During the most glorious period of Xiangjiang movies, not only countless classic films were produced, but some films also had sequels because of their box office success. From this, a series of films were born, such as "Slaying the Wolf", "The Rich and Powerful", "Ip Man", "The Best Partner", "The Five Lucky Stars", "The Gambler", "Young and Dangerous", "Drunken Master", "Truant Dragon", "Police Story", "Once Upon a Time", "The Sky" "If Love", "Mr. Zombie", "God of Gamblers", "The Swordsman", "A Better Tomorrow", "A Chinese Ghost Story", "Infernal Affairs" and so on.
In this series of movies, some of them have strong elements of the times and may be outdated in modern times, but some movies, let alone modern ones, will not fade even in a hundred years, such as "Once Upon a Time", "Police Story", "A Chinese Ghost Story", "Infernal Affairs", "God of Gamblers" series.
"A Better Tomorrow" produced by Wang Xuan is undoubtedly one of them.
There are three films in this series, among which the first two films directed by John Woo are the most highly rated.
John Woo is known as the "Master of Violent Aesthetics". In John Woo's shots, the opposition between evil and justice makes the world full of passion, and the intertwining of love and hatred is the real theme. "A Better Tomorrow" is undoubtedly his representative work showing the aesthetics of violence. , he fully utilized the aesthetics of violence, brotherhood, double guns and other label-like film vocabulary in the film, revealing the human nature that swings between good and evil.
Many people say that the 1986 version of "A Better Tomorrow" is an unprecedented classic in the history of Hong Kong movies. It brought together a group of the most elite filmmakers in Hong Kong in the 1980s. Regardless of the characters, photography, or the idealism and ambition it conveyed, it greatly stimulated the general confusion and turmoil among people of that era. It broke the Hong Kong movie box office record, swept the Golden Horse and Golden Statues, and started the trend of gangster hero movies.
But in fact, the most amazing thing is that it became the microfilm of that golden era. Many past events are condensed in this movie. This is also the greatest achievement of "A Better Tomorrow" and fits the theme of the times.
At that time, the direction of the Xiangjiang region was a very unclear and at the same time very sensitive issue. At this time, Hong Kong people generally lack a sense of security and lack a common spiritual sustenance. This makes the film "A Better Tomorrow" convey the support and support between people based on "loyalty". Care has become the most ideal support, and at the same time, the heroic act of killing women and punishing evil has become a reasonable outlet for this accumulated anxiety.
Let's put it this way, in the list of Hong Kong's 100 best films selected by Hong Kong film critics, A Better Tomorrow ranked first, which shows that this film has a profound influence on Hong Kong films.
Before starring in "A Better Tomorrow", Fa Ge was 31 years old, with both good looks and acting skills. He was once a big hit, but he became a box office poison inexplicably. It was "A Better Tomorrow" that brought him back to the throne of actor and established his position in the Hong Kong film industry.
With this movie, Leslie Cheung successfully transformed from a singer into a recognized actor. The bald and outdated Ti Lung regained his second youth with this film. John Woo also made a beautiful turnaround with this movie.
Wang Xuannong's script is the first and most classic part of "A Better Tomorrow". If this movie is made, it won't be as famous as "Farewell My Concubine", but it will definitely increase the director's reputation a lot. And Wang Xuan planned to hand over the script to Shen Zhe for filming.
As for himself, he has many classic scripts in his hands anyway. For example, "Once Upon a Time", which he is planning to shoot this year, is a classic film and is ranked in the top three among all series of films in Hong Kong. By the time he completes "Once Upon a Time", he will be famous in the directing world.
Wang Xuan called Shen Zhe.
"Brother Zhe, this is a movie script I wrote for you. You should read it first." Wang Xuan said.
Shen Zhe nodded, a little surprised. He had just joined Tianhai a few days ago, and Wang Xuan had written a script for him so quickly. The efficiency was incredible, but the quality was unknown. Immediately I took the script and read it.
"heroic nature"?
A film with strong personal heroism? This kind of series of movies is very popular in Europe and the United States, because Europe and the United States worship heroism very much, but this is not necessarily the case in China. The main country has long passed the era of hero worship.
Looking down, Shen Zhe is very
He was quickly attracted by the script, and his eyes became brighter and brighter: "Mr. Wang, your script is too good. It looks like a gangster police film, but it is not an inside story of gangsters, nor is it a reflection of social reality, but It is a re-creation of the heroic myth. The protagonist in the script has gone through many hardships, but never gives up the pursuit of loyalty, status, dignity. The love between father and son, brotherhood, friendship, love between men and women, etc. reflected in it, make the protagonist The image is vividly portrayed.
There are some plots in it that make my heart tremble just thinking about them, such as the cynical way that Brother Ma uses counterfeit money to light cigarettes, and the heroic Qianyun who goes to Taiwan to avenge Brother Hao alone, showing off his dancing skills while hiding a gun while hugging a dancer. The idle act biting a matchstick...if these plots could be filmed, they would definitely become classic scenes. This character is great, and the line "I must get back what I lost" is exciting just thinking about it. It's just that this role is difficult to control. "
"What, no confidence?" Wang Xuan asked with a smile.
"Yes! Mr. Wang gave me such a good script, how could I not be confident? Even if I don't eat or drink, I will shoot this movie, and I will start setting up the crew tomorrow!" Shen Zhe said firmly.
"That's fine. I'm waiting for your good news."
After Shen Zhe left, Wang Xuan called Weng Yong in: "A Yong, you told me before that you wanted to be a director, right?"
"Yes, Mr. Wang." Weng Yong said.
"Did you sign up for the director-related courses I asked you to sign up for?" Wang Xuan asked.
"Registered, class has ended."
"Is the class over? That's just in time. I'm going to shoot the second part of "Welcome to School Together", and this time you will be the assistant director."
"Huh? Want me to be the assistant director?"
"What? No confidence?"
"Yes! But I have never been an assistant director, so I'm afraid..."
"There's nothing to be afraid of. I'll take care of everything. Just put the theoretical knowledge you've learned to use. After I finish filming "Together", I will also shoot an action movie and "Dragon" In film and television dramas, you will also be asked to be the assistant director. I will help you improve your strength as soon as possible and train you to be able to take charge of your own role, so that our Tianhai will have another strong general." Wang Xuan said.
Weng Yong was overjoyed: "Thank you Mr. Wang, I will definitely live up to Mr. Wang's expectations."
"Except Wang Wei, please inform the original cast of the first part of "Together" to gather at 9 o'clock tomorrow to prepare for the second part of "Together". As for you, you will take Wang Wei's place. ." Wang Xuan said.
"clear."
...
The next day, the original cast and crew of "Together" reunited. Compared with two years ago, the entire crew has grown a lot, and the lighting engineers and photographers have become the top names in each department. Several of the leading actors who were classmates together have become well-known in the industry. Each has participated in some movies, and their mental outlook has also taken on a new look, becoming radiant and full of confidence.
The same thing is that everyone looked at Wang Xuan with eyes full of admiration. Because many of their things were taught to them by Wang Xuan, both by words and deeds. Otherwise, how could they have made such progress? Besides, Wang Xuan's talent alone is worthy of their admiration.
So everyone was very happy when they found out that Wang Xuan was going to film the second part of "Together".
The purpose of Wang Xuan's gathering of the crew was to hold a mobilization meeting for the crew and to tell them to do some preparation work. After the crew left, Wang Xuan retained Li Jianing and other directors and distributed the character scripts to them.
"Have you all got the lines for your roles? During the preparation period of the crew, you must memorize the lines of your respective scripts. If you have opponents, it is best to find your opponents to play against each other, because we The filming task this time is very heavy. The shooting time is very tight. I plan to finish the entire 52-episode TV series within two months." Wang Xuandao.
As soon as this statement came out, everyone was surprised.
52 episodes were filmed in 2 months. On average, one episode was shot every day. This is crazy.
"I know some of you must think it's crazy, and I think it's crazy too
Crazy, but I have confidence in you and myself. Our crew has worked together so many times before, so this is by no means impossible. Wang Xuan said.
"clear!"
"Don't worry, Mr. Wang, we will cooperate with you and do our best to make this TV series a success."
Wang Xuan nodded.
Soon a week passed, and the obedience required for the filming of the second part of "Together" was finally in place. Wang Xuan took the lead and a group of people came to the Southern Communication University in Wuzhou, Zhejiang Province to shoot "Together". The second part of "The Same Window".
.......
