2024 is already halfway through and has been regarded by the industry as the “Chinese-language film year.” From the continuous breaking of new box office records during the Spring Festival and May Day festivals, to the shortlisting of many Chinese-language films at the Cannes International Film Festival for the official competition, to the appearance of major film crews at the Shanghai Film Festival to warm up new summer films, for movie fans, 2024 is destined to be a year worth looking forward to. The activity of the
movie market is not only reflected in the release of more new films, but also in the number of classic films that have become popular through short video "second creation" interpretation videos on platforms such as Douyin. A set of data shows that classic Hong Kong films account for 30% of the most viewed "secondary" videos on Douyin, half of which are viewers under the age of 30. These videos, which reinterpret the history and culture of the film and tell the behind-the-scenes stories of its creation, have inspired many young people to watch the original film.
In order to allow more audiences to enjoy high-definition versions of Hong Kong films, in August 2023, the China Film Archive, Douyin, and Volcano Engine launched the "Classic Hong Kong Film Restoration Project" and announced plans to restore 100 classic Hong Kong films. The 4K versions of the six films restored by this project have successively appeared at the three major film festivals in Beijing, Cannes, and Shanghai, and had their world premieres in the official screening units of the film festivals.
"a project " and " " were selected in the "Tribute and Restoration" section of the Beijing Film Festival; " Flying Eagle Project " was the only Chinese film in the "Beach Screening" section of the Cannes Film Festival; " Swordsman " " was selected into the "Salute to the Master" section of the Shanghai International Film Festival, and " Blood Heroes ", "Plan A" and "Wu Zhuangyuan Su Qier" were selected into the "4K Restoration" section.
4k The restored version of "Eagle Project" was screened on the beach in Cannes.
These classic films that have accumulated over time carry the common memories of generations of Chinese and foreign movie fans. "The restoration of a film has the same important cultural rescue value as the restoration of a cultural relic in the Palace Museum or the restoration of a mural in the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang." Sun Xianghui, director of the China Film Archive and director of the China Film Art Research Center, said that the film Restoration is an important measure to protect film heritage and has the value of protecting classics and cultural heritage.
adheres to the principle of "restoring the old as before". The "Classic Hong Kong Film Restoration Project" project team also invited the film's chief creator to guide the artistic restoration process, striving to make the restoration effect consistent with the subjective aesthetics and the creator's emotional intention. The older generation of Hong Kong film workers recall the details of their creations vividly in their minds. The works of the golden age of Hong Kong films created by them with their ingenuity and professionalism still bring constant touching emotions to movie fans to this day.
"Eagle Project" executive director Chen Xunqi previously attended the domestic premiere of the 4k restored version and was a guest in the "China Film Report" Douyin live broadcast room to comment on the behind-the-scenes story of the film's creation with Hong Kong film scholar Wei Junzi. The following is a compilation of shared content.
Chen Xunqi was a guest in the live broadcast room of "China Film Report"
asked: "Eagle Project" was released in 1991, 33 years have passed. I want to know what Director Chen felt when he heard that the film was going to be restored in 4k Feelings?
Chen Xunqi : I feel like I am already so old (laughing). In the past 30 years, I have not watched this movie again, because movies look forward, and the work is in the past and cannot be looked back.
asked : Nowadays, young audiences have never experienced the release of the film. They want to know what kind of whirlwind it created when it was released?
Chen Xunqi : In fact, in those days, there would be a craze when every Jackie Chan movie was released. In terms of Jackie Chan's works, his productions are superior to all other Hong Kong movies. Because of the success of "", "Eagle Project" knew that the audience might be tired of seeing Hong Kong locations, so it wanted to shoot overseas to increase the visual enjoyment for the audience. It was very popular back then. International.
Wei Junzi : I still remember the first time I watched it in the video room. I was really fascinated by it. Later, I started collecting DVDs and collected several versions. There are a lot of action designs in it, and they are still fresh in my mind when I think about them. As a fan of action movies, "Eagle Project" must be an insurmountable classic in my heart.
asked : How do you feel about the restored 4k version?
Chen Xunqi : I found that after the 4k restoration, the skin color of the characters in the movie can be restored very well. It is not only restored, but also improved. The cave at the beginning will be more three-dimensional after restoration. There is no restoration scene in the dark environment. It is difficult to see clearly under the current light. After restoration, it can almost be seen clearly. In fact, our lighting was already very good at that time, so "Eagle Project" made Hollywood shine, thinking that you can also make a treasure hunt movie. At that time, there were not many treasure hunting movies like this, because treasure hunting movies require big budgets.
Comparison before and after the restoration of "Eagle Project"
asked : There is a saying on the Internet that the filming of "Eagle Project" cost 115 million, which broke the record for Hong Kong film production expenses at that time. Is this true?
Chen Xunqi: Because "Eagle Project" "Eagle Project" was filmed across three continents: Asia, Europe and Africa. It actually cost 200 million Hong Kong dollars, because Jackie Chan's own salary was not added, and there were many other expenses. At that time, the hotel in Morocco was shot in Hong Kong. The scenery was very expensive because typhoons often hit Hong Kong, so it had to be very solid. Moreover, Jackie Chan's scenes require some relatively dangerous actions. If the scenery is not stable, you will regret it if something goes wrong. In the end, there were still many details in the Moroccan scene that were not filmed. In order to restore the scene, the artist requested two containers and bought two boxes of sand from the Moroccan Sahara Desert. I told the artist at that time, do you know how expensive this is? The sand in Hong Kong is not as yellow as the one in the Sahara, nor is it as beautiful. In the end, the sand, which is almost as expensive as gold, was transported back to Hong Kong, and then we completed it. The whole drama.
asked : "Eagle Project" is a genre film with a very strong Hong Kong flavor. Many lines are still outdated. For example, at the end of the film, Jackie Chan said, "It turns out that people don't know what they really need." What you want is not gold, but water. How did you create lines like this at that time?
Chen Xunqi : In fact, most of Jackie Chan's movies come from his own personal experience. When he went to scout for locations, he discovered that water is the truly precious thing in the desert, so he felt inspired and told the screenwriter about the theme of the play. There is gold hidden in the desert, but it is useless for you to get the gold. What you need most in the desert is actually water. After that, Jackie Chan also developed a habit, such as using the leftover mineral water from parties to water the flowers. He is a person who pays great attention to environmental protection and neatness, and his place is always extremely clean. Later, Jackie Chan told me about filming the desert scene in Morocco. Because the sun during the day is very poisonous, and the sand in the desert leaves footprints when you step on it, and everyone's footprints cannot appear in the shot, so the pace of their filming was very slow. Every time I have to walk in a big circle in order not to leave any footprints at the shooting location.
On the set of "Eagle Project", Chen Xunqi took a photo with Jackie Chan.
asked : Jackie Chan's work before "Eagle Project" was "Brothers of the Dragon". It seems that there were many good sequels in the five years from 1986 to 1991. , such as the sequel to "Police Story", the sequel to "Plan A", etc. What were the style and characteristics of Jackie Chan's movies during that period?
Wei Junzi: Throughout the 1980s, Jackie Chan's film industry status and market appeal increased year by year, and the increase relied on these IPs. The first one was "Plan A". After the success of "Plan A", "Police Story" was filmed, and then "Dragon Brothers and Tiger Brothers". These three dramas had the highest box office in Hong Kong that year, or were among the highest. They sold better and better in Japan, Southeast Asia, and even Europe and the United States, so the production cost of each of his dramas could continue to increase. In the Hong Kong film industry in the 1980s, Jackie Chan was the only one with international market appeal. After making three movies in a row, he wanted to make more successes and gain a bigger market. Why did "Eagle Project" become such a big hit? Production? Talk about business in business, talk about IP in IP. No boss said that I invested money in vain, I must make it back.
asked : Hong Kong was called "Oriental Hollywood". At that time, the Hong Kong film industry was an era of fighting between gods?
Mr. Wei : Yes, "The Best Partner" (1982) by New Arts City was the first to hit the international stage. . The international market is what the Hong Kong film industry has always wanted to enter after being very successful in the local market. Therefore, Jackie Chan actually has two international routes. One is to rely on its own IP to improve local production and expand into the international market; the other is to be sent by Golden Harvest to shoot some Hollywood productions. In Hollywood, although he is the leading actor, those movies are not A-level productions, including "The Killer" (1980) and "The Dragon King" (1985), which were not very successful. On the contrary, it was the drama he directed that became successful in the international market. "Eagle Project" should be his most ambitious film. Since "Brothers of the Dragon and Tiger Brothers", it is Hong Kong's "Raiders of the Lost Ark". This adventurous Asian Eagle character combines the 007 series and Harry Potter. Sen Ford, he could go wherever we could think of. At that time, it would not have been possible to support the business by relying solely on the local market.
asked : Were you satisfied with the box office of the movie at that time? Did it meet expectations?
Chen Xunqi : Of course I hope it will be better. In fact, in the market of Chinese-language films, it should be the record for Jackie Chan films. At that time, Jackie Chan's movies were available in almost every corner of the world, so his movies had a wide audience. When we were filming " Zodiac " in Africa, children and elderly people shouted "jackie chan" there, and everyone knew Jackie Chan. But if the production cost is really large, it will be difficult to recover the cost. The pressure is not on him, the pressure is on the boss.
asked : What kind of influence does Jackie Chan's movie have on today's young people?
Chen Xunqi : As I just said, it is difficult to find a movie that does not show much traces of time after decades. Those old films definitely don’t age well, especially now that the pictures have been restored so exquisitely. In terms of film rhythm, many films today are not so well controlled, and there are no actors who work so hard. So this is really a classic. Young audiences can see from this movie that the "King of Action Movies" who can win over foreigners and was awarded a statuette is not for nothing. This is something we can learn from. I would say it is unprecedented. I hope it will not be the same. I hope there will be a younger generation who can be the successors of "Jackie Chan".
Wei Junzi : I think Jackie Chan has left us with classic works over the years that have influenced generations of people. For example, my son, a child born in the 2000s, also loves to watch Jackie Chan. What did he like to watch about Jackie Chan? He felt that there was such a movie, and he used his own body to risk his life to create that kind of spectacle. This kind of real feeling cannot be replaced by stunt movies. And it's not just a movie, it also conveys a spirit. This spirit is not only cinematic, but also a vitality of life. So I think what Jackie Chan can give to the audience and the world is that he burns with his own life and sets a good example.
