Xu Ke teased Hou Xiaoxian： It is amazing that it took 30 years to make a martial arts film.
1905 movie network news On August 23rd, the 4th Hong Kong Film Exhibition with the theme of martial arts films officially kicked off. Curator Tsui Hark came from the newly-started studio to "discuss swords" with a group of Hong Kong martial arts film lovers. From "The Condor Heroes" under the desk of a primary school to Cantonese fragments of a midnight TV station, from Kurosawa, which was occasionally shown in the morning show, to Chinatown in New York, Tsui Hark spent almost one and a half hours writing all the chapters related to martial arts in his autobiography.
When talking about Hou Hsiao-hsien’s upcoming film, Tsui Hark said with a smile, "I’m looking forward to it, because Hou Hsiao-hsien has been talking about making a martial arts film for many years, and it was in the 1980s that he finally made the first film, which is also amazing."
From fans to martial arts masters
"Hu Jinquan is an idol in my heart, and Akira Kurosawa gave me the idea of making a movie."
From 1950s to 1960s, a new school of martial arts novels, represented by Jin Yong and Gu Long, emerged. This wind even blew into the primary school campus. At that time, all the students were talking about martial arts, and elementary school student Tsui Hark rented his first martial arts novel, The Condor Heroes. Later, Tsui Hark often watched the martial arts films of the 1950s and 1960s broadcast by Hong Kong TV at midnight, and sometimes recorded them as precious materials for preservation.
Tsui Hark’s understanding of martial arts movies originated from the "Huang Feihong" series starring Kwan Tak-hing and Shi Jian, but the master figure who really influenced him was director Hu Jinquan. After its release, Tsui Hark became a movie fan in Hu Jinquan, and has been tracking the trend of his new work "Xia Nv" ever since. In 1968, Tsui Hark studied at the University of Texas in the United States, and went to work in new york’s Chinatown to watch Xia Nv. Apart from action scenes and stories, Tsui Hark was extremely excited by the unique handling techniques and thoughtful Zen in Xia Nv, which had a profound influence on him. Therefore, as a curator, Tsui Hark listed Xia Nv as the opening film of this Hong Kong Film Festival.
"Hu Dao is a director who has influenced our generation and is a high idol in my mind." Later, Tsui Hark had a deep intersection with idols. During the preparation of the legendary swordsman, Tsui Hark often stayed with Hu Jinquan and discussed his previous films with him every night, which was deeply shocked by his handling method. "He always tries to create impossible shots and bring some uncomplicated plots to a world with logic and historical background."
On the same day, during the screening of the restored version of "Xia Nv", the audience laughed many times. Hearing this reaction, Tsui Hark said a little angrily, "I really want to know where the joke is, but we watched it with a very serious attitude, half of which is learning and half of which is admiration." At the end of the film, the monk played by Roy Chiao turns into a arhat, which is unique and bold, but it also causes the audience’s incomprehension. Tsui Hark revealed that he had had the same question, and Hu Jinquan’s answer was: "This is an illusion."
Besides the blood relationship with Hu Jinquan, Tsui Hark’s films are also deeply influenced by Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. In the early years, there will be three screenings in Hong Kong. After the first screening in commercial cinemas, there will be a second screening in small cinemas, and then there will be an early screening in some cinemas. Once, Tsui Hark inadvertently walked into the early theater and saw Kurosawa’s film. "At that time, I had the idea of making a movie. It was Kurosawa’s film, which let me know that orientals can make movies like this."
Not understood in the first three years of entering the film circle
"Sneak into the midnight show and see the audience yawning"
After returning to Hong Kong from the University of Texas, Tsui Hark entered the TV station and became a director. Later, under the promotion of the production director, he had the opportunity to shoot TV series Ghost Story and Jade Bow Edge in the Sea of Clouds, but it was not made in the end. By chance, he was sent to shoot Gu Long’s novel gold dagger romance. On the first day of filming in Korea, Tsui Hark stepped forward to guide the actors’ action scenes. Unexpectedly, the actors asked, "Are you a martial arts instructor? If you don’t find a martial arts instructor, "Tsui Hark is embarrassed.
After this youthful TV play, Tsui Hark attracted the attention of the industry, and many people asked him to make a movie. As a result, he ushered in the first big-screen work "Butterfly Change". The film received a good response in the industry, but it was not popular among the general audience. Tsui Hark revealed that at that time, he sneaked into the midnight show and saw the audience yawning. At that time, he began to reflect: "Just telling stories is not enough, and it can’t give the audience a strong feeling. The creator needs to understand the relationship between the audience and the screen."
Later, Tsui Hark produced Ghost Story and other works, such as "new wine in old bottles". On the spot, he explained: "All the creators are reflecting the memories and feelings of his past experience, and the joys and sorrows he experienced during his growth will come out at one time and become the works. In the first three years when I entered the film circle, the works were looked at by the audience with strange eyes and did not understand our films. So I tried to find the relationship between movies and audiences, so I made a list of my favorite movies, looked for feelings after watching them again, and thought about what it would be like to use my handling methods and values. "
Tsui Hark’s "Most"
"I miss James J.S.Wong’s soundtrack most and I am most impressed by the cooperation with Zhang Aijia."
In this screening activity, Tsui Hark, as the "focus filmmaker", selected three works of the legendary swordsman to meet the audience. He said at the scene that when he returned to Hong Kong from the United States, he thought he would be a documentary photographer, and he chose Knife because it was his only documentary film, and the legendary swordsman was a concentrated explosion after he returned to the martial arts film from comedy.
"Green Snake has a lot of water." Tsui Hark said jokingly, "It was a very strange weather. It was so stormy that I couldn’t imagine it. One day, it rained heavily that almost all the machines were flooded." In recent years, the elements of Buddhism in the film have caused many netizens to discuss. Tsui Hark said: "In all aspects, we have worked hard to achieve the desired results, but now we can still let everyone see some defective and interesting places."
At the scene, some fans said that there was a strong sense of soundtrack in Tsui Hark’s works, and Tsui Hark also agreed, and revealed that the emphasis on soundtrack was influenced by Kurosawa’s movie "Heart Stick". Among his own films, Tsui Hark is most satisfied with the legendary swordsman and Ghost Story with James J.S.Wong: "James J.S.Wong has been involved since I had the script, and he talked to me about the plot every day. At dinner, he gave me music ideas. At that time, I didn’t know whether the director should tell the musicians too much about his own ideas. And James J.S.Wong will invite me to his house to play movie music at the piano, and I miss the special feeling he brought me. "
When it comes to actresses who have worked together, Tsui Hark revealed that Zhang Aijia was the one who impressed me the most: "I admire Zhang Aijia’s acting skills, and A Night in Shanghai is also my first film focusing on women. There were many good actresses in the 1980s, but when comedies were popular at that time, many distinctive actors became popular, but normal actors were not reused. Female actors were one of them, but unfortunately, actors were of an age, and she couldn’t shine without her, so I thought about many female themes at that time. "
In summarizing the concept of martial arts movies, Tsui Hark concluded: "Martial arts movies are not just stories about martial arts, but the emotional venting and expression of martial arts in the real world. They just vent social problems in different ways. Maybe there is no modern society, but they are emotionally equal or even more intense. The most profound touch that martial arts novels have given me is that they have their own roots. In fact, the circle of filmmakers is getting smaller and smaller. Many directors and producers know each other, and the world has become a coincidence of tools and talents. If we want to go on, we must have a common cultural background. In fact, our culture has a lot of room to develop. Technically, we are becoming more and more mature, but our thinking has been circulated for a long time. "