Korean Film Industry VS Hong Kong Film Craftsman

Eldon 2022-04-20 09:02:30

The day before yesterday, I watched the newly released Korean film "Top Secret Tracking", an action film about the police elites of the "special crime group surveillance class" confronting high-IQ robbers. The whole film is compact, delicate and progressive, showing the super memory and eyesight of the tracking masters vividly and vividly.

In short, it's beautiful!

This film is a remake of the 2007 Hong Kong Galaxy Film's "Tracking". Out of curiosity, I re-watched this debut film directed by You Naihai (John To's queen screenwriter) yesterday.

Seeing two faces of the same story within 24 hours is very refreshing. This made me more and more aware of the position of the "screenwriter" - although we are often unable to do anything about the final effect of the film, it can't hide the pivotal role of the plot setting.

In a nutshell, the good-looking Korean version is basically due to "advanced technology"; while the moving Hong Kong version is because it finally falls on "people".
One for money and one for heart.

Below is a brief comparison of the two films.

From the 5 most intuitive angles, from the shallower to the deeper: appearance, scene, photography, details, and script.

(Be careful of spoilers)

1. In terms of appearance (actor)

, the choice of the male lead is equally indistinguishable from Korea and Hong Kong (Leung Ka Fai VS Zheng Yusheng; Ren Dahua VS Xue Jingqiu). They are all handsome and tasteful. But in terms of heroines, hey, the Korean version of Han Hyo-joo is cool and trendy, capable and gentle coexist. The more you look, the more eye-catching... But the Hong Kong version of the female pig's feet, Xu Zishan, is extremely ordinary, and can't be recognized on the street at all.

Director You Naihai did it on purpose. Shortly after the opening, he asked Ren Dahua to make a sharp comment: "You look stupid, you don't look like a policeman. You are more suitable for tracking."
Therefore, her nickname, "Pig Girl", runs through the whole film. piece.

The orientation of the casting reflects the difference in the positioning of the two versions - the Korean version is more eye-catching and more commercial; the Hong Kong version is more realistic and more marketable.

The first round should have been a draw. But because I'm horny, Korea leads 1-0.

2. Scene

There is no doubt that at the production level, the Korean version of "Top Secret Tracking" is a full-scale upgrade of the Hong Kong version. A lot of speeding, blasting, close combat, the scene scheduling and rhythm are not inferior to Hollywood, and even a little "Bourne Bourne" series. On the other hand, in the Hong Kong version, there are signs of "I have no money" everywhere.

For example, the Hong Kong version Liang Jiahui only stood on the roof of the 10th or 20th floor when he directed the "robbing a jewelry store", while in the Korean version, Zheng Yusheng stood on the top of a skyscraper, overlooking the entire street scene, commanding from a high-rise building. "Robbery of the big banks";

Although these are just throwing money, it still expands the pattern of the film to a certain extent. Just imagine, if "Titanic" was just a small cruise ship with 300 passengers, would that love be so heroic?

In the second round, South Korea overwhelmed Hong Kong, leading 2-0. 3. The two hard indicators of

photography/editing , the Korean version is absolutely completed to a high standard.

There is a sense of tension in the film. In some speeding scenes and falling buildings, the camera is even placed directly on the car or the person, allowing the audience to experience the first perspective of the sky and the earth, and the sense of substitution is very strong. In addition, even if you don't understand editing at all, you can clearly feel that the Korean version of the scene is far more fragmented than the Hong Kong version.

Later, when I checked the news, the Korean version of the propaganda party actually called out the gimmick of "big data photography" - "There are more than 600 staff members working in different departments at the same time and nearly 100 cameras in various locations are engaged in uninterrupted shooting; From more than 1,000 hours of shooting material, a few minutes of footage were found and screened, and the editing team made a few seconds of the first cut version on this basis..."

This battle was a convincing defeat. In the third round, South Korea took a 3-0 lead.

4. Details

On the basis of the original work, the Korean version has carefully designed many effective details to enhance the splendor of many plays - the

first is the display of the sense of space.
Team tracking, first of all, is to emphasize a "location relationship". How to clarify the sequence of the interlaced and complex streets and the alternating relays is a challenge.

The Korean version used two tricks-

The first is "aerial photography + stunts". Looking down at the overall situation from a commanding height, using special effects to add everyone's position, so it is clear at a glance.

Then there is "map + doll". The monitoring team leader has a map of the streets, unfolded during the action, and then put down dolls representing each member of the action at each intersection. Isn't it clear at a glance?

That's what good tools do.

So on the whole, the Korean version made "how to track and schedule" more intense, clearer and easier to understand. Highlights the core point of view of the subject.

In addition, the Korean version designed two props for the villain robbers - a countdown timer and a killing pen.

Robbers need precise timing when performing their missions. In the Hong Kong version, Leung Ka Fai could only watch the countdown of the electronic watch without sound effects. The Korean version, on the other hand, is replaced by a physical stopwatch. After pressing the timer, there is a crisp "tick, tick, tick", which makes the atmosphere a lot tense. The stopwatch of Jiang Wen in "Flying").

The second is the "magic pen". The villain Zheng Yusheng's murder tool is a pen, as long as it stabs the opponent's neck artery hard, it can kill people. With the help of this pen, the villain has the dual characteristics of "gentleness" and "killing without blinking", which is even more strange under the strong contrast.
——As the saying goes, "Don't be afraid that hooligans will crack down on counterfeiting, just be afraid that hooligans have culture."

In the fourth round, South Korea led 4-0.

5.

Since the whole story is copied from the Hong Kong version and not original at all, the Korean version will lose two points first.

But objectively speaking, the Korean version is superior in shaping the villain.

The first is ruthless terror.
The film begins to lay out Zheng Yusheng's ruthlessness very early - beaten up his subordinates who didn't listen to his command, almost killing him; neatly killed the innocent who found him committing the crime; killed his own behind-the-scenes BOSS as if he was in a no-man's land...
When the audience sees this, the terrifying impression of "death to the close" is completely established. Worried for the safety of every police officer who approached him.

Then there is a sense of high intelligence.
The first is the props, a monocular, which gives him a commanding sense of control; the second is the display of the work process before planning the case - a wall of planning notes, and the rehearsal of the crime process in his mind, so that this person's work process is displayed. Meticulous and cautious emerge on the screen.

Courageous, terrifying!

Compared to this point, the Korean version leads by a big score of five to two.

I thought that the Hong Kong version was completely destroyed this time. Until I saw the end of the Hong Kong version -

Ren Dahua clutched the aorta in his neck and fell slowly, with blood flowing like a stream, and gradually weakened. The pig girl arrived, but was asked to leave him alone, and hurried to chase the murderer-she once lost the murderer because of saving people (this point is emphasized more clearly in the Hong Kong version than in the Korean version). She was in a dilemma, and finally decided to give up the team leader and brave the rain to find the murder.

When the others heard the group leader's convulsions, they could do nothing but remind him to keep talking and tell a joke (he usually tells jokes to relieve everyone's boredom). The team leader used his last breath to tell a joke that alluded to his own situation... And the pig girl was lost again in the vast rain curtain. The film has repeatedly emphasized that it is common for people to be lost without a problem. The pig girl is lonely and helpless, falling into final despair.

But the fate is normal. After the rain, the pig girl found the murderer, and the team leader breathed a sigh of relief.

In these few minutes, the rhythm is deliberately slowed down, trying to convey a sense of despair, and the humor under the shroud of death is a huge contrast, making people even more desperate. It can be said to hang the audience's emotions and let us see the director's feelings and interests.

And the same is the monitoring team leader was stabbed by the villain, life and death are at stake. However, the Korean version played a tricky trick - the team leader hid a few books around his waist and was not seriously injured, and the medical team arrived quickly to save people and resolve the crisis.
So at the end of the Korean version, only the wonderful, lively, and well-made look and feel are left. Not only is it not touched at all, but also I don't know what the director wants to express.

Just for this point, the Hong Kong version earned two points back.

When I first saw the Korean version, there were still some inexplicable scenes - for example, a scene was used to show that the heroine had good intentions in her heart, and did not obey orders to save people, but there was no echo below (the Hong Kong version gave "Recognize the kidnapper" The team leader inexplicably told a joke to the team members, and finally brought it to the team after the crisis was over... After reading the Hong Kong version, I realized the original intention of the screenwriter.

This is a typical example of "copying the bridge, but not copying the intention". The Korean version lost another point.

Since then, the Korean version VS Hong Kong version, five to five, tied.

After so much talk, I just want to hypnotize myself and emphasize the importance of the script. No matter how well-produced, no matter how good-looking the actors, no matter how grand the investment, it still needs a good story to back it up.

Otherwise, the industry will be won, but the sentiment will be lost.

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(For reprint, please indicate the author: Kung Fu Charlie, WeChat account kungfucharlie)

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