Search - Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan on DVD

Intimate Confession... my word!

James H. Wallace Jr. | Indianapolis, IN | 04/20/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"For years, I have always loved movies from the Shaw Brothers Studio Company. And it 2002 when Celestial Pictures, a hong kong based company, bought the rights to the movies, 750 out of 1,000 of them, and were going to get full restoration treatment, I was overjoyed. The problem? The movies would only be released in the Asia market, with no American distribution in sight. The only recourse was buying VCD versions just to be able to view the movies. (Asian DVD movies are encoded in R3, not playable on US DVD players.) But, in the last year Shaw movies have been getting US releases, although too few for my taste. Thank you, Image Entertainment. Thank you, Dragon Dynasty. And now, Tokyo Shock has gotten into the fold. As for "Intimate Confession of a Chinese Courtesan" this was a movie I have long waited for. As Celestial dug up various movies, this was one of hundred I discovered. With the cover, showing two women embracing only told you what kind of movie it is. But unlike erotic Asian movies, this one is fairly tame. Unlike another Shaw exploitation movie called, "Bamboo House of Dolls." There are a couple girl to girl kissing scenes, and various naked girls with ugly dudes, but nothing at the level of movies today.

The plot is basically about a corrupt brothel who steals women and sells them into prostitution. The madam, played by the beautiful Lily Ho, prefers only women for intimacy and comes across a fiery girl, played by Betty Pei Ti, as she grows quite fond of her. Betty on the other hand fights against the system, trying to retain her freedom. But when a failed escape arises and a male servant is killed in the process, Betty conforms as Lily's lover and a call girl at the brothel. But under deception, Betty gets revenge of the men who violated her and eventually going after the madam.

As I originally watched, it became more of a martial art movie then what I expected. A pleasant surprise. The movie is shot quite beautifully and the performances are top notch. The story does drag a bit, but the ending is absolutely priceless. Don't be surprised if you yell back at the TV. I know I continually do.

This movie is in 2.35 anamorphic widescreen, with both the original Cantonese dialog and a surprising English dub. The enthusiast in me prefers the original audio with subtitles, but the lazy in me loves the English dub. Both are great experiences as the dubbed version is surprisingly well done.

If you love old school kung fu movies and particular Shaw Brother movies, you can't lose with this dvd. An Intimate DVD of a Confessed movie lover."

A Shaw Brothers gem

morgoth | omaha, NE | 05/06/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a very different type of Shaw Brothers martial arts film. It reminded me of Lady Snowblood, so if you liked that, then I would definitely recommend this. Betty Tei Pei plays a brothel owner, and she is a very evil woman. She could care less about men, and only loves women. When she gets in a new batch of prostitutes, she meets one that she likes. Lily Ho plays the prostitute, and she's a tough little woman, which is why the Madam likes her so much. Yes, they do makeout, and it is awesome. The story has Lily Ho taking revenge on all the men she had to sleep with when she first came to the brothel, and it's a pretty simple story. The acting from Betty Tei Pei is AMAZING, and it is a good overall movie, and has an amazing ending. It's directed by Chor Yuen, and as exepcted, it is a beautiful film to look at. Chor Yuen worked very hard and put in a lot of detail to make sure that his movies had a unique look.

The swordplay is quite good for 1972, and it gets pretty bloody.

Rating- 4/5

The picture quality on the Image DVD is pretty much perfect, and both the English and Chinese language tracks sound great. Image Entertaiment has included the English dub on their last 3 Shaw Brothers releases. I sure hope they continue this trend.

"

Fantastical masterpiece of feminine martial mania...

David Brown III | gloucester, MA. USA | 09/01/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"One of director Chu Yuan's greatest films. His tempo with the storyline not at all convoluted, the seemless choreographed fighting, the intricate plot matched with the ultra-stylish sets. A masterpiece of cinematic presentation. A very high class brothel is run by a matchless female fighter (Betty Pei Ti) who's 'fingering technique' is instantly lethal. She falls in love with her latest addition (Lily Ho) to the brothel, and teaches her this deadly style of martial arts, but she spells the downfall of this matchless female fighter/brothel operator. Yueh Hua is an inspector trying to solve the mysterious murders possibly connected to the brothel. There's plenty of blood, nudity, and violence, as well as ground breaking (what was then very taboo) lesbian issues considered. An incredibly beautifully filmed story. A unique masterpiece of martial art cinema strikingly remastered."