Poster of the Chinese version of the movie "Eternal Life in the Fire" (1965).
Zhao Dan (1915-1980) could never have imagined that Eternal Life in the Fire (1965) would be his last work since he became a film in 1932.
Previously, he was forced to step down because he wanted to act in "The Biography of Lu Xun", and was ordered to direct "Qingshan Love" (1964), and he was criticized for no reason, repeatedly frustrated and confused.
Zhao Dan's image in the film Eternal Life in the Fire (1965).
At this time, a film by Yu Lan (1921-2020) inviting him to participate in a revolutionary group in the novel "Red Rock" made him very happy.
As Zhao Dan, who has a high status in the film industry, every film is absolutely leading the starring role, and this drama is a group drama, will he participate?
Yu Lan knew that Zhao Dan was a "drama addicted to life" and decided to write a letter to ask, when the director Shui Hua (1916-1995) also specifically instructed: "Don't forget to tell Zhao Dan that he is not the absolute protagonist of this play." ”
Images of Yu Lan and Zhao Dan in the film Eternal Life in the Fire (1965).
Zhao Dan quickly replied: "Yu Lan, how envious I am of you and Shui Hua, a creative collective!" I'm coming, I'm coming! ”
Zhao Dan's "envy" is not only because the film was a "hot" theme at that time, but also concentrated on the elite soldiers in the film industry, and there are many acquaintances, the photographer Zhu Jinming (1915-1989) was also a friend who went to Xinjiang that year, and his wife Zhao Yuan (1925-2020) was also in the same crew, which made Zhao Dan more kind and yearning.
Zhao Ziyue restores the image from the color version of the film Eternal Life in the Fire (1965).
The original work of "Red Rock" was created based on a real history that occurred on the eve of the liberation of Chongqing, and almost every character has a life archetype, which was a sensation after publication.
As soon as the novel "Red Rock" was published, it attracted great attention from the film industry. At that time, Yu Lan was examining his body in the hospital, and when he saw the novel from the serial of China Youth Daily, he was immediately deeply attracted and could not help but read it to his roommates excitedly.
She had just returned home from the hospital, and she and Ouyang Hongying (1920-1985), the first creative collective of Beiying, jointly planned to make "Red Rock" into a movie.
On location of the film Eternal Life in the Fire (1965), director Shui Hua (left) and cinematographer Zhu Jinming discuss the shooting of the camera
Soon Shui Hua called: "I heard that you and Ouyang Hongying are going to shoot "Red Rock"? It's a very good book, and I love it, can you let me shoot it? ”
Yu Lan immediately replied, "Of course, we just want to learn from you about directing." Not long after, Ouyang Hongying was assigned by the factory to co-direct "Little Soldier Zhang Ga" (1963) with Cui Song (1912-1979), and Yu Lansui assisted Shui Hua in the preparation of filming as an assistant director.
Images of Yu Lan and Ji Qiming in the film Eternal Life in The Fire (1965).
The first step was to adapt the novel into a film script. In the summer of 1962, Luo Guangbin (1924-1967), Yang Yiyan (1925-2017), and Liu Debin (1922-2001), authors of Red Rock, gathered at the Beiying Film Guest House in Beidaihe to begin writing the first draft of the film literary script.
In the winter of that year, through Luo Guangbin's contacts, Shui Hua and Yu Lan and others made a special trip to Chongqing and then to Guiyang, where they had more extensive contact with objects related to this period of history, including surviving revolutionaries and enemy agents in custody, collected many touching deeds of communists who shocked the world and wept ghosts, and after returning, sorted out nearly 200,000 words of information, which played an important role in the filming of the later film.
The film "Eternal Life in the Fire" (1965) is set from left: Wang Yang, screenwriter Xia Yan, Zhao Dan, Yu Lan
On this basis, Shui Hua, Yu Lan and others have revised two drafts successively. Due to the influence of the situation at that time, these drafts were too much revolutionary, ignoring the artistry they should be, and they were based on the framework of the original work, and did not get a pass order that could be filmed. In this case, at Shuihua's suggestion, Wang Yang (1916-1998), director of beiying, decided to ask Xia Yan for help.
In the early winter of 1963, Yu Lanfeng was sent to Xinhui in Guangdong to report on the script adaptation to Xia Yan, who was recuperating there, and Xia Yan asked, "Why don't you write About Sister Jiang?" ”
Yu Lan's image in the film Eternal Life in The Fire (1965).
He also said: "How touching is Sister Jiang's experience, she has a husband and children, and her husband is sacrificed, she is arrested again, and her experience is touching... The people will care about her fate! ”
Less than a week later, Xia Yan took out a literary script, adopted the method of "establishing the main brain and reducing the head", selected Sister Jiang as the main line among many heroic characters to structure the whole play, and combined the original work with the brilliant "highlights" in the previous drafts as much as possible, such as Xu Yunfeng's insight and planning, Hua Ziliang, the party secretary of Huaying Mountain, pretended to be crazy for 15 years, and there were "two-gun old women" and "old political prisoners" with magical colors.
Location of the movie "Eternal Life in the Fire" (1965), from left: Wang Yang, Yu Lan, Shui Hua, Zhao Dan, Xia Yan
While showing the struggle on the special battlefield of prisons at a larger length, scenes such as the escalation of the Kuomintang civil war, the demonstrations of college students, and the forced crossing of the Yangtze River by the People's Liberation Army are interwoven and intertwined with the Kuomintang's overall destruction fate and its localized rampage, forming a sharper and stronger contrast, making the original monotonous conflict between detection and counter-detection, torture and anti-torture, full of ups and downs.
At the same time that Lan went to Xinhui to ask Xia Yan to write the script, Shui Hua and Zhao Yuan were busy in Beijing to form a film crew and select actors.
Hu Peng's image in the film Eternal Life in the Fire (1965).
With their active efforts and the strong support of the factory leaders, a group of artistic backbones joined the crew, and the cast was very strong, in addition to Jiang Jie's pre-determined role due to Lan's role, she found a comrade-in-arms literary troupe art director Hu Peng (1916-2004) who was known for playing the image of a mother, playing the "two-gun old woman", Cai Songling (1913-1976) playing Hua Ziliang, and Xiang Kun (1915-2009) playing the secret agent leader Xu Pengfei.
Even Li Jingyuan, the head of the underground party who belonged to the small supporting roles, and Peng Songtao, the husband of Sister Jiang, were played by Zhang Ping (1917-1986) and Pang Xueqin (1929-2015).
Stills from the movie "Eternal Life in the Fire" (1965), Xiang Kun
When Xinhui returned, the film crew went all out to attack the outstanding municipal party secretary Xu Yunfeng, the traitor Fu Zhigao and the actor candidates of Xiao Radish Head.
Yu Lan recommended Ji Qiming (1922-2008) of Shanghai Renyi to play Fu Zhigao, who was a classmate of the Acting Class of the Central Academy of Drama, and Yu Lan knew his acting ability and was quickly recognized by Shui Hua.
The choice of the little radish head is the most laborious, until the location scene has been filmed, and it is not possible to find a little boy with a big head and a thin neck to play.
Fang Shu's image in the film Eternal Life in the Fire (1965).
Later, when he returned to Beijing to shoot the interior scene, Zhao Yuanduo, who was already an assistant director at the time, looked for Fang Shu from the Central Conservatory of Music, and the appearance was very close to the role, but it was a pity that it was difficult for a girl to make a decision, so he quietly asked Yu Lan to help review it.
Yu Lan also thinks that the image is very good, and the most satisfying thing is that Fang Shu has a pair of big crystal eyes, and there are some melancholy colors. How to make Shui Hua accept that a little girl will play a little turnip head?
Yu Lan, who has a lot of experience in stage dramas, came up with an idea, asking the makeup artist to make a hood for Fang Shu, then take a photo and send it to Shui Hua to see. This trick really worked, and Shui Hua saw the photo and felt good immediately.
On the set of the movie "Eternal Life in the Fire" (1965), director Shui Hua directed Fang Shu to talk about the scene
However, Xu Yunfeng's corner was undecided. Yu Lan once recommended Tang Huada (1920-2011) in Shangying, who starred in Zhao Hong, a senior cadre of the New Fourth Army in "Shangrao Concentration Camp", and showed great determination and composure of the characters, but Shui Hua shook his head and did not approve.
After a while, Yu Lan recommended Tian Fang (1911-1974), believing that he had the revolutionary temperament of Xu Yunfeng's role, but Shui Hua still did not nod.
This made Yu Lan have to wonder, what kind of Xu Yunfeng did Shui Hua really want? After careful screening, she proposed to Shui Hua, "What do you think of Zhao Dan?" This time, Shui Hua did not shake his head, but after a long silence, he said: "Xu Yunfeng is not the absolute protagonist in the play, is he willing?"
The front row is Yu Lan and Tian Fang, and the left side of the back row is Tian Zhuangzhuang
Yu Lanhou pondered why Shuihua did not use Tian Fang and used Zhao Dan, obviously believing that Tian Fang had been in Yan'an for many years, and after the tempering of the base area and the revolutionary contingent, he had already been "Yan'anized", and Zhao Dan had been engaged in revolutionary literary and artistic work in the White Area, that is, the Kuomintang-ruled area, and he had been persecuted by Sheng Shicai in Xinjiang and had a life experience in prison struggle, so it can be said that every move of his hand and a full throw would have the feeling of working in the White Zone.
From the start of preparation in 1962 to the actual shooting in 1964, when the concept of "class struggle" was becoming more and more serious, and the artist's creative personality became more and more insignificant, which brought some impact to the filming of the film "Eternal Life in the Fire", but the main creative team still tried to keep up with the situation and adapt to the needs of the times.
Images of Zhao Dan and Ji Qiming in the film Eternal Life in the Fire (1965).
To make matters worse, in the filming of the film, Xia Yan (1900-1995) was the first to bear the brunt of the "rectification movement" and the film, as his direct participation in the creation, was also affected, and the screenwriter's signature had to be changed to the unfamiliar "Zhou Hao" from the outside world.
In fact, this is the third collaboration between Xia Yan and director Shui Hua after "Lin Jia Puzi" (1959) and "Revolutionary Family" (1961).
Zhao Dan, who was the last to go down to the film crew at that time, after reading the film script, caused a dispute about the film's performance style. Zhao Dan believes that there are some good things in the original novel that are not in the script, such as the character of Cheng Gang is a pity that it is not written in it, and he even imagines that if there is a scene of Xu Yunfeng and Cheng Gang in the torture room in the play, xu Yunfeng will hold his beloved comrade-in-arms, the flesh and blood blurred Cheng Gang, "How much power should this have on the screen."
Stills from the movie "Eternal Life in the Fire" (1965), Zhao Dan and Xiang Kun
Influenced by Zhao Dan's attitude, and under his repeated questioning, Luo Guangbin, Yang Yiyan, Liu Debin, the three original authors also expressed their "dissatisfaction" with the script, feeling that the film script was no longer their "Red Rock", but Xia Yan's "re-creation", of course, this is "permitted", and Xia Yan's revised script has disappeared "romance" but only "reality".
Just as Zhao Dan later boasted of this "trouble-making" act, it was like "throwing a big stone into a calm lake", which "stirred up waves" between the three original authors, directors, cinematographers and lead actors, and a heated discussion was held on what was the combination of "realism" and "double revolution (revolutionary realism and revolutionary romanticism)" and compared with the novel and film script of "Red Rock".
Zhao Dan felt that he had "laid down a heavy stone" after this controversy, and quickly formulated a character spectrum for xu Yunfeng, whom he played: perseverance, composure, sincerity, wit, approachability, optimism, and perseverance and composure as the core and characteristics of his personality.
In the end, the film "Eternal Life in the Fire" is centered on the struggle activities of Xu Yunfeng and Jiang Jie, showing the difficult underground revolutionary struggle and the harsh prison struggle at that time, as well as the indomitable revolutionary belief and dedication of the imprisoned Communists.
From left: Yu Lan, Luo Guangbin, author of "Red Rock", Ji Qiming, Wang Xingang
Shui Hua's film "Lin Jia Puzi" is also a classic in the history of new Chinese cinema.
The concise, rigorous, delicate and subtle qualities of his directing style are also reflected in the film "Eternal Life in the Fire", which is full of a strong revolutionary passion.
Although it is a film that praises heroes, the director avoids the performance of bold words, pays attention to excavating the details of life, and shows the spiritual outlook of the heroes in real and touching details.
Restores the images from the color version of the film Eternal Life in Flames (1965).
This subtle brushstroke of portraying the characters also makes some minor characters with several strokes into quite glorious and unforgettable screen images, such as Hua Ziliang, an underground worker who has been pretending to be crazy for many years in prison, and the innocent and cute little radish head with a sense of justice.
When Zhao Dan starred in Xu Yunfeng, he strived to pursue an improvised, real and natural life performance, so that this character had both internal heroism and an approachable sense of intimacy, and it can be said that Xu Yunfeng is the role that is the least "overheated" and the least "staged" trace of the screen image created by Zhao Dan.
Stills from the movie "Eternal Life in the Fire" (1965), from left: Yu Lan, Zhao Dan, Zhang Ping
Sister Jiang played by Yu Lan is even more impressive, and the brilliance of Sister Jiang not only comes from her indomitable death, but also from Yu Lan's gentleness and delicacy into the hands and feet of the characters, and these heroic images have influenced generations of Chinese audiences.
Xu Pengfei, played by Xiang Kun, fully expresses the character's loyalty to the party-state and his cruelty to the Communists, and at the same time, starting from the psychology of the characters, has made appropriate treatment of Xu Pengfei's anxiety when he is anxious to achieve success and the hysteria before the final collapse, avoiding the face of the negative characters.
Stills from the movie "Eternal Life in the Fire" (1965), Wang Xingang
It is worth mentioning that Wang Xingang also participated in the filming of "Eternal Life in the Fire" - with his appearance, he is the most suitable candidate to play one of the original male protagonists, Chenggang.
Only later, in a limited period of time, this script should highlight and represent the female heroic martyr Jiang Jie and another male protagonist, Xu Yunfeng, and completely delete Cheng Gang, one of the three protagonists in the novel.
This shot of Wang Xingang in the film Eternal Life in the Fire (1965) did not appear in the film in the end
Wang Xingang played only the supporting role of Liu Siyang in the film, and after the completion of the film and then revised several times, Wang Xingang's supporting role not only did not "survive", but also became one of the nameless friends without any characteristics.
After watching this movie at that time, Premier Zhou also specifically studied what the name of this film should be, and proposed to call it "Sister Jiang" or "Eternal Life in the Fire", and finally he decided that "it is still called "Eternal Life in the Fire"! Guo Moruo heard that the film specially wrote a timeless title for the film.
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