Du Liang is an atypical writer. He joined the army for many years before retiring from the army and turning to business. At a gathering with his fellow soldiers, after three rounds of drinking, Du Liang was full of pride, insisting that the quality of the popular works is uneven, and he can write a novel of excellent quality.
A few friends started to tease, you have such a great ability?
Du Liang immediately solemnly agreed, if I write, I will definitely write it. Everyone laughed, thinking he was bluffing. One of them said, "If you really write a good book, I'll give you a BMW."
So Du Liang secretly made up his mind to write a work to prove himself in the midst of everyone's banter. After all, having joined the army and fought in wars, and has rich life experience, it should not be a big problem to write a book on the theme of war.
Sure enough, Du Liang went home and began to write. He chose to draw material from his familiar military life, while adding rich character portrayals and delicate emotional descriptions.
Eight months later, he wrote a military novel, "Heroes of the End", which was later renamed "Bright Sword". Through this debut novel, Du Liang proved in one fell swoop that he is not honest and honest.
Upon its publication, the novel was a huge success, selling 9 million copies. Du Liang also became famous because of this, officially transforming from a small businessman to a best-selling author.
His friends also had to admit that they had despised his literary prowess.
The novel "Bright Sword" caused a strong response as soon as it was released. Many directors and producers want to bring its adaptation to the screen. Among them, director Liu Yanming's obsession is the strongest.
In 2001, he happened to read this novel on a plane to the United States, and was deeply impressed by the new three-dimensional character of Li Yunlong, and his excitement was difficult to calm down.
After landing, he immediately contacted Du Liang, hoping to buy the adaptation rights as soon as possible and start filming the TV series. However, knowing that the adaptation rights had been sold to Radio and Television, Liu Yanming was not discouraged, and finally won this valuable adaptation right after negotiations with many parties.
However, in addition to being happy, Liu Yanming also had a headache to find a suitable leading actor. At that time, the military drama market was in a downturn, and it was difficult to find candidates who dared to shoot and act. Chen Jianbin who contacted him at the first time directly and decisively refused, on the grounds that he was not interested in this script.
Li Youbin was persuaded by Shi Lanya many times, and he also had doubts about whether his body could withstand this drama. Even Zhang Guangbei, who later accepted the invitation, initially refused - he was busy with the post-production work of other dramas, so how could he have time to act in a new play! It was not until he personally read through the script and saw Chu Yunfei, a good character with a distinct personality and strong blood, that Zhang Guangbei readily agreed to join the crew.
It can be seen that it is really difficult for Director Liu to get these big-name stars to nod and star.
The role of Monk Wei initially didn't want Zhang Tong to play, and the director felt that he needed an actor who really "knew how to do both". But Zhang Tong has a soft spot for this role, just because he has the opportunity to show his martial arts on camera.
In order to get this role, he did not hesitate to brag in front of the director that he knew martial arts. The director asked him to make a few strokes on the spot, and Zhang Tong was lucky enough to get through the test and won the role of Monk Wei.
However, Zhang Tong's acting skills are unfamiliar and he never knows the way of acting. He often robbed other people's roles and suppressed Li Yunlong's starring role. Once a reporter came to the crew for an interview, he had to run for several miles with Li Youbin on his back, causing Li Youbin to be half dead by him.
He's for those shots. Another time, he played the role of a bandit and was about to rob Li Youbin, but he was too excited and kicked someone off the cliff, causing Li Youbin to be injured again, which was criticized and educated.
Zhang Tong's unscrupulous psychology and immature acting skills brought a lot of trouble to the crew in order to become famous, and almost lost the safety of the leading actor.
The framing of "Bright Sword" was very difficult, most of the locations were remote and complex, vehicles could not be driven directly in, and all the equipment and props needed to be carried in by the crew.
What's even more troublesome is that the framing time is in the cold winter, and the temperature of minus twenty or thirty degrees makes people shiver. The cast and crew had to light a campfire to keep warm, and many of the shots were done around the fire.
Li Youbin suffered a lot in such a harsh environment. Once, he had a high fever that didn't go away, and he couldn't stop shivering even after wearing three down jackets. Seeing this, Zhang Guangbei hurriedly asked the staff to stop work, first took long shots, and then dragged Li Youbin to the hospital.
Unexpectedly, Li Youbin blatantly refused, and he had to finish filming this scene. The two had to turn on the liquor on the spot to warm up Li Youbin. After barely filming a scene like this, Li Youbin's body collapsed, so he had to send him to the hospital for infusion.
It can be seen how hard the actors worked in the framing process.
The reason why "Bright Sword" has become a classic is that it breaks the consistent performance techniques of previous war drama works and makes the audience's eyes shine. In the past, this type of drama mostly rendered heroes in the face style, and they seemed to be omnipotent, invincible, and so perfect that they didn't look like real people.
And the characters such as Li Yunlong and Chu Yunfei in "Bright Sword" are extremely real and amiable.
Li Yunlong is an old-fashioned and casual field commander. He is informal, has a straightforward temper, and a few swear words pop out of his mouth from time to time. Such a vivid character is the easiest for ordinary audiences to have a sense of substitution and resonance.
Chu Yunfei, as the political commissar, did not deliberately exaggerate his tall and complete positive image, but delicately portrayed his inner fragility and sentimentality. These three-dimensional figures break the audience's visual inertia and bring a new aesthetic experience.
In addition, the performance of war in the play is also relatively objective and realistic, and there is no brainwashing to exaggerate heroism. The audience can truly feel the cruelty of war and the fragility of life.
It is this combination of authenticity and substitution that makes "Bright Sword" a popular classic. It not only records history, but also touches the hearts of countless people.
Time has passed, and the drama "Bright Sword" has been broadcast for more than 15 years, but its classic status has never been replaced. This war-themed drama with a cruel background and three-dimensional characters has achieved unprecedented success and has become one of the most classic anti-Japanese war dramas in the hearts of tens of millions of viewers.
Judging from the data, the number of reruns of "Bright Sword" proves its far-reaching influence. According to statistics, from 2007 to the present, the show has been replayed 339 times on various satellite TV channels, ranking third only after several classic works such as "Journey to the West", which ranked first and second.
It can be seen that it has become a well-known heirloom in the minds of the audience.
Countless netizens and fans commented that they still remember and are deeply impressed by this extremely difficult drama. In particular, Li Yunlong, a vivid and close to life character, has won the love of many people.
Some people even counted that he broke foul language more than 900 times in the whole play, bringing too much joy to the audience. It can be said that vivid character creation is the key to "Bright Sword" becoming a classic.
15 years later, the graphics of "Bright Sword" may be a little outdated. But its realistic depiction of war life is always moving and breathtaking. As Li Youbin himself said, he didn't expect this drama to become like this.
Today, it has become one of the most historical classics in the Chinese region.