This one goes under two titles; the other is THE SAD STORY OF SAIGON. It's a weird, mixed-up cross between Category III sex film and action thriller, and it's pretty low budget too. One thread has cop Sophia Crawford hunting down a pirate/customs official, while the other is about the Vietnamese boat people. The extremely explicit sex scenes are randomly shoehorned in and slow things down considerably, but the action scenes are okay. A pity that the story really is all over the place, though.
3 Reviews
Quite usual CAT-3 movie
Battledragon18 November 2007
As I summarized, Rape in public sea is quite usual cat-3 movie. It has all the aspects you can expect: lots of sex and violence and even more sex and violence. Plot is pretty simple too and easy to follow, there isn't many twists and turns there. Action sequences are, besides overwhelmed sex scenes, best that this movie can offer, there's some gunfights with bloody gunshot wounds and then there's nice kung-fu scenes (or what you can call them) too. Actors are all average, direction is fine, and there's really nothing wrong with the movie (if you are into this kind of stuff). There's also some disturbing rape scenes in the movie, which is kind of usual to cat-3 movies too. I know this movie is rarity, but it's worth seeking out for hardcore cat-3 fans. I'll give it a 7 out of 10!
Rape In Public Sea / Sad Story of Saigon (1993)
horseboxingkiller25 January 2022
Warning: Spoilers
The Sad Story of Saigon is better known by its more striking, alternative title of Rape In Public Sea. The film was re-edited with some additional sex scenes thrown in to capitalise on the CAT3 popularity at the time. Both versions of the film contain exclusive footage (the more common CAT3 Rape In Public Sea cut features more sex but less action) but for the purpose of the review, I'll focus on the Saigon edit which is arguably the more coherent of the two cuts.
A crooked customs officer, Yuen Wan Tai (Choi Jeong-Il), massacres a group of Vietnamese gun-runners aboard a trawler and takes a cache of weapons they were smuggling. Yuen has been making a fortune selling stolen guns to a local Hong Kong arms dealer, Lu Fang Chun (Shum Wai).
Back in Hong Kong, a close-knit community of Vietnamese immigrants led by Brother Nan (Lam Ching-Ying) are united, not only by their ethnicity but also by a common hatred for Yuen Wan Tai. Their families having either been killed or brutally oppressed by the cruel officer.
Meanwhile, Interpol agent Claudia (Sophia Crawford) is given the task of bringing Yuen to justice with the help of fellow agent, Alan (Jeff Falcon). We learn that Claudia also has a personal motive for taking the assignment. The two Interpol agents eventually join forces with Nan and his group to take down Yuen and Lu Fang Chun.
The Sad Story of Saigon is notable for both Jeff Falcon and Sophia Crawford having substantially more screen time than normal - so even though Lam Ching-Ying gets top billing, in my opinion, the gweilos steal the show! Jeff and Sophia go up against some thugs in a car park in a brief but crisp fight (which is cut from the Rape In Public Sea edit) which showcases both of their considerable talents well. Similarly in the finale, Jeff Falcon takes on four baddies at once on a rooftop in dazzling fashion (if a little undercranked).
The showdown is solid if unspectacular with all remaining cast members getting in on the action. It was nice to see Hon Gwok Choi, normally confined to playing goofball characters, in a more or less straight role here. Overall, there's a good balance of gunplay and hand-to-hand action on display along with a few brutal scenes e.g. Sophia Crawford takes quite a nasty beating while being held captive and there's decent hanging scene near the start of the film which I found quite effective.
The choppy editing leaves large plot gaps in both versions of the film, and while neither version can be considered essential viewing, the Sad Story of Saigon cut edges it for me for having more action.
3 out of 5
Review source: Tai Seng, VHS (USA) (Cantonese language with English subtitles)
A crooked customs officer, Yuen Wan Tai (Choi Jeong-Il), massacres a group of Vietnamese gun-runners aboard a trawler and takes a cache of weapons they were smuggling. Yuen has been making a fortune selling stolen guns to a local Hong Kong arms dealer, Lu Fang Chun (Shum Wai).
Back in Hong Kong, a close-knit community of Vietnamese immigrants led by Brother Nan (Lam Ching-Ying) are united, not only by their ethnicity but also by a common hatred for Yuen Wan Tai. Their families having either been killed or brutally oppressed by the cruel officer.
Meanwhile, Interpol agent Claudia (Sophia Crawford) is given the task of bringing Yuen to justice with the help of fellow agent, Alan (Jeff Falcon). We learn that Claudia also has a personal motive for taking the assignment. The two Interpol agents eventually join forces with Nan and his group to take down Yuen and Lu Fang Chun.
The Sad Story of Saigon is notable for both Jeff Falcon and Sophia Crawford having substantially more screen time than normal - so even though Lam Ching-Ying gets top billing, in my opinion, the gweilos steal the show! Jeff and Sophia go up against some thugs in a car park in a brief but crisp fight (which is cut from the Rape In Public Sea edit) which showcases both of their considerable talents well. Similarly in the finale, Jeff Falcon takes on four baddies at once on a rooftop in dazzling fashion (if a little undercranked).
The showdown is solid if unspectacular with all remaining cast members getting in on the action. It was nice to see Hon Gwok Choi, normally confined to playing goofball characters, in a more or less straight role here. Overall, there's a good balance of gunplay and hand-to-hand action on display along with a few brutal scenes e.g. Sophia Crawford takes quite a nasty beating while being held captive and there's decent hanging scene near the start of the film which I found quite effective.
The choppy editing leaves large plot gaps in both versions of the film, and while neither version can be considered essential viewing, the Sad Story of Saigon cut edges it for me for having more action.
3 out of 5
Review source: Tai Seng, VHS (USA) (Cantonese language with English subtitles)
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