Zhang Yimou's martial arts movie "House of Flying Daggers" has high aesthetic value, and even if the plot line is weaker, it will still leave a deep impression on the audience. During the viewing process, I was curious about the behind-the-scenes shooting of the movie, so I found the documentary "Flowers" and found that there are many stories behind the scenes.
About the actors:
"House of Flying Daggers" also included Anita Mui (playing the eldest sister Fei Daomen) in the original starring list. Unfortunately, Anita Mui passed away due to illness at the end of 2003 and missed the film forever. Director Zhang Yimou deeply deplored this. When Anita Mui was seriously ill, she repeatedly emphasized that she would not change roles and would insist on waiting for her, but it became an eternal regret. In order to express the crew's regret and respect for Anita Mui's trustworthiness, Zhang Yimou finally decided to temporarily revise the script, leaving the role of the eldest sister to Anita Mui forever. Before the shooting of the day, the director led all the staff to observe a minute of silence to pay tribute to this great actor.
During the filming of the film, a horse suddenly went into trouble while running in a straight line. Takeshi Kaneshiro was unable to dodge and fell from the horse, causing the left knee and two ligaments to be torn. After Takeshi Kaneshiro returned to the crew, six staff members lifted his wheelchair with bamboo poles to simulate the scene of horseback riding, thus supplementing the shot of him walking on horseback.
In the dance of "Fairy Men Guiding the Way", there are some vacant movements performed by male substitutes. Zhang Ziyi used coercion to lift her leg due to her poor flexibility, resulting in a strained ligament. (Not mentioned in the documentary)
Once when filming, Cheng Xiaodong was shot in the forehead by Jin Chengwu's arrow. Fortunately, Cheng Xiaodong's eyes were looking at the monitor when the good thing happened, otherwise he would not be able to keep his eyes.
About framing:
The crew bought local flower seeds in Ukraine and hired local flower farmers to sow the seeds. However, because no one fertilized and took care of them during the SARS period, Zhang Yimou discovered that the flowers were not growing well enough when they went to the local filming, far from meeting expectations. There was a wild flower in another location, and it was decided to shoot here temporarily, and some flowers were temporarily filled in by prop actors. (There was also an accident during the filming of "Red Sorghum". A contract was signed with a farmer to plant 100 mu of red sorghum. As a result, only 50 mu were available, and it was extremely thin and unattended.)
The ending of "House of Flying Daggers" originally took place in the colorful colors of autumn. Liu Zhaotou and Jin Zhaotou decided their final destiny. Unexpectedly, the snow season in Ukraine came early, so Zhang Yimou decided to change the ending to snow. , and highlights the bright red blood dripping in the white snow.
About the script:
The day before the start of the movie, the script was still not fully finalized, and the development of the plot has been under intense discussion.
About the director's philosophy:
If there is a lunch box, it means that there is work to do, and it is boring to work without work.
I cannot say that I am the best director in China, but I am definitely the most diligent director.
Making a movie is a complicated thing, so there's a fascination in that complicated process that appeals to me.
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