion which would doubtless have seemed hopelessly moralistic to Emmanuelle.

Kristel was never the world's greatest actress, but compared to Glory Annen she looks like Katharine Hepburn. On the basis of this film, Annen's acting skills appear to have been close to zero, beyond the most elementary skill of being able to remember her lines and recite them in a flat, toneless voice. There is no attempt to convey any meaning or emotion, and it is all too clear that she was cast on the basis of her cutesy, girl-next-door prettiness and of her willingness to take her clothes off, not on the basis of any talent.

In the early and mid-seventies softcore films like this were controversial, but were regarded by their defenders- and they had plenty- as something fresh and liberating after decades of prudery in the cinema. By the end of the decade, however, the novelty was already starting to wear off, and something like "Felicity" was no more than a third-rate knock-off of a second-rate film like "Emmanuelle". 2/10
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8/10
Good film within the genre with an excellent performance by Annen
llltdesq29 January 2014
Warning: Spoilers
This is a very good soft core film of the kind which runs as part of "Skinemax" on Cinemax. There will be mild spoilers:

This is a fairly straightforward story of the coming of age of a young girl who goes on vacation in Hong Kong from a boarding school. Naturally, there are plenty of opportunities for our heroine to be seen without clothes and she finds a romance with a cute guy.

Many of the standard plot devices are here-the friendly couple who take the girl under their wing, the somewhat mysterious woman who takes her out to be educated in the ways of the world, an attempted abduction where the lead is rescued and so on.

The script is good, the acting is good (particularly from Glory Annen as Felicity) and the production values are nice. Worth watching and recommended.
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8/10
The Story of O goes Down Under.
morrison-dylan-fan2 June 2019
Warning: Spoilers
After finishing a run of watching British Sex Comedy flicks,I decided to take a look in one of my piles of DVDs for other similar titles. Having been impressed by the first film I've seen by him,I was happy to eye a John D. Lamond movie in the pile,which led to me meeting Felicity.

View on the film:

Flirting across his career between Ozploitation offerings and Aussie New Wave (such as Breakfast in Paris (1982-also reviewed) flavour creations, co-writer/(with wife Diane) director John D. Lamond & Lamond's regular cinematographer Garry Wapshott fittingly have Felicity thrust between both genres/movements, via featuring a level of skin (from both sexes) which grinds to the fun frolics of Ozploitation, but is delicately captured with a smooth as silk stylisation of soft lights and dolly shots over the awakening cast across Felicity's face.Going to Hong Kong, Lamond and a cast/crew of just 12 wonderfully glide across the streets guerilla- style,in sequences of Felicity walking round historical shipping villages and the neon high streets being lit by glossy tracking shots, which dive into a sex scene on a (rented) tram,which was driven round the Hong Kong streets during filming.

Peaking at Felicity reading The Story of O a number of times, the screenplay by John and Diane Lamond smoothly fits into the high-end Erotica of the era,in going back to Felicity's innocent all-girls high school, (where they all shared showers) and shredding it layer by layer in steamy back rooms of Hong Kong, along with the awakening of Felicity's own sexual curiosity.Sprinkling a romance in for the final, the writers do very well at making it flow by keeping it light and breezy,in keeping with Felicity's relaxed attitude to exploring her sexuality. Putting on a good fake Aussie accent, Canadian Glory Annen gives a blissful turn,thanks to keeping the sexy (soft) scenes pinned on the psychological awakening of desire for Felicity.
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3/10
Insipid drama, disappoints wholily
PeterMitchell-506-5643648 November 2012
What a spunky, hot, innocent looking number to hail from a monastic school. Our sweet little thing, Felicity, an eager to learn student, who reads books like, The Story Of O, leaves ocker land and takes a trip of self-discovery to Hong Kong at the invitation of her older sister. Of course on the dragging flight over, she gets to spy on a couple making love. Very erotic indeed, as are quite a few scenes, but it's star actress gives a one note performance, worthy of a stoning, it's that bad, unlike her surrounding cast members. Apparently a book inspired this movie, and I bet my life, the book was better. While in Hong Kong, Felicity is introduced to her sister's friends, where she galavants off with older men, to have her first sexual encounters. She's introduced to an Asian girl-a tour guide you could say, who shows Felicity her Hong Kong. We have some great night shots of this beautiful city, amidst it's seedy bars, massage parlours, spa. It's only crime, is we haven't got a movie. It's just another one of these films that falls into that category of sleaze. In one sense, it doesn't come off as an Aussie flick, and in another, it's existence is disreputable towards Australia. Barely surviving a mugging, Felicity meets a amiable biker guy, an Aussie, of course, (very much like the Comedy's Company's, Glen Robbins) who's to become her first lover, and this takes up the second half of the movie. It's last fifteen minutes of her trying to locate him, after coming down with a bug, is so pointless. That's the bloody problem with the whole movie. It lacks substance. It goes nowhere. You won't learn much about sexual awakenings from this film or anything for that matter. You're better consulting The Abc Of Love And Sex, incidentally, a flick our young darling couple go and see before settling down to ching ching and flat conversation. A disappointing view. Oh, and "Let's not mix words".
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4/10
soft core but not sleazy
PIST-OFF11 December 2018
If Merchant Ivory had set out to make a Russ Meyer's style film, this would be the result. The movie manages to walk a tightrope between it's brainless-ness, it's soft core porn, it's paper thin "plot" and somehow through it all doesn't come off as exactly sleazy. Calling it "sensual" feels wrong and somehow lends it more credibility than it probably deserves but all the same it's not exactly crass either. A weird little balancing act that pays off by being, if not great, than something better than the filmmaker's intended. Not good, not bad, just is.
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5/10
Mediocre erotic film
Falconeer23 July 2008
I wonder if the reviewers who raved about how they loved it when they were 13 years old, have seen this one in the last 25 years. Being addicted to late 70's/80's soft-core of the "Emmanuelle" variety, i had to hunt this one down. "Felicity" is nothing more than another wanna-be "Emmanuelle," but lacks the European style of those Italian and French cult films. The lead actress, played by Glory Annen is an absolute bore compared to Euro goddesses Laura Gemser and Sylvia Kristel. She is more of the plain, girl next door type, but perhaps this is deliberate? Penthouse bimbo Joni Flynn is a bit sexier, with a more exotic and Asian look, but gave the most hysterically bad acting performance i have ever witnessed. A sexy woman, maybe, but too cheap-looking, and dizzy to be taken seriously as Felicity's "sexual counselor." The men fare no better here. Felicity's love interest is an Aussie dude who is wearing more mascara than his female companion, and the actor is a little too old to play the part he is playing. And the guy who takes her virginity is a typical, oily creep of an older man. The worst thing of all, is the film seems somewhat racist; A white girl from Australia, travels to exotic Hong Kong, to have sexual encounters... with white people! What's wrong with Asians? She should have just stayed in Australia. What could have been a fascinating study of a young Western girl discovering the erotic mysteries of the Orient, turns out to be boring, typical exploitation, a film that is too timid to take any risks. But nothing is more miserable than the soundtrack, particularly the main theme, which is played over, and over, and over again; "She ain't Mama's little girl no more.." The only plus to this film is the beautiful Hong Kong scenery, which is the best thing this has to offer. Also, technically speaking, "Felicity" is a well-made film, and does feature some good erotic scenes. A missed opportunity, this could have been a classic in more competent hands.
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1/10
For Ozploitation completists only
bikerpaul682 March 2019
As a fan of Ozploitation films, I felt I had to sit through this one, and what a waste of 90 minutes it was. The first ten minutes or so are redeemed by some pleasant shots of Australian scenery and long-forgotten railways, but then the scene shifts to Hong Kong. There is no story to speak of, the dialogue is stilted, the acting abysmal, and the sex scenes remarkably unexciting. To misquote Monty Python, not a film for viewing, more a film for laying down and avoiding.
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4/10
Discount Emmanuelle goes to discount Hong Kong for discount erotic
namob-436738 May 2022
The main problem with this movie is that you also need to judge the movie based on its movie qualities and, well, it is pretty awful. The directing is subpar, light, clothes, set pieces are pretty bad, and the music is 1970s porn horrible. The acting is pretty good though which together with the fact that this is pretty good for the genre you sort of give it a pass.

However I have very little positives to say. The erotic bits are about as exciting as watching paint dry up, and Hong Kong has never looked more boring. I give this a very generous 4/10 since it is decent for the genre, but there are a better and I cannot recommend this to anyone. The worst thing about this movie is how boring it is. Stay away.
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2/10
boring
phennythak3 January 2018
Aussies just don't do erotic well. But it got some nice scenery shots of Hong Kong in the 70s.
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9/10
Good cinematic with lights
prabhurams14 March 2020
One for the best lightning & cinematic efforts in the filming industries
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8/10
Felicity
moorthithebest23 June 2021
Warning: Spoilers
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