The world's first 3-D soft-porn movie got its first private screening at a Causeway Bay cinema yesterday and left the audience more in awe of the Cantonese dialect's ability to shock than the outlandish 3-D sex effects.
The Hong Kong-made Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy made its big-screen debut at JP cinema for film buyers and exhibitors in the city for the four-day Filmart which closes today - and most of the audience left laughing at the HK$25 million production's colourful use of language rather than its widely anticipated scenes of over-the-top erotica.
Director Christopher Sun Lap-key's pre-screening contention that the crew had spent a long time working on the story-telling appeared to be borne out, as the dramatic and comical effects in 3-D Sex and Zen had the audience in stitches.
Loosely based on a piece from classical Chinese erotic literature, The Carnal Prayar Mat written by Li Yu in the 17th century, the 3-D version is a rework of the 1991 erotic cult sensation Sex and Zen, by veteran producer Stephen Shiu Yeuk-yuen.
Like the original film, the 3-D remake, a brainchild of Shiu's son Stephen Shiu Jnr, also follows the outrageous adventure of scholar Wei Yangsheng (Hiro Hayama) who is searching for the secrets to the joys of the bedroom.
The plot, such as it is, revolves around Wei's search for sexual pleasure, and predictably uses the 3-D format to full smutty effect. The end result was some impressively-lit shots of actors who had clearly put their all into filming. However, what impressed the audience most were the dirty jokes and vivid use of Cantonese swear words. It was not hard to hear voices from the audience swearing along happily with the characters.
Shiu Jnr, executive producer of the 3-D version, said it had been his dream to turn erotic movies into 3-D and he was pleased with the audience's reaction.
All the comical moments and drama are well-calculated and the audience's reaction meets our expectations, said Shiu. If they were all from Hong Kong, the impact would've been much greater because of the jokes. We will make some adjustment to the film before the official premiere on April 12.
He said the movie had made his dream of turning erotica into 3-D come true. But making it look real was easier said than done. Shooting was extended from 22 to 38 days, five of which were a 24-hour shift.
The love scenes were very tough, said Shiu. Normally you get tired [from having sex] after 15 to 20 minutes, but these actors had to do it for six to eight hours a day, and acting is much harder than doing it for real.
The original Sex and Zen took more than HK$18 million at the box office in 1991, still the highest box office record for a category III movie. Shiu Jnr estimated that just the Hong Kong box office for the 3-D version would exceed HK$30 million.
The film opens in Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea on April 14, Taiwan on April 15, Singapore on April 28 and June 16 in France, Italy, Russia and Peru.
