In 1989, Du Qifeng and Zhou Runfa collaborated on the classic Hong Kong film "The Story of Ah Lang", which was a box office hit and set off a wave of "prodigal films" in the Hong Kong film market.
After "The Story of Ah Lang", Du Qifeng planned another "prodigal son movie" in 1990 - "Heavenly Love".
In "Heavenly Love", Du Qifeng did not personally handle the battle, but sat in the position of producer, and handed over the position of director to Chen Musheng, who was just starting out at the time.
Chen Musheng's precise control, coupled with the outstanding performances of Andy Lau and Wu Qianlian, makes this "Heavenly Love" another "prodigal film classic" after "A Lang's Story".
After the success of "Heavenly Love", Du Qifeng and Chen Musheng also had the idea of shooting a series of movies.
So in 1993, Du Qifeng and Chen Musheng joined forces to launch the second part of the "Heavenly Love" series - "Heavenly Love 2 Heaven and Earth Long".
In this sequel called "Heaven and Earth", the executive producer is still Du Qifeng, the director is still Chen Musheng, and the female protagonist is still Wu Qianlian, but the male protagonist has changed from the original Andy Lau to Aaron Kwok.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="8" > Aaron Kwok and Andy Lau's "Prodigal Showdown" </h1>
In "Heavenly Love 2", Andy Lau failed to continue to star, and the reason behind this also started from du Qifeng, the film's executive producer.
In 1990, when "Heavenly Love" was filmed, in order to increase the market traffic of the film, Du Qifeng and Chen Musheng invited Andy Lau to serve as the male protagonist of the film.
At that time, the entertainment industry of the "Four Kings" began to emerge, and Andy Lau also brought good box office results to the film with strong market influence.
Although the box office results of "Heavenly Love" are gratifying, the filming process of the film has caused contradictions between Du Qifeng and Andy Lau.
When filming "Heavenly Love", Andy Lau was at the peak of his "idol career", and tabloid reporters who visited classes and interviewed were also in an endless stream.
In order to maintain his own image, Every time Andy Lau finishes filming a "motorcycle scene", he must stop to tidy up his hair and make up his makeup. For such a move, producer Du Qifeng was very dissatisfied.
Du Qifeng believes that Andy Lau's idol temperament is too heavy, and repeatedly stopping to do modeling is wasting the time of the crew.
Because of dissatisfaction with Andy Lau's "idol style", Du Qifeng and Andy Lau also had a lot of disputes, but for the sake of work, the two still tolerated each other until the filming of "Heavenly Love" was completed.
After experiencing the unpleasant cooperation of "Heavenly Love", Du Qifeng had a lot of views on Andy Lau, and when the film created a sequel, Du Qifeng also insisted on no longer using Andy Lau.
However, in order to ensure the market traffic of the sequel, Du Qifeng still invited Aaron Kwok, the "Heavenly King" of the same magnitude as Andy Lau, to serve as the male protagonist of "Heavenly Love 2 Days and Long Days".
After the success of "Heavenly Love", Du Qifeng looked for Aaron Kwok to shoot a sequel, which made Andy Lau feel quite unhappy in his heart.
In order to compete with Du Qifeng, Andy Lau in 1993 also planned a "prodigal son movie", planning to have a "prodigal son duel" with Du Qifeng and Aaron Kwok.
In the early 1990s, Andy Lau set up his own film company "Tianmu Film". In 1993, after losing the shooting opportunity of "Heavenly Love 2 Heaven and Earth", Liu Tianwang summoned the people of "Tianmu Film" and invited Liu Zhenwei to take charge of the camera and sit in the town, preparing to shoot the movie "Heaven and Earth For a Long Time".
The same is the "prodigal son movie", the same is the use of the title of "heaven and earth", the smell of gunpowder between the two movies, can not be described as not too strong.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="23" > second, the script abandoned by Wong Kar-wai </h1>
Although this "Heaven and Earth Long" starring Andy Lau was released in 1993, the script of the film was created as early as the end of the 1980s.
Behind the script creation of this "Heaven and Earth", there is actually an interesting story about Wong Kar-wai and Liu Zhenwei.
In the early years, Liu Zhenwei and Wong Kar-wai were also screenwriters behind the scenes of Hong Kong films. Because of the good relationship, Liu Zhenwei and Wong Kar-wai also joined forces to create story scripts for many Hong Kong film works.
In the mid-1980s, Liu Zhenwei and Wong Kar-wai successively transformed into directors. Liu Zhenwei has been moving forward on the road of comedy, while Wong Kar-wai has left and right with his special literary and artistic style.
In 1989, Deng Guangrong, the owner of "Shadow Master Film Company", cast the movie "The Legend of Ah Fei" for Wong Kar-wai. In order to help his old friend, Liu Zhenwei also created a story script and handed it to Wong Kar-wai.
Liu Zhenwei is very satisfied with the story he created, but Wong Kar-wai feels that the script of his old friend is not ideal.
Therefore, Wong Kar-wai abandoned Liu Zhenwei's script and chose to personally participate in the battle, writing and directing "The Biography of Ah Fei". Liu Zhenwei, on the other hand, was angry with this abandoned script.
Liu Zhenwei has always wanted to find an opportunity to shoot this "abandoned script".
However, director Liu Zhenwei's own "comedic aura" is too strong, and when the filmmakers heard that he was going to make a romance film with a deep tone, they all tightened their "money pockets".
In 1993, Andy Lau invited Liu Zhenwei to tailor the "Prodigal Son Movie" for himself, "Heaven and Earth". At this time, Liu Zhenwei also thought of the love story abandoned by Wong Kar-wai.
Therefore, according to Andy Lau's requirements, Liu Zhenwei slightly modified the original story script, and then there was the story of "Heaven and Earth".
It is worth mentioning that Liu Zhenwei in the early 90s accumulated a huge audience base with his "nonsense comedy" works. In order not to let his own comedic style affect the audience's evaluation of this "Heaven and Earth".
Liu Zhenwei concealed his real name when he signed his position as screenwriter and director of "Heaven and Earth". In the screenwriting column, Liu Zhenwei signed "Ji An", while in the director column, he signed "Liu Yuming".
This "Heaven and Earth" and Wong Kar-wai's "Ah Fei Zheng Biography" focus on a "Ah Fei" living in the 60s.
If "The True Biography of Ah Fei" is Zhang Guorong's "Xu Zai Looking for Mother", then this "Heaven and Earth" is a Andy Lau version of "Dream Showbiz".
Next, let's briefly talk about the story of "Heaven and Earth".
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="40" > third, Andy Lau's version of "Dream Showbiz" </h1>
At the beginning of the film, the investor "Boss Lei" (played by Fang Ping) plans to remake an old movie from the 60s, "Heaven and Earth".
The girl "Ah Yin" (played by Xu Haochen) is very excited and comes to apply for a job on the set. The male protagonist of the old version of "Heaven and Earth" starred in "Fang Desheng" (played by Andy Lau), who is Ah Yin's father.
But because Ah Yin is an "illegitimate daughter", her mother is silent about everything about her father, which also makes Ah Yin very curious about what kind of person her father is.
Fang Desheng has always been a small actor, and has only served as the male lead once, that is, filming this "Heaven and Earth". Ain wanted to take advantage of the remake of the film to visit the producers, hoping to learn about her father's past from them.
In the crew, Ah Yin met the action director "Wang Bailin" (played by Liu Jiang) and the 60s actress "Lan Jie" (played by Wu Jiali), from their mouths, Ah Yin knew about the past of her father Fang Desheng.
In the 1960s, in Hong Kong's Tiaojingling, The idle "flying boy" Fang Desheng, with a handsome face, was wet with flowers and grass and showed mercy everywhere.
The girl "Ah Ling" (played by Liu Jinling) is attracted by Fang Desheng's indulgent temperament, and the relationship between the two is constantly improving.
Fang Desheng has always had a "movie dream" in his heart, he wants to leave the countryside and go to a big city to make movies and become a movie star.
Fang Desheng gave Ah Ling a ferry ticket, hoping that Ah Ling would elope with him and go to the big city to "pursue the dream showbiz". However, Ah Ling, who hesitated, did not choose to leave with Fang Desheng.
After all, this man who is merciful everywhere never promises any woman.
In the face of Ah Ling's refusal, Fang Desheng left Tiao Jingling alone and made a new girlfriend, "Ah Yan" (played by Ye Chen).
Under the introduction of Ah Chang, Fang Desheng met the crew's martial artist "Wang Bailin", and through Wang Bailin's recommendation, Fang Desheng also became a stand-in martial artist on the set.
On the set, Fang Desheng was idle and idle all day, either hating that the stunts were too dangerous or hating that there was too little money to be a stand-in.
Although he had nothing to do all day, his handsome appearance still brought Fang Desheng a life opportunity.
The male actor "Ah Wei" is the "cousin" of the female star Lan Jie, and under the care of Lan Jie, Ah Wei's actor career has risen all the way.
However, Ah Wei and Lan Jie broke up because of a conflict. Lan Jie plans to find a new "cousin", and Fang Desheng, who is handsome in appearance, is also favored by Lan Jie.
Lan Jie used her future and career to seduce Fang Desheng, and in order to take the position of the crew, Fang Desheng and Lan Jie came together.
With the help of Lan Jie, Fang Desheng quickly changed from a small martial artist to a male protagonist, and won the film contract of the play "Heaven and Earth".
When filming "Heaven and Earth", Fang Desheng found that the person who played the heroine of the movie was Ah Ling.
It turned out that after breaking up with Fang Desheng, Ah Ling also met a nobleman, and the investor Lei Boss of this "Heaven and Earth" was Ah Ling's "dry father". This drama is specially planned for Ah Ling by Boss Lei.
What is not obtained is always in turmoil, and the re-encounter with Ah Ling makes the old feelings in Fang Desheng's heart rekindle.
Under the continuous pursuit of Fang Desheng, Ah Ling could not hide the emotions in her heart, and finally the two crossed the emotional forbidden area, and Ah Ling also accidentally became pregnant.
The relationship between Ah Ling and Fang Desheng was quickly detected by Lan Jie and Boss Lei. Lan Jie warned Fang Desheng, and the point was over, and it was broken.
However, Fang Desheng found that he was already deeply in love with Ah Ling.
Fang Desheng and Lan Jie showed their cards, and he decided to put away his wandering nature, break off his relationship with Lan Jie, and live a peaceful and stable life with Ah Ling.
Although Fang Desheng wanted the prodigal son to turn back, "it is so simple to turn back"!
Boss Lei plans to find someone to kill Fang Desheng, in order to save Fang Desheng's life, Ah Ling assured Boss Lei that he will never meet Fang Desheng again in the future, and after the child is born, he will also be "abandoned".
Under Ah Ling's repeated assurances, Boss Lei finally decided to let Fang Desheng go.
Because Ah Ling was pregnant, the filming of "Heaven and Earth" had to be postponed. Ah Ling successfully gave birth to a daughter, and in order to fulfill her promise, Ah Ling handed over the daughter to be adopted by someone else.
After Ah Ling recovered, the crew resumed work.
In order to make Ah Ling die for Fang Desheng, Boss Lei lied that Fang Desheng died unexpectedly while filming the "falling scene", and also joined forces with the crew to make a fake scene.
Ah Ling believed it to be true and jumped from a tall building to be martyred.
Knowing that Ah Ling "jumped off the building", Fang Desheng was greatly shocked and his thoughts were all gray. During the filming of the last "falling scene", Fang Desheng untied the Wei ya on his body and jumped down.
Ah Ling and Fang Desheng both died on the set, and Boss Lei, as a behind-the-scenes investor, took this as a gimmick in the promotion of the movie.
"The male and female protagonists died unexpectedly, and the actors interpreted the love classics with their lives", under the encouragement of these gimmicks, this "Heaven and Earth" has also become a classic love film in the 60s.
After listening to her father's past, Ain left the filming scene of the new version of "Heaven and Earth". And the story of the movie also came to an abrupt end at this time.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="77" > the career transition of Liu Zhenwei and Andy Lau</h1>
In this "Heaven and Earth Long", Liu Zhenwei also played a "literary and artistic style".
The film is excellent in its restoration of the era set, the application of filter tones, or the choice of background music.
But it is precisely because this "Heaven and Earth" performance is too literary and too outstanding, and the final box office performance of the film is also as dismal as "The Legend of Ah Fei".
On top of the Hong Kong film market in 1993, Andy Lau starred in "Heaven and Earth", which only won more than 9.6 million Hong Kong dollars.
Of course, starring Aaron Kwok, "Heavenly Love 2 Days and Long Days" was not optimistic in the market performance in 1993, and only won more than 9.1 million Hong Kong films at the box office.
The reason why the two kings of heaven and earth are cold in the market is also inextricably linked to the market environment of Hong Kong films in 1993.
1993 was the year of the outbreak of wuxia Hong Kong films. Under the impact of the mainstream market, "prodigal love movies" such as "Heaven and Earth" have also become victims in the box office torrent.
Although the box office performance of "Heaven and Earth" is not ideal, the film's outstanding reputation and dazzling performance at the Academy Awards have made The film road of Liu Zhenwei and Andy Lau move to a new turn.
After experiencing the filming of this "Heaven and Earth", Liu Zhenwei also began to try to combine the "Wong Kar-wai style of literary and art films" with "nonsensical comedy elements".
Under the repeated attempts, Liu Zhenwei created a Hong Kong film classic with both entertainment and artistry, such as "Journey to the West with Big Words", "Timeless Time to Love" and "Peerless in the World".
Andy Lau, who starred in "Heaven and Earth For a Long Time", also won the recognition of Du Qifeng again because of his outstanding performance in the film.
In 1996, Du Qifeng planned to shoot the third part of the "Heavenly Love" series, and Andy Lau also returned to this classic series at the invitation of Du Qifeng.
After completing the filming of "Heavenly Love 3", Du Qifeng changed hands and cooperated with Andy Lau on the Classic Hong Kong film "Dark War". Liu Tianwang also won the first "Film Emperor Trophy" in his acting career because of this "Dark War".
——End——