Wu Zetian, also known as Wu Xiao, is the only universally recognized female emperor in Chinese history, and her life is full of legends, establishing the Great Zhou Dynasty in China's male-dominated feudal society, known in history as the Holy God Emperor, and reigned for 15 years. During her reign, the country's politics, economy, culture, and society have been fully developed, and she is also one of the most controversial emperors, for such a female emperor who integrates appearance, talent, ambition, and ambition, she is naturally a popular candidate for film and television creation. Since the 30s, there have been endless movies about her.
Wu Zetian first appeared on screen in 1939, when Xinhua Film Company produced a film of the same name based on a script created by Ke Ling, directed by Fang Peilin. The film is basically shown according to the main experience of Wu Zetian's life, from being summoned into the palace in the Temple of Sensye to being favored by Emperor Gaozong with his cleverness, clever words and serenities, gradually taking power, driving out dissidents, ascending to the throne, reforming and innovating, stabilizing people's hearts, and finally being overthrown by the Li family because of his deep fascination with men and neglecting the government of the dynasty. Subsequent film and television dramas are basically according to this routine, but the focus is different in plot performance. Starring Gu Lanjun, one of the four famous Dans of "Xinhua" at that time, the film was produced during the Anti-Japanese War, so it has the theme of anti-aggression and anti-oppression expressed through Wu Zetian's struggle against male society.
On the screen of New China, the image of Wu Zetian also appeared, that is, in 1956, in the mythical costume film "Qiuweng Meets Immortals" filmed by Shanghai Film Studio, Wu Zetian as a reactionary ruling class image appeared in the film for a short time, by Lin Bin played Wu Zetian, due to the limited space, this version of Wu Zetian can only be a cameo character.
The fifties and sixties were the golden age of Hong Kong's Shaw Brothers costume films, and in 1963, film master Li Hanxiang shot the film of the same name, starring Li Lihua. The film focuses on Wu Zetian's character and grand and magnificent description, Li Lihua, who plays Wu Zetian, has a superb performance, from Wu Meiniang's hair cutting, to the regent's seizure of power, persecuting and poisoning royal family personnel, and secretly having an affair with samurai, and the old age of muttering to himself alone in the palace after suppressing the rebels in his later years, etc., are delicately and vividly interpreted. It was well received at the 16th Cannes Film Festival in France in 1963 and won the 2nd Taiwan Golden Horse Award for Outstanding Feature Film in 1963.
In 1984, Hong Kong Asia Television filmed a TV series of the same name, starring Feng Baobao, which was broadcast in the mainland, and many people remember the drama vividly. The play was a well-made drama at the time, highlighting Wu Zetian's psychological journey of how to survive and fight in a patriarchal society as a woman, but with more scenes. Feng Baobao's performance has been highly praised, the role is highly restored, she plays the young Wu Meiniang, delicate and lovely, autumn waves flow, showing the little woman's delicate state to the slightest, calling the empress, and interpreting it as a majestic interpretation of the empress is realistic and credible.
Pan Yingzi's version is called "A Generation of Empress Wu Zetian", which was filmed by Taiwan China Television in 1985 and was also broadcast in the mainland, starring Pan Yingzi, a veteran star from Hong Kong to Taiwan, when she was almost forty, but her appearance in the film was extremely delicate and charming, it can be said that it created a precedent for the old and the young, many audiences are obsessed with her role of Wu Zetian, she also played Wu Zetian's daughter Princess Taiping in the play, one person plays two roles, it is really not simple, the drama has reached more than 60% ratings in Taiwan.
In 1991, the mainland filmed a large-scale costume TV series "Tang Ming Huang", directed by Chen Jialin, the protagonists in the play are Tang Ming Huang and Yang Guifei, Wu Zetian is not much in the play, but there are still many heavy scenes, so this role must be played by a well-known actor, playing her is the famous drama actor Zhu Lin, who was almost old at that time, and she interpreted the majesty of the role well.
Mainland audiences may be most familiar with Liu Xiaoqing's version of "Wu Zetian", which was filmed in 1994, also directed by Chen Jialin, produced by CCTV and China TV Drama Production Center, and premiered on CCTV in January 1995, telling the story of Wu Meiniang from a naïve and romantic girl to a woman overnight, and since then has experienced the ruthlessness and cruelty of court life, in a series of court struggles, gradually showing her outstanding political talent until she listens to politics and becomes an unprecedented generation of empresses. The play is imposing and well-made, Liu Xiaoqing has acted from a 16-year-old girl to an 83-year-old woman, challenging the age, makeup artist Mao Geping has made a great contribution.
Later, Wu Zetian appeared on the TV screen many times, the more influential of which is the elderly Wu Zetian played by Gui Yalei in "Daming Palace Words", the return version of Wu Zetian is gentle, majestic, feminine and motherly, the play first shows her as a woman, followed by the emperor, this way of expression is different from the past, and has been recognized by the audience.
After that, there was also a reproduced version of the girl Wu Zetian, as well as Yin Tao, Siqin Gaova, Liu Jialing, Lu Zhong of different ages, different periods of the version of the Martial Emperor, the performance is also different, including success, due to space reasons, here will not comment one by one, welcome filmmakers to express their opinions on the favorite Wu Zetian actor.