First, the black rivers and lakes
Gangster movies have always occupied an important place in the past Hong Kong movies, but today, not only Hong Kong movies, but also the entire category of Chinese films have never appeared decent gangster movies.
As the saying goes, where there are people, there are rivers and lakes. In the past, the popularity of Hong Kong gangster films was not without practical reasons, lan jieying, Liu Jialing and Jet Li's agent and other events, the film originated from life, accompanied by the gangster element of the movie.
Of course, this is inseparable from the Hong Kong film circle, such as Deng Guangrong, "Dragon Five", Chen Huimin and other big guys.
Even, the gangster element appears in almost 90% of the classic Hong Kong films, even if it is a love film such as "Sweet Honey", it is also mixed with gangster elements, which is enough to see the influence of the gangster element at that time.
In this context, Hong Kong films have naturally given birth to many classic gangster films, such as "Ancient Puzzle Boy", "Hero Nature", "Gunfire", "Infernal Affairs"... They are all well-known names in the history of Chinese gangster movies.
In contrast, foreign gangster movies, "The Godfather" and "Once Upon a Time in America", the audience called them "gangster epics", and these gangster films in China, although classic, did not reach this level.
But the "Lame Hao" to be talked about today may be the closest to this title in Chinese gangster films.
In 1991, directed by Pan Wenjie and starring Lu Liangwei, Zheng Zeshi, Ye Tong, Ye Zilin and others, "Lame Hao" was released in Hong Kong and won 38.7 million Hong Kong dollars at the box office, second only to Jackie Chan's "Flying Eagle Project" and Chow Sing Chi's "Truant Weilong".
At the Academy Awards the following year, "Lame Hao" defeated opponents such as "Huang Feihong" and "Across the Sea", and won two weighty awards of "Best Picture" and "Best Screenwriter".
A big reason why "Lame Hao" has an epic temperament is the well-known true story. Wu Xihao, the character prototype of "Lame Hao", is a real big man in the last century, who has experienced the ups and downs of historical changes.
The legendary story about him has also become a classic in Hong Kong films, "Lame Hao", "The Biography of Inspector Leiluo", and later "Chasing the Dragon", which later justified Wang Jing's name, are all based on this true story.
It has its own strength, coupled with the presentation of historical details in the film "Lame Hao", which can make "Lame Hao" become this kind of classic gangster film with the temperament of "gangster epic" and can be said to be unique in China.
Second, the chaotic world is out of the tyrant
Heroes may not necessarily appear in the chaotic world, but there will definitely be some reckless tyrants in the chaotic world. The "lame Hao" played by Lu Liangwei was a young man who did not believe in life at that time.
Lu Liangwei's performance is very brilliant, although some places are slightly deliberate, but in the whole movie, the temperament of the tyrant is dead, and many actors alone can't do it. It is said that at that time, the director let him gain 20 pounds in 15 days, and finally Lu Liangwei not only did it, but also exceeded the quota, gaining 30 pounds, and had to admire the dedication of Hong Kong actors.
When he was young, he took three brothers from Guangdong to Hong Kong, but the brothers could only mix at the bottom of society and had no chance to get ahead. By chance, he took his brothers to his hometown of Feibo, and with a lot of courage, cleaned up the territory of Jin Yabing, offered a certificate of surrender, and officially began the journey.
Fei Bo is played by Zheng Zeshi, and personally believes that he is the second most brilliant character in the movie. There is a good point of view, before the film began, when it comes to the word "fat wave", among the Hong Kong actors, in addition to Hong Jinbao, only Zheng Zeshi can play. The acting skills of the golden film emperor Zheng Zeshi naturally need not be said, and the performance of the characters' emotions in the film is very outstanding.
After Crippled Hao slowly gained a foothold, Fei Bo became wary of him. In a joint effort, the two lost the goods of another boss, and Lame Hao was framed by Fei Bo, and the opponent was injured in the leg when seeking revenge.
On the other hand, Lame Hao also launched a counterattack afterwards, sending Fei Bo to prison, and helping Lei Laohu solve some minor troubles, and then successfully replaced Fei Bo and became one of the four major families.
Fei Bo was clever, but he still had no means to defeat lame Hao, and if he had not been obsessed with checking the floodgates, he might not have been imprisoned this time.
The third stage of the story takes place after Fat Wave is released from prison.
After Fei Bo was released from prison, Lei Laohu divided the lame Hao's territory into two pieces for Fei Bo and asked the two to forget their grievances. The two were jealous of Lei Tiger's strength, and although they both agreed, the hatred in their hearts remained unchanged. As his strength increased, so did his lame ambitions, and he planned to eliminate the other three forces.
The connection of this section in the film is the most brilliant, in the face of the major turning point of the story characters, the director did not use too dramatic exaggeration, but chose a bland narrative, and the rhythm is very comfortable.
It is worth mentioning the black and white photos at the turning point, although the characters in the photos are also actors, but this way of expression undoubtedly makes the film more historical and more "epic" temperament.
Although lame Hao eventually became the overlord, he forgot the existence of the "Independent Commission Against Corruption", coupled with the betrayal of his subordinates, and finally ended up in prison.
It can't be said that "Lame Hao" is the best gangster film, after all, the turnip greens have their own love, but as far as the movie is concerned, it is not too much to call "Lame Hao" as "China's only gangster epic", after all, even Wang Jing said that this is his "Once Upon a Time in America".
Third, the legend ends
26 years after the advent of "Lame Hao", Wang Jing used the same story to shoot a word-of-mouth "Chasing the Dragon", which shows the classic degree of this legendary story.
In fact, the value of this movie and this story is actually not much, and I may never see a remake of this story again.
But the discussion of the saga itself, and the films that were destined to be classics based on it, remain in history and will be remembered by many.
The legend will finally come to an end, and after "Lame Hao", there is no such atmospheric gangster epic in China. (Author: Tang Chong)