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Tony Leung's Full Nudity in "Lust, Caution" Contin

 
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summertime



Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 923

PostPosted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 9:18 pm    Post subject: Tony Leung's Full Nudity in "Lust, Caution" Contin

Credit: Jayne Stars

Tony Leung's Full Nudity in "Lust, Caution" Continues Controversial Debate

Tony Leung Chiu Wai's full nudity in movie, "Lust, Caution" 《色,戒》has become the hottest topic in Hong Kong entertainment lately. The film won the top Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival, generated good word-of-mouth, and gained good box office results in Asia.

However, the public discussion could not stray away from the explicit love scenes between Tony Leung and female lead, Tang Wei. Director, Ang Lee, once said, "Lust is also a part of art."

So how does the public opinion perceive Tony Leung's nudity in the film? Was it a necessary part of the script? Or was it only demanded by Ang Lee to increase the media's attention? If the Director for "Lust, Caution" were Wong Jing instead, then would the film become pornographic?

The Hong Kong premiere of "Lust, Caution" was a star-studded event, including the attendance of Chow Yun Fat, Zhang Ziyi and other international stars. Chow Yun Fat gave the film a 99.9 score, while other guest viewers gave it a 100 score. Just watching Tony Leung and Tang Wei's passionate scenes were fulfilling enough!

Director, Ang Lee, noted that he originally thought of casting Zhang Ziyi as the female lead in "Lust, Caution." However, when Tang Wei, auditioned for the role, Ang Lee was attracted by her ordinary looks. He felt Tang Wei was very suitable for the role.

Apparently the whole world focused on Tony Leung's private parts or how intensely passionate his bed scenes were with Tang Wei. Many female movie viewers watched the movie to satisfy their curiosity about Tony's nudity. Perhaps this was also one way to sneak a peak at naked celebrity bodies?

"Lust, Caution" is a period spy thriller that takes place in World War II China. Was the film sexually gratuitous or artistic in nature? Over 50 people were polled and the following results were found:

* 44% of respondents said that Tony Leung's exposure of his private parts was a publicity tactic employed by the film company. They felt Tony's nudity was unnecessary.

* 38% of respondents felt that "Lust, Caution" warranted artistic merit. They felt that Tony's nudity was a suitable artistic sacrifice for the film.

* 28% of respondents did not find Tang Wei to be beautiful. But they found her to possess a unique air about her. Acting counted more than looks and audiences found her more suitable for the role rather than Zhang Ziyi.

*88% of respondents said that Director Wong Jing's movies were cheap and pornographic. However, Ang Lee's movies were artistic and his sex scenes were necessary for the film. Perhaps there is only a fine line between being cheap or artistic!

Ticket sales for "Lust, Caution" in Hong Kong have topped $3.66 million (HKD) since its opening earlier this week. The movie was shown at 60 theater screens and became the top-seller during the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday week and broke a historical records as one of the strongest box office openings in September.

Box office sales have been equally strong in Taiwan. Since "Lust, Caution" opened on September 26th, box office sales have surpassed $8.75 million (HKD).

The following few female viewers expressed their intention on whether they will be watching "Lust, Caution:"

Ms. Yue: "A lead actress doesn't have to be beautiful. As long as she can act, that is fine. However I want to watch this film mainly because of Tony Leung. I believe this will be a good film."

Ms. Lee: "Ang Lee is already a well-known brand. On the other hand, Wong Jing is cheap. I am interested in this film because of the whole story. I am not seeing it because of the love scenes."

Mr. Wong: "I am not interested in watching 'Lust, Caution!' There are no CGI scenes, no action scenes. I'll just wait for the DVD!"

Ms. Lui: "This movie has a too serious air about it. I am interested in watching lighter comedies. Although Tony Leung may have a breakthrough performance in this movie, I am not interested in watching it."


Source: Wenweipo, the Sun, Mingpao



http://jaynestars.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1084
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Marie



Joined: 30 Jul 2007
Posts: 143
Location: North Carolina, USA

PostPosted: Sun Sep 30, 2007 5:02 am    Post subject:

Hum, Ang Lee as taboo buster? It sounds like nudity in film is a much bigger issue in Asia than it is in America, and it still can create waves here. (Let's not talk about Europe, there everyone sheds their clothes in a film at the drop of a hat, and no one seems to care much.) In the context of a very serious film, obviously it must be viewed differently than in a comedy or a film where the nudity does not really seem to forward the story and is inserted to titillate audience members (in particular MALE audience members).

I have a background in Art History, so I have been looking at depictions of the nude human body, male and female, for decades. The Greeks elevated the nude male body to the supreme depiction of the god-like nature of humanity. The Italian Renaissance revived this celebration of the male nude, and it has never really left us in the West. I know that things are different in Asia, where there are different canons of modesty. In recent years I was doing research for a possible novel about a female photographer who was photographing male flamenco dancers in the nude. I spent a lot of time looking at photographic reprsentations of nude men. Even today in the West there are many taboos around depicting the nude male body. There is the homosexual angle, where the male body is objectified and eroticized for homosexual consumption. These depictions didn't interest me so much. But there is another category of nudes that were the work of female photographers that I find very interesting. Obviously, any time women look at nude men, there is a sexual component, but it often didn't dominate the works. The men were presented as strong, beautiful, and as virtual works of art in their own right. How little of this can be seen in film, where the eroticized female nude is all too often presented as an object of male consumption, but the corresponding male nude is discretely covered. I applaud Ang Lee and Tony for having the courage to unashamedly use the nude male body for expressive purposes in exactly the same way that the director used the female body. This equal treatment of the bodies of both protagonists is very important and points the way to a different treatment of the nude in cinema.

Marie
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purple



Joined: 05 Apr 2006
Posts: 150
Location: KL, Malaysia

PostPosted: Mon Oct 01, 2007 3:37 am    Post subject:

I don't really care whether Tony is nude or not in the movie. I am more concerned about how the whole movie will turn out and the impact it has on me. And of course I want to see the actors' performance, particularly Tony Very Happy

Anyway, I think the nude scenes will be censored from Malaysian cinemas despite it already carries a 18PL tag.

Can't wait to watch the movie! Dizzy
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Purple
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