tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149411832127844385.post7558567895361852202..comments2024-03-22T14:34:39.101-04:00Comments on MONDO 70: A Wild World of Cinema: INTIMATE CONFESSIONS OF A CHINESE COURTESAN (Ai Nu, 1972)Samuel Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00934870299522899944noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149411832127844385.post-28739943642701556902011-02-08T00:35:01.462-05:002011-02-08T00:35:01.462-05:00The Craig Reid book is pretty much useless, if att...The Craig Reid book is pretty much useless, if attractively packaged if you've seen all the movies in there. I bought it hoping to get some additional insight into the films, but there was little to none there. <br /><br />I have close to 200 of the old Shaw Brothers movie magazines from the late 60s through the mid 80s and they got tons of great stuff in those, although much of it is in Chinese language only. <br /><br />CONFESSIONS was heavily hyped at the time and the title seemed to change regularly. It started with the BODY & SWORD title then got changed to the LOVE SLAVE moniker before landing the more famous international English translated title. It was a huge deal at the time, too, judging by the way the Shaw's were ballyhooing the lesbianism aspect in their publications.<br /><br />If you can, check out Chu's DUEL FOR GOLD and THE KILLER aka SACRED KNIVES OF VENGEANCE (both 1971) to see what else he did prior to finding his signature style with KILLER CLANS (1976). THE KILLER never got a DVD release. There's really nice quality versions out there for it, though. I got a lobby set for it as well as the Warner Brothers Press kit for the film. It's a good and bloody basher flick.<br /><br />Chu's Wuxia movies got really silly and outrageous in the 80s though. His WEB OF DEATH from 1976 is my favorite. I highly recommend that one. It's one of the wildest HK fantasy Wuxia's ever made and one of the most colorful.<br /><br />Sun Chung was another who did a few formula movies before defining his style with JUDGMENT OF AN ASSASSIN in 1977. THE DEVIL'S MIRROR (1972) is really good, brainless fun and well worth checking out. It's a horror/fantasy style Wuxia. THE BLOODY ESCAPE (1975) is another formula actioner with Chen Kuan Tai and Shi Szu. It was started by Chang Cheh and Sun Chung in 1973, but didn't get finished till 1975 and Sun was given sole credit for it, yet it doesn't look anything like one of his movies. I assume Shaw wanted their "green" directors to prove themselves so to speak before allowing them to do a movie their way.<br /><br />Just in case you're not familiar with Sun Chung, you will absolutely LOVE his AVENGING EAGLE from 1978. That's his most famous movie, I'd say.venoms5https://www.blogger.com/profile/13655919099947763891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149411832127844385.post-25984777949615503422011-02-08T00:31:35.758-05:002011-02-08T00:31:35.758-05:00this sounds incredible. i can't wait to see it...this sounds incredible. i can't wait to see it.cole roulainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03176803566755455302noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149411832127844385.post-4158739033115071372011-02-08T00:15:53.734-05:002011-02-08T00:15:53.734-05:00Kingwho? I'd seen Confessions in stores for a ...Kingwho? I'd seen Confessions in stores for a couple of years but didn't give it a chance until I had Netflix. Still haven't seen Naked Killer myself, though it's about time I fixed that. Thanks for writing.<br /><br />venom: I got the meaning of the title from Craig Reid's book, which didn't really do this movie justice. I trace the Kill Bill influence to this film because of the double arm cut on the victim. This is the second film I've seen from Chu Yuan; I reviewed <i>The Lizard</i> back in the early days of the blog and I remember liking that one, too.Samuel Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00934870299522899944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149411832127844385.post-58393644134814840562011-02-05T15:30:53.133-05:002011-02-05T15:30:53.133-05:00Great write up, Sam! The Chinese title translates ...Great write up, Sam! The Chinese title translates to LOVE SLAVE. The movie was also known as BODY & SWORD during production and was promoted for a while with that title. The severing of the arms goes back to ONE ARMED SWORDSMAN in '67. It seemed that after Chang Cheh splashed blood and guts everywhere, every filmmaker at Shaw was coming up with creatively gory deaths for their movies. Still, this movie was a turning point for Chu Yuan. Prior to this, his other actioners were gory formula pictures. Still very good, though, but his true Wuxia style didn't take shape till 1976 with KILLER CLANS. COURTESAN is a classic warm up.<br /><br />I got the IVL and the Image disc. I tried to pick up the Aussie disc, but got ripped off by the ebay seller and never got it, or the other Aussie discs I ordered.venoms5https://www.blogger.com/profile/13655919099947763891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149411832127844385.post-5742687712281409442011-02-05T02:57:23.601-05:002011-02-05T02:57:23.601-05:00Nice post! I watched Intimate Confessions for the...Nice post! I watched Intimate Confessions for the first time this week on a friends recommendation. I have had the vcd for forever but finally gave it a look and it was excellent. I was pushed toward the film as it had similarities w/ another HK film, Naked Killer.Kingwho?https://www.blogger.com/profile/02474560455739504154noreply@blogger.com