With the rise of new martial arts novels in the 1950s and 1960s.
Masters such as Jin Yong, Liang Yusheng, and Gu Long set off a martial arts craze in China, and their works were frequently put on the screen.
The film and television adaptation of Hong Kong Jin Yong's novels is very successful, while Gu Long's martial arts novels are recognized as difficult to film because of their unique style, focus on artistic conception, and lack of film and television plots and scenes.
In terms of film adaptation, the first person to try something new was director Chu Yuan.
In 1976, "Meteor and Butterfly Sword" was filmed, which was a great success and opened the Gu Long film era.
He fully combined Gu Long’s martial arts world with film art aesthetics, and created his own Qiqing martial arts school.
Gu Long The TV series adaptation is more difficult than the movie, because the movie can also create an atmosphere through the visual sense to highlight the artistic conception.
However, the length and rhythm of TV series are inherently more plot-building, so it is harder for TV series adaptations to highlight the characteristics of Gu Long's novels.
Although most of Gu Long's novels have been adapted into TV series, they have the characteristics of serious content changes, but these shortcomings do not prevent them from becoming excellent dramas.
For example, tvb once produced " The Legend of Chu Liuxiang " (1979), " Lu Xiaofeng's Phoenix Dance for Nine Heavens " (1986), " Peerless Double Pride " (1988), " Border Town Prodigal Son " ( 1990), "The Scimitar of the Full Moon" (1997), etc.
tvb’s old rival, ATV, has also produced many Gu Long dramas, but has almost never filmed Jin Yong dramas, probably because it did not obtain the copyright of Jin Yong’s novels.
The ancient dragon dramas filmed by ATV mainly include "Seven Weapons" (1977), "The Sword of the Third Young Master" (1977), "Huanhua Sword Cleansing Record" (1978), "Amber Blue Dragon" (1982) Year, adapted from "White Jade Tiger"), "Tianya Mingyue Dao " (1985), "September Eagle Flight" (1986), etc.
In 1996, ATV filmed the last ancient dragon drama "Sword Roaring Jianghu", which was broadcast in January 1997.
is supervised by Xian Zhiwei, starring Qin Pei , Liu Songren, Xu Shaoqiang, Cai Xiaoyi, Christine Yang, Zhen Zhiqiang and others.
Martial arts fans are hooked after watching it. Not only is it full of cologne flavor, they also call it the martial arts version of Infernal Affairs and the Hong Kong version of The Godfather.
This drama was once called a copycat martial arts drama. Due to copyright reasons, the original work could not be used directly, so ATV used the method of adaptation.
The beginning and end of the TV series are taken from Gu Long's "Huan Hua Xi Sword", and the main story is taken from "Meteor Butterfly Sword".
then spliced and mixed the contents of the two original works, and all the characters in the novel had their names changed.
Those who don’t know it don’t know that it is adapted from Gu Long’s novel, but it is such a copycat Gu Long drama that has almost perfectly transformed Gu Long’s novel into a TV series.
Someone commented: There has never been a TV series so close to Gu Long, not in terms of plot, but in terms of charm!
1. Hard-to-shoot martial arts scenes
Gu Long’s novels generally do not have a historical background, and focus on a world as the background.
The TV series opens with a climax. The two masters, the Japanese swordsman Yagyu Yijian (played by Xu Shaoqiang) and the demon sect's top master Yan Beifei (played by Liu Songren), face off on the top of the snowy ridge.
The prototypes of these two people respectively come from the Japanese white-clothed man and the purple-clothed Hou in "Huanhua Xi Sword Record".
It is 100% difficult to restore the martial arts scenes in Gu Long’s novels because they are too abstract.
In his writings, bystanders often cannot see the master's moves and his opponent is dead. There are no moves at all and there is no fighting process.
This anti-routine and non-mainstream writing method really gives the screenwriters and directors a headache.
In order to pursue the highest level of martial arts, Japanese swordsman Yagyu Yijian, who was born as a farmer, constantly challenged the masters of the Central Plains. He did not hesitate to kill his wife before the decisive battle in a last-ditch battle, and regarded death as the highest level of swordsmanship.
Yan Beifei, a master of the Demon Cult who was once all-powerful but had retired from the world for many years, fought for his beloved Chu Xinru (played by Zhuang Jinger). won with the "Sword of Passion" against Ikken Yagyu's "Sword of Mercy".
In the play, Yagyu Itken and Yan Beifei's discussion of kendo is very exquisite, and Gu Long's presentation of the martial arts realm is actually a bit philosophical.
Regarding this abstract ideological activity in the novel, the dialogue between the characters in the play restores this very well.
The producers also successfully expanded the duel with only a few words in the novel into a huge martial arts scene.
This battle on the snowy ridge was shot in a real snowy mountain, giving people a vast and vast look.
This cold tone fits the tragic artistic conception of Gu Long's novel very well. Coupled with the unique soundtrack, it has a Gu Long flavor.
The outstanding martial arts performances of two professional heroes, Xu Shaoqiang and Liu Songren, bring strong visual effects to people.
reminds people of the final showdown between Bu Qingyun and Miyamoto Ichiro in the movie " Life and Death " in which the two collaborated.
2, martial arts version of Infernal Affairs
Many of Gu Long's novels are suspenseful and have the style of mystery novels. This drama also perfectly expresses this suspense style, and the audience can become a detective and have fun.
In the play, the Qixinglou led by Qin Baichuan (played by Qin Pei) and the Nine-Colored Flag led by Duanmuqi (played by Luo Lie) launched various infernal affairs.
is full of conspiracies. You can deduce who is the undercover while watching, which is extremely brain-burning.
Wu Gou, the spy sent by Qixinglou to Jiuseqi, was killed, and Qixinglou began to investigate the traitor.
At first, Qin Baichuan’s good brother Qiao Chunfu thought Chu Jiangnan (played by Zhen Zhiqiang, named Lu Xiangchuan in the original work) was a traitor.
The killer Baiyun (played by Liu Songren) who went to assassinate Qin Baichuan was misled into thinking that Qiao Chunfu was a traitor, causing Qin Baichuan to kill Qiao Chunfu. The ending was reversed and Qiao Chunfu was not a traitor and was not dead.
The most explosive thing is that Duanmu Jun was beaten to death by his father Duanmu Qi. He turned out to be Duanmu Qi's tool man and fake son.
Chu Jiangnan, the most trusted person around Qin Baichuan, is the ultimate undercover agent. He is Duanmu Qi's biological son, and he was assigned to be a traitor in Qixing Building since he was a child.
Wan Heiqi (played by Wu Tingye, Duanmu Qi's subordinate), who had been secretly colluding with Chu Jiangnan in an attempt to rebel, was kept in the dark about this and was eventually killed.
Xiaolian (played by Christine Yang) who has been following Baiyun and Yagyu Itken turned out to be a couple. In order for Yagyu Itken to defeat Baiyun, he went to work as an undercover agent next to Baiyun, and finally fell in love with Baiyun.
This drama is full of suspense, the plot is repeatedly reversed, and complex human nature is vividly expressed through complex character relationships.
3, Martial Arts Godfather
The male protagonist in the play is Baiyun, who comes from Meng Xinghun in "Meteor Butterfly Sword". In the play, he is a top killer in Feng Liufang.
The prototype of Qin Baichuan comes from Sun Yubo in "Meteor Butterfly Sword", known as the old man, and in the play he is known as the owner of Qixing Tower.
The character Qin Baichuan crushes the protagonist and becomes the soul figure in both the novel and the play, which is especially brilliant.
When you see Qin Baichuan, do you feel like you are on the wrong set? Why does this character look a bit like a foreign character? That's right, it's Vito Corleone in "The Godfather."
In the play, a helpless old farmer seeks justice from the poster because his daughter was humiliated and died in vain. The weak husband, unable to control his romantic wife, asks the old man for help. The young man whose love is blocked also asks the poster to step in.
The creation of "Meteor Butterfly Sword" was obviously influenced by the novel "The Godfather" and was its source of inspiration.
The character of Qin Baichuan is complex and multi-faceted.
Qin Baichuan was born in the green forest. In order to achieve hegemony, he abandoned his wife and daughter and entered Wudang incognito. However, in the duel between Yagyu Yijian and Yan Beifei, he was turned into a pawn by Wudang leader Cangbi Taoist Priest.
Qin Baichuan saw the filthiness of the orthodox path of martial arts, and was coerced into betraying his friend Yan Beifei against his conscience. Since then, he has abandoned orthodoxy and established his own hegemony and established a foundation.
The filthiness, cunning and cunningness of human nature are vividly presented.
In the play, the scene where Qin Baichuan escapes after being plotted by Chu Jiangnan is even more amazing.
In the secret passage under the bed, there is a punter who has been waiting for 18 years. He is always paying attention to the movements above and is ready to rescue. The waiting in the darkness all year round even makes his eyes blind.
The blind man sent Qin Baichuan to the home of Liang Si, who had been waiting for many years, and then committed suicide. Liang Si placed Qin Baichuan in a well in his backyard with sufficient daily supplies, and the three members of his family also committed suicide by taking poison.
What kind of talent is this that makes people risk their lives to protect everyone? It seems that these people's lives are just for the reward at the last moment.
This shows Qin Baichuan’s personality charm and strategy.
He strategizes, engages in intrigues with his opponents, and helps little people.
treats his friends sincerely, but he was lonely because he abandoned his family at an early age.
The character becomes very three-dimensional through the plot.
Qin Pei's eyes and momentum really succeeded in creating a three-dimensional sense of this godfather-like character, which is both friendly and oppressive.
Other characters in the play are also very flesh-and-blood characters, and their fates are also very tragic like Gu Long's novels. Almost all the protagonists died.
The killers of Feng Liufang share their possessions in order to kill people, and they live in fear of killing and being killed all day long.
Xin Xiaoyue paid the price to escape the loneliness of her childhood and kept climbing upwards. Duanmu Qi sacrificed family ties for the undercover plan, and Qin Mi died in a heroic way.
Although poor Mochou got love, it was short-lived. Baiyun, the killer who likes to watch the stars in the tree house, finally defeated Yagyu Ichiken but had nothing.
Although this drama has been criticized for being too slow in the emotional scenes between the male and female protagonists, and the plot in the later stages is a bit messy.
But its flaws do not hide its strengths. Whether it is character creation, martial arts scenes or line design, they all perfectly present the ancient dragon elements. It can be said to be the best ancient dragon drama. (Written by: Building 3)
