Talk about HK Category III exploitation here. Reviews, comments, questions, recommendations, favourites lists…
First question: do you prefer HK or JP exploitation?
Second question: throw me a bunch of Cat III recommendations. I’m not too familiar with the genre.
Sex & Zen review coming as soon as I get it finished.
Lets kick this topic off with a review. One of the most famous Category III films:
Sex & Zen (1992)
Very lavish visuals, much like the japanese 70’s exploitation films (minus the surrealism of course) but with a little less energy and inventiveness. Gets a bit boring after the half way as there isn’t an awful lot happening aside the sex. Some “good” Cat III humour (which feels a bit like jumping from an airplane without a parachute; a lot of fun but can hurt at times) here and there + plenty of silly sex comedy. The film can certainly be considered bizarre from an average viewers point of view, but some people very familiar with Asian exploitation and Category III classics may be a bit underwhelmed at times. It mostly depends on how much you value the beautiful visuals and how much sex you’re willing to go through for it (joke mostly unintentional).
One major plus for the film is the good cast, with actors such as Kent Cheng (highlight of the movie), Carrie Ng, Lo Lieh and Elvis Tsui making appearances. I’m sure you already knew Amy Yip was in the film… with a healty dose of her usual Yiptease. The ending is somewhat ambitious too, and very close to the final scene there’s a short scene that has some sort of HK pureness in it which reminded me of the time when HK movies were made (at least partly) out of love and with passion. It made look back for a second or two but I don’t think the rest of the movie had that magic in it. Too much Sex, too little Zen. But even with being a rather mediocre film (although high above the sub-genre (sex) standards, I think) it definitely avoids the corruptness that plagues HK cinema nowadays.
2,5/5
The Joy Sales dvd package is gorgeous and comes with a very nice half-hard cover photo book. The transfer itself is excellent (although the usual blue line is once again present), and it seems like they got the audio right this time. The “mono” track definitely sounds different from the 5.1 mix (which also has sound effects not found on the “mono” track such as more wind and birds and other background noices). However, I’ve never seen the film before so I don’t know how it’s supposed to sound like. I can’t quarantee the mono is the original one. The sound effects on 5.1 and mono tracks also sound somewhat similiar (aside the added background effects). Quick comparison didn’t bring out any big differences. I watched the film in mono, and didn’t notice any out of place sound effects. The track is in sync by HK standards. Extras cover the usual trailers and photo galleries (with some good behind the scenes shots) + an interesting interview with the director.
In my defense, even Roger Ebert watched this. And liked it… ;D
[quote=“Hung Fist”]
Second question: throw me a bunch of Cat III recommendations. I’m not too familiar with the genre.
[/quote]
Same here. Naked Killer’s a popular one, but I’ve only seen the bastardized R-rated cut.
I didn’t mean THAT unfamiliar 
The HKL is very good. It’s a Media Asia print (naturally) but in very good condition, no issues with sound as far as I remember, interesting interviews with Wong Jing, Simon Yam and Clarence Ford (each running about 30 min) and a commentary by Clarence Ford and Jude Poyer + the usual extras (trailers, text essay etc.)
And a pretty good film on the top of that 
Uncut of course. In fact, a directors cut I believe. I don’t know how it differs from the theatrical cut, though
I guess you can try your luck with Escape from the Brothel
I rented this movie via netflix. And guess what? This was yet another movie that was edited! I did get to see the brief, famous nekkid kung fu battle with the blonde via clip from another message board (Which was what led me to renting the movie) the sequence was gone and I don’t know how much else was eliminated. Maybe this is why I don’t check too many of these movies out. Because the R1’s are censored to shit!
Which brings me to this clip. I need movie ID for this one!
<LINK_TEXT text=“http://www.liveleak.com/player.swf?auto … 33f6d016a0”>http://www.liveleak.com/player.swf?autostart=false&token=33f6d016a0</LINK_TEXT>
[quote=“Laydback”]
I guess you can try your luck with Escape from the Brothel
[/quote]
Was thinking about that one… but the HK dvd appears to be OOP
There’s another nude kung fu film; Women on the Run. I’ll post something about it later tonight or tomorrow…
[quote=“Laydback”]
Which brings me to this clip. I need movie ID for this one!
<LINK_TEXT text=“http://www.liveleak.com/player.swf?auto … 33f6d016a0”>http://www.liveleak.com/player.swf?autostart=false&token=33f6d016a0</LINK_TEXT>
[/quote]
A good guess: A Chinese Torture Chamber Story
On my shopping list (was before I saw that clip 
)
Women on the Run is ok. Expected more of a David Lai / Corey Yuen Kwai flick.
My favs - and i’m not that Cat III enthusiast:
Red To Kill 1994 Billy Tang Hin Sing
Day Without Policeman, A 1993 Johnny Lee Gwing Gaai
Raped By An Angel 1993 Andrew Lau Wai Keung , Wong Jing
Run And Kill 1993 Billy Tang Hin Sing
Untold Story, The 1993 Herman Yau Lai To
Ebola Syndrome 1996 Herman Yau Lai To
i dunno, but interested in:
Dr. Lamb 1992 Danny Lee Sau Yin , Billy Tang Hin Sing
Intruder 1997 Tsang Kan Cheung
Mad Stylist 1997 Stephen Yip Tin Hang
Peeping Tom, The 1997 Ivan Lai Gai Ming
Love To Kill 1993 Billy Chung Siu Hung
Daughter Of Darkness 1993 Ivan Lai Gai Ming
Daughter Of Darkness 2 1994 Ivan Lai Gai Ming
[quote=“Contrai”]
i dunno, but interested in:
Dr. Lamb 1992 Danny Lee Sau Yin , Billy Tang Hin Sing
[/quote]
This looked to be pretty good. (Disc I rented was badly scratched and I didn’t get to see the ending. Told ya I had bad luck with these movies!)
I also liked Ebolaaaa!
Any verdicts on these?
I’m not sure Japanese movies are doing in this thread but…
…I think both are supposed to suck
here’s a review for Scorpion’s Revenge:
<LINK_TEXT text=“http://www.sarudama.com/japanese_movies … enge.shtml”>Scorpion's Revenge (Gotoh Daisuke 1997) | SaruDama</LINK_TEXT>
There was one half decent Japanese WIP film I saw lately… I could write something about it in the pinky thread…
Too lazy to re-write my texts so I’ll just do some copy pasting:
Women on the Run (Mega Star dvd mini-review)
Okay, some scenes feature heavy print damage, but the colors are great, the transfer is sharp as hell (on HK standards), it’s anamorpic , and you’re not gonna believe this, it’s progressive. And it’s a HK$38 cheapie. With a little remastering this transfer could’ve been near perfect. What a fucking pleasant surprise. I was expecting a Universe kind of mess…
The movie’s alright, too. The idea of naked women doing kung fu is isn’t used to the fullest (actually there’s only two such scenes, both very short) but while most action scenes are good the ending fight is a five star showdown. Some dead moments here and there, but there’s also one of the sickest and unpleasently hilarious Cat III moments I have ever seen (the scene with the little dog). Good stuff.
3/5
R1 news
“The Anthony Wong cult classic Ebola Syndrome will be getting the best release it has ever had in May. It will be 16:9 anamorphic widescreen, with an interview with the director Herman Yau, and commentary with Herman Yau and Anthony Wong!
After that, Chinese Torture Chamber Story will be getting a special edition release. Stay tuned, lots more to come!”
[size=80]- http://www.discotekmedia.com/blog/?p=5#more-5[/size]
^Awesome news. Thanks!
Apparently the remastered HK Video relase of ‘Run and Kill’ is a longer cut than the versions previously seen on dvd.
“simon yam is extremely insane in the uncut version go order it, its like a new film” ;D
[quote=“Hung Fist”]
[i]"The Anthony Wong cult classic Ebola Syndrome will be getting the best release it has ever had in May. It will be 16:9 anamorphic widescreen, with an interview with the director Herman Yau, and commentary with Herman Yau and Anthony Wong!
[/quote]
- deleted footage.
The transfer will be HD sourced.
[size=80]<LINK_TEXT text=“http://adg.invisionzone.com/index.php?s … =1613&st=0”>http://adg.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=1613&st=0</LINK_TEXT>[/size]
Daughter of Darkness - 3/5
The first third is excellent, very funny and lots of “Anthony Wong show”. The middle part drags a bit but the ending is rather good. There’s some very cute girls (Anthony’s partner for example), but the rape scenes may put some people audience off. The original Universe dvd was “uncut” (it’s still missing footage, but lots of the deleted stuff was edited back in making it the least censored version released) but further pressings were edited by several minutes. There is no indication of this in the dvd cover, it’s 100% identical to the original release. The remastered French dvd by HK Video is “uncut” (same as the original Universe). I don’t know about US Tai Seng dvd. If someone owns it, please report the exact running time. And please check it from the dvd yourself, their dvd covers usually aren’t very accurate. The “uncut version” should run over 93 minutes, while the edited version is three minutes shorter.
anthony at the crime scene (the dead body next to him looks very lively in this cap ;D)
Sex & Zen 2 - 3/5
How nice, a sequel that is better than the original. Sex & Zen had it’s moments but it was still only an average film, 2½ (and maybe not a very strong one) on my scale. Part 2 however is a solid 3/5. The first 35 minutes had me expecting even more but the last two thirds are not quite as good. Still plenty of fun, especially with the ghost story elements. I only got a bit bored during the climax. I’m not saying [spoiler]adkjadhkjadha-Loletta Lee and Shu Qi having sex-dfsgsdfjgsfd[/end of spoiler] is a bad thing but it just went on for too long. Ironically I never get tired of watching Loletta with her clothes on. But to put it simple, Sex & Zen 2 is funnier, crazier and more inventive film than the original was and also comes with a great leading lady. Maybe even two if you care about Shu Qi.
The Mei Ah remaster isn’t too bad. Anamorphic widescreen, interlaced, and although the image is nowhere near as solid (plenty of artifacts for example) as the FS master for part one but the colours are very nice. This kind of presentation allows you to enjoy the movie but also reminds you about the origins of the film (which works in this case). The subtitles aren’t exactly good but who cares, watching Sex & Zen 2 is probably more fun with these subs than actual good subs. Sound options are nice, original mono as well as 5.1 mixes in both languages. No problems with the Cantonese mono. Practically no extras (not even trailer) but the menu is nice with a 60 second clip of one of the film’s beautiful songs.
Tight coverart
Raped by an Angel - 3,5/5
Ah, the golden age of Hong Kong Category III cinema. Wong Jing’s Workshop has churned out another quality production starring the ever so hot Chingmy Yau. Supported by Simon Yam’s show stealing badass performance as well as something you might call an actual movie script, this enjoyable smut piece by Infernal Affairs director Andrew Lau is definitely worth the effort. Plenty of morally dubious fun that even turns into a cute romantic comedy at one point. Loved that. Only the first 15 min or so wasn’t so hot. The english title is very clever, too. It’s quite amusing once you get the joke during the court room scene. I can’t recall any other movie creating such connection between reality and fiction by redefining film’s title in the middle of the film and also giving that specific scene a boost by indirectly referring to the sarcastic connection between the film’s title and what’s going on in that scene. Pretty damn clever if you as me, even though most likely unintentional. Near the end I also started thinking how cool it would’ve been to see this film in cinema in Hong Kong back in 1993. Sitting there surrounded by weirdos and old guys in their rain coats… ah, nothing beats the fictional nostalgia…
The Universe dvd is surprisingly decent, especially considering the 4$ price. Pal sourced, non-anamorphic transfer which however is clean and moderately sharp. The colours look great, too. Audio is 5.1 only, but I don’t recall anything too distracting. The running time is 95:16 which should make this the same cut as the original HK theatrical cut. That was pre-cut, but this Universe dvd represents the least cut version ever released. The British dvd release, re-titled as Naked Killer 2, is cut by over 10 minutes, and apparently a heavily edited version was released in Australia, too. The french dvd should be “uncut”, anamorohic and native Pal.
What was that one where that guy raped that woman with chopsticks? That was a good one.