"Prison Storm 3" is a drama film directed by Lin Lingdong and starring Chow Yun-fat, Xu Jinjiang, Chen Songyong, etc., and is the third part of the "Prison Storm" series. The film was originally scheduled to be released in 2021, but because of the sensitive subject matter and bloody content, it failed to pass the censorship and was forced to be removed from the shelves, and it was not able to meet the audience.
The Prison Storm series is a classic in the history of Hong Kong cinema, set in a prison, showing the grievances between prisoners and prison guards, and the world of black and white reversed. Both the first and second installments were huge successes, with high box office and word-of-mouth, and are hailed as the originators of prison films. The third part was originally intended to continue the glory of the previous work and meet the expectations of the audience, but it encountered unexpected difficulties.
It is reported that the plot of the third part is that Ah Zheng and Silly Biao cooked Ghost Sorrow and Zhang Yaoyang together, and they were banned because they were too bloody and brutal 5. In addition, the film also touched on some sensitive political and social issues, such as the return of Hong Kong, prison reform, and the human rights of prisoners, which were not allowed by the censors at the time. Therefore, the film is considered to be inconsistent with the core values of socialism, not conducive to social stability and harmony, and not suitable for release on the mainland.
Although the film has a certain market in Hong Kong and Taiwan and other regions, considering that the mainland is the largest box office**, as well as copyright and distribution issues, the producers finally decided to abandon the film's release plan and permanently remove it from the shelves and no longer release it. This also made many viewers who were looking forward to the film feel regretful and disappointed.