REVIEW: ‘Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan’ (DVD – Image Entertainment)

One of the most intriguing and unusual offerings from the mighty Shaw Brothers studios comes to the U.S. from Image Entertainment. Director Chor Yuen’s INTIMATE CONFESSIONS OF A CHINESE COURTESAN (1972) mixes mystery, humor, sex, bloody martial violence, and wuxia conventions in a beautifully shot tale of revenge and lust.

Image’s print matches the previous restored version released in Hong Kong, although side-by-side comparisons reveal their version is slightly cropped on either side but not enough to be a concern. Picture quality is great but not as colorful and vibrant as it should be.

The major reason collectors will want this version is for the original English dub track that accompanies it. I usually frown on English dubbing but I make exception for a series of dub tracks recorded in the 1970s, mostly for SB flicks. Voice acting is above average and for those us who grew up watching old school kung fu it has an element of nostalgia. Original two-channel Mandarin is also included.

Bonus content is lighter than on SB releases from Dragon Dynasty and Media Blasters but it appears that Image is making some effort to address this. They have a nice photo gallery and a featurette with interviews from three SB actresses.

Intimate Confessions of Three Shaw Girls (12 minutes) – This short featurette was originally produced in 2005 by French distrib CTV for their release of INTIMATE CONFESSIONS on DVD. Veteran SB actresses Shaw Yin-yin, Candice Yu and Lily Li are interviewed and discuss both this film and the remake, LUST FOR LOVE OF A CHINESE COURTESAN, which Yu starred in. Although Shaw was not associated with either film, her experience as an erotic film star makes her uniquely qualified to discuss the subject.

Trailers – Image packages nearly 30 movie trailers on the disc. There are 16 SB trailers, none of them original, although a few other trailers for other Asian action titles are.

Production Stills Gallery – Nine original production stills are presented nearly full screen and with nothing obstructing the view. Why more distribs do not do something as simple as this is a mystery.

Format: Region 1 NTSC DVD
Aspect Ratio: 16×9 Widescreen (2.35:1)
Audio: Mandarin Dolby 2.0, English Dolby 2.0
Subtitles: English
Length: 87 minutes
Release Date: 2008.05.22

Related Topics: DVD, Image Entertainment, Shaw Brothers