Director Ang Lee made Tony Leung Chiu-wai study the performances of Marlon Brando in Last Tango in Paris (1972), Humphrey Bogart in In a Lonely Place (1950) and Richard Burton in Equus (1977), to give him a sense of wounded masculinity, which Lee felt was right for the character of Mr. Yee.
Ang Lee said that directing the explicit sex scenes in this film was more difficult than directing the complicated fighting scenes in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000).
The rather explicit sex scenes were shot over eleven days on a closed set, with only the main camera and sound personnel present.