The glory days of the sassy circus
From the 80s to the mid-90s of the 20th century, it was the heyday of mainland costume dramas. The audience has a great yearning for the romance and heroism of the rivers and lakes shown in the play.
At that time, the grand circus scenes that frequently appeared on the big screen were touching and exciting. In many famous dramas such as "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and "Water Margin", Zhang Shan, Li Jingfei, and Lu Shuming, all of whom have deep skills in equestrianism.
They soar through the world with their horses, as if they were born for horses.
In the mid-to-late 90s, actors such as Jiao Enjun and Wu Qilong rose to pass on the sassy aura. They starred in dramas such as "White Horse Howling West Wind", "Smiling Proud Jianghu", "Xiao Shiyi Lang" and other dramas, Jiao Enjun galloped with countless shots, and Wu Qilong gave full play to the equestrian performance in "Xiao Shiyi Lang".
The posture of the two of them jumping on horseback lightly, and the momentum of slowly stopping the reins, made people's blood boil and inspire.
The hearty real circus on the screen back then is still unforgettable and can be called a classic.
The circus has been reduced to a foolish routine
After entering the 21st century, the output of costume dramas in mainland China has increased rapidly, the content of dramas has been simplified, and the technical strength of production teams is uneven. As a result, many new young fresh meat actors did not systematically learn Xi to ride horses, let alone work equestrianism.
In order to meet the deadline, the crew is not willing to spend time and money on training. As a result, all kinds of fraudulent methods came into being.
The data shows that in the costume dramas broadcast in the past 5 years, more than sixty percent of them have used electric fake horses or simple shelves, and staff pretending to be horses to fool around. The comical scene of the actor standing on the ground or on the back of the "centaur" bouncing up and down, shaking the fake reins and shouting "drive", is really ridiculous.
What's more, even the fake horse doesn't need to be real, only the upper body of the actor is photographed, and he doesn't dare to show the fake appearance below. This kind of style that doesn't put the audience in the eyes is really a shame in the costume drama industry.
It can be said that the circus has gone from a highlight that makes the audience watch the excitement to a routine and gimmick that many teams use perfunctory to deal with and fool the audience. This directly led to the reputation of costume dramas plummeting, and the audience lost trust in it.
Seeing that the once glorious horseback culture has withdrawn from the stage of history in this way.
These actors are riding horses
Although the current situation of circus degeneration to routine is so miserable, we are fortunate to see some actors through their own efforts to ride horses and whip sassy and unique.
Jiao Enjun, a contemporary "male god in ancient costumes", has become famous since the drama "White Horse Whistling West Wind", almost every costume work has his heroic posture of jumping on horseback lightly, riding a horse with long legs.
In "The Condor Heroes", he played Yang Guo dressed in white, riding a matching white horse, galloping on the grassland. He opened his bow left and right, skillfully controlled the horse, and his momentum was impressive.
The audience watched him on the screen sassy and jumping, and the picture of being one with the horse, all of them were enthusiastic and excited.
In addition, there are also people who work equestrianism. Wu Lei always shoots the theme of the Anti-Japanese War, and the wild and masculine beauty from the heart is shocking.
Before filming "East Palace", Chen Xingxu seriously learned Xi riding. His heroic and majestic image on the horse is really eye-catching. The sassy figures of these young actors bring us hope for the revival of costume dramas.
The true face of Lushan and the romance of the rivers and lakes
In recent years, costume dramas pointing at green screens have been flying all over the sky, but there are very few high-quality works. It is gratifying that there are still a small number of crews and actors who uphold their original intentions and pursue magnificent live-action shooting effects.
The 2003 version of "Dragon Babu" can be described as unique. Back then, the crew led all the actors to shoot on location, and they all went on the ground to shoot, the scene was magnificent and magnificent, and the rivers and lakes were full of spirit.
Liu Yifei, who is only 15 years old, insists on going into battle in person and does not need a stand-in to complete many horseback riding scenes. Watching her slender girlish figure galloping on the back of an elegant horse, there is a sense of realism and romance in the rivers and lakes.
The recently hit "Fengshen Part 1" also strictly requires all members to ride horses on real scenes, and the actors have been training for several years in advance. In the film, there are a group of 180+ small fresh meat, riding tall horses and galloping neatly, with a majestic formation, which makes people's blood boil.
What's even more commendable is that we have finally seen film and television dramas regain the true face of "horseback culture", and it seems that there is a glimmer of revival in the distance.
Regain the sassiness on horseback
Through comparative analysis, we can clearly see that a truly excellent costume circus has key elements such as real-life horseback riding and the actors' own profound skills.
First, the crew should not be stingy with time, and should allow sufficient training periods to provide venue scenes so that the actors can practice equestrian skills. The requirements for actors should not stop at the appearance, but also pay attention to internal skills, looking for people who really have the backbone of the rivers and lakes and are willing to work horseback riding.
The second is that the actors themselves should also keep in mind their original intentions, don't sit back and enjoy their successes, and be content with a corner. It should be consistent with the goal of the crew, in order to present the most sassy and heroic posture and satisfy the audience to the greatest extent, and persistently improve in equestrianism.
Only when the inner charm of the actor is exerted and the external skills are internalized, will we see the real high-spirited equestrianism on the screen.