"Slam Dunk", have you watched it? Just a little closer, it will become the box office champion of Japanese films in China. Although the final box office is likely to be unable to beat "Journey to the Bell Bud", which was also introduced by road paintings, word of mouth completely exploded. The Douban score fell slightly, from 9.2 points when it was released around the continent to 8.9 points, but it is still a presence that cannot be ignored in Japanese animated films.
In my heart, Slam Dunk is a pinnacle-level comic. The theatrical version, which has been brewing for more than 20 years, is supervised by the author himself Yuhiko Inoue, and for this feeling alone, many post-80s and post-90s generations dare not give it a rating of less than 5 stars.
However, after all, movies are independent chapters, with a beginning and a tail, which is very different from comics and animated dramas. The integrity of the expression system is the most important indicator of the quality of a movie.
There are many bloggers who say: Inoue is very conscientious, does not want to sell feelings, changed the style of painting, changed the protagonist, but in my opinion, this approach is a bit clever. "Slam Dunk" was originally a film that carried everyone's feelings, Inoue did not need sensationalism, and the audience who bought tickets to see it could also move themselves.
Deliberate to circumvent it, but it illustrates Inoue's contradiction. In this issue of "The Doorway in the New Film", we will temporarily take away the fan filter and talk about this theatrical version from a professional perspective.
First, the difference between comics and movies
The battle of the mountain king of "Slam Dunk" is the most dramatic and cinematic game in the comics, but it is very challenging to adapt this battle into a movie.
The black horse Xiangbei passed all the way and broke into the national competition to face off against the strongest mountain king. Through the form of comics, Inoue can rely on the long clues brought by the accumulation of plots to create emotional explosions and growth curves, smoothly switching between various emotions. However, when it comes to adapting a comic book into a stand-alone film that lacks a synopsis, it's completely different.
Comics and movies have different expressions. The difference between the two comes first of all from the different feelings of the flow of time.
The viewing speed of the comic is completely controlled in the hands of the reader, where you are interested, where you don't understand, you can stop and read more at any time, and continue reading when you are satisfied.
The time flow of comics is relatively static, and the author can present various parts of a scene at the same time at different page numbers, or even different scenes, and can also carry out large flashbacks at any time, so as to establish a system of emotional rendering and inner expression.
Comics can be sometimes funny, sometimes hot-blooded, sometimes affectionate, frequently switching in different emotions, and readers can adjust their own digestion according to the viewing rhythm. But if the movie is like this, there will be a problem of excessive emotional jumps, testing the audience's acceptance.
The time of the film is more fluid, and there is the "presence" of the camera behind the picture, which is advanced by the picture frame by frame. When different parts located at the same time are presented separately, it often causes a sense of time confusion, so the use of flashbacks and other techniques in the film must also be more restrained and exquisite, and the way of emotional expression is different.
There is also a problem in the cinematization of comics - switching between movement and static. Comics have no sound, everything exists in the reader's imagination, so the author can adjust the movement and stillness as needed, but the movie is completely different.
For moments such as Mitsui and Akagi colliding, manga can extract this moment from the fierce arena and highlight its sincere emotions, but the movie cannot simply make the sound disappear directly, but needs to use a finer gradient to guide the perception processing.
For example, Akagi fell to the ground after being banned by Kawada. At that moment, the manga seemed to stop time and sound, and no one bothered Akagi, making him monologue and hesitate until he was awakened by Usumi and completed the breakthrough of the limitations of self-knowledge. But the movie can't silence everyone, including the referee, and if you speak out, it will affect the emotional expression. The audience can't feel it silently and then read it like a comic.
It can be said that the test of the film is the creator's limited 90 minutes, efficiently build a system that corresponds to each other, relies on the theme, and completes the finishing touch and convergence at the end.
This makes the structure of the film very demanding and has the multiplicity of expression - an element, a certain clue, will carry several meanings at the same time when necessary, and all this must be realized on the basis of rhythmic continuity. Therefore, many details in the comics are difficult to film and television intact.
Second, Inoue's adaptation method
1. Weaken emotions and strengthen competition
In the face of these difficulties, Inoue focused more on the game itself in terms of content, making the work seem like a live sports broadcast. The details in the original work, in the panoramic shots of the game, are arranged in a local position, synchronized with the content of the competition. Simply put, the movie uses a panoramic picture to integrate the multi-frame picture of the comic.
In terms of narrative, Miyagi's scenes have greatly increased, and Inoue has added the setting of the short manga "Earrings" to the movie, expanding it into a complete story, and "original" has a richer emotional thread than the original work.
In fact, this is a bit of a trick, Inoue Yuhiko in order to prevent the audience from feeling a gap, did not try to restore the content supported by comics, but gave a new content that cannot be compared as the focus of narrative and emotional expression. Let the audience stand in a new perspective, receive new emotions, and see a brand new mountain king chapter.
In the comics, the stillness of time, the withdrawal from the daily sound and environment, are played to the extreme, and the huge spread is the best way to achieve it. Inoue simply left only memories of growing up, deleting the highlights of Sakuragi's confession, a practice that caused fan controversy when it was released in Japan.
In the manga, Sakuragi saves the ball, puts his arm around Haruko's shoulders, and the multiple memories superimposed in an instant make that moment particularly impactful, containing his passion along the way, pure heart for basketball, shining youth and vitality, and also brought the climax of the manga.
However, this climax is based on comic book techniques, and it is difficult for the movie to perfectly present this moment. In particular, the previous treatment of the movie also compromised on the "smooth sense of game progress", and if only this moment is specially handled, it will be particularly abrupt and incongruous.
Another reason for this is the lack of foreshadowing of previous content. For a large number of memories to be effective, they must be based on the premise of a complete narrative, and only taking the theatrical version of the mountain king battle, of course, cannot do this.
Therefore, stripping away most of the strong emotional expression, strengthening the game itself, and doing the content at the level of actual competition is the most in line with the attributes of the film's time advancement and the simplest adaptation idea.
In addition to the confession, the film also deletes and simplifies many of the emotional climax in the original work, because they are often obtained from the retrospection of the past, such as Kaede's memories of Sendo when Kaede Rukawa wakes up, and Usumi's awakening of Akagi, which are replaced with simpler performance methods.
In the manga, Usumi cuts radishes on the field, comparing the gorgeous Kawada to a snapper, and Akagi to a flounder rolling in the dirt, contributing to Akagi's awakening, "Kawada is Kawada, I am me", and the more emotional tension "Maybe I can't beat Kawada, but Shonobei will not lose".
All this is based on the background of the Usumi chef, which at first glance seems nonsensical, but it really has a deep meaning when you think about it.
In the movie, Inoue replaced Usumi with a senior who once mocked Akagi, which is also established, but because this character does not have a background in Usumi, and there is no Usumi who gets into trouble in the prefectural competition, thus gaining the premise that "teamwork is greater than individual crushing", the effect of this clip must not be comparable to the original.
As a hedge, the dramatic tension in the original work has become to a certain extent the tension of the game itself. This is the focus and merit of this film, which almost perfectly reproduces the texture of the game: the physical confrontation of the card position under the basket, the interaction of the cover without the ball, the oppressive harassment when the collar bite, the eyes of the point guard when reading the attack and defense, and the empty-handed running position flashing in all corners, all of which are incomparably close to the real basketball game.
Inoue largely abandoned the creation of characters such as Sakuragi and let their reactions revolve only around the game, and deletions and modifications such as "Mitsui and Akagi's Collision" and "Interaction between Rukawa and Sawaki" were compromised in the restoration of the match.
In addition, Sakuragi's accusation that Nobe could not protect the frame in Rukawa's breakthrough, Rukawa's single-handedness and hostility towards Zekita that broke out in the opening scene, Mitsui's physical strength, Akagi's entanglement in the counterpoint attack on Kawada, and the movie did not give a detailed explanation, all of which only used lines to give a momentary "reaction".
This is also normal, Rukawa's undefeated competitive spirit, Mitsui's once abandoned basketball, and Akagi's long-term plight of supporting the team on his own are the reasons for all these behaviors.
Basketball has witnessed the limitations and breakthroughs of these teenagers, and has also penetrated into their lives: Rukawa went from being invisible to trusting his teammates, Mitsui breaking through the shadow of his past experience, Akagi finally finding a partner, from "I want to win" to "the team does not lose", the movie really can't explain it all.
Throughout the film, only Sakuragi as the protagonist has gained some space for independent expression. His "rebounding enlightenment" during breaks, the episode of shouting "I want to bring down the mountain king" to the audience, and the "restoration of mood and atmosphere" such as Q prints and the silence of the audience. However, these episodes were also on the bench and in the timeout period, which did not affect the progress of the game. Other characters are limited by the capacity of the work and do not receive this treatment.
2. Change the main perspective of Miyagi
The second, more important revision comes from the creation of a new narrative perspective. The film cuts into Miyagi as the main perspective, giving him the most psychological monologues and backstories, and many of the bad reviews of the movie focus on this, and dissatisfied audiences say that "Slam Dunk" has become Miyagi Ryota's memoirs.
Inoue's consideration in doing this may be due to the fact that the point guard has the most control content, and he can use his reading field thinking to achieve the most "competitive" expression. In the game, we can often see the full picture of the field observed in the control movement from Miyagi's first perspective.
On the other hand, it is also because Miyagi has the fewest emotional parts in the original work, and the difficulty of starting from scratch is obviously less than restoring the manga, even if it is simpler, it can at least ensure the degree of completion.
In the original work, Miyagi's image is relatively thin, and there is no "dilemma, limitation and breakthrough in basketball and life" like the other four people, which gives the film a lot of independent play space. Inoue tries to make Miyagi's original part an entry point for other characters, and to make up for the lack of portrayal of them in order to make up for the lack of portrayal of them in a point-by-point manner.
In Miyagi's high school memories, Inoue arranges the appearance of several other people. This time period corresponds to the period when Mitsui was a bad boy and abandoned ball training, and the period when Akagi was alone in his second year and had no companions.
There is even the original heads-up plot of Mitsui and Miyagi, which also reproduces to a certain extent the head-to-head plot of the two at the training gym during the national competition, and the plot in which Miyagi sees the Rukawa Boxing Zekita poster, which is the surface.
At a deeper level, the core of other people's clues is reproduced intensively in Miyagi. The second round heads-up, which his brother failed to honor before his death, merged Miyagi's basketball and life's difficulties into one.
His feelings for his brother stem first of all from wavering in the face of the powerful Yamano, which is equivalent to Akagi and Rukawa facing Kawada and Zekita. Moreover, he was hospitalized because of a fight with Mitsui, which caused a basketball break and made him have regrets shared with Mitsui.
When the original plot is channeled back to the game part, Miyagi's remorse is dissolved, and the limitations are also broken, and the other characters are also internally mirrored.
From confusion at the beginning, to maintaining the confidence to defeat the mountain king, to the hollow into the net after looking back at Fukatsu during the free throw, to the proper passing of the ball under the tearing collar. This is both the fulfillment of the wish of the dead brother and the reappearance of the Ryukawa.
Miyagi's revitalization of the team and leading everyone in the game is not only the duty of the point guard, but also in line with the content of Miyagi's comparison of "soy sauce" in the original work, which is also the limitation that Akagi and Rukawa overcome.
And Miyagi's frequent passing to Rukawa under the defense of Fukazu, as well as the sense of integration given by many close-ups of split-screen emojis at climactic moments, make Miyagi no longer trapped in the loneliness of lacking companions, and also correspond to the transformation of Kaede Rukawa who no longer goes his own way and begins to pass the ball to others. Miyagi's reunion with Mitsui after being discharged from the hospital is a joint reunion between the two of them to make up for the wasted time in the past.
The confrontation with Fukatsu is the highlighted part, which is the embodiment of Miyagi's belief, but also makes up for the pain of family affection, he fulfilled his brother's dream of defeating the mountain king, and also completed the second round head-to-head with his brother in disguise. And when he became the captain, it also corresponded to what his brother once said, "One day you will be the captain of the family", realizing the double consummation of family and team.
In the original work, the mountain king battle has a dual significance for basketball and life, which is not only the "youth with regrets forever" at the basketball level, but also the "value of the heart itself that never gives up" at the level of life.
With Miyagi's original plot, the film makes the combination of the two more explicit. To some extent, the other four are the main clues of the TV version, and Miyagi becomes the clue in the theatrical version, which is Inoue's different presentation of the same inner theme at different ages and life stages.
When creating the manga, Inoue himself was relatively young, and his understanding of the characters' life dilemmas was more focused on the perspective of the "adolescent self", whether it was Akagi's difficult companionship, Mitsui's wasted time, Sakuragi's inability to find a purpose in life, and Rukawa's loneliness, all of which mainly focused on the individual.
In the theatrical version, Inoue's age increases, and Miyagi's life dilemma setting switches to the perspective of adults - how to get along with his family, how to achieve mutual understanding in family affection, and how to smooth out the gulf between the elders and juniors' outlook on life. The core of the two is the same "basketball and life combination, breakthrough to the shackles of dilemma", but the specific manifestations are different.
Audiences who watch the theatrical version in the context of the original work will inevitably have some sense of violation of the content of the Miyagi Line. But this sense of discord itself is actually very interesting, and we can see the development and inner changes of Inoue himself over the years.
Third, the thinness of the Miyagi Line
Although Inoue's change of thinking is in line with the expression of the film, it also has a big disadvantage: it is too simple and straightforward to use the Miyagi line as a clue.
Due to the consistent emphasis on "side-to-side development with the ball", it is often the player who plays the strong side with the duo or singles out the most dramatically, and the role player will be "soy sauce" once he lacks the ability to catch and project.
As a result, holding the ball and receiving throwing are mediocre, breaking through Miyagi, who is crushed by his height and arm span, the influence of the game is difficult to implement in the details of the arena, only the "breaking and cracking" and "creating the body" in each round in the original work, the performance of growth is a little vain, and can only be forced to increase the sense of participation in the game by the close-up of the reaction of the climax of various games.
In the comics, blocking and dismantling is a tactical connection, and bumping fists is an emotional connection, and basically only the former is left in the movie. For example, as just mentioned, Mitsui and Akagi clashed after blocking three points.
In the original work, this is not only presented in many close-ups, but also has the inner lines of the two, especially Mitsui's personal monologue when he scored three consecutive points, "All I can do is keep shooting", so that there is a teammate who trusts and supports each other at that moment.
Due to the lack of a narrative of Mitsui's experience, the three-point burst that breaks through the limits of physical strength loses the regret of the wasted time, and simply firepower is fully fired. Without Akagi's flashing memories of repeatedly encouraging his teammates in previous years, but fighting alone, without Mitsui's regretful memories of wasting time and confessions of redeeming himself, these few fists would not have the corresponding emotional strength, Akagi finally got a comrade like Sakuragi, and Mitsui also had a brother who made a wall for him.
The showdown between Rukawa and Zebei has also been deleted a lot. In the manga, after almost every round of head-to-head play, Inoue will let the two withdraw from the atmosphere of the game, not disturbed by the surrounding sounds, as if not participating in the next round of kickoff, and completely enter the world of two-player competition.
When Zebei was a child, he singled out with his father, from defeat to victory, and only then did he enjoy the joy of competitive sports. Coach Anzai's memories of Gu Ze's death in a car accident after going to the United States were also added in time, making up for his regret of feeling pressure and lack of confidence. Rukawa, Zekita, and Sakuragi's winning spirit of "enjoying the game" was also contrasted by Tanizawa.
In the movie, the offensive and defensive rounds must go on all the time, and the two are not allowed to communicate with each other, and at most they can only talk during the next round. The image of Zebei that his father recalled was completely deleted and replaced with a shorter, less interrupted rhythm of the game, and the part of Gu Ze disappeared.
Similarly, at the beginning of the game, the collective demonstration after Sakuragi, Mitsui, and Miyagi completed their attack, and after the game was over and time froze, the whistle was played by the referee, and Inoue abandoned the transition from absolute silence to relaxation and joy, allowing another part to merge into the flowing game and become part of the content of the arena.
Mitsui's dialogue when he confronts Yamano's tear-and-bite defensive attrition tactics, Rukawa's approach to "Japan's first high school student" treating his human body with his human ways, and Akagi's mockery of everyone turning into a Q version when he says "thank you" during a pause. The hearts of the characters are hidden, the lines become more of a simple reaction to the content of the game, and the role of emotional shaping is diluted.
4. Seemingly Avoiding Feelings But in fact, they rely on feelings
The biggest charm of the "Slam Dunk" comic is not only the game, but also the freedom and extreme intensity of emotions, because the charm of youth is not a momentary victory or defeat, but the blood of the heart.
But in the movie, because it is impossible to restore the manga in its entirety, Inoue chooses to tilt the competitive side, and the emotional power is inevitably weakened, which is obviously unable to catch the extreme emotion in the original work.
The audience who goes to see the movie, the emotional experience of the content of the movie, need to mobilize the memory and feelings of the original work, with its feelings to supplement the film expression, from another point of view, this is a very lazy approach, in all aspects are firmly bound to "feelings".
This treatment is nakedly reflected in the moment of Sakuragi's slaughter. The line "The left hand only needs to be gently held" guides the plot of the past, docking Sakuragi's hard training, love for basketball and never giving up, which is another emotional peak of the whole work. However, in the movie, Inoue just makes that picture appear, making Sakuragi's lips move slightly, but does not give any vocal confession.
Of course, this can be understood as circumventing the previous plot, not selling feelings, and also rendering the atmosphere in a quiet way. But deliberately withholding the line, rather than deleting it, shows Inoue's great confidence in the audience's feelings: anyone who watches this work must know the content of this sentence.
This is very paradoxical, since it has been based on feelings, and even uses the "dragonfly water" of the originally important details to mobilize the audience's past memories, so as to complete the clever narrative, then why is it necessary for the movie to delete a lot of plots?
It seems that Inoue is not only pinning on the feelings of past memories, but does not want to completely stop here, otherwise there will be no original clues from Miyagi, and this inner state is actually in line with Inoue's never-ending and exploring heart on the road of manga creation. But the avoidance of feelings constitutes the embarrassment of this work.
In any case, in terms of the finished film, the importance of feelings to this work is unabashedly expressed in the moment when Sakuragi silently recited the white. All its operations are trying to make the work exist independently in the form of a single movie, but in the end, all the expressiveness always relies closely on the emotional projection of old fans.