Liao Kang's
film history often reshoots previously filmed films, but it is rare to see two filmmakers adapting a popular work almost simultaneously. French writer Choderlos de Laclos is really lucky. His best-selling novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses, published in 1782, was banned for being "indecent", but it was moved by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1986. Reborn on stage. Subsequently, the Warner brothers, Warner Bros., took the lead and adapted it into the English film Dangerous Liaisons of the same name, which was produced in December 1988. Because of the strong lineup and the gathering of stars, he was a big success and received rave reviews. The newcomers in the film, Thurman Uma Turman and Reeve Keanu Reeves' later development in acting, also drove the star fans to turn their old films to recall the past. In contrast, Orion, another manufacturer, opened the scene earlier than Werner, spent 20 million US dollars more, invested 35 million dollars, and launched the "Flew over Cuckoo's Nest" One Flew over Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and "Mozart" Amadeus (1984), the world-renowned popular director Milos Forman, filmed on the spot in Europe, the exterior and the inside were more realistic, but for this reason, the progress of the filming was rarely accelerated. They got up early and caught up with a late episode, and only released their adaptation of the huge film "Falman" Valmont in November 1989. Its destiny really makes people sigh "birth is not at the right time"! Regardless of the box office or the reviews, "Falman" cannot be the same as "Fatal Love". However, comparing the two films, it is not difficult to see that although the performances have their own merits, and the soundtrack effect of "Fatal Love" is stronger, in general, "Falman" should be more skilled and not only meaningful. The story is good, the actors are appropriately assigned, the director is of high level, and the montage is used well.
The stories are all adapted from the same novel, with similarities and minor differences. How can one be better than the other? First of all, it depends on whether the adaptation can give full play to the vocabulary of the film, and what can be performed should be performed as much as possible, rather than being spoken out. "Falman" is straight to the point, the little girl Cecile de Volanges is going to marry Gercourt Rehegu, and he happens to be the secret lover of the widowed Marquise de Merteuil. This is from the show and it is impressive. There is also one of the most exciting dialogues in the film. The little girl asked the marquise to help find out who the person was going to marry; this not only reflected that the marriage of "parents’ order" had no love foundation, but also provided an excellent embarrassing scene. The marriage is highly confidential, which is the man's request, because he has to "get rid of the tricky lover first." But the marquise asked repeatedly, and the little girl's mother took her to meet him on a large social occasion. Of course we can think that he is the lover of the Marquise. But they didn't expect that they had to pretend not to know each other. When looking at each other, the little girl’s mother asked: "Oh, do you know?" The
marquise calmly asked her secret lover: "Do we know?" The
lover replied wonderfully: "If you remember that we know, then your memory It must be better than mine."
So the marquise said smoothly: "It seems we don't know each other." The embarrassment was so easily resolved.
This is really killing two birds with one stone. It not only shows the reason why the marquise wanted to retaliate against her lover, but also reflects the boringness and hypocrisy of the upper class before the French Revolution. How skillful these nobles used deception tactics! In the first ten minutes of the film, a few short shots also show the little girl’s trust in the marquise, her first love with the harp teacher, and the romantic charm of Vicomte de Valmont, Vicomte de Valmont, as well as his relationship with the marquise. The ambiguous relationship of the show. First of all, this is due to the script adaptation.
In "Fatal Love", the marriage between the marquise and her former lover was told by her to the Viscount Farmand and asked him to seduce the little girl in revenge. This kind of task-based narrative is too boring, and even the Americans are not familiar with these French names, and have not seen their faces, and may not understand their relationship for a while. This is not a detective film, so there is no need to be mystery. The lack of a harp teacher among the characters shown in the first ten minutes of the film is not a big problem. The point is that although there is one less character on the scene, the relationship between them is not explained clearly at the beginning. The relationship between the Marquise and the Viscount Falman is still barely known, but the other people just exist, and it cannot be said that their adaptations pale in comparison. There is another unreasonable part in the plot of "Fatal Love". The real target of the Viscount is Madame de Tourvel, who is shaped like a saint. Since she is a saint, how could she send someone to follow up on the Viscount's behavior? It turned out that this was to cooperate with the Viscount. The trick he wanted to use was to pretend to be affected by this saint and repent, re-behave, and use the spies sent by the saint to counteract the tricks. This kind of plot that violates the character of the character is so clumsy that I haven't seen other people criticize it. I don't know if I am ignorant, or the film critics have taken a blind eye?
Is the fabrication of this plot related to the selection of actors? Generally speaking, when making a movie, the script is written before the actors are selected. However, the filming of "Fatal Love" was rushed, and I dare not say that it was not done at the same time, and it is common to change the script during the filming. The saint-like Madame Torville is played by the great beauty Michelle Pfeiffer. Viscount Farmand is played by John Malkovich. Of course he is a good actor, but with his dignity, to seduce Fa Effie and be successful, in the words of "Washington Post" film critic Desson Howe, "You just believe it blindly." Maybe it is. It was because of her shameless appearance that the Viscount used a trick to make the saint feel that his behavior had inspired the prodigal son, allowing him to approach the saint, and finally drag her into the water. But in "Falman", the viscount is played by the young and handsome Faith Colin Firth. He doesn't have to rely on any tricks to seduce women, but rely on his own charm and obsession.
The actor of "Fatal Romance" is one size older than that of "Falman", a round older. Chris Glenn Close plays the Marquise, who is old and not pretty. This film needs the marquise's beauty, otherwise it is difficult to explain why the viscount still loves her. Thurman plays Cecil. Although glamorous, the role needs a naive 15-year-old girl who just came out of the monastery. Thurman was too big and too mature. The harp teacher is played by Reeve, who is too old and has no special features except for the silly head he combed. In "Falman", the marquise is Annette Bening, whose beauty is radiant and obvious to all. The little girl is Fairuza Balk, a 14-year-old Polk. She doesn't need to perform. She herself is the embodiment of innocence. She is in the stage of transition from a girl to a woman. The harp teacher is played by Thomas Henry Thomas. He once served as the protagonist in "Alien" ET. His childishness is becoming heroic, and the time is right! Many people think that Fa Effie in "Fatal Love" is a good choice, better than Meg Tilly in "Falman", and is more suitable for the role of Mrs. Torville. In the words of the film critic Rita Kempley: "If Fa Aifei is a saint, Dili is just a female teacher in Sunday class." This is a good point. Fa Aifei is a fine porcelain beauty, and his holiness makes the flute. Li was overshadowed. But the movie is not a beauty pageant, the actors have to serve the plot. After conquering the female teacher and returning to the banshee, it is not difficult to accept it logically. And the plot in "Fatal Love", you just believe it blindly.
No matter how much influence the actor's selection party has on the plot arrangement, the story of "Fatal Love" is obviously inferior to "Falman", the difference is that its characters have not changed. The marquise and the viscount are the incarnations of evil from beginning to end. There is still a moment of true feelings between them, but the treatment of others is unimaginably cruel. The marquise wanted to avenge her former love affair on her niece; the viscount, being such a half-old mistress, would abandon the saint who made him refreshed; both were quite reluctant. I can only say "They are so bad!" The others are also flat, and the harp teacher has not experienced any changes, as if they were born like this. He was used by the marquise to fight the sword with the viscount and beat him to death. The fuse of his duel was abrupt due to the lack of the emotional foundation with the little girl. The conscience discovery of the Viscount before his death can only be explained by "people are about to die, and their words are good." The only thing that has changed is the saint. The story of her alone is naturally credible, with the exception of the section on sending someone to inquire as mentioned earlier.
In contrast, the plot of "Falman" is much more reasonable, and the changes and development of the characters make me more interested. When the playboy Viscount Farmand played for the first time, the marquise saw that he was unkind to the little girl, so she immediately called him out and warned the Viscount not to hit her niece. Only after learning that her secret lover was going to marry a niece, and her self-esteem was humiliated, did she decide to avenge her. The Viscount is extremely boring, he is invincible all day long, is a cocoon in his heart, and a true lover. But after being played by the marquise, she saw the woman who had been abandoned by herself looking at him in the rain, and she couldn't help but be moved, showing compassion and lingering affection. After breaking his own custom of "Once conquered, leave immediately", he lost again and again. The harp teacher was a humble boy, but his eyebrows were full of vigor. He truly loved the little girl, and when their personal affair was exposed, he refused to hand over the love letter, showing courage and determination. After that, he practiced fencing and forced the marquise to write a letter, all paving the way for the final duel with the viscount. When he is finally captured by the marquise, it is not difficult to imagine that he will inevitably join in the foul after disillusionment. At the little girl's wedding, he and the two beauties were in good hands. Seeing that Falman was stabbed to death, another viscount-like playboy was created again. It is even conceivable that the viscount might have fallen like this. Cecil was originally an innocent little girl who couldn't fall in love. In the colorful world of Paris, under the tutelage of the marquise, and the temptation of the viscount, of course she had to change, and she naturally thought that marrying a rich man, raising a man, and then To be pregnant with another lover’s child is a normal condition of that society. Just as the marquise said, looking at her, I thought that they were all here in the past.
The performance is inseparable from the director. In "Fatal Romance", Chris and McCovitch showed the insidiousness and ruthlessness of the hero and heroine to the fullest. It is obviously not their fault to create such a single character. It should be said that their performance fully reflects the director's intention. Obviously, the director Stephen Frears, who is known as a "political critical film" in the UK, aims to highlight the darkness and cruelty of human nature such as fraud, control, conspiracy, and revenge, but the illustration goes too far. Especially at the end of the film, a failure was dragged, and all aristocratic audiences in the opera house stood up and cursed the marquise. It seems that evil is rewarded, but in fact, it weakens the criticism of society. It seems that her evil deeds are just a different phenomenon, far inferior to the end of "Falman": at the wedding, the bride is carrying her six daughters, in solemn music On the holy platform, the knowing old lady winked her eyes; the marquise stood behind the crowd, watching the fallen harp teacher flirting with others; her expression was complicated, with sarcasm and contempt, but also jealousy and sadness. The marquise portrayed by Banning is so rich and hierarchical, not blindly evil, blindly hateful. On the surface, she is always graceful and luxurious, with a lovely smile; in front of a little girl, she is always so cordial and trustworthy; in front of the viscount, she is often frivolous and charming, only once, when she plays with the viscount, let him see his latest trophies on the bed , And when she uttered the nasty words that caused them to fight, she smirked and changed her tone and appearance. A single personality may leave a deep impression on many people, but a plump image is true and credible. Unfortunately, not every actor can reproduce real characters like Banning. The Viscount played by Faith in "Falman", although the appearance is more in line with the plot needs than the Viscount in "Fatal Love", but the performance is not so colorful and fails to beat the purely portrayed by McCovitch. Evil incarnate. In general, due to the great work of director Forman, the characters in "Falman" are full and credible, with development and depth.
Almost everyone in the supporting roles in "Falman" performed better than those in "Fatal Love". Polk vividly interpreted the little girl's credulity, powerlessness, and lack of novice on the evil road. Thomas showed the firmness and courage of the harp teacher and his youthful spirit just right. Even the secret lover who has rarely appeared on the scene has an unforgettable indifference. On the contrary, fans of Thurman and Reeve will be disappointed in their performance in "Fatal Love." If you don't watch "Falman", you may think they are not satisfactory. But if you compare it a bit, you can see it right away. Especially the harp teacher played by Reeve, who is both silly and unlovable. You are so mediocre that you sigh that his performance improvement in Speed (1994) and Matrix (1999) is amazing! The Viscount’s aunt is impressive with her sleepiness and humor in "Falman", but in "Fatal Love", she is an ordinary old lady, but she suddenly says one of the most profound experiences in the film. , It is surprising. The only exception in "Fatal Love" is Fa Effie's outstanding performance as a saint. The better the person, the harder it is to act. Fa Effie’s measurement is just right, and with her natural beauty, she naturally shows the elegance of Mrs. Toller. When being impacted by emotions, he can fully show his pain, not tepid.
Another commendable achievement in "Falman" is the editing of the film, also known as montage. This transliteration has deceived many people. In fact, it is not that mysterious, but refers to the inheritance relationship between the lens (picture) and the combination of the lens. Since the film is a comprehensive art, its composition is not only the literary techniques of plot, logic, emotion, stream of consciousness, etc., but also many techniques such as sound, color, space, image, etc. can be used to create different sound and picture architectures. For example, the marquise just said to the little girl that widows cannot have lovers. As soon as the camera turned around, she received a tryst between the marquise and her secret lover, which formed a sharp contrast. After the little girl played the harp, she threw herself into her mother's arms. The applause of everyone then turned into the sound of running horses, and the horse-drawn carriage took the marquise to the countryside and a new story, which was a blend of sound. Before the marquise taught the little girl how to have a tryst with the harp teacher, it became an action to implement that strategy, using the separation of sound and picture to produce a concise narrative effect. Once the harp teacher finished his sword training indoors, he turned to the viscount and the little girl to play with branches instead of swords outdoors, and continue the plot through picture comparison. The Viscount’s aunt deliberately didn’t tell the Marquise what the Viscount had whispered to her. She said that she was deaf and couldn’t hear clearly. Then the deafening horseshoes and music popped up. The Viscount galloped, wade through the forest, and chased his "prey", semantics and acoustics. In contrast, the sound and picture alignment creates a special artistic effect. The editing of "Falman" can be seen everywhere, and it can be used as a teaching model.
In contrast, the editing of "Fatal Love" is very ordinary, but in general, the music and sound configuration seem to be more appropriate, and the effect is stronger. There is only one shortcoming. The singing voice sung by a middle-aged tenor on the screen is obviously a mezzo-soprano. In the eighteenth century, in order to maintain a childish voice, male artists did not hesitate to perform castration operations. In order to reproduce their singing voice, it is feasible to substitute mezzo soprano or soprano, but it can be done better. For example, it was used seamlessly in the movie Farinelli, the eunuch singer Farinelli. But the tenor in "Fatal Romance" didn't even match his mouth with the singing voice. It was too awkward!
I also watched "Fatal Romance" first, and found it very good. The two vicious screen images and the loss of a saint left a very deep impression on me. But after reading "Falman", I understood what a master's masterpiece is. As a time-sensitive commodity like the movie, "Falman" missed business opportunities and lost to "Fatal Love." But as a DVD, "Falman" is a work of art that can be watched, appreciated, and studied repeatedly, and it will surely become a classic teaching material for the film school. With its light, "Fatal Love" will also be mentioned as a foil.
March 31, 2005
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