In the first episode of Hu Jinquan's "Chivalrous Girl", the chivalrous man and the chivalrous woman confronted the masters of Dongchang in the bamboo forest in the climax scene. It was no ordinary fight scene. They were twenty feet off the ground, tumbling and spinning in mid-air, occasionally coming face to face. The chivalrous woman jumped, like a spider interspersed between the bamboo forests, waiting for an opportunity to dive and kill the prey by surprise. In addition to the trapeze-like stunts, the filming and editing of this martial arts scene dared to use opaque techniques. Although the composition of each picture was carefully designed, the footage became fleeting after editing. The master's excellent martial arts I can only get a glimpse of it. The calculation of its infectious power is accurate. I believe that Eisenstein and Akira Kurosawa will also admire it.
Intellectuals tend to single out the lack of dialogue in popular films to justify their vacuousness, but they therefore ignore the content of the images. The boudoir dodging scene in "Knife Horse" and the trapeze-like scene in "Chivalrous Girl" are not of great significance. But the fun of watching many movies actually comes mainly from the pictures.
Makers of entertainment films use their imaginations within clear specifications, a process the Chinese call "carving." The pursuit of creativity at all costs can turn out to be a mess, but silent refinement of traditional techniques not only enriches the art form, but also sharpens the sensibility of the audience. What's more, the directors of popular films will also innovate: Hu Jinquan's editing method in "Chivalrous Girl" ignores the general requirements of camera connection and reshapes the tradition he inherited. Create your own crafting problems and solve them in a creative and sophisticated way that is absolutely understandable. This approach of popular movies and the unusual experiments of avant-garde movies can be said to have their own advantages and disadvantages.
Excerpted from " Secrets of Hong Kong Cinema "
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