New Dragon Inn is a master of martial arts genre films.
After sixty years of ups and downs in the martial arts film (the Red Lotus Temple was set on fire in 1928), from the moment the film was born, both literary and martial arts have reached a peak. This is the result of the cooperation between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and the three places. It is also the product of the concerted efforts of three generations of filmmakers, old, middle and young, and it is also the critical point for the perfect integration of traditional concepts and new technologies.
1. Source flow
New Dragon Inn is a remake of the famous film Dragon Inn, directed by Hu Jinquan. The latter was Director Hu's first film in Taiwan to join the Federation. When it was released in October 1967, it caused a sensation in Hong Kong and Taiwan and became the box office champion in both places. Due to the special historical period of 1966 and 1967, the story of Xiao Shaozi (Jinzi) after he rescued Zhongliang was fabricated based on the historical facts of the unjust death of Yu Qian in the "Ming Dynasty". The new version of the Minister of War, Mr. Yang Yuxuan, is Yu Qian, the Minister of War of the Ming Dynasty, and Yu Shaobao. The prototype of Cao Shaoqin is the great eunuch Cao Jixiang.
According to the memory of the actor Shi Jun, Xiao Shaozi's prototype is Xiao Zi (Jin Zi), who is an official worshiper of the Chinese Army and has a legend in the history of the Ming Dynasty. Xiao Zi resigned due to the unjust case of Yu Qian, and protected Yu Qian's descendants all the way to join the army. Hu Dao once specifically confessed to Shi Jun:
"In the process of protecting Yu Qian and his party, it reflects the characteristics of a literati commander."
Xiao Shaozi is also Zhou Huaian after the remake. Although he has extraordinary skills, although he is in the wind, these are not the core characteristics. The most attractive trait in him is his innate bookishness, which is the standard "Confucian scholar" image in Hu Jinquan's mind. (figure 1)
The original title of the film is "Chongjun". Looking back at the prototype of the story, it can be found that Longmen continues the "wild boar forest" mode. The most talked about passage in Water Margin is the process of Lu Zhishen escorting Lin Chong from thousands of miles away. There are bright lines and dark lines in this process, and the two sides of the contradiction are bound together. From a modern perspective, it is an excellent theme for road films. In the second half, Yan Qing escorted Daguan Lu, which was the same pattern. The former is a rude man who saves his friends with justice, and the latter is a righteous servant and savior. Both are based on personal feelings. Xiao Shaozi escorted Zhongliang's descendants. Although personal feelings also played a role, it was more out of political sympathy. On top of "family hatred", there was "national hatred". On the first floor, the intention seems to be higher.
The innovative invention of "Dragon Gate Inn" is also to expand the description of the inn, and concentrate the outbreak of conflicts and the final solution to the inn to write. Hu Jinquan was obsessed with the study of Lao She, and said that Longmen's creation was inspired by "Tea House", and then Master Zeng said:
"I have always felt that the ancient inns in our country, especially the inns in the wilderness, are really the most dramatic places. There are few places where time and space can be concentrated like this, and all conflicts may break out here."
The success of "Dragon Inn" also accidentally brought "Dongchang", such a notorious spy organization, and thus became famous at home and abroad. According to Hu Dao's own recollection: "At that time, 007 was selling for money, because 007 was a spy, how could a spy kill like a mustard? The influence was not good. So I wanted to shoot an anti-spy, and Dongchang or something came. Kai, dozens of plays are from Dongchang or something (laughs)."
An interesting digression. Just as "Dragon Inn" became a hit, Mr. Jin Yong's "Swordsman" (from April 20, 1967 to October 12, 1969) was also serialized in Ming Pao. The iconic setting of the former, the final boss is a big eunuch of the East Factory, does it provide a reference for the image concept of the latter's undefeated East? unknown. Of course, the former is set in the Ming Dynasty because of its background, and it is logical to point the finger at the eunuch of the East Factory. The latter further excavated the special phenomenon of "eunuch" on this basis, and produced a more unique cultural image, which has surpassed the martial arts movie giant itself.
2. Behind the scenes
Sometimes I have to sigh about the injustice of the world. Those who are ordinary often die silently, and those who are extraordinary are even born an anomaly.
The Xinlongmen Inn has gone through many twists and turns just preparing for the shooting, the most incredible of which is the rush to shoot. Wu Siyuan personally recalled this matter, and it must not be false. The producer of this film is Siyuan Pictures, and Wu Siyuan is the main driving force behind the film (by the way, Wu is also the director of Eagle Claw Iron Cloth Shirt).
According to Wu's recollection, at the beginning of the filming, from the idea of the script, to finding a director, seeking co-stars, various preparations, and finding Hu Jinquan to obtain the copyright, everything was busy at seven or eight o'clock, when Cai Ziming suddenly announced that he would take it with a knife Love. At that time, Cai Ziming was Jet Li's agent, and he was preparing to show off his skills. He planned to have Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh as the male and female protagonists, and Mo Shaocong as the eunuch of the East Factory. Even the makeup photos were taken (Figure 2).
He worked hard for a long time and made wedding dresses for others. Wherever Wu Siyuan was willing, he sought help everywhere. However, Cai's power was extremely powerful, and it failed. Just when there was no way to go to heaven and no way to go to earth, things took a three-hundred and sixty-degree reversal. One day, Mr. Wu negotiated with the co-producer in the hotel and made a final struggle. Just when the negotiation was in a dead end and was powerless to return to the sky, he suddenly received a call from his sister, saying that Cai Ziming had been shot dead by random guns just after seeing the news broadcast.
Wu recalled:
"So when I heard it, I was surprised and amused. I also said that they shouldn't think that I hired someone to fight. I think there should be an axiom in this world. I went over and told the two gentlemen that we would also Stop arguing, I just got a call, your friend Mr. Cai was shot to death. Wow, their faces turned white. "
It's so strange, so coincidental, that it's enough to make a drama. As for Jet Li's style as Zhou Huai'an, fans can only experience it in 2011's "Dragon Gate Flying Armor" (Zhao Huai'an).
Fans who are familiar with Hong Kong's film history can also find that before the remake of Dragon Inn, Tsui Hark and Cheng Xiaodong's "Swordsman 2 The Undefeated in the East" has been released. When the "Swordsman 1" was filmed before, the old monster Xu and Hu Jinquan broke down, and now the old monster wants to get involved in Director Hu's famous work, how can you bear it? Therefore, all the main characters in the film have used new names, and the official director has also become Li Huimin. All these are also a strategy of compromise in the middle?
Perhaps, it is because of the various turmoil in the filming process that the final film is full of murderous and startling tone (Figure 3). Fortunately? Evil?
3. Adaptation
The adaptation of the old and new Dragon Inn is not big. Probably because the three-stage plot of the original work, "charge the army, invest in the store, and fight in the field" is perfect enough, so the main frame has hardly been adjusted. Only a lot of fragrant dramas were added to adjust the taste. After all, there was a gap of thirty years between the two editions. Over the past 30 years, the film industry has undergone tremendous changes. The lens, rhythm, taste, and values have all been turned upside down.
The most outstanding is the brand-new character, the black shop owner's wife, Jin Xiangyu, whose charming but also loves money like a life, is vividly interpreted by Maggie Cheung. For this role, Maggie Cheung even nominated Golden Horse and Golden Statue for Best Actress. The counterattack of Jin Xiangyu (including the Green Snake's counterattack against the White Snake in 1993) reflects the great changes in the values of both genders. The dignified and virtuous Zhengdan has gradually given way to the charming and charming Tsing Yi.
From the perspective of drama function, Brigitte Lin's Qiu Moyan is undoubtedly the real one. It is because of the above reasons that Qingxia's passive participation. According to Tsui Hark's personal recollection, Qingxia's state at that time was that she needed every kind of request for any movie. Even in the later stage, an accident in the martial arts drama caused the eye mask to rupture and the film was not completed. The later scenes were all completed by Shi Yi, who was recruited by Wu Siyuan temporarily and looked like Qingxia.
On this basis, after appreciating some "dissonant" adjustments in the plot, we can vaguely detect the director's "seeking for supplements" mentality. For example, at the beginning of the film, Qiu Moyan made his first appearance in the scene where he intercepted the hostages halfway. According to common sense, it should be the scene of the male protagonist Zhou Huaian. Because from the perspective of theatrical function, the first appearance should let the male protagonist show his skills and "stabilize the military spirit". It is neither possible nor necessary for a weak woman to stand alone in the three major positions of the East Factory. It is obviously a temporary change to the heroine.
In the final battle of Huangshazhong, the three faced Cao Shaoqin. According to the development logic of the plot, the one who died should be gold inlaid jade. One is because of the character setting of Jin Xiangyu, which has already taken care of her self-inflicted ending in the desert. Second, because of the emotional drama between Jin Xiangyu and Zhou Huai'an, it has been made clear that the two cannot be together no matter what. Although Jin Xiangyu is arranged to find Zhou at the end of the film, how can fans imagine the conflicting scenes of the two people being together in the end? Only embarrassing. This bitter scene was passed on to Qiu Moyan, why not a compromise?
Four, martial arts
Of course, the martial arts designs of the above two dramas are exciting enough to cover up the subtle inconsistencies in the plot just right. When the fans were amazed by Cheng Xiaodong's unrestrained "stream of consciousness" martial arts and the fast and sharp editing of the scene, they had already ignored the "abnormality" in the plot. Donnie Yen broke the matching knife, and with one move, Qiu Moyan retreated with a gesture of raising his hand, and vividly restored the heroic close-up of "picking leaves and hurting people" in martial arts novels. (Figure 4)
Perfect rhythm, this is the ultimate secret of Xinlongmen Inn, which is enough to disdain the crowd.
Cheng Xiaodong's martial arts design is completely different from Yuan Heping's. It does not pay attention to the routines of moves and confrontation logic. It is purely composed of editing and shot chaining, which is suitable for actors who do not know martial arts at all. Good-looking is good-looking, but the disadvantage is that once the trend is opened, real kung fu actors will lose the market and withdraw from the group collectively. After all, this kind of freehand martial arts design relies more on the creator's inspiration and understanding, and it is difficult for ordinary people to learn the essence. It can be said that "Those who are like me are vulgar, and those who learn from me are dead."
Like the three heroes fighting the evil prisoners in the yellow sand, except Donnie Yen, who is a martial arts star, the other three can't make one move and a half. This fierce battle should be the most gripping battle in the martial arts film. Every time I rewatch it, it is suffocating. (Figure 5)
In the end, Diao did not meet the outstanding soldiers, and cut Shao Zhen's hands and feet to only the skeleton, which highlighted the brutality of the fight, and further vilified the image of the big BOSS, which can be called a martial arts screen wonder. It is said that the idea came from Cheng Xiaodong himself, and it has been talked about by fans for a long time.
In fact, there was one such hidden "kitchen room" master in his early years. As early as 1971, in the first movie "Dragon and Eight Generals" produced by Golden Harvest, there was such a fat cupboard. In the early stage, he was weak and incompetent and showed his ability to be funny. In the end, he highlighted the strange soldiers and became the secret of defeating the big BOSS. Weapons, happened to be with Diao Fuyu.
Five, literary drama
Literary drama has a literary director, and martial arts has a martial arts finger. This is the original dual-track system of directors in Hong Kong martial arts, and it is also spawned by the unique world view of the Chinese. The two levels do not affect each other, and the production cycle is also guaranteed. This institutional advantage is perfected in this film. Martial arts are outstanding because of Cheng Xiaodong's slanted swordsmanship, and literary operas have reached their peak by integrating a hundred schools of thought.
"Duckweed wandering has no roots, don't ask the wanderer in the world."
"Come on, let's make a toast to this nameless year."
"People say that in troubled times, don't complain about children's love, but in troubled times, children's love is deeper."
Such meaningful and memorable lines can be said to be everywhere. There are elegant lines of crepe and crepe, but also a lot of rough style of the northwest, it can be said that the hardness and softness complement each other. Jin Xiangyu and Qiu Moyan took off each other's clothes. They were ridiculed.
"August 15th, the temple door is opened, and various candles are placed. The red candle is red, the white candle is white, I can't hold my little sister..." This reflects the customs of the north and south of the celestial dynasty, and it can also be regarded as naked. The satire of desire on posturing civilization. Turning his face to see Zhou Huai'an, who was riding alone, he put "Dragon Gate Inn" on his body, which was an amazing on-the-spot creativity.
Of course, the most rewarding play was the first meeting between Zhou Huaian and Qiu Moyan. The two sides stared from a distance on the corridor, their postures were unrestrained and romantic. A frown, a smile, and gestures are all the steps and shapes of traditional dramas. This scene is probably unprecedented in martial arts films.
6. Epilogue
The group stood up and paid tribute.
Private martial arts movie history top10
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