[Apologies / let me know if this is off-topic for B Movie Bonanza]

Two-part article from Eastern Kicks

TL,DR:
Despite being one of the world’s centres of film production back then, laissez-faire colonial Hong Kong didn’t have any system of film classification or censorship until a film came out in 1988 (Men Behind the Sun) that was so egregious, it almost single-handedly created the political impetus to introduce a film classification law and system.

The most restricted classification was Category III, which made it a crime for anyone under 18 to watch.

Rather than shut down the worst productions, it unleashed a boom as many producers treated Cat III status as both a licence and a badge of honour, indulging in the greatest excesses in exploitation cinema: soft-core porn, torture, rape and cannibalism. And, to be frank, a lot of misogyny :(

And unlike an X rating or NC-17 classification in other countries, Cat III certification wasn’t the kiss of death for mainstream respect and business, with Cat III films shown in mainstream cinemas, actors appearing in both mainstream and Cat III films, and some Cat III films even winning mainstream awards. (Actors like Anthony Wong, Simon Yam and Shu Qi got their start and first critical acclaim in Cat III exploitation.)

The boom faded as the 90s ended, as the novelty wore off and Hong Kong came under PRC control, but there are still some occasional Cat III films made, often in the sex comedy genre.

Personally, while I watched a lot of HK movies in the 90s, I wasn’t into Cat III (although I would curiously read about their excesses in mags like Impact or zines like Trash City [some images NSFW or gory]).

I got thinking about Cat III again when watching (the absolutely not Cat III) Future Cops (from @LaurenceWolse@feddit.nl’s post). I chuckled when at the end Chun-May almost kisses Ti-Man but is too chaste to go through with it, given that the actress Chingmy Yau was largely famous for doing Cat III softcore porn / “girls with guns” exploitation flicks like Raped by an Angel (1992) and Naked Killer (1993), by the very same director as Future Cops, Wong Jing.

Category III film links

Links may lead to NSFW or gory images

Eastern Kicks has a category ;) called Category III to see some reviews of Cat III films.

City on Fire search for “category III”

City on Fire review of the “original” Cat III film, Men Behind the Sun (a film not actually meant as exploitation but to highlight the then relatively unknown war crimes of the chemical and biological warfare experiments of Japan’s Unit 731)

Men Behind the Sun comes with the reputation of being one of the most controversial movies ever made, often mentioned in the same sentence as the likes of Ruggero Deodato’s Cannibal Holocaust, and Japan’s Guinea Pig series. The facts certainly indicate the same – it holds the distinction of being the first movie to be rated Category III in Hong Kong, has been released in very few territories uncut, was originally banned in Australia, and caused such an outcry in Japan that the director received death threats.

  • LaurenceWolse@feddit.nl
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    2 days ago

    I love me some cat. III insanity/sleaze. The majority of these movies belongs on BMovieBonanza. 🇭🇰💥

    • klu9@piefed.socialOP
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      2 days ago

      :D

      Any recommendations outside of gore/torture/rape/cannibalism etc (as I’m not into those)?

      I’m willing to give a film like Naked Killer a try, but it’s not available on any of the free or even paid (Amazon Prime) services I have here in MX. Not even (or perhaps, especially not on) Chinese ones like QQ Video.

      (Although a Tubi search for “naked killer” did turn up the Wong Jing-scripted Naked Weapon (Wikipedia (HK, 2002) which I might have to check out.

      • LaurenceWolse@feddit.nl
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        2 days ago

        … outside of gore/torture/rape/cannibalism etc…

        Well, it’s going to be really difficult to recommend anything if those are your requirements, because that’s basically what the classification is for: anything that is unsuitable for non-adults.

        I’m sure there are movies that fit your requirements, but I can’t think of anything rn on the top of my head. 🙃

        • klu9@piefed.socialOP
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          1 day ago

          Yeah, after I posted that, I thought that probably rules out 95%.

          But as the linked article mentioned, Cat III certification was sometimes given for other reasons, like insufficient condemnation of criminals, e.g. A Better Tomorrow. Also, (presumably consensual?) sex comedies, like Sex & Zen.

          Eastern Kicks has a review of Runaway Blues which apparently earned it Cat III classification from several scenes of brutality. I might be able to handle a film where it’s a few scenes, but not those where it’s the major focus (Dr Lamb?).

      • Lyra_Lycan@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        2 days ago

        Not into rape? The movie you used for the image is called Raped by an Angel, also known as Naked Killer 2

        • LaurenceWolse@feddit.nl
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          2 days ago

          RbaA is a great movie: thought up by Wong Jing, directed by Andrew Lau (the filmmaker responsible for the OG The Departed), and starring Simon Yam and Chingmy Yau.

        • klu9@piefed.socialOP
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          2 days ago

          The poster is emblematic of that whole phase of HK cinema, doesn’t mean I actually want to watch rapes being depicted.

          So, yes, I am not into rape.