3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy | |
---|---|
Traditional Chinese | 3D肉蒲團之極樂寶鑑 |
Simplified Chinese | 3D肉蒲团之极乐宝鉴 |
Hanyu Pinyin | Sān D Ròupútuán zhī Jílè Bǎojiàn |
Jyutping | Saam1 D Yuk6 Pou4tyun4 Zi1 Gik6lok6 Bou2 Gaam3 |
Directed by | Christopher Suen |
Screenplay by | Stephen Shiu Stephen Shiu, Jr. Mark Wu |
Story by | Li Yu |
Produced by | Stephen Shiu Stephen Shiu, Jr. Ng Kin-hung |
Starring | Hayama Hiro Lan Yan Saori Hara Vonnie Lui Yukiko Suo Tony Ho |
Cinematography | Jimmy Wong |
Edited by | Azrael Chung Matthew Hui |
Music by | Raymond Wong |
Production companies | One Dollar Production, Ltd. Local Production |
Distributed by | One Dollar Distribution |
Release date |
|
Running time | 110 minutes [1] 118 min (extended cut) 129 min (director's cut) |
Country | Hong Kong |
Languages | Cantonese Mandarin |
Budget | US$3.5 million [2] |
Box office | US$6,369,363 [2] |
3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy is a 2011 Hong Kong 3D erotic costume drama film directed by Christopher Suen and produced by Stephen Shiu. It was released in Hong Kong, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand on 14 April 2011. [3] It is a new instalment of the Sex and Zen series and is loosely based on the 17th century Chinese novel The Carnal Prayer Mat . As compared to the original film series, it is more dark and dramatic, and it occasionally pays homage to the humour of the earlier films.
A conceited Ming dynasty scholar, Weiyangsheng, believes that since life is short, one should pursue the ultimate sexual pleasure as time permits. By chance, he meets Yuxiang, the daughter of the Taoist priest Tie Fei, falls in love with her on first sight, and marries her. Yuxiang is elegant and courteous under the influence of her father's faith, though her lack of passion cannot fully satisfy Weiyangsheng's sexual needs. His disappointment is no less than his affection for her. He ventures in search of ways to increase his sex drive and performance in bed.
3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy is essentially an adaptation of the novel The Carnal Prayer Mat depicting the sexual exploits of Weiyangsheng, a young Ming dynasty scholar. It is produced by Stephen Shiu, the executive producer of Sex and Zen . The film was incorrectly promoted as "Hong Kong's first IMAX 3-D erotic film" because it was actually rejected by IMAX due to its subject matter and content. [4] Its cast includes Japanese AV idols. [5] [6] Laughing aloud, Shiu described the experience of watching this film onscreen: "It is just like [being a] voyeur near someone's bed." [7]
The film is a Category III film as per Hong Kong rating and Stephen Shiu said that screening was likely to be blocked in mainland China, a key market for Hong Kong filmmakers. [8] Nevertheless, the producers further announced that 3D Sex and Zen will be released in various versions to bypass censorship laws in some jurisdictions and allow wider distribution. [9]
In Australia and New Zealand, the film was screened by Hoyts. [10] [11]
During the Chinese New Year in 2011, T-shirts and 3-D mouse pads with portraits of the cast were sold at the Lunar New Year Fair in Victoria Park, Hong Kong. [12] [13]
3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy received mostly negative reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 22% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 23 reviews. [14]
Simon Foster of SBS Australia suggested the film loses steam along the way. He believes the thrill of the movie dissipates as the narrative turns nasty at the final 40 minutes, caused by those multi-dimensional rape and dismemberment scenes. [15] Elizabeth Kerr of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "Given Extreme Ecstasy's ultimate message that "All you need is love" and the vindication of the value of emotional connection in intercourse, the road the filmmakers take to get there is perplexing to say the least." [16] The Daily Telegraph named it one of the ten worst films of the year, citing "the film goes on for too long, and gets darker as it does so, veering awfully close to torture porn on occasion, before ending with some unexpectedly sentimental philosophy that will be anathema to the manufacturers of Viagra." [17]
However, Zoe Li of CNNGo gave the film a positive review. "I walked out of the first private screening of the softcore 3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy never wanting to have sex again, not because the sex scenes were gross... but because its message of 'true love doesn't need sex' was so convincing", she states. [18] Simon Miraudo suggested on his Quickflix blog that the movie heralded a new age in cinema. [19]
According to Russell Edwards of Variety, 3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy took in US$351,000 (HK$2,790,000) on the first day alone in Hong Kong, [20] beating Avatar's HK$2.5 million opening gross in the country in 2009. [21] It earned HK$13,104,982 in the first four days after opening. [22]
As of 15 June 2011, 3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy earned more than HK$40 million (over US$5M) in Hong Kong. [23] [24]
Amy Yip is an actress who was one of the leading sex symbols of Hong Kong Cinema in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Yip is best known for her roles in Hong Kong Category III films such as Sex and Zen and Erotic Ghost Story. Sex and Zen is the highest grossing Category III movie in the history of Hong Kong box office.
Lawrence Ng Kai-wah is a popular TV actor in Hong Kong. His more famous works include the television series Healing Hands and the films Fate Twisters and Sex and Zen.
Sex and Zen is a 1991 Hong Kong erotic sex comedy film directed by Michael Mak, and starring Lawrence Ng and Amy Yip. The film is loosely based on The Carnal Prayer Mat, a Chinese erotic novel by seventeenth century author and playwright Li Yu.
IMAX Corporation is a Canadian theatre company which designs and manufactures IMAX cameras and projection systems as well as performing film development, production, post-production and distribution to IMAX-affiliated theatres worldwide. Founded in Montreal in 1967, it has headquarters in the Toronto area, and operations in New York City and Los Angeles.
Tin Kai-Man, also spelled Tin Kai-mun, is a Hong Kong actor and production manager, most notable for his role in Shaolin Soccer. A well-known friend of Stephen Chow, he began acting in his films with the 1994 Hail the Judge. Tin also worked with Chow on the actor and director's highly successful Kung Fu Hustle.
The Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually at the Hong Kong Film Awards (HKFA). It is given to honour an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a Hong Kong film. The 1st Hong Kong Film Awards ceremony was held in 1982, with no formal nomination procedure established; the award was given to Kara Hui for her role in My Young Auntie. After the first award ceremony, a nomination system was put in place whereby no more than five nominations are made for each category and each entry is selected through two rounds of voting. Firstly, prospective nominees are marked with a weight of 50% each from HKFA voters and a hundred professional adjudicators, contributing towards a final score with which the top five nominees advance to the second round of voting. The winner is then selected via a scoring process where 55% of the vote comes from 55 professional adjudicators, 25% from representatives of the Hong Kong Performing Artistes Guild and 20% from all other HKFA Executive Committee Members.
Tactical Unit is a series of films produced by Johnnie To with studio Milkyway Image, featuring the adventures of two columns of PTU officers, the Kowloon West Police Station and its CID officers, of Hong Kong. The films are in Cantonese.
Rouputuan, also known as Huiquanbao and Juehouchan, and translated as The Carnal Prayer Mat or The Before Midnight Scholar, is a 17th-century Chinese erotic novel published under a pseudonym but usually attributed to Li Yu. It was written in 1657 and published in 1693 during the Qing dynasty. It is divided into four volumes of five chapters apiece. It was published in Japan in 1705 as Nikubuton with a preface proclaiming it the greatest erotic novel of all time.
Saori Hara is a former Japanese AV idol, model and actress who has also used the name Mai Nanami and most recently Miyabi Matsunoi or Miyavi Matsunoi.
Transformers: Age of Extinction is a 2014 American science fiction action film based on Hasbro's Transformers toy line. It is the sequel to Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011) and the fourth installment in the Transformers film series. Like its predecessor, the film is directed by Michael Bay and written by Ehren Kruger. It stars Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, Kelsey Grammer, Nicola Peltz, Jack Reynor, Sophia Myles, Bingbing Li, Titus Welliver and T.J. Miller. It does not feature the original human cast from the previous three films, and instead introduces a new human cast and many new Transformers, including the Dinobots. A struggling inventor and single-father discovers a damaged truck, which turns out to be a Transformer in disguise.
Hiro Hayama, born Hiroyoshi Komuro, is a Japanese actor and former model based in Hong Kong.
SDU: Sex Duties Unit is a 2013 Hong Kong action comedy film directed by Gary Mak and starring Chapman To, Shawn Yue, Matt Chow and Derek Tsang. SDU: Sex Duties Unit was one of the films to be presented at the 2013 Hong Kong FILMART. This film was released on 25 July 2013 in Hong Kong.
Monster Hunt is a 2015 mainland Chinese-Hong Kong 3D fantasy action comedy adventure film directed by Raman Hui. The film was released in China on 16 July 2015 in 3D and IMAX 3D. Upon release, it became a huge commercial success, breaking numerous box office records, including as the highest-grossing film in China, before The Mermaid took the crown in 2016. It opened in North America on January 22, 2016 in 2D and 3D by FilmRise.
Lan Yan, also known by her stage name, Crazybarby, is a Chinese actress, pop singer, and model, based in Hong Kong.
Mojin: The Lost Legend is a 2015 Chinese action adventure fantasy thriller film based on the novel Ghost Blows Out the Light. It was directed by Wuershan and produced by Chen Kuo-fu. The film was released on December 18, 2015.
Stephen Shiu is a Taiwan-based Hong Kong media personality, businessperson, film producer, screenwriter, news presenter, and pundit. He founded Hong Kong Reporter in 2004, an internet radio station focused on live talk radio broadcasting. In 2013 he founded memehk.com, a multimedia news site, after Hong Kong Reporter was closed.
Sisterhood is a 2016 Macau-Hong Kong drama film directed by Tracy Choi and starring Gigi Leung, Fish Liew and Jennifer Yu. The film had its North American premiere at the Toronto LGBT Film Festival on 28 May 2017.
The Sparring Partner is a 2022 Hong Kong legal crime thriller film directed by Ho Cheuk Tin in his directorial debut. The film stars Yeung Wai Lun, Mak Pui Tung, Louisa So, and Michael Chow, with Jan Lamb and Gloria Yip listed as special performers. The story is adapted from the 2013 Tai Kok Tsui double parricide and dismemberment case.