Given the current popularity of 3D technology, it was always inevitable that sooner or later someone would use it for full on exploitation cinema – and so it’s hats off to Hong Kong for getting there first, with “Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy”, proudly branded as being the world’s first 3D erotic film. The marketing tactic has certainly been a hit, not only propelling it to great success at the Chinese box office, but also whipping up hype around the globe and marking it as one of the very few Category III rated local productions to win an international theatrical release. Directed by Christopher Sun, the film is essentially a remake of the 1991 original, with producer Stephen Shiu back on board for another adaptation of the Chinese Qing Dynasty erotic classic ‘The Carnal Prayer Mat’. The film features a pan-Asian cast giving their all in the name of art,...
- 9/12/2011
- by James Mudge
- Beyond Hollywood
Title: Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy Director: Christopher Sun Starring: Hiro Hayama, Leni Lan, Saori Hara, Yukiko Suho, Vonnie Lui, Tony Ho A hit in its native Hong Kong, and sure to be trimmed heavily or banned outright in mainland China, “Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy” is getting a boutique release across the rest of the world, including major metropolitan areas of the United States. And why not, really? Screening in both 3-D and 2-D, the slickly produced film is a lurid, wild and weird attempt to reboot the 1990s’ “Sex and Zen” softcore franchise, in which outlandish sex and borderline gnarly-cartoonish violence were commingled. The end product lives up to...
- 8/27/2011
- by bsimon
- ShockYa
3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy is a film that mostly stays true to its title. It’s in 3D and there’s plenty of sex and extreme ecstasy. As for the zen part, that word probably could have been replaced with torture. In this oddball erotic kung-fu comedy, director Christopher Sun flips the period costume drama on its head, turning it into a sexcapades fantasy of forbidden ancient lore. The result is if you merged a Shaw Brothers movie with a soft-core pornography along with a dash of Stephen Chow’s cartoonish over the top guffaws. The film grossed more money on its first day of release in Hong Kong than Titanic or 3D behemoth Avatar. Billed as the first ever 3-D erotic film, obviously the movie has a unique attraction for a certain type of audience. However for others, the misogynistic antics of both protagonist and antagonist along...
- 8/26/2011
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
Another week, another excuse to admire the attractive figures of 3D Sex And Zen. However, its not Vonnie Lui's curves that are making the news this week, but rather that in the first half of 2011 no other Chinese language film came close to earning as much cash at the Hong Kong box office as Christopher Sun's camp classic in-the-making. From its release in early April to the end of June, Extreme Ecstacy had raked in an impressive Hk$40.6million, and it is still playing strongly both to local crowds and commuting Mainlanders, as it will not see a release in China. This huge figure places the film second only to Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides in the 2011 standings, which has taken...
- 7/11/2011
- Screen Anarchy
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