This was originally going to be one of my extremely long videos, probably 2 hours or so in length, but I decided I needed to tone it down a bit. No idea if this video will find an audience, if it does, I’d love to dig into this topic further. Ideally, I’d love to do a video about the true crime and serial killer movies, and then I’d love to do one on the se* comedies/movies (yes, I’ve had to censor a few things here, trying not to get the video de-monetized and thus receiving no views).
One thing I think I would have liked to include in the section about Run Run Shaw was his consistency in wanting to give his viewers whatever they wanted. As Godfrey Ho says in the video, “this was the selling point of the movies, this is what the audiences wanted.” when referring to the cinematic violence. There’s a great story in a book called Ask For the Moon by Meredith Lewis (I found it after writing the script/recording the audio for this video) where it describes how the Shaw Bros. put on a play in their earliest days and when one of the leads came on the stage, the physical stage broke underneath him and he fell below. The audience laughed so much, thinking it was part of the show, that the next night the Shaws made sure that the actor fell through the floor again. His idea was to give the viewer what they wanted, and if that meant buckets of blood… so be it.
Also, one little correction (sort of)… When I say in the video “recertified for video” in reference to Triads: The Inside Story, I mean it probably had a cinematic (meaning shown in theaters) recertification BEFORE it hit video. The video market uses a different rating system than Cat 1, 2a, 2b, and 3. While what I said wasn’t inherently wrong, I could have worded it better and I only thought about it upon 4th rewatch!
A brief synpopsis:
This video focuses on what the Category III rating actually is, the history and landscape before it, and it also takes a look at the first local Hong Kong film to receive the rating, the first Western/foreign film, and the first from mainland China. Hope you all enjoy it!
Sources:
. This Week in Sleaze (the greatest CAT III podcast ever! Find it wherever you get your podcasts)
. Conversations with Kenny B. and King Who?
. Fighting Without Fighting: Kung Fu Cinema’s Journey to the West by Luke White.
. The Error 4444 supplemental feature Wild Ratings: Talking Category III w/ Arne Venema & Mike Leeder of CFK – taken from the Red to Kill Bluray ( never actually referenced it in the video, but definitely watched it a couple of times for this).
. Warning! Category III: The Other Hong Kong Cinema by Darrell W. Davis and Yeh Yueh-Yu. Taken from Film Quarterly Vol. 54, No. 4 (Summer 2001), pp. 12-26 (15 pages).
. A Study of the Hong Kong Swordplay Film (1945-1980) from The Fifth Hong Kong International Film Festival.
. The documentaries Category III: The Untold Story of Hong Kong Exploitation (2018) by Callum Waddell and Black Sunshine: Conversations with T.F. Mou (2011) by J.L. Carrozza.
. I’m not sure if I used any information from it directly, but I was reading These Fists Break Bricks by Grady Hendrix and Chris Poggial while writing the script and that thing is packed with so much information that its entirely possible that some crept in.
CHAPTERS:
00:00-02:10 – Introductions
02:11-09:19 – Chapter I: History of a Rating
09:20-11:50 – Chapter II: Creation of a Rating
11:51-17:34 – The Three Firsts of Cat 3
17:35-21:31 – Sentenced to Hang
21:32-25:34 – The Other Possible Firsts in HK
25:35-28:11 – Chapter III: Conclusions
🔔 Subscribe to Weird Cinema & stay updated on the world’s most unusual films—from haunting horrors to bizarre cinematic treasures. Don’t miss out!
https://www.youtube.com/@weirdcinemashow/?sub_confirmation=1
🔗 Stay Connected With Me.
👉Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/weirdcinema.bsky.social
👉Twitter/X: https://x.com/weirdcinemaYT
👉Website: https://www.weird-cinema.com/
✅ For Business Inquiries:
📩 Email: [email protected]
=============================
✅ Recommended Playlist
👉 Weird Cinema Mainline Videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zC9quBi5v9s&list=PLR5Guq-L21kg0DOMf5UHBySqcAg0ZlmPm&pp=iAQB
✅ Other Videos You Might Be Interested In Watching:
👉Incredible Feats: The World of Hong Kong Stuntmen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSz6BIXv0Y4
👉Prepare to be Shocked: Exploring the World of Pinky Violence
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zC9quBi5v9s
👉Exploring the Strange Universe of IFD Films and Arts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0dDvb3Dxzo&t=23s
=============================
🔔Are you a fan of strange and fascinating films? Subscribe to watch a documentary-style movie series that explores unusual and captivating films from around the world: https://www.youtube.com/@weirdcinemashow/?sub_confirmation=1
=================================
#cat3
#hongkong
#shockingfilms
#category3
#catiii
#hongkongfilm
#hongkongmovie
#hongkongcinema
© Weird Cinema
source
A goof-up few will notice, but I figure I might as well point out down here in the comments. When I bring up Lee Chung Ling, I used a clip that was not him from Temptation Summary 2. Should have used a clip from the first movie. I should have known because of his less-than-chunky cheeks, but I guess I was desperate to feature him and also feature CAT III man. Darn. I just saw the CAT III man costume, got excited, and threw him in there. Knew his face looked off, but I chalked it up to the Clark Kent haircut.
Great video man, my favourite cat 3 was "Red To Kill".
I'd love to see a video about the Japanese Sex films or (pinku) as they are known, tens of thousands of great films, far stronger and violent and sexual than the Cat 3 stuff.
Amy Yip never showed her assets on film. It was either blocked or filmed by the side or some hands covering her chest.
Yes, you have an audience for a series on CAT III! Please continue! And good work on this video!
Hi Weird Cinema! Wow! This is great Video! Yes more Obscure Movies! Like Hong Kong movies are so totally Excellent. Like Legend of the Liquid Sword Etc. Shaw Brothers + Wong Kar Wai Etc. Horror + Comedy + Kung Fu Etc.
Literally my fave Youtube channel! Always look forward to your videos and they never disappoint 🙂 Keep up the great work! 🎉
非常有趣
Wow, this channel is a GOLDMINE, I'm glad I found it!
Category III movies are awesome, I especially love them because they have something to tell behind all the carnage and gore, no big "message" or pretentious moralizing, but a story, stories rooted in reality and dealing with human hardship, even if on the surface they seem over the top or comedic. My favorite movie of that category would be Tun-Fei Mou's Man Behind the Sun and Lost Souls, Ricky-Oh: The Story of Ricky and The Untold Story.
You should check out the Mondo films by Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco Prosperi and their legacy for film history, a very interesting topic!
I would love a deep dive on those movies to know what to look for.
I'd love to see more videos about category iii films, or about behind the scenes stuff at Shaw.
My favorite Cat III has to be Ebola Syndrome. When he's running down the street screaming "EBOLA! EBOLA!" and spitting on people gets me everytime
I find it hard to believe the mainland government would allow Men behind the Sun to be made or screened. What constitute it as a mainland film? China is still quite a conservative place. A HK creative team working in China is labelled a mainland film?
My suspicion is that the 'Triads – The Inside Story' alternate poster is actually a design for the cover of a home video release.
Subscribed. Looking forward on more deep dive into Cat3 movies. Quality content.
I almost never recommend Cat III films to my white friends back in the days, but looking back, HK movies with the MAX entertainment value and memorial hilarity were by far more Cat III films than anything else. With all the edge lords running the corridors of America nowadays, I sooner show them a Cat III film than a prim and proper Shaw Brothers wuxia flick.
Totally awesome! Thanx
Hey, firstly I would just like to say what an amazing channel you have, there are not many YouTube channels out there that take as much time and dedication, or go into any depth or detail as yours does, the time you take to compile all the clips and much appreciated (add what said clip is at the bottom) keep doing what you’re doing. I love this channel, and when I saw this video on CATIII films I couldn't believe it, I myself have been a huge CATIII fan for many years now, ever since I saw Sex & Zen and Naked Killer for the first time all those years ago. And since then, I have tried to seek out and source more and more titles ever since, although we are very lucky now, with a lot of boutique labels now releasing more and more CATIII titles. But there are still very few YouTube channels that talk about them, and how amazing they are and what a true treasure to the golden age of Hong Kong cinema they are. So much so I have even thought about starting a channel myself, but just haven't found the time at the moment. but maybe…
So, as for some of my favourite Category III films, Ebola Syndrome (or anything with Anthony Wong), Eternal Evil of Asia, Escape from Brothel, Daughters of Darkness, 3 Days of a Blind Gril (Anthony Wong again), Hong Kong Godfathers just to name a few, I could go on and on lol.
To answer your question yes I would love to see a series on Category III movies, and even more one done by you I think that would be awesome especially being a subject you can go very in depth on, I would love to hear more about some of your favourite titles and some more obscure ones that are never brought up or talked about.
Nice video. But "the west" is not a monolith. Also Bruce had to go back to Hong Kong because of 1960s Hollywood racism. Not the popularity of the Green Hornet. Otherwise good job.
Let's have the cat 3 deep dive plz
Dying to watch Hong Kong Godfathers. The trailer with that sweet machete action looks sooo good! 🎥 Might have to watch on Internet Archive. Great video!