"Xuexian 1" led the Mid-Autumn Festival, 2 consecutive days of single-day box office champion, as of press time, the box office has broken 246 million, although the box office data is more eye-catching, but the word of mouth is polarized, overall decent. Director Cheng Xiaodong played his own strengths, and the action scenes were amazing, especially the shock of the whole carriage breaking out of the ground, which was full of ornamentation. The short board is that the story is almost meaningless, the dramatic conflict is not enough, and the actors' performances are not powerful enough.
"Xue Xian 1" is relatively poor in the works directed by Cheng Xiaodong, and his previous works are "Ghost of Qiannu", "Smiling Proud of the Jianghu", "Adventure King", "Ancient and Modern Wars qin figurines", "The Legend of Modern Heroes", "Uncle Cai's Sweeping Thousand Armies", "Chinese Gambler" and other classics. Perhaps "Ghost of Qiannu" and "Smiling Proud of the Jianghu" are often considered to be Xu Ke's works, but Xiaodong once had a martial arts classic of his own, that is, "Life and Death Decision", released in 1983, Cheng Xiaodong's first directorial work, Douban up to 7.6 points.
"Life and Death Decision" is produced by Jiahe, Cheng Xiaodong wrote and directed himself, as well as Wen Jun and Li Dawei participated in the screenwriting work, Xu Shaoqiang, Liu Songren, Kaohsiung, Zhang Chong, Zhang Tianai, Yang Zelin co-starred, is the most neglected martial arts film in the New Wave period, although it is not as delicate as Tan Jiaming's "Famous Sword" and not as subversive as Xu Ke's "Butterfly Change", but it is uniquely realistic and romantic, especially the action design is a must, which is incomparable to the martial arts films of the same period. In particular, the action design of the 83rd edition of "The Legend of the Archery Hero" is also from Cheng Xiaodong's hand.
Speaking of "Life and Death Decision", based on the "Sword of Nature" Fang Baoyu in the famous book "Huanhua Washed Sword" as the story model, Liu Songren's sword Saint Bu Qingyun is the representative of the Chinese side, Xu Shaoqiang's Miyamoto is the representative of the Japanese side, that year Liu Songren was 34 years old, Xu Shaoqiang was 33 years old, each had the classic blessing of "Lu Xiaofeng" and "Heavenly Silkworm Change", the two major martial arts Xiaosheng fought to the death, and the natural highlights were full, which was the most perfect cooperation between the two of them.
Bu Qingyun and Miyamoto felt sorry for each other at the beginning, the purpose of the two competitions was different, Bu Qingyun may simply repay the favor and fulfill the wish for the master. Miyamoto, on the other hand, carries a triple expectation, from the shogun, the master, and himself. The plum blossom and cherry blossoms that the two met for the first time can also represent the personality and pursuit of the two people, Miyamoto represents the cherry blossoms, the pursuit is like the splendor of the cherry blossoms, and Bu Qingyun is the integrity of the plum blossoms, there is no fighting intention like Miyamoto who vows to be the first, and he does not despise the fight for fame and profit.
The two originally wanted to have a fair duel, but they were met with foreign resistance, first of all, Xiahou Zhuang, a person like Murong Bo, who wanted to be famous and ambitious, in order to restore the glory of the mountain villa in the past, he did not hesitate to use his daughter, collude with the Japanese, and betray his fellow martial artists, even if he finally got the honor, he would only be rejected by the world in the end, and it was estimated that when he saw his ancestors underground, he would be killed, which was really an insult to his ancestors.
Looking at Xiahou Shengnan again, from the name and neutral dress, you can see his father's expectations for her, Xiahou Shengnan spared no effort to help his father, suggesting that Bu Qingyun could not compete for her, and even laid a trap to let Bu Qingyun fall into the net. Even so, she was unambiguous on the issue of right and wrong, and she was determined not to betray the Central Plains Martial Forest. Xiahou Shengnan is a poor person, "kidnapped" by her neurotic father, and also burdened with the national carelessness that cannot be treasonous, so death is the best ending for her.
Miyamoto is a pure samurai, and in order not to make the contest become conspiratorial and despicable, he intervenes three times to stop it, once when hero Tsukasa explodes, the second time by poisoned liquor, and the last time by killing Kaneda Hachi (Takao) and his men. Of course, he would also kill Bu Qingyun's uncle in order to force Bu Qingyun.
The climax of the film is naturally a life-and-death duel between two people on a cliff by the sea, showing a magnificent visual spectacle, the fight is like a cloud flowing in one go, basically three rounds of big battles, obviously Miyamoto is downwind, if Bu Qingyun has a killing heart, this contest has no suspense, he not only does not kill the heart, but also will repay the grievance with virtue, endure the long sword through the abdomen and help the enemy get out of danger. Miyamoto pursues the determination to kill god in the face of god, kill Buddha in the face of Buddha, and die in the way of us, so it is natural to lose both in the end.
In the end, Bu Qingyun broke his hand and arm, and Miyamoto was stabbed in the lower abdomen, in order not to let himself fall, he still nailed the soles of his feet with his sword, at this moment he was worthy of respect, although he was defeated, even if he died, he would stand and die. Cheng Xiaodong was once deeply influenced by Shaw's films, and here is a clear tribute to Zhang Che, and Shi Jingsi, played by Dillon in "The Thirteenth Taibao", also chose to stand and die.
In addition to the final engaging final battle scene, Cheng Xiaodong's handling of ninjas is a must, floating in the night sky, swooping on passers-by, multiple ninjas forming giants, a group of people carrying a car to rush, and various escapes have brought us unprecedented visual shock. At the same time, there is also a scene that is impressive, Bu Qingyun and Miyamoto clash for the first time, when they reach the center of the lake, a force in the air, a dragonfly dotting the water, all of which can be called the stroke of God.
Cheng Xiaodong's first directorial work shows a good foundation, whether it is costume Taoism, lens composition, action design is very exquisite, editing is sharp, style cult, broken legs, severed heads, broken arms are not lacking, and the theme is also clear enough, integrating his understanding of victory and defeat, exploring different martial arts and life goals, is a film with the tone of traditional Chinese martial arts. It may be less free in Xu Kejianghu, but it has more sadness and tragedy, which is by no means a shortcoming, but another side of the jianghu, what do you think?