These backgrounds, many people know, but many more people are completely ignorant.
"Revisiting the Old 1942" is probably a piece of grass in Feng Xiaogang's heart. In 1994, Feng Xiaogang wanted to do this. Originally, he wanted to make a so-called pretending film, which is somewhat similar to the Chinese version of "Schindler's List", which is used for bragging. In 2000, when he really planned to make a comedy, Feng Xiaogang had already made some achievements. For the time being, he wanted to take advantage of the fact that he had just become famous and let outsiders understand that he could not only make comedies, but also films with realistic themes. (Including Feng Xiaogang's later filming of "The Banquet" also means this, to prove to the outside world, especially the foreign film and television circle, that he can also make so-called "blockbusters".) It is said that Feng Xiaogang and Liu Zhenyun also went to Henan to inquire about the past Unfortunately, in the end it was not made due to other reasons - so this film was planted in Feng Xiaogang's heart. According to Feng's private prosecution and calculations, it should be a few years later, probably around the time of "The Banquet", that his second plan to move the film, he also set up the basic team, but in the end it still didn't start.
Since then, "Revising the Old 1942" has not only become the grass in Feng Xiaogang's heart, but also the one that makes him the most itchy. He knows that it is the most impossible to shoot, but he always tries to get away with this work in vain. Move to the big screen.
Changes in circumstances are usually done inadvertently, first when Feng Xiaogang filmed "Assembly" and then "Tangshan Earthquake". The filming of "Assembly" made Feng Xiaogang officially from a grass-roots director to a film director recognized by the mainstream Chinese society. No matter how big Feng Xiaogang's films were before, no matter how big they were when they collided with Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, or even Zhou Xingchi's films, they didn't lose out or even outperformed at the box office, but at the level of Chinese management (I changed the words, Because I don't know what word to use, let's use the word management class for the time being), Feng Xiaogang will always be a person who can't be seen. On the day of the release of "Assembly", CCTV1's "Evening News" took 60 seconds to report positively, and this film officially turned Feng Xiaogang over. The subsequent "Tangshan Earthquake", although the artistic level did not reach the height expected by users, the record box office revenue, and the joint effect of this film and the 512 earthquake, once again contributed to Feng Xiaogang's "master" status. At the same time, during this period, "If You Are the One" 1 and 2 continued to maintain the effect of their comedy Lunar New Year and high box office and high reputation, making Feng Xiaogang's film prestige reach an unprecedented height. With the support of this background, "1942" officially entered the shooting cycle.
Abandoning the useless nonsense, this film called "1942" records a special scene of the drought in Henan in 1942, when China and Japan were fighting fiercely during World War II. I haven't read the original novel, but from the movie itself, I can give it an 8 out of 10. Among them, the quality of the film itself can be rated 6 points, and the extra 2 points is for Feng Xiaogang's courage to shoot such a work in today's environment (that is to say, if you are a foreign audience, watch this film The works will probably be considered "passable").
Let’s talk about the quality of the film first. There are multiple branches in the film, but in the real sense, there are only two lines, that is, one line for the owner’s escape from disaster, and one line for the then-KMT government. There are many lines on the Kuomintang government's side, including Chiang Kai-shek, Bai Xiude, Li Peiji, etc. The line of Dongjia's escape from disaster is more, but there are fewer branches. Chef Lao Ma is a branch. Obviously, Feng Xiaogang's intention in making this film is very clear. In the context of a big picture, the incident of the disaster in Henan is described separately from the macro (background) and micro (character) lines. From this point of view, although the line of the Kuomintang government is complicated, it basically explains the whole situation and form clearly. From everyone's standpoint, everyone did what they were supposed to do, such as Chiang Kai-shek, Bai Xiude, Li Peiji, corrupt officials who borrowed from the country's hardships to make a fortune, such as Henan Province who asked Li Peiji for money and food The actions of officials at all levels, such as the commanders of the Chinese army and the Japanese army. In the real sense, the line of the owner who tried to describe the epitome of the entire disaster, but the plot was thin. Because of the lack of storytelling... This is also the most flawed part of the movie I think, the storytelling of this movie is too bad - almost all audiences will be affected by marketing before watching the movie, knowing that this is the story The 1942 drought in Henan was also known to be related to "starvation to death". So the owner has come all the way. Judging from a logical point of view, it must be constantly starved to death to meet the "psychological expectations" of moviegoers watching this film. But in fact, the content of the film is really starved to death one by one, without too many skills and ups and downs of the storyline. The plot of "Alive" also talks about the same content, and the people around the protagonist die one by one, but the plot is very exciting, and it is a high judgment in comparison. Of course, I have to admit that "Alive" is a "death" story over a long period of time, while "1942" describes a "death" story within a period of about 3 months. In addition, since I haven't read the original novel of "1942", I don't know if it is such a smooth plot development in the novel. The above are the disadvantages, of course, the advantages are of course needless to say, Feng Xiaogang's films can still guarantee the shooting quality. The level of the whole film is still OK, so I can give a passing score of 6 points.
The other 2 points are courage points.
Why use courage? In my impression, before the film was released, Feng Xiaogang posted on Weibo, hoping that everyone would not "over-interpret" it, because last year Jiang Wen's "Let the Bullets Fly" was over-interpreted by some moviegoers, which made Jiang Wen still in a certain degree. quite passive. For Feng Xiaogang, even if he is making such a film, he still has the pressure to recover funds. After all, investing in filmmaking is also an industry that spends a lot of money to make a lot of money. If he really loses, he probably will feel sorry for Wang Zhongjun and Wang Zhonglei. Among them, the most stressful part is obviously not that the audience did not go to the cinema to watch the film, which led to the failure of the box office, but that "the government believes that this film is insinuating and metaphorical, and Feng Xiaogang cannot continue to make films in the short term and warns the production company, but it is a serious warning. It is even possible to order the painting immediately."
Because you talk about 1942, someone will definitely talk about 1962, and the latter, until now, the final conclusion is still "three years of natural disasters". Feng Xiaogang's "1942" dragged on for 19 years. Since 11 years ago, the preparations for the filming could not be done twice. This is the most important reason. It is very, very commendable that this film can complete such a theme, a work, and really push it to the big screen in the context of this era in 2012. This is something that those who watch the movie cannot know, but Feng Xiaogang's film studio and many media personnel who report on the movie know it, but they cannot tell everyone. Therefore, Feng Xiaogang will expressly express it to the outside world before the release, and I hope that everyone will not over-interpret or over-interpret it. This is a movie, and it is a movie from the Kuomintang period that reflects the people's livelihood issues at that time. That's all.
In the film, Chiang Kai-shek left Chongqing by car and said to his secretary, "I sometimes really miss the period of the Northern Expedition, when I had no burdens, I could stand with the people as much as possible, respond to every call, and be invincible."
The extra 2 points are Calling Feng Xiaogang, who can shoot this theme in this era, is a tribute to Feng Xiaogang's courage. Even if we know how a chicken thief Feng Xiaogang is, he can put aside all so-called distractions, make this film that is "passable", and use all resources and strength to make it released. And so many so-called big directors and famous directors are still making all kinds of ancient war blockbusters, just because they are very "safe".
"1942", 8 out of 10.
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