In 1985, director Liu Guanwei's "Mr. Zombie" was broadcast, which triggered a ratings frenzy.
It is the great success that allows later generations to continue to shoot.
But when I clap, I get bored. Because the audience's aesthetic has been tired, even if such a type of film is popular, its classic degree has not surpassed "Mr. Zombie".
Before shooting, He Guanchang and Hong Jinbao were not optimistic about director Liu Guanwei, believing that such a film would not have a market at all, and how could it lose millions of dollars, and the cost could not be recovered.
Liu Guanwei withstood high pressure to let this "pioneering work" come out.
37 years later, looking at this movie again, it is still the "top seat" of the zombie theme. Even if there are many wonderful zombie movies that have emerged later, they are all out of reach.
To say that the film can achieve great success, this is inseparable from Liu Guanwei.
Liu Guanwei loved to hear these strange things when he was a child, and his uncle was the real Maoshan master.
After listening to them for a long time, I was extremely interested in these things.
At that time, Liu Guanwei was not yet a director, but a photographer of Hong Jiaban.
One day, he asked his "big brother" Hong Jinbao if he could try to transform into a director.
The people in the Hong family's class all call Hong Jinbao the eldest brother, and some people rely on their efforts, from stuntmen to actors to martial arts instructors.
Hearing Liu Guanwei's words, Hong Jinbao readily agreed.
Liu Guanwei is very interested in the maoshan matter, since this is the case, then simply make such a film.
Therefore, he invited three people to be screenwriters, namely Huang Ying, Huang Bingyao, and Situ Zhuohan.
Speaking of this screenwriter Huang Ying, I have to interject a few words.
Many friends only know the movie "Mr. Zombie", but they don't know that there is also a novel of the same name "Mr. Zombie".
After filming the film, Huang Ying changed the script and wrote this novel.
If Huang Ying had not died young, I am afraid that martial arts novels would not have allowed Huang Yi, Wen Ruian and others to be beautiful. After all, Huang Ying continued to write Gu Long's work "Six Notes on Horror" series to fake the real. That "Blood Parrot" was written so brilliantly that it could not be seen that it was written by Huang Ying.
Gu Long only wrote a few chapters, and the content behind it was all ghostwritten by Huang Ying.
In addition to Huang Ying, there are also Situ Zhuohan and Huang Bingyao, who are quite famous in the circle.
It can be seen that "Mr. Zombie" can be a big hit at the box office, which is definitely not an accident, but a harvest after hard work.
Before filming began, investors invested 4.5 million.
It is reasonable to say that this is not a small amount, if you save some use, it is enough to finish the shooting.
After getting the money, Liu Guanwei began filming. He was very serious, filming a scene for more than a week.
Director Liu was pursuing art and did not expect that 4.5 million had been spent.
The money was spent, but the film was only halfway through, and it wasn't finished.
In order to be able to continue shooting, Liu Guanwei consulted with investors and said that he would invest some more money.
That's it, take 1 million.
After getting it, it was not hot, and the 1 million was like flowing water, and it was flowing eastward.
Liu Guanwei had no choice but to open his mouth to investors again.
Not to mention, the boss is really generous and supports Liu Guanwei.
Before and after, busy inside and outside, before and after, a total of 8.5 million was spent.
For Liu Guanwei, this money may not be earned in the second half of his life.
It can be said that he gambled on his career, either to succeed or to return to his old profession.
If you are still a photographer, you will be in debt.
Mo said that it was the director, and even the cinematographer who made "Mr. Zombie" was very hard.
The photographer is divided into two shifts of 12 hours each.
Shoot at seven o'clock in the morning and leave work at seven o'clock in the evening.
Night shifts are from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Such a seamless connection is not acceptable to everyone, but no one refuses.
After more than two weeks of continuous shooting, neither the actor nor the director slept much.
Lin Zhengying is the same, in order to act well in this movie, his attitude is very serious.
Others can rest normally, and the zombie is miserable.
He can't remove makeup, and each removal takes a lot of time. After removing the makeup, it is more time-consuming to put on the makeup again.
Keep shooting, and when he unveiled the fake skin on his face, the sweat was already gushing out, like a face sauna.
Who knows, who is the zombie? He wears a mask, and the audience has no idea who the zombies are, except for the people in the crew.
In fact, he was Yuanhua, one of the Seven Little Blessings. If Bruce Lee had not died that year, he had already taken Yuanhua to Hollywood to develop, and he could only say that he was also killed.
After dawn, the equipment is covered with a black cloth.
After the first class of photographers left work, the second shift came to take over. It was raining outside, and when the photographer entered the house, his clothes and shoes had already been poured through.
Through the efforts of everyone in the crew, the film was intermittent and took 120 days to finally finish.
Before the release, He Guanchang and Hong Jinbao came to predict that they could sell up to 6 million.
You should know that this film invested 8.5 million, if it really sold 6 million, the cost can not be returned.
It is not that He Guanchang and Hong Jinbao are joking, but at that time, no one can predict how much box office such a film can win.
Even Liu Guanwei, who personally handled the knife, did not know what the film was like, and his heart went up and down.
At that time, hong Kong was popular at midnight, and when "Mr. Zombie" was released at the Maritime Theater, there were many people in the circle to cheer.
Liu Guanwei was particularly nervous, did not dare to go inside to see, and could only stand outside and do something anxious.
About 10 minutes after the opening, he heard laughter coming out of the stadium, so he dared to go in, or sneak in.
Although Liu Guanwei disagreed with Lin Zhengying when he was shooting, it still did not affect the process.
And after the script is written, the female ghost has not yet been selected.
When chatting with others, someone mentioned that Liu Guanwei asked Wang Xiaofeng to star.
When several people wrote the script, they planned to write this female ghost to death.
Liu Guanwei pondered, so it was not interesting. So at the end of the shooting, I don't shoot down, and it will be more romantic to let her go.
This kind of treatment can leave the audience with room for imagination.
After many years, watching this film again, I also feel that director Liu Guanwei handled it extremely well, and it is more meaningful to let go of female ghosts than to get rid of them.
After the film was officially released, it achieved a box office performance of more than 20 million.
That year, only a few films such as "Dragon's Heart", "Summer Lucky Star", and "Lucky Star High Light" ranked ahead of "Mr. Zombie".
At the Academy Awards ceremony, The film's Chinese actor, Xu Guanying, declined the nomination for Best Supporting Actor, saying that he was the protagonist, not a supporting role.
It is interesting to say that if only one protagonist can be chosen, then whether Uncle Nine is the protagonist in the movie, or a zombie, or Wencai and Qiusheng.
No matter who the protagonist is, it does not affect its position in people's minds.
The supporting roles are also wonderful, such as "Squad Leader" Ah Wei, and Li Saifeng's plays, which are very interesting.
Wen Cai's sentence: Master, I don't want coffee, I also want coffee can I?
I believe that this line can make you lean forward and backward.
Paper, pen, ink, knife, sword; Holding your breath; I'm your squad leader Avi; Turn around and avoid... These lines have been engraved in memory, and I can't forget them.
After 37 years, even if you look at this film with the current aesthetic, it is also difficult to surpass.
When I was young, I thought that "Mr. Zombie" was the beginning of this genre, but I didn't expect it to be the peak.
Lin Zhengying's ninth uncle, Qian Xiaohao's Qiusheng, Xu Guanying's literary talent, Lou Nanguang's Ah Wei, Yuanhua's Ren old lady, Li Saifeng's Tingting... All classic characters.
It's just a pity that the Yellow Rune Ink Bucket is still there today, and the exorcists of that year are not seen.