Pearl of Oriental was never going to live up to the salacious artwork that adorns the laserdisc release (a contender for one of the best sleeves from that era), however, if you lower your expectations, fans of cheap CATIII HK cinema may still find something of interest here.
Kent Tong plays Tony, an ambitious ladies man who has recently returned from the United States to set up his own business in HK and settle down with his girlfriend, Sandy (Chan Wing-chi).
Sandy's youthful and attractive step-mother, Madam Lo (Rena Otomo), is head of Lo Enterprises, a successful corporate firm. She also owns a prize-winning racehorse called 'Lucky' - the 'Pearl of the Oriental' from the title.
Melvin Wong is a shareholder of Lo Enterprises, who conspires with Madam Lo's associates to seize control of the business by a number of ruthless and under-handed tactics. Tony, in the meantime, turns out to be a love rat which causes friction between Madam Lo and her step-daughter, Sandy (who is also the heiress to the business).
Pearl of the Oriental is essentially a drama with some very spicy sex scenes thrown in to earn its CATIII rating. There's a very satisfying, well deserved knife to the crotch towards the end of the film, and the few sex scenes included are rather explicit and should satisfy CATIII hounds (e.g. Rena Otomo pleasures herself with a dildo, liberal doses of full frontal nudity and there's a sex party aboard a yacht complete with S+M and oral sex).
Chan Wing-chi was definitely one of the cuter CATIII associated actresses at the time and here, as well as getting naked, she also does a fine job with the film's numerous dramatic scenes. Heavyweights Ku Feng and Roy Cheung also appear in small but important supporting roles to add a touch of quality to the proceedings.
2 out of 5
Review source: RX Video, Laserdisc (Hong Kong) (Cantonese language with English subtitles)
Kent Tong plays Tony, an ambitious ladies man who has recently returned from the United States to set up his own business in HK and settle down with his girlfriend, Sandy (Chan Wing-chi).
Sandy's youthful and attractive step-mother, Madam Lo (Rena Otomo), is head of Lo Enterprises, a successful corporate firm. She also owns a prize-winning racehorse called 'Lucky' - the 'Pearl of the Oriental' from the title.
Melvin Wong is a shareholder of Lo Enterprises, who conspires with Madam Lo's associates to seize control of the business by a number of ruthless and under-handed tactics. Tony, in the meantime, turns out to be a love rat which causes friction between Madam Lo and her step-daughter, Sandy (who is also the heiress to the business).
Pearl of the Oriental is essentially a drama with some very spicy sex scenes thrown in to earn its CATIII rating. There's a very satisfying, well deserved knife to the crotch towards the end of the film, and the few sex scenes included are rather explicit and should satisfy CATIII hounds (e.g. Rena Otomo pleasures herself with a dildo, liberal doses of full frontal nudity and there's a sex party aboard a yacht complete with S+M and oral sex).
Chan Wing-chi was definitely one of the cuter CATIII associated actresses at the time and here, as well as getting naked, she also does a fine job with the film's numerous dramatic scenes. Heavyweights Ku Feng and Roy Cheung also appear in small but important supporting roles to add a touch of quality to the proceedings.
2 out of 5
Review source: RX Video, Laserdisc (Hong Kong) (Cantonese language with English subtitles)