It is actually difficult for a person who is obsessed with immersive images to pick his favorite, because after all, there are many good-looking ones. For example, it is difficult to find the most attractive of Chaplin's works. "Monsieur Verdoux" and "The Stage Life" are not easy to give up. In the Hong Kong film "Young and Dangerous" series, although I don't like Ekin Cheng's Chen Haonan, I feel that he doesn't even look like fighting. I prefer "Pheasant" or even "Da Fei". Even Gigi Lai's "little stutter" has a more Causeway Bay feel. , but it is not easy to pull out one of them. There is also the "New Dragon Inn" that I have never tired of watching, with teacher Wang Peijun in front of it ("Nine Movies I Favorite", published in "Southern Weekend" on October 21, 2023), so I have to skip it.
However, giving up has always been something that can only be obtained by giving up. Then let’s get started.
Hitchcock's "Butterfly Dream"
Hitchcock's "Butterfly Dream" has to be my first choice in black and white impressions. This is the first work of the old Hitch that I watched, which is synonymous with suspense and thriller. Later, I also watched "The Thirty-nine Steps", "Doctor Edward", "Mystery", "Rear Window", "The Missing Woman" and "Caught". "The Thief" and so on, but the preferred position has never changed. This may be due to the first impression, but it is indeed a masterpiece. The translation of the title of
is very similar to the naming style of Hollywood movies introduced in the old days. Zhuang Sheng's dream is a fable of butterflies. It is very clever to use it here. Although most audiences may not know the intention, they will still be attracted by its confusing words. It is indeed better than the original " "Rebecca" is more straightforward and suspenseful.
By the way, many foreign films use the name of the protagonist or the place where the story takes place as the title. When they are introduced, such titles are often treated as a habit, which is to replace them with a summary of the plot.
For example, "Waterloo Bridge" is translated as "Blue Bridge". Waterloo Bridge is the starting point and end point of the love between the hero and heroine. The translated title borrows the myth of Lan Qiao Yunying to metaphor the beauty and helplessness of the world and heaven. These are still not necessarily known to the audience, but It still has a very literal blurring effect, which is simply a stroke of genius. Similarly, "The Bridges of Madison County" is to "Covered Bridge", and "Victor and Victoria" is to "Hermaphrodite" or "Pretty Woman". The latter is a film starring Julie Andrews, telling the legendary story of the French showgirl Victoria who disguised herself as a man and then a woman. The film won Andrews her third Golden Globe Award and her third Oscar nomination for Best Actress. . There is a standout scene in the film, where an empty wine glass is shattered when Victoria sings a high note. This section is enough to showcase Andrews' powerful four-octave vocal range. It is said that when she sang high notes as a child, dogs for several kilometers around her would bark.
talks about "Butterfly Dream". The first time I saw it was at a nightclub, so the suspense and horror created by old Hitch added a little more intensity to the original. The setting of the plot seems to be flat, but every step of the way, my own thoughts are broken, and I can't help being substituted into it, unable to extricate myself. The undead ex-wife who never appears always controls the rhythm of the audience, and she The mystery is highlighted by the ghostly haunting housekeeper, lingering in the gloomy and depressing Manderley Manor. The old Hitch's heart was so tight that he couldn't let it go until the last moment.
The male protagonist Laurence Olivier, the insurmountable Shakespearean god, with a natural aristocratic temperament, is the perfect choice for Mr. Derwent. I had seen his "Hamlet" before, and it was also my first time watching a Shakespeare play, and I was impressed by his impressive temperament and acting skills. Coincidentally, it is also a black and white film, and it has a thrilling feel. Interestingly, although it is a famous Shakespeare play, the title of the film is "The Revenge of the Prince", which is the same old trick mentioned earlier. However, that was his work many years later, and his appearance is far less handsome than in this film.
It is said that Laurence Olivier recommended Vivien Leigh to the director, but the old Hitch did not like her black hair and rejected the recommendation, choosing the blonde Joan Fontaine as the heroine. The blonde was an important element almost as important as suspense in the old Hitch films, so how could he give it up. This is the first film he directed after landing in the United States, and he will not change his principles because of the feelings of his fellow British people.
Laurence Olivier’s recommendation also has some selfish motives. He and Vivien Leigh both came to Hollywood and got married soon after. Both of them have made a name for themselves in Hollywood, so their selfish motives may not necessarily be to promote talents.
In addition, for the atmosphere of the work, Hitch insisted on shooting in black and white. In fact, most of his films were in black and white, and it was not until 1948's "Rope" that he made his first color film. Perhaps black and white films are more suitable to create a suspenseful and thrilling atmosphere. It is worth mentioning that Laurence Olivier also directed and starred in "Hamlet" this year, and was nominated for the Oscar for Best Actor and Best Director, and the film also won Best Picture.
"Butterfly Dream" won the Oscar for Best Picture and was nominated for Best Director, establishing Hitch's solid position in Hollywood. The rewards don’t stop there. The film also won the Best Cinematography Award (Black and White), as well as a total of 9 nominations including Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Editing.
Another thing to talk about is the dubbing of this film. This should be one of the masterpieces of Changying's translation. Although Mr. Xiang Junshu's cooing voice is very recognizable, I still prefer the more charming voices in the above translation.
Fei Mu's "Spring in a Small Town"
Domestic black and white films, of course Fei Mu's "Spring in a Small Town" is the first, and even this "first" is not limited to black and white films.
The emotional story of a woman, two men and another woman in the old days does not seem to become a highlight because of the times, although this highlight is a bit dull. Such a direct expression seems too simple and crude, and even Fei Mu's interpretation inevitably goes astray.
This film was shot in 1948 when Fei Mu was about to leave the mainland but had not yet arrived in Hong Kong. This can also be understood as the time background of the small town story. The plot of the story is completely trapped in a pattern of human hesitation. Coupled with the decadent and broken scenes and the spiritual interpretation of the stagnant water, it should be the most exquisite work of Chinese movies to date. As Zhang Yimou said, watch it today. Come on, I feel like I still can’t compare with it. It was a miracle that works like
appeared in China at that time. The difficulty of the work lies, of course, in the setting of the script, the performance of the actors, and even the atmosphere of the times, but most of all it lies in the skill of the director. Judging from the plot layout, the moral clues of emotions and etiquette are, in a sense, a shackle that hinders the director's performance, but because of this, it can further demonstrate the director's tense twisting methods, soothing the ordinary. In the narrative, the hope of healing that soothes the heart is revealed in the subtle and restrained and even obscure. It was here that Fei Mu made a fateful version of moral concepts that he could make as a director at that time.
After writing and directing the allegorical "Blood on Wolf Mountain", Fei Mu founded Minhua Film Company in Shanghai, which was reduced to an isolated island. The outbreak of the Pacific War made him face a turning point. In order to avoid cooperation with the Japanese and puppets, he had to turn to drama. This was a forced change for directors of that era; but as a film director, it may not be an opportunity. Therefore, when he directed the Shanghai Experimental Film Workshop to produce this film after the war, some of the influence of drama suited his grasp of the story in the small town. This can also be proved by twists and turns in Fei Mu's other work "Hate of Life and Death", which is China's first color opera film. Before leaving Shanghai for Hong Kong in 1949, Fei Mu only had these two works during this period. It should be said that "Spring in a Small Town" has a strong drama background in terms of characters, scenes, dialogue, shots, composition, etc., and because of Fei Mu's skills, this background effect on the film is exactly appropriate.
This film is Fei Mu's last work and has faded out of the public eye. Later, it was rediscovered and won great reputation and many honors. For example, it was one of the 10 classics in the 90-year history of Chinese films, ranked first in the top 100 films of the century, and so on. Although these honors come decades later, they are the only ones that show its charm that transcends time and is worthy of being a classic.
Ang Lee's "Eat Drink Man and Woman"
"Eat Eat Man Woman" is the last part of the "Father Trilogy", but it is the earliest Ang Lee work I have seen, and it is still my favorite, just like Rene Liu's "Marriage Notice" and "The King of Comedy" by Stephen Chow.
Mrs. Li is engaged in scientific research and is very understanding of her husband's incubation period and allows him to do what he likes. If the family has a good wife, the son will not suffer violent death. So he stayed in New York and didn't make any movies for 6 years, living a life of "cooking a husband". At that time, he developed good cooking skills. He was meticulous about which brand of noodles to buy for beef noodles and the steps to make borscht.
This may be one of the motivations for him to produce "Eating Men and Women". Anyway, when I first watched it, I was shocked by the dazzling cooking skills of the retired veteran chef played by Lang Xiong. His chopping skills are as good as chopping melons and vegetables, plus the ethereal movements of the spoon flying up and down in his hands, which immediately seduced people into willingly stepping into the preset. A comprehensive visual trap, but I am a glutton, so I was even more moved. Of course, when I saw it later, I was very saddened by the daughters' lack of gluttonous spirit, their behavior as if they were nothing, and their appetite.
What was even more shocking, moved, and even embarrassing was the extravagant team. In addition to Lang Xiong, Wu Qianlian, Sylvia Chang, Yang Guimei, and Zhao Wenxuan were all powerful characters. Even the supporting roles were given to a senior "Qiong Girl" like Gui Yalei. It's so well performed that I can't bear to turn my eyes away. The reason why
prefers "Diet Men and Women" is not only about diet, but also about men and women. Food, especially for men and women, belongs to God's arrangement and therefore has the widest affinity. Just like the old boss Zhu Dad said, eating and drinking, men and women, people have great desires, and it is difficult not to think about it.
It is true that the topic of diet and men and women is actually just a carrier. More importantly, there are other things hovering between diet and men and women, such as the loss of Lao Zhu’s paternal authority, and the daughters’ focus on their own lives, just as they are on Dad Zhu’s cooking skills are numb. After marrying his daughter's best friend Jinrong, Lao Zhu's lost sense of taste suddenly recovered, and the table was full of beautiful things, but only the father and daughter were facing each other. These seemed to be full of sad but tender symbolic meanings. At least, Father Zhu's superb skills can be used on Jinrong's daughter and the new children who are about to be born. The old tree blossoms, and in the midst of ethical disputes, the lost paternal power is unexpectedly regained in the blink of an eye.
This film was nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 1994, so some people have said that it is the closest to the style of the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film among Ang Lee's works. Looking at it now, Ang Lee's Oscar gains can be described coherently.
ranks "The Wedding Banquet", "Sense and Sensibility", "The Ice Storm", "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", "The Incredible Hulk", "Brokeback Mountain", "Lust and Caution", "Life of Pi" and "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk" 》These film titles, we can of course find connections between them from the perspective of Ang Lee's works, such as the film concept that is both soft and tough and has a moderate temperament, and is good at reconciling the almost unlimited popularity with the artistic level of considerable quality. It's just right; but if the symbol of Ang Lee is blocked, it is actually difficult to imagine that these seemingly different films were actually made by one person, and have won various awards and good reputation. Of course, there are also controversies with different opinions, such as his almost obsession with 120-frame technology, which has caused a lot of negative reviews. This is natural, the world is inherently diverse.
Looking back on those days, Ang Lee's "first movie" "Pushing Hands" once caused him to struggle for a long time. The book he originally wrote to make money could not match art and business, and the main plot was still "old-fashioned", even though he had NT$12 million. The "guaranteed shot", but if the shot fails, the result will be "I have been practicing swordsmanship for ten years, and I was hacked to death in the first battle down the mountain."
As a person who "quite likes making movies", Ang Lee said that he has been an outsider all his life and seems to lack a sense of belonging to his family. This may be due to helplessness, but at the same time, it also provides him with a world that transcends regional boundaries. Adaptability means getting rid of or pulling away some unavoidable "prejudices". Therefore, as a "spectator", he was able to grasp the above-mentioned seemingly different things with ease. This should be a unique talent brought by his personal background resources.And this talent, in my opinion, is best explained in the work so far, "Eating, Drinking and Drinking".
So I always think that Ang Lee is not the best Chinese or Japanese-speaking director. To be honest, judging from his ability to control different backgrounds, different themes and different styles without any sense of inconsistency, and judging from the overall quality of his completed works, he should be the best director in the world. Of course, the "one" suffix is required. I believe that he will have enough space in the film history written by future generations.
What sounds good is not in the ears, and what tastes good is not in the mouth. What a good woman, I don’t know where it is. This is a line from Uncle Wen, an old friend of Zhu’s father. Of course you can think that this is at least one of the main themes of "Eat Drink Man Woman", but it is definitely more than that.
John Guillermin's "Tragedy on the Nile"
This is not a simple sad story of "the lover got married, and the bride is not me, but my best friend", but a carefully planned murder case, and the consecutive murders triggered by it, and the plot design It can be called intense, it is grandma's version of "Conspiracy and Love". This is the masterpiece of my grandmother, Agatha Christie, and one of the great detective Poirot series. Compared with the classics "Crime in the Sun" and "Murder on the Orient Express", "Tragedy on the Nile" is even more beautiful. It is a very high-quality IP, so it has been put on the screen more than once, and I personally feel that this version is the best.
Grandma's detective stories have always had a lingering magic power. It is no wonder that the number of her works is second only to Shakespeare's.
Although the story of this film is embellished with many Egyptian scenery elements such as pyramids and temples, it is more concentrated on a paddle steamer with an external propeller wheel. Such a closed environment is very suitable for the development of the case, and it is also convenient to eliminate interference in the reasoning process, just like airplanes and trains.
Most of the passengers on the ship have some inexplicable relationship with the heroine Linnet. They are ingratiating, resentful, despising, and watching, and they all have their own agenda. Therefore, everyone is suspected of committing a crime. This is almost a routine, but it is not necessarily exciting.
The young, beautiful, shrewd and domineering heiress, Linnet, who everyone said was killable, was indeed killed. The thoughtful best friend Jackie, the cleverness of curved love, the murder that looks like robbing the rich to give to the poor, and a plan with almost no flaws. As the biggest suspect, he has perfect evidence of alibi. She is also a sharpshooter, capable of making up for emergencies. It was just some bad luck that I met Polo.
The fat detective Poirot, who is as famous as Sherlock Holmes, is not as capable as the former, and is even a little lazy. Under the soft outline of his big belly, round head and curled beard, he has unparalleled sharp wisdom and graceful sense of humor. He not only uses They arrived at the truth of the murder through sophisticated reasoning, and used so-called impression experiments fabricated out of thin air to finally break down the psychological defenses of the male and female killers, and both committed suicide.
The main theme of the story, although there are various generalizations about human evil consciousness, inequality between rich and poor, and the unscrupulous pursuit of wealth, but in fact, it is the sentence of Molière quoted by Polo at the end: The greatest wish of a woman is to be loved. she.
The cast of this film is quite powerful. The male protagonist Peter Ustinov is the Polo who has a lot of appearances, and he is also the Polo who is most like Polo. Compared with other actors such as "Crime in the Sun" and "Murder on the Orient Express", this Polo The film is also his most outstanding Polo. He was nominated for an Oscar more than once, but the award was not for a leading actor like Polo but for a supporting actor.
Mia Farrow, who plays Jackie, is undoubtedly a big star. Of course, she is more famous for her collaboration with Woody Allen and her emotional entanglements. Her slightly neurotic performance in this film matches Jackie's character very well.
David Niven, who plays the colonel, often plays gentlemanly professional soldiers, and his military rank is often colonel. As expected, he came from a military family, attended the Royal Military Academy, joined the Cavalry, participated in World War II, and is said to have served as an instructor for Cuban revolutionaries. In the film, he stabbed a cobra with his sword to help Polo escape, and his figure was quite beautiful.
The many female supporting characters are also outstanding. Angela Lansbury plays the flamboyant novelist Mrs. Otterbourne.Her acting career can be traced back to "Gaslight". Although she was nominated for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress and has been nominated many times since then, she only won the Lifetime Achievement Award. In contrast, she has repeatedly won Tony Awards. She always plays women who are bohemian and domineering, and the same is true in this film. She has always enjoyed a high reputation for her superb acting skills.
Bette Davis, who has created 123 roles in 60 years of acting, plays Mrs. Van Schuyler, a sharp-tongued noblewoman who covets Linnet's pearl necklace. Born on Broadway, she has been nominated for multiple Oscars and won two Best Actress awards. She won the Best Actress award at Cannes for "Pretty Woman" and was ranked second among the "Greatest Legendary Screen Actresses of the Century" by the American Film Institute.
Miss Bowles, Mrs. Van Schuyler's personal nurse, is played by Maggie Smith. She is known as one of "Britain's most outstanding actresses". She played 12 roles in her first Broadway musical, and worked with Lawrence Olivier co-starred in the film version of Shakespeare's famous play "Othello" and also won the Oscar for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress. She is Professor McGonagall in the "Harry Potter" series and the British TV series "Downton". The countess in "The Manor", the latter won her another Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
What’s especially important to say is that the film’s luxurious dubbing lineup corresponds to the cast. It deserves to be a classic of the translation studio. Although it is not as good as the family portrait of “Les Misérables”, it is also a small reunion of famous actors. .
Polo was played by Mr. Peake. His voice was called the best artistic re-creation by Gregory Peck. Du Qiu in "The Manhunt" is very famous. It is said that Takakura Ken named him and asked him to voice him in his film. In addition, Julien in "The Old Gun", the doctor in "Cassandra Bridge", and Mr. Yuan in "The Book of Strange Tales", the narration of "Les Misérables" and the TV series "Fortress Under Siege" are all unavoidable. of classics. In "Golden Ring Eclipse", he played Kamiya played by Rentaro Mikuni, and the weird laugh coming from the bottom of his throat was simply the best. The "It's time to end" scene during the investigation of the crime in this film is truly wonderful. It is said that it was this ceiling-level scene that was shown at his memorial service.
and his famous teacher Qiu Yuefeng paired with the colonel, Tang Ta in "The Hunt", Rochester in "Jane Eyre", Verdoux in "Monsieur Verdoux", and the small shopkeeper in "Les Misérables" Thénardier is so magnetic and powerful, it is hard to imagine that he in "White Nights" also has such a youthful charm. Teacher Li Zi, the leading actress of
Translation Factory, played Linnet in "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", "Yesenia", "Jane Eyre", "The Count of Monte Cristo", "Looking Homeward" and "The Handsome Boy", in which she was both tender and capable. Mature, both female and male, both are extremely controlling.
Others such as Qiao Zhen's Simon, Liu Guangning's Jackie, Ding Jianhua's maid, Su Xiu's Mrs. Otterburn, Yu Ding's doctor, Tong Zirong's Mr. Ferguson, Hu Qinghan's Pennington, etc., are all dazzling and fascinating. People are like walking on a mountain, and they are overwhelmed.
Only a great work can attract a great cast to devote themselves to it. The same goes for dubbing.
Pinellia
Editor-in-charge Liu Xiaolei
