Chor Yuen’s Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan shocked viewers when it was released in Hong Kong in 1972. Although the film is full of vengeful violence, it was the lesbian relationship at the core of the story that raised eyebrows – it was the first time LGBT characters of any kind had been portrayed in a Hong Kong film. Chor’s skill at directing female actresses – he had made female-oriented wenyi (melodramas) all through the 1960s – and the intense and forthright performances of stars Lily Ho Li-li and newcomer Betty Pei Ti (not to be confused with Betty Ting Pei) – ensured that the film was a hit. “To see the characters played by two gorgeous women was shocking and alluring at the same time,” said Candice Yu On-on, who starred in Chor’s own remake in 1984. Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan , which is a period piece, is today considered a classic of martial arts cinema, even though the action is secondary to the drama. The story is set in a brothel at an unspecified time in Chinese history. Ainu (Ho) is kidnapped and sold into a brothel owned by the icy lesbian Lady Chun (Pei). Ainu is violated by four men before she accepts her fate as a sex worker. A favourite of Lady Chun, who is a skilled martial artist, Ainu rises to become the brothel’s top courtesan, while learning kung fu from Chun. Ainu uses the social power she has acquired – she is now so popular with the men in the province that the police can’t touch her – and her sexual attraction to exact revenge on the four men who raped her by using her superior intelligence and martial arts skills. The story takes a fascinating turn when the sadistic Lady Chun, who loves Ainu, becomes complicit in the murders. Hong Kong martial arts cinema: everything you need to know Intimate Confessions has sometimes been characterised as an exploitation film in the West. But although the sex is certainly intended to shock, it does so by suggestion, as it all takes place off-screen, as do most of the killings. The film bears more of a resemblance to the stylised 1970s “art-porn” films of European directors like Roger Vadim, Walerian Borowczyk (who made the naughty nun drama Behind Convent Walls ) and Harry Kumel’s brittle lesbian Dracula movie Daughters of Darkness . “With brothels and licentiousness as themes, the film is more sensual than sexual,” Hong Kong critic Sek Kei wrote in Ming Pao Evening Post in 1972. “Chor Yuen is known for his feminine approach and the story of the courtesan is told from her point of view – erotic without being pornographic, violent without any graphic gore, the photography is tied into the story’s dramatic purpose without exaggerated touches.” Her display of vicious coldness was simply amazing Chor Yuen, director, on Betty Pei Ti’s performance in Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan The film features two femme fatale characters, and both actresses are convincing in roles which could have easily become caricatures. Lily Ho – a Hong Kong “It girl” whose glamorous looks were sometimes described as perfect – was one of the city’s best-loved stars, but did not balk at taking on the role of a murderous lesbian killer. It was, after all, the early 1970s, and sexual liberation and sexual experimentation were all the rage. Ho’s Ainu is the ultimate embodiment of sex as a weapon, and she is supremely confident in her power over men, both inside and outside the boudoir. “The camera loves Lily Ho,” Sek Kei wrote in Ming Pao . “She plays the courtesan, in all her heavenly beauty, seeking vengeance using the malign power of love … the film represents a rebellion mounted by women humiliated and mistreated by a patriarchal society that perpetuates male dominance.” Betty Pei, as the sadistic, man-hating madame who enjoys seeing those around her suffer, is strong in a demanding role for a relatively inexperienced actress. Pei, who was born in Taiwan like Ho, was hired by Chor when he spotted her in a visiting song and dance troupe. Chor had to work hard to convince Shaw boss Run Run Shaw that Pei was good enough for the role. “Her display of vicious coldness was simply amazing,” Chor remembered in 2004. The script by Chiu Kang-chien, who later wrote Hong Kong classics such as Stanley Kwan’s Rouge and Ann Hui On-wah’s Boat People , had been gathering dust at Shaw Brothers for some time before Chor found it. Anita Mui’s death, nude shock for designer: Brigitte Lin looks back “ Intimate Confessions was a brilliant script that gave me many messages and inspirations,” Chor writes in the Hong Kong Film Archive’s book Director Chor Yuen . “Back then, new recruits [at Shaw] like me would be given a pile of ‘bottom scrap’ scripts from which to choose our projects.” “I chose Intimate Confessions because I liked the idea. You would never expect that love would be such a powerful weapon to exact vengeance. I built the whole film around this idea. “When Lily Ho exacted her revenge it was by erotic love – by making love to her enemy and killing the old men,” Chor said. “At the end, when Betty Pei kills Lily Ho, it was also by means of love.” Chor had shot his first martial arts film, Cold Blade , in 1970. After Intimate Confessions , he filmed well-known Hong Kong social drama The House of 72 Tenants in 1973, before moving on to direct a long-running series of wuxia films adapted from the new wave martial arts novels of Gu Long for Shaw. Many of the elements that characterised the look and content of his Gu Long adaptations, such as an interest in detectives and the lush and picturesque studio sets, are present in Intimate Confessions . Martial arts trivia fans can note that two major Hong Kong choreographers of the future, Tony Ching Siu-tung and Corey Yuen Kwai, are credited as extras in the action scenes, which were choreographed by Simon Chui Yee-ang, who also choreographed 1971’s female-oriented wuxia The Deaf and Mute Heroine . In this regular feature series on the best of Hong Kong martial arts cinema, we examine the legacy of classic films, re-evaluate the careers of its greatest stars, and revisit some of the lesser-known aspects of the beloved genre. Read our comprehensive explainer here . Want more articles like this? Follow SCMP Film on Facebook