Text: Chasing Shadow Boys
Independent film critic, member of Tencent's seventh group
"Chivalrous Girl", released in 1971 and directed by Hu Jinquan , is regarded as a classic of martial arts movies. The "Bamboo Forest Showdown" in the film is a classic paragraph of martial arts movies . It is said that it took 25 days to shoot in just ten minutes . Its lens editing and stunt design were extremely innovative and creative at the time, and later "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "House of Flying Daggers" were inspired by and paid tribute to it.
The film was filmed for three years, and it was released in two episodes. Compared with the huge amount of NT$14 million that was spent on the three antique streets and the old 100 old houses built during the filming, and the more than 1,200 technicians involved, the box office was not as good. Ideal, three years later, the director re-cut a three-hour condensed version and sent it to the Cannes Film Festival, and finally won the Best Technology and Visual Effects Award , and sold the European copyright to make up for the loss, and he became the first A Chinese director who won an award at Cannes, his martial arts films have attracted worldwide attention.
I watched the 4K restored version from 2014. The whole film is nearly three hours long. At the beginning, the shadow of Akira Kurosawa can be seen. Through the lens of panning and pulling, it explains the desolate and dilapidated environment of Jinglu Tun Fort and General Zhenyuan Mansion. The atmosphere, and the spider in the corner of the grass slowly approached the moth entangled in the web through the cloth net, which established the chilling atmosphere and exciting rhythm tone of the film from beginning to end. It also has a distinct 70's film language.
The photography and aesthetic composition of the whole film are carefully used. A large number of upward shots are used to highlight the images of the characters. The shots of pushing, pulling, following, throwing, and raising and lowering give the audience a timely panoramic view. The subtle expressions and movements of the characters, As well as the relationship between people, there is always a sense of rhythm and rhythm that step by step, step by step, and the characters in the film look at the scorching sun from time to time. The camera switching and montage effect can still clearly see Kurosawa Akira and Western films. Impact.
The director is good at using the surrounding environment to set off the atmosphere, such as the swaying bamboo forest and reed bushes to increase the tension of the fight, as well as the picturesque landscape, empathizing with the scene , all of which are extremely clever and ingenious methods, so the film is full of Unique dilapidated style, strange and steep painting and oriental artistic conception.
Director Hu Jinquan is considered to have successfully integrated traditional Chinese opera and stage art with film skills, and has a unique style. I would say that the films at that time could not be completely separated from the influence of opera. After all, films should be related to opera. A completely different new art form, a few clever grafting and borrowing can increase the novelty, but the traces on the stage can be clearly seen from the expressions and behaviors of the characters, which is too exaggerated and rigid.
On the contrary, there are too many opera elements and traces of stage performance , which makes it easy for the audience to play, and even make people laugh... There are also many loopholes and limitations in the play. For example, many fights are light, The other party kept staggering backwards, and even fell to the ground, and Master Huiyuan gently snapped his fingers, and the dagger was broken into two pieces, and a palm on his forehead flew far away, and his eyes were full of gold stars... It seems like a child's play, like playing a house like a child. Of course, the stunts at that time are generally understandable, but it doesn't have to be designed in this way; and why Menda has to go to the General's Mansion in Zhenyuan overnight, when it's dark and autumn, it's not automatically delivered to the door Well, how does that fit with Menda's cunning character? And Gu Xingzhai's smile at the end of the sky is really continuous laughing in the sky. It's too deliberate and exaggerated, and it really becomes a drama.
In the end, Master Huiyuan performed a miracle, with golden blood flowing from his body, he passed away and sublimated, and the sun just appeared on his head, outlining a perfect outline and exuding divine light, which was regarded by Western film scholars as full of Zen and oriental beauty , To say that this skillfully uses light and shadow effects and film skills, it is really ingenious. This is what the film is good at. In fact, the director of Huiyuan has a "Buddha Light" play after he bleeds gold. The director waited for 7 days until the sun was just right Behind the actors; including using a negative film to display another layer of double images to show the conscious picture of people going crazy, it should have been a very unique idea at the time, but the villain was finally shocked by the master monk, Miss Yang and Gu Xingzhai Flying far away to demonstrate the Dharma, and thus achieving the integrity of the self-justification and ending, can also be said to be a limitation in the play; while the Shaolin Temple seems to be a place outside the law, the Shaolin monks actually act as thugs, and have been used by later martial arts movies and dramas. Does the TV series continue to be used, and how consistent is it with the historical facts?
Some people may think that the evaluation should not be made in isolation from the environment and the background of the times. They think it is unrealistic, but I do not agree. To become a classic that transcends the era, of course, it must be able to transcend the limitations of time and era. Otherwise, why call it a classic Woolen cloth? According to the box office situation at the time, it may also explain some problems. Therefore, "Chivalrous Girl" should only be regarded as a part of the classic .
The chivalrous girl Yang Huizhen should be the absolute protagonist, but no matter from the choice of characters to the performances presented in the film, I feel that there is a lack of chivalry, and the characters are not unique enough. In fact, the characters are vague, but not as good as Gu Xingzhai came very impressive.
Gu Xingzhai's characters are full and rich, and Shi Jun's performances are flexible and changeable. He is a scholar who is full of economics and does not go to the township examination. He writes letters and portraits for people to talk about life. The so-called "Gouquan lives in troubled times, and does not seek information from the princes", but he is not indifferent to world affairs. Changes, who is coming to Nu Skin, what is their purpose... They are all extremely sensitive, but the world is not what he wants.
Later, I saw him recommending himself - he was familiar with the art of war since he was a child, enthusiastically helped Miss Yang in arranging troops and catching turtles in the urn. The next day, he looked up at the sky and smiled for a long time on the high wall. He dressed as if he called himself Zhuge Kongming. The hidden arrow mechanism and the dummy passed by pompously, as if they were inspecting the battlefield after victory, showing off their successful design works, complacent, not ordinary intoxication, they knew that they were not hidden masters, and even a little eager to try, so that some frivolous.
Of course, he didn't just show off, but he had a lot of affection for Miss Yang, so he worked so hard. Otherwise, how to say a woman, or a beautiful woman with a background, would make men flock to him, and her hormones would burst. Miss Yang treats this poor man like him For a scholar, it is simply a kind of charm, which makes him fascinated and even a little crazy.
Watching the night of mutual affection between him and Miss Yang carefully created by the film, that night, the moonlight was hazy, time was like water, Miss Yang sang on the piano, Gu Xingzhai sat on the ground, in this dilapidated courtyard house, also a pavilion , there are sparkling waves and moon shadows on the lotus pond. They lean on each other and hug each other... It seems to reflect a dream and illusion of a man's spring heart, or a delusion of the subconscious. There is no essential difference between the so-called derailed dreams of "Love Saint". The ancient brothel brothels, where the women are graceful and versatile, modern sexy and provocative, and chaotic adventures, are all a fantasy utopia.
In the early days of the movie , it was like a conjuration, as long as it created a dazzling and bluffing effect, the audience felt it was magical... For the audience, it was a magical existence, like a legend , but it could not be seen by the audience, such as Magic, it's meaningless to reveal the bottom. Of course, some stunts are too simple, and the audience is extremely forgiving. Just like watching puppet shows and folk juggling on the streets and alleys when they were young, they are just entertainment that everyone likes to see, so why bother?
Later, film became a new art form. It had to be squeezed into the elegant art palace, borrowed from literature, and the narrative techniques became more and more complex. It was no longer like opera, and was content to tell a simple folklore and story. Head...Compared with literature and novels, the history of movies is still very short . As director Ang Lee said, thanks to the advancement of computer special effects, AR and VR...technology, there are still many new possibilities for movies; but If it were all like a Hollywood sci-fi action blockbuster, where technology was just a dazzle , it was just a popular form of entertainment for street juggling, but the scene was moved to a luxurious or even luxurious modern theater, and everyone sat sanely. , there's nothing wrong with it, it's lighthearted, everyone is happy... but there is another kind of movie that touches people's hearts, reaches the depths of people's hearts, gives a glimpse of the depth of human nature and complex life, and follows Like the art of fiction that I love, in this way, the past can be reappeared between the light and shadow of the screen in the dark, and no longer disappear in vain.
Another day, look at other works directed by Hu Jinquan: "Drunken Man", "Empty Mountain Lingyu", "Painted Skin"...and "Dragon Gate Inn", Tsui Hark's "New Dragon Gate Inn" is based on it Adapted... Here, let's take a few paragraphs of other directors' evaluation of him:
I was very excited to watch his movies when I was a child, and it was very enjoyable to fight and kill. When I re-watched "The Legend of the Mountain" and "Chivalrous Girl", I couldn't get in at first, because its film language was already the language of the 1970s, but after I entered it slowly, I felt that it was very aesthetically complete. The grasp of the overall atmosphere and the restraint of movements amaze me very much.
——Director: Jia Zhangke
Hu Jinquan's films, let us keep going back to his martial arts world. Our directors today can use his things, which are more novel and creative than those imitating Western films.
——Director: Tsui Hark
I think Hu Jinquan's films are very neatly shot, and he is very familiar with the language of films. His requirements for the film: In addition to being a film, it is also a painting. He required every frame of the film to be a painting, and his visuals were beautiful, traditional, but poetic at the same time. But because it is too demanding to be like a painting, sometimes it will stop. He requires that every part and every link has a rhythm, and this rhythm comes from a piece of music that he thinks in his mind, so you will feel that the editing of his films is very successful, and there is a very strong sense of rhythm in music, Or a sense of rhythm... Hu Jinquan is very careful.
——Director: John Woo
The images created by Hu Jinquan and the others have an influence on me, not only the language of the film, but also the way of expressing emotions and the understanding of the film. It makes me think that Chinese films are like this, and China was like this in the past.
——Director: Ang Lee
The above evaluation comes from Baidu Encyclopedia
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