Text/Sun Haifan
Unlike the Northeast Film Studios, which were already completely controlled by the Communists, after the liberation of Shanghai on May 27, 1949, and until the "public-private partnership" in 1952, there were still some private film companies in Shanghai that were making films, among which the more influential were the "Kunlun" and "Wenhua" film companies.
The talent team of Shanghai Wenhua Film Company is mainly the troupe and people in the theater industry, the main creative team includes Huang Zuolin, Sang Arc, Ke Ling, Chen Xihe, Cao Yu, etc., and the star lineup includes the famous Shi Hui, Cheng Zhi, Zhang Fa, Han Fei, Cui Chaoming, etc., which can be described as "strong soldiers and strong horses".
Before 1949, "Wenhua" had filmed a number of classic literary and art films in the history of Chinese film, such as "False Phoenix", "Long Live the Wife" and "Spring in a Small Town", which in addition to being remarkable in film art, the important thing is that they are synchronized with the times, while exposing social reality, showing the social life of the era of great change, of which the films that directly show the suffering of the bottom of society are "Nightclub" and "Table".
Table poster
Both films are adapted by director Huang Zuolin, who has profound theatrical skills, based on the drama of the former Soviet Union, and "Nightclub" is adapted from Gorky's "At the Bottom", which shows different aspects of society with a single scene and many characters, and the whole film is harmonious and complete, and the artistic standard is also quite high. The "Table" is adapted from the novel of the same name by the famous children's literature writer Ban Tylayev of the former Soviet Union, and unlike the star-studded "Nightclub", "Table" has many scenes, basically shooting with natural light, and the key is that most of the actors in the film are amateurs or their true colors.
Like films such as "The Legend of Martial Arts" and "The Crow and the Sparrow", "Table" is also a "cross-era" film, it was filmed and produced before the liberation of Shanghai, and it was not released until September 1949, although the standards of film creation of the two different social systems of the new and old are different, but because "Wenhua" itself is a film company with progressive tendencies, the work is adapted from the works of socialist countries, and it also exposes the poverty and backwardness of old Shanghai, so on the whole, "Table" still maintains its original creative vision.
The story of "Watch" is like this: before liberation, in the chaotic streets of Shanghai, a hungry stray child And Niu stole a gold watch from The Old Man's watch shop, and his little friend Big Cat and Little Rat were red-eyed, so they fought, and as a result, they were taken to the police station and detained. At this point, the three children united again and swore to keep the secret of the gold watch. During the period of detention, the calf was sent to a "children's correctional home" for fighting for food and beating people. After Yin Xiaochen, the director of the correctional institution, discovered the secret of Xiaoniu stealing the gold watch, he used this to blackmail him and instigate him to steal and sell public property in the hospital, which was discovered by a child named Xiao Fat in the hospital. After the incident, Lei Chunhua, an instructor at the correctional institution, began to investigate. Xiao Fat was ready to contact the children in the hospital to expose Yin Xiaochen, but Xiaoniu reported to Yin Xiaochen. Yin Xiaochen preemptively attacked and beat Xiao Fat up. Instructor Ray is warm and generous and cares for the life of the calf, which deeply touches the calf. Finally, when Xiaoniu learned that Wan Laotou had been detained for three months for losing the customer's gold watch, and his granddaughter and Xiaoniu's good friend Cuicui was lonely and helpless, his conscience was condemned, and he finally confessed his mistake and exposed Yin Xiaochen's illegal activities. The performance of the mavericks was forgiven and welcomed by Lei Chunhua and the children.
Cheng Zhi plays Yin Xiaochen
In film studies, horizontal comparisons are valuable. "Table" in the theme, technique and even the use of amateur actors and other aspects and the History of world cinema occupies an important position in the Italian neorealist masterpiece "Bicycle Thief" is the same, but also almost synchronously, "Bicycle Thief" was released in 1948, it can be seen that at that time, the gap between "Wenhua"'s works and world cinema was not large. In addition, from the perspective of the genre of films that "express social problems with children as the protagonists", "Table" and "Sanmao Wanderer" shot by kunlun company in the same period were half a century earlier than the Iranian films "Little Shoes" and "Where Is My Friend's Home" that later became famous in the world film industry, which shows that the significance of "Table" in the history of Chinese cinema is unusual.
Stills from "The Bike Thief"
This is the second film directed by the director of this film, Huang Zuolin. Huang Zuolin participated in theatrical activities in the United Kingdom in his early years, and later graduated from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom with a major in drama, and has studied the artistic methods of performance directing in theater films. After returning to China in 1938, he mainly engaged in theater directing, and Shi Hua, Zhang Fa, Han Fei, and Cheng Zhi, who later became famous actors, were all guided by him. After liberation, Huang Zuolin served as the director of the Shanghai People's Art Theatre, mainly engaged in theater work and filming. In 1980, Huang Zuolin directed the feature film Mayor Chen Yi, which won the China Ministry of Culture's Outstanding Film Award. In 1988, Huang Zuolin won the Chinese Drama Research Revitalization Drama Director Award (Lifetime Award). In 1990, he published the anthology "I and the View of Freehand Drama". On June 1, 1994, Huang Zuolin died of illness at the age of 88 in Shanghai Huadong Hospital. Huang Zuolin's daughter Huang Shuqin is also a famous film director.
Drama master Huang Zuolin
This film is a professional actor Willing to be a green leaf, starring most of them are amateur actors, one of which is worth mentioning in the play playing the little rat Cai Yuanyuan, when he was only seven years old, himself in the Shanghai Children's Correctional Institution to receive education and care, can be regarded as the true color of the role. After filming this film, Cai Yuanyuan starred in the film "Chicken Feather Letter" directed by Shi Hui in 1953, in which he played Xiao Haiwa and became famous in one fell swoop.
Cai Yuanyuan played Haiwa in "Chicken Feather Letter"
In 1961, Cai Yuanyuan was admitted to the directing department of the Beijing Film Academy, and after graduation, he was assigned to long film, and later devolved in the "movement". After the 1980s, Cai Yuanyuan and his brother Cai An'an (the actor of "Chicken Feather Letter") established Tsai Pictures Company, shooting films such as "The Tomb of the Night Thief" and "The Temptation of big braids", which also filled the gap in the Macao film industry. The father of the Cai brothers is cai Songling, and his most impressive role on the screen is Hua Ziliang, the "crazy old man" in "Eternal Life in the Fire".
Cai Yuanyuan (left) and Cai An'an (right) with Jiang Wen
The next episode introduces a film that shows patriotic artists, "Two Hundred and Five Short Biographies".
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