"Speaking of the first reaction in 1949, it was the year of the founding of the People's Republic of China, but what happened on the eve of its founding? In the past two days of chasing dramas, I found that the atmosphere in Beiping City was so tense..." This is a netizen's evaluation of the TV series "Xiangshan Ye Zhenghong", which is being broadcast on CCTV.
"Fragrant Mountain Leaves Zhenghong" tells that after the peaceful liberation of Peiping in 1949, Mao Zedong led the CPC Central Committee from Xibaipo to Beijing and officially "entered Beijing to catch the examination". "Entering Beijing to catch the examination" comes from a dialogue between Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou. On March 23, 1949, when leaving Xibaipo, Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai chatted and said that today was the day to "go to Beijing to catch the examination." Zhou En: "We should pass the exam and not return!" Mao Zedong said: "If we return, we will fail, we will never be Li Zicheng, we all hope to get a good result in the exam!" ”
After "Fragrant Mountain Leaf Zhenghong" was broadcast on CCTV, according to China's audiovisual big data, the average rating of each episode was 1.605%, ranking first in the single channel rating of prime-time TV dramas. For such achievements, director Battle told the Red Star News reporter that he hoped to let everyone know how difficult it was to be born in new China through this drama. In Battle's view, the main theme of red "should also continue to innovate and actively embrace young people." (The following self-description is based on an interview with director Battle)
"Fragrant Mountain Leaves Zhenghong" tells the story of after the peaceful liberation of Peiping, Chairman Mao led the CPC Central Committee from Xibaipo to Xiangshan to "enter Beijing to catch the examination" and prepare for the construction of a new China. From March to October 1949, many major events occurred in these eight months. From the Kuomintang to the Battle of the Crossing River, the occupation of Nanjing, the liberation of Shanghai, the preparation of the CPPCC conference, and finally to the founding ceremony, it is a historical stage in which a new regime is born and a decadent regime collapses.
Our play is called "Fragrant Mountain Leaves Are Red", in fact, the time period in our play is from March to October, and the leaves of Xiangshan are from green to brown, and not yet red. But it is a metaphor, a symbol, that is, the leaves of the fragrant mountain are red and beginning to red, and it also symbolizes the birth of this new world of red and lustrous.
We filmed this drama for nearly four months, and we did it for a whole year later. The difficulty in the creation of "Fragrant Mountain Leaf Zhenghong" is mainly in two aspects, one is that this drama must strictly express the real history, for this reason, we consulted dozens of experts to give professional control in terms of historical facts. In addition, there are many characters in this drama, and the whole drama shows the eight most changed months in Chinese history, including nearly 300 characters in real and fictional characters, with many actors and roles. I joked that the crew met some actors who didn't play much during dinner, and I couldn't even remember which role they played for a while. But no matter which role, we all require excellence, take out their best state, and portray these characters as realistically and vividly as possible, and bloom out of the character brilliance.
In this drama, we invited Tang Guoqiang, Xu Wenguang, Wang Wufu, Guo Lianwen and other senior actors, Tang Guoqiang, Wang Wufu, Guo Lianwen are all old special actors, I am very worry-free. Tang Guoqiang's script is densely marked. The role of Mao Zedong, which he has played so many times, is more familiar to me than I am with the history of Chairman Mao Zedong, including some lines. In addition, Teacher Tang Guoqiang wrote Mao calligraphy, no need to replace the hand, he can really write, real shooting, an actor can restore the role research to this extent, which is very admirable.
Xu Wenguang, who played Zhou Enlai, made a lot of hard work this time in order to play Zhou Enlai. In order to get closer to the role from the physical image, he had to lose 30 pounds. Between shooting, I took the initiative to ask Tang Guoqiang, Wang Wufu and other experienced special actors how to shape great people, and worked very hard.
In the drama "Fragrant Mountain Leaves Are Red", old audiences can look back on that period of history, and young audiences can understand this history and know how difficult it is to be born in New China. The theme of our play is very clear, that is, to see the Chinese Communist Party "enter Beijing to catch the examination." This "catch-up examination" is all aspects, including the Cpc's southward liberation of the city and learning how to manage and build a city. While building the new world, the proletariat is also a process of transforming itself.
At the same time, we also want to let more young people understand this history through this work, pass on the revolutionary spirit of the great people at that time and the vigorous spiritual strength of the young people at that time to the current audience, and let the ideal light of struggle and progress illuminate our life path.
After the show was broadcast, I also saw many young people leave messages saying that they liked it. Over the years, we have had many successful main theme works that have been recognized by young people. I think the creation of the main theme work should start from life and from the truth, and the perspective of choice is very important. It is also a historical fact, from which angle you show it, and in what form you use to express it, which is an important topic that attracts the audience.
Major revolutionary historical works should also be constantly innovated and actively embrace young people. "Fragrant Mountain Leaves Are Red" is just a creative exploration, and I will continue to work hard in this direction in subsequent works.
Red Star News reporter Qiu Junfeng Editor Jiang Qing
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