Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui are dazzling treasures in the history of Hong Kong pop culture. They live in both audio and video, and their youth is unparalleled. The works they left behind transcend languages and cultures and shine brightly around the world.
On the screen, they were superstars of the era, contributing nearly a hundred classic screen images and becoming iconic cultural symbols of the golden age of Hong Kong movies; off the screen, they were close friends. In 2003, they left us one after another, leaving behind countless The regrets also condensed the endless nostalgia; in front of the screen, they were a collective sentiment, and generations of audiences laughed loudly and shed tears for them, forming a common memory of light and shadow for everyone.
"Youth Renewed: A Retrospective of Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui Hong Kong Films" jointly organized by the Economic and Trade Office of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government in Shanghai (Shanghai Office), Shanghai Film Museum, Hong Kong Film Archive, and Shanghai Film Archive officially opened yesterday , commemorating Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui, two legendary filmmakers who have made outstanding contributions to Chinese films and have wide influence among audiences.
On the morning of the opening, an opening forum was held at the Shanghai Film Museum. Hong Kong director and screenwriter Chen Jiashang, Hong Kong actor and director Ding Zijun, and scholar and writer Mao Jian shared their past collaborations with Zhang and Mei and discussed their status in film history. , performance style and aesthetic features of their works, as well as their huge influence on popular culture. When it came to the emotional part, Chen Jia shed tears at the scene. The opening film of
is "Fate", the first film collaborated by Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui. It was screened in the 1,000-seat hall of Shanghai Cinema SHO Dolby Theater. The once green and vivid screen imagination brought the audience back to the past days of Hong Kong. Full of laughter and emotion, the two-week light and shadow event began. When the
film festival opened, director Chan Ka-shang, who came all the way from Hong Kong, was not only an old friend of Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui, but also the screenwriter of the opening film "Fate". Starting from the many fates in "Fate", the three filmmakers talked about many past events in Hong Kong movies about the two old friends.
Chen Jiashang said with emotion: ""Fate" is a very strange movie. At that time, Shaw Brothers mostly shot martial arts in the studio, rarely shot realism, and rarely shot outside, so this movie is very breakthrough." Chen Jiashang, who has a background in special effects, was about to leave because of a big quarrel with his boss. Fortunately, he was recruited by director Wang Tailai as a recorder and stayed to film the movie.
He revealed that Leslie Cheung was not originally chosen for the movie. Maggie Cheung was chosen for the female lead early on, while there was another male lead. But a group of young people in the company felt that Leslie Cheung was more suitable.
"But at that time, Leslie Cheung was indeed poisonous at the box office. He was poisoned to death and never won once." So, the rebellious young man wrote the names of Leslie Cheung and another candidate on the screenwriter whiteboard and started voting in Shaw Brothers. As a result, Leslie Cheung took the lead by a wide margin. Chen Jiashang took this board to challenge the boss, and analyzed it with emotion and reason. At that time, the salary of big stars was more than three times that of Leslie Cheung. He persuaded the boss to completely use new people, and then Leslie Cheung participated in the film. Movie.
The chance for Anita Mui to become the second female lead was more random. At that time, she only came to guest star for one day. After the filming, she was so attractive that the director decided to add her to the role. Chen Jiashang came up with some ideas and developed it into a whole story line. , thus he became the screenwriter of the film.
"I wrote the entire role of Anita Mui while filming. Sometimes I felt it was not enough on set, so I would rewrite it. She often didn't ask what she was playing today until she arrived on set. We would often squat on the roadside and talk about the show, and Maggie Cheung would be there. Listen." Another special feature of
"Fate" is that it breaks through the usual studio shooting method used in Hong Kong movies in the past and takes to the streets of Hong Kong to record the real urban style of Hong Kong. When
was released, Ding Zijun was still in junior high school. “What impressed me most was the scene in the subway. The subway in Hong Kong had just opened at that time. The subway opened up the pulse of the times. This was the first movie shot in the subway. The colors of that time were , the acting method and screenwriting are both outdated and bear the symbols of that era, but they still resonate with today.In this regard, Chen Jiashang proudly said that "Fate" is the first Hong Kong film to be authorized to be shot in a subway station.
, Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui, two Hong Kong filmmakers who had many intersections during their lifetimes, shared with fans at the scene
Ding Zijun's first film in the industry was in the movie "Erotic Man and Woman". He was very nervous when he first joined the crew. Unexpectedly, Leslie Cheung took the initiative to greet him, help him relax and talk to him about the drama. In addition, he also talked about various situations when he first entered the industry. "Later on, I also treated the new people I met the same way my brother treated me. I feel that I am very lucky to have such a good director and actor, which has laid a very good foundation for my values. "
In addition to their roles, the two superstars are still praised for their personalities. Chen Jiashang believes that the reason why they became superstars is not ultimately due to their outstanding skills. "The handling of artistic roles is actually how to behave. I often tell my students that movies are easy to learn, but life is difficult. If you are a good person, you will have the right method. They just found the right way to be human. "
When talking about their departure, Chen Jiashang said that he was still "very regretful". He also revealed a past incident - in the same month after his brother left in 2003, the Hong Kong Film Awards were about to be canceled because of this incident.
"That year We were preparing and news of the death came and everyone yelled who was kidding. Later it was discovered that this incident was true, and everyone in the group was crying. Then many people felt that the Academy Awards should be cancelled. Everyone felt that it could not be held and celebrated. "But Chen Jiashang still insisted on holding the Academy Awards that year, "If we all quit, we will collapse. That's not a celebration, it's a cheer. At this juncture, if we don't do anything, we'll be failing the people of Hong Kong, and Lesley wouldn't want that. "
Anita Mui, as the award guest that year, once proposed to say in the opening remarks of the award ceremony, "No matter who wins the award, Leslie Cheung is the best for her. "As a result, Chen Jiashang firmly disagreed with what she said. He felt that it was unfair to the winners of that year, so the two of them had a big fight all night. "They were so quarreling that they cried. In the end, she gave in. They were both emotional and open-minded people. "
Later, Anita Mui decided to give up treatment, which made Chen Jiashang very angry. Because he couldn't get angry, he didn't even go to the hospital to visit her. "I was very angry, but now I think she is right. She knew she would never recover, so she transformed her treatment time into the best possible way and gave it to everyone. "
More than 20 years later, when talking about these past events, Chen Jiashang still couldn't restrain his sadness and his eyes turned red at the scene.
Shanghai and Hong Kong can be called the "twin flowers" in the history of Chinese films. Since the 1920s, Shanghai has The film exchanges between Hong Kong and the two cities have never stopped, and they can be called the "Two Cities of Light and Shadow", jointly promoting the diversified development of Chinese films.
This time "Youth Renewed: Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui's Hong Kong Film Retrospective" specially selected the two people from The eight films starring Zhang and Mei from the 1980s to the new millennium kicked off the film festival with their debut screen collaboration "Fate" and their peak work "rougebutton", as well as their respective Starring in three masterpieces, including Leslie Cheung's "Days of Being Wild ", "Across the World" and " A Chinese Ghost Story ", among which "Days of Being Wild" will be screened in a rare Canadian release version, "Across the World" is the latest 4k restored version; the three films starring Anita Mui are " Half Life ", " Man Forty " and " Zhong Wuyan ". Among them, "Half Life" is the latest 4k restored version. This film festival allows these classics Reappear on the big screen, and use light and shadow to renew your youth with your brother and Sister Mei.
Before the opening of the film festival, Cai Liang, director of the Shanghai Office, told a reporter from the Morning Post that Hong Kong will continue to host a number of international large-scale exciting events and celebrations this year. She said , nearly 150 grand events were held throughout the year, including more than 80 in the first half of the year.
Later, Cai Liang attended the opening ceremony of the film festival and delivered a speech, saying that Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui are both Hong Kong singing, film and television superstars, and they will remain in their lives throughout their lives. Download many classic works.The Shanghai Office, Shanghai Film Museum, Hong Kong Film Archive and Shanghai Film Archive will join hands to bring eight of their classic works to friends in Shanghai over the next two weekends.
Wang Jianer, Vice Chairman of the Chinese Film Association, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of Shanghai Film (Group) Co., Ltd., said in his speech at the opening ceremony of the film festival that the Shanghai Film Museum has been working hand in hand with Hong Kong for more than ten years since its opening to bring the Shanghai audience experience The charm of light and shadow in national treasure-level films such as "Confucius" and "Fake Phoenix" has allowed Hong Kong audiences to appreciate the classic works of Chinese film giants such as Xie Jin and Wu Yigong. It has also been through the "Jin Yong Cinematic Universe", the Twin Cities Cheongsam Exhibition, and movie posters. exhibitions, etc., allowing museum visitors to have "intimate" contact with the light and shadow culture of Shanghai and Hong Kong.
In the future, the Shanghai Film Museum will continue its tradition, assume the responsibility of protecting and promoting film culture, shoulder the mission of promoting film exchanges between Shanghai and Hong Kong, and help the prosperity and development of urban culture.
He also said that in the next two years, Shanghai Film Festival will strengthen cooperation with professional institutions in Hong Kong in the field of new technologies, especially AI, and combine AI applications to focus on the two major directions of IP content renewal and IP business development, accelerating network digitalization and intelligentization. Integrate the expansion process and expand the ecological vision of global talents, markets, and industries.
