Written by Hu Yujing
Coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the birth of martial arts writer Jin Yong, the martial arts action movie "The Strange Sword" was recently released. The film stars Zhang Jin, Geng Le, Jiang Luxia and others. It tells the story of the charcoal seller played by Zhang Jin who wields the strange sword again. A story of injustice. In an era when little people monopolize the protagonists and heroes gradually disappear, where will martial arts movies go from here?
From the "Shaolin Temple" a millennium ago, to the internationally popular "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ", to " Xiuchungdao ", each generation of movie audiences have different aesthetics and needs for martial arts. Li Wei, the director of "Stranger Knife", told Jiemian Entertainment that martial arts films are a unique film genre in China. Although they are declining, they will not disappear.
Telling martial arts stories in an era of little people
The author "Six Gods Leile" who has been paying attention to martial arts for a long time said in memory of Jin Yong last year that when he read martial arts novels when he was young, he would always substitute himself as the protagonist, Linghu Chong, Qiao Feng, Yang Guo, and think about Xiaolong. Which one should I choose between Nv and Guo Xiang? Many years later, I will suddenly realize that my life is just an inconspicuous supporting role in the book. When I read the book, I will gradually substitute for Ke Zhen'e, Zhang Asheng, Mao Shiba, and even substitute for others. A certain Fuwei Escort agent and the waiter who was bullied by Azi were filled with joy and sorrow over their misfortune. After the
era and the turn of life, content consumption has also changed: compared with blind faith in heroes, it is now easier for audiences to substitute for supporting roles and ordinary people with mediocre qualifications. Wang Xiaohui, chief content officer of iQiyi, said last year that young people no longer believe that “all roads lead to Rome.” “They are full of a sense of powerlessness. After the times have stopped, a sense of insignificance pervades all classes, and individuals fall into a state of weakness. "Reflected in the consumption of film and television dramas, audiences want to see stories of little people, and "little people cannot find confidence in their own lives from other people's lives."
The bamboo forest fighting scene of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"
In Li Wei's view, since the new century, the audience's demand for martial arts movies will undergo major changes almost every 10 years. Before 2000, Chinese martial arts action movies were made about Shaolin Temple, Huo Yuanjia and Fang Shiyu; in 2000, director Ang Lee shot "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". The relationship between Li Mubai, Yu Jiaolong and Xiao Hu was very modern, and the overall action design Becoming more elegant, people are flying on the bamboo forest, which is an aesthetic that is in line with the millennium; about 10 years later, the "Embroidered Spring Knife" series directed by Lu Yang once again pulled the protagonist from the sky back to the ground, The movements and fighting methods have turned into realistic, close-quarters and cold-weapon fighting styles. Shen Lian, played by Zhang Zhen, is full of the helplessness of being a chess piece in a precarious era.
"Strange Knife" is Li Wei's attempt to meet the current audience's demand for martial arts films. It returns to the perspective of a small person. The protagonist played by Zhang Jin is a charcoal seller, and the "old man" who travels with him is a fortune teller. The first long shot of the film shows the birth of charcoal from a bottom-up perspective, "from wood to firewood, burned into charcoal, transported to the city, and then transported to the palace."
The action of the movie The design and aesthetics are centered around the characters' professional identities. The script gave Li Wei a sense of coldness and chill, so he determined the main colors of the film to be black, white, and red; in terms of action design, the charcoal seller was very good at using firearms, such as using charcoal to burn to form smoke miasma, and charcoal powder to seal the air. Space explosions, etc., the action design closely follows the professional attributes of the protagonist, and these scenes constitute the visual spectacle of the film.
Qi Men Weapon also shaped the style of martial arts movies. Zhang Jin used the long-handled sword of the Tang Dynasty, the Mo Dao, in "Stranger Knife". Li Wei said that this was mainly due to the novelty of the look. The Mo Dao used during the filming was about 2.6 meters and nearly 40 pounds. Historical records say "When Mo Dao comes out, both men and horses will be shattered." Different from common weapons in martial arts action movies such as swords and single-handed swords, he hopes that Mo Dao's heaviness and power will bring a sense of novelty to the fight scenes.
Stills of "Stranger Knife"
Martial arts action actors are scarce, and branch distribution guarantees a certain audience
In "Stranger Knife", Zhang Jin and Jiang Luxia, who played Tian Anye and Qin Gu, are both well-known action film actors in China."Zhang Jin and Jiang Luxia are both children in martial arts. Zhang Jin started practicing martial arts at the age of 9. There are only a handful of actors like them who have practiced martial arts since childhood and are still in the industry today." Li Wei mentioned, "It is not easy to make industry genre films now, so why not Once in its heyday, actors were naturally scarce, so everyone feels that martial arts movies have declined."
During the heyday of action movies, many martial arts directors in Hollywood came from China. Zhang Hai, the author and filmmaker of "Shadow Warriors", analyzed in an interview with "Beijing Morning Post" many years ago that in the past, the Hong Kong action movie market was highly competitive, with the likes of Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, and Yuen Biao. etc.), "there is no second in force", and competition is fierce. Nowadays, the level of action design in Hollywood has surpassed ours. Traditional fighting techniques, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, judo, taekwondo, Filipino martial arts, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, etc., all pay special attention to actual combat. Martial arts instructors who grew up in this atmosphere He will have a unique understanding of martial arts.
1999The Hollywood action science fiction film "The Matrix" was released. Yuan Heping and Lin Di'an served as the action directors of the film
"Stranger Knife" was released in theaters on March 2 and released on iQiyi Cloud Cinema on March 8 for paid viewing. . Branched distribution means that films can no longer be uniformly screened by theaters across the country. Film producers and theaters can arrange films in a personalized manner based on the characteristics of the film to be screened and the preferences of the audience in the radiation area.
Li Wei introduced that "Stranger Knife" was originally scheduled to be paid and on-demand directly on iQiyi Cloud Cinema. At the end of last year, the main creator and iQiyi believed that the film was more suitable for watching on the big screen. It happened that the off-line distribution was officially launched, so years ago This new distribution method was temporarily finalized, and finally 6,000 movie theaters signed up to screen "The Stranger". However, due to the higher requirements for the promotion and distribution of movies in theaters, and the release time of "Stranger Knife" after the year was short and the funds were limited, although the demand for martial arts movies in theaters exceeded expectations, the final box office performance was not satisfactory. "However, the choice of branch distribution is not for box office, but to allow more audiences to see martial arts films on the big screen." Zhang Jin, the lead actor of
, said after the film's premiere when talking about this attempt at branch distribution, " At least it is guaranteed that some people can see it. It is the first time that iQiyi has done this kind of distribution format, so I am here to take the lead. I know it is not easy, but if we don’t do this format, the number of people who may be able to see it will be limited. Less."
In the era of chivalry, the dream of chivalry continues. Currently in the film and television industry, Tsui Hark is still filming "The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Greatest Hero", Xu Haofeng has taken root in martial arts action films, and dramas that integrate martial arts genres such as "Lotus Tower" are also deeply loved by audiences. Li Wei believes that there are only costume action films abroad, while martial arts films are a unique genre in China and will not disappear. Now creators need to keep trying to find opportunities for the next revival of martial arts films.
