"A Manga Crawling the End of the World" is an early work of Stephen Chow, and it is also an important turning point in the formation of Stephen Chow's style. It is a transitional product of Zhou Xingchi's transition from his debut following Li Xiuxian's police film to later comedy films.
This film is a "post-Jianghu film" with a young man who is obsessed with comics accidentally hitting the underworld and retreating from the rivers and lakes after experiencing life and death. Several features of Stephen Chow's performance in the film are even the plot, after Stephen Chow Deja vu appears in his works. In the
movie, the star star played by Stephen Chow is born with a fantasy. One day, Xingzi accidentally rescued the gangster Wei Jie. Since then, Xingzai was stalked by Wei Jie's nemesis Hong Yi. Xingzai was so troubled that he asked Wei Jie for help, and Wei Jie took Xingzai as his subordinate. Xing Tsai was sent to Wei Jie's nightclub to take an idle position and met Wei Jie's son A Jun and his close friend A Biao. Because Xingzai admires Ah Jun's extraordinary skill, the two become irreverent friends. Also pursue the showgirl Ann together.
Wei Jie talked to Hong Yi for being assassinated, but Hong Yi kidnapped Wei Jie’s son Jiaming and insulted Wei Jie many times. Afterwards, Wei Jie and Xingzi went to the bathroom and killed Hong Yi. Xingzi was therefore reused by Wei Jie. Ajun, Xingzai and Abiao were even sent to Thailand to negotiate drug purchases, but when the three were in Thailand, they were taken prisoner by the drug king Bechai, and Ajun was severely wounded by a gun. Xingzai did not hesitate to scold him to save Ajun. Guess not, but because of a blessing in disguise, Xing's courage was appreciated by the King of Poison, and Xing was appointed as his agent in Hong Kong.
Wei Jie is dissatisfied with Xingxing's self-assertion and signing a private agreement with Bechai, but on the surface he is calm. Xingzi didn't know it, and Yujun continued to work for the gang.
Then Wei Jie saw the growing power of his subordinates, preventing his son Jiaming from inheriting his hegemony, so he was seriously ill and tested whether his subordinates were loyal. He set up a trap to kill A Biao, and then blamed Xingzi on the charges. After Xingzi was framed, Wei Jie sent Ajun to kill Xingzi. When Ajun finds Xingzi, Xingzi reveals Wei Jie's tricks to Ajun. A Jun didn't believe it, and the killer Wei Jie arrived. To put Xingzi and Ah Jun to death. Xing Tsai and A Jun joined hands to fight through the siege. Xing Tsai wanted to settle accounts with Wei Jie, but was stopped by A Jun. Wei Jie thought that the star boy, Ah Jun had been removed. Discussing important issues with Zi Jiaming, but Jiaming suddenly revealed his true colors and shot Wei Jie. The movie
already has a newly formed star style. Therefore, as far as the movie is concerned, the biggest contradiction lies in the seriousness and tension of gangster movies and the comedy style that Stephen Chow has to break out from time to time.
As far as the tone of the film is concerned, this conflict is actually very interesting. The character of the star himself in this film should be a little youth with a sense of justice, so his humor is incompatible with the theme of the film. Therefore, this is also an important film of Stephen Chow's "Wu Li Tau" style transformation.
For example: Although Stephen Chow has become a character in the movie, he still likes to drink a bag of milk with a straw. Such small actions are not uncommon in Stephen Chow's movies. And the cockroach-the famous "Xiaoqiang" who later appeared in "Tang Bohu Dian Qiuxiang"-also appeared for the first time in "A Comic Book of Crowd End."
Zhou Xingchi's character can't break away from the thinking of the market. Once in front of a strong enemy, he will kneel down and beg for mercy, but he can still stand up at the moment of life and death. This kind of living attitude of being able to bend and stretch was in line with the social and psychological climate of Hong Kong at that time. The
movie has a strong Hong Kong film flavor, a bit of sentiment, a bit of passion, a bit of nostalgia, a bit of entertaining spirit, and a bit of music such as "Don't Wait for Me at the Window". The Hong Kong film style has always been a unique existence in the Chinese film style system, with strong characteristics and forms as well as the style of the times. This style also represents Hong Kong in another sense.
Beginning next year, Meiya Entertainment, Meiya Amoy Dreams and Weixi Group will join hands with Superstar Infinity to jointly hold the Star Master series movie remake actor audition contest. It is expected to cooperate in the next three years to remake "Fortune Dead Grass" and "New "Jingwumen", "The King of Thousand Kings 2000", "One-stop Transport", "A Manga Toward the End of the World" and other movies.
For the film industry, the important significance of this behavior is to restart the era of Hong Kong movies, and let the new generation of young people know that the symbol of Hong Kong movies is not just gangsters killing young and Dangerous. The spirit of Hong Kong in the new era.
