Sex and Zen - Extreme Ecstasy - DVD

Film: When the young scholar Wei Yangsheng (Hiro Hayama) sees the beautiful Yuxiang (Leni Lan) for the first time, it is all over him. But he doesn't think he will ever be able to have this woman, as she comes from a good family and is also promised to his friend Lin (Tenky Tin). And yet it is Wei who finally gets to marry her. His happiness would actually be perfect, but already in the wedding night it becomes clear that it doesn't really want to work out on a sexual level between the two. After all attempts to have a satisfying tryst fail, Wei ends up in the infamous Pavilion of Ultimate Bliss of the Prince of Ning (Tony Ho), where he is allowed to spend a night with the uniquely talented in love Ruizhu (Saori Hara). In return, he must serve the prince for 10 years. When Wei realizes that his much too small penis could probably be the reason why he can only have boring sex even with a sex goddess like Ruizhu, he makes a fatal decision: he wants to have his tiny genitals exchanged for the penis of a donkey.

Sex and Zen - Extreme Ecstasy is based on the 1991 scandalous film Sex and Zen, whose producer Stephen Siu is also responsible for the successful 3D remake. Director Christopher Sun had a simple goal for the remake: he wanted to give the viewer the feeling of sinking his face into the breasts of the actresses. And so he doesn't skimp on naked facts, rampant sex scenes and extended close-ups of bouncing breasts. In order to stage the whole thing as relaxed as possible, stars of the Japanese erotic scene like Saori Hara and Yukiko Suo were hired for some of the more daring roles. And so just in the first half of the film numerous naked bodies loll in opulent equipment.

But what starts like an extremely expensive and quite amusing - because completely exaggerated - soft porn, takes at the latest with the emergence of the hermaphrodite Master of Supreme Happiness (Vonnie Lui) and the penis transplantation extremely bizarre features, which lead in the last third of the film in hefty and sometimes very brutal horror sequences. And even a small homage to Tarantino's Kill Bill can be spotted here.

Very obviously this film has been designed as a 3D experience. Whether it's spears and swords being pointed at the viewer, water that seems to spurt out of the frame during violent lovemaking, breasts being squeezed together in pleasure, or the donkey penis flying through the air, these are all very distinct 3D gimmicks that clearly lose their impact in the 2D version. Still, the film works quite well without the three-dimensional effects, as the sets, costumes, and special effects are all really pleasingly high quality.

No question, Sex and Zen - Extreme Ecstasy is a very special and somehow also sick in an entertaining way film that will probably only appeal to a niche audience willing to experiment. And even if one of the actresses in the making of expresses the hope that the film will also appeal to many women, men will probably primarily enjoy the weird sex/horror/martial arts mix. And if you think you've seen it all and can't be surprised or shocked anymore, you'll be proven wrong here in a few places.

Picture + Sound: Even though the film was obviously shot in 3D, the 2D version is also quite respectable. The picture is sharp, clean and even in the darker scenes most of the details come out well. The audio has some nice surround effects to go along with the dialogue and opulent music, providing a bit of movement to the tonal proceedings. Good!

Extras: The multi-part making of consists of short promotional clips dealing with various aspects of the production. The 3D effect, the sets, the original and, of course, the sex scenes all feature prominently. With just under 15 minutes, this making of is rather short and the information content remains rather superficial. In addition, there is a longer English-language trailer, as well as other program tips from the provider.

Conclusion: Sex and Zen - Extreme Ecstasy was more successful in Asia than Avatar. Hailed as the first 3D erotic film, the remake of the 1991 scandal film broke numerous records. Nevertheless, high-quality entertainment should not be expected here. Because here are extreme forms of sex, violence and very weird humor in the foreground. A very special film, which could give especially male genre fans but quite enjoyable

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp