[thrandrall]

Yeah, CAT III is for the hard stuff (sex/violence)- traditionally from HK, but starting to show up more on the mainland as well.

A John Woo gangster film in the 80s/90s would be IIb, while something more extreme like Bio-Zombie or Men Behind the Sun would be considered Cat III. I think HK flicks with TF-lite content like Chinese Ghost Story and Mr. Vampire were at IIa. There are a lot of harder sexual comedies that have been coming out the last few years as well.

That said, I think in the mainland Chinese market we're not going to see much "interesting" content simply because they're aiming for as broad an audience as possible...and the Party censors are much more "sensitive".

Bride with White Hair was IIa originally (after edits) and the more recent "Painted Skin" (still on my list to check on for tf content) was IIb.