Park Chan-wook, born in 1963 in Seoul, South Korea, is a famous director, screenwriter and producer. In 2002, he directed the crime film "I Want Revenge". In 2004, "Old Boys" shocked the world and won the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes International Film Festival. In 2005, "Kind Of Gold" was shortlisted for the main competition section of the Venice International Film Festival. The "Revenge Trilogy" is internationally renowned and has set off a wave of Korean movies around the world.
South Korean director Bong Joon-ho's "Parasite" won four awards at the 92nd Oscars, attracting everyone's attention to Korean films. Many Korean films are known for their boldness and pungency, among which park Chan-wook, a ghost director with violent and dark aesthetic characteristics, is one of the representative Korean directors. This year, Park Chan-wook published his first collection of Chinese personal essays.
The book "Park Chan-wook's Montage" contains Park Chan-wook's articles and film notes from 1997 to 2005, documenting the birth process and creative concepts of important films such as "Common Security Zone", "I Want Revenge", "Old Boy", and "Kind Gold". Among them, 18 column essays record the director's daily thoughts and thoughts, from literature to music to film, views on the world, and thoughts on habitual phenomena; 12 interviews, creative interviews and 130 photos about the twists and turns of the filming process and ideas; 13 in-depth film review analysis, park Chan-wook, who is both director and film critic, commented on classic movies such as "The Godfather", "Blade Runner", "North by Northwest" and so on.
As a veteran B-movie enthusiast, Park Chan-wook shares with readers the reasons for his fascination with B-movies and his ten favorite B-movies. The following two articles, "Only Because of Personality 丨 About B-grade Films" and "I Love B-grade Films" from the book "Park Chan-wook's Montage", are reprinted with the permission of MoTie.
"Park Chan-wook's Montage", [Han] Park Chan-wook, translated by Yang Fan, Mo Tie 丨 Sichuan Literature and Art Publishing House, January 2020 edition.
The original author 丨 Park Chan-wook
Just because of personality: about B-grade films
Hello readers!
Before getting into the main topic, I would like to explain the reasons why I wrote such an article and the nature of the article. Interpreted from a cinematic perspective, it is similar to the technique often used by Woody Allen. For example, he says something like this at the beginning of Annie Hall, which reads something like this:
We complain about the shortness of life, just as we complain about the shortness of life in a restaurant that is neither good nor small. But if it's really that painful, why do you want it to be longer? Like those who know they're bad but aren't willing to join the club that is willing to accept their bad reviews, I also have a distorted perspective on my own women. So from now on, I will explain to you why it has become so.
As another example, "Everybody Says I Love You" is a film about the rich that is far removed from the lives of ordinary audiences, and the following remarks are a kind of defense of the director: "This film is different from the traditional musical-style comedy, because
(as the protagonist)
Our family is very wealthy. ”
All in all, my beginning can also be seen as an excuse. Starting with the conclusion, my dear Editor-in-Chief Park Eun-sil gave me a rather unconscionable entrustment. The reason I use the term "no common sense" is because he didn't leave me time to write at all. As usual, he poured me ecstasy soup and said insincerely that only I could hand over the manuscript in such a tight time. I hate this kind of person the most. As far as I know, this kind of person not only pays very little for the manuscript, but also desperately urges the manuscript before the deadline, and I did not watch the movie "Barton Fink" in vain.
Park Chan-wook's film "Miss".
They all blamed themselves for being mentally weak at the banquet, and since they had all agreed to others, there was only one way to do it—to avoid him repeating the mistakes of the past, to give him a wake-up call, to let him know how bad the articles that had been rushed out in a hurry at a tight time were. As explained in the Barton Fink movie, if you don't force people to write something, there may be a serial murder case.
Speaking of which, it is tempting to quote Jean-Luc Godard, the best proverb in the history of cinema: "When a director expresses his ideas through film, the most effective way is to say them directly. My most respected Korean director Kim Ki-young has a line in his most original B-movie masterpiece, The Girl Who Chased the Butterfly: "Will! As long as there is a will, absolutely will not die! This line is repeated nearly a hundred times in this film.
Francis Ford Coppola also begins the film with the line "I Believe in America," and the Coen brothers' "Miller's Crossroads" begins with "I'm talking about friendship, character, and ethics."
And what I want to write most is to be blunt. In addition to the lessons I have to give Park Eun-sil ahead, I will assure readers that I will not disappoint everyone and are definitely worth looking forward to. As we all know, B-grade films are low-budget films. Why not just say it's a low-budget movie instead of a B-movie? Implicit in this is a very specific historical and aesthetic. Between the 1930s and the 1950s, two types of films appeared in the United States, starring multiple stars and shooting large-scale, large-scale, large-budget A-grade films, and B-rated films with no stars and no spectacular shots.
All phenomena have their material basis. At that time, before the American theaters showed movies, they would show news or anime first like Korean theaters broadcast "Korean News". 1 So it was suggested that instead of putting on some boring clips, it was better to give the audience a complete movie. At a time when there was no entertainment other than movies, no matter how ridiculous the movies were, it was always tempting to pay for two movies. Until now, watching movies at the Taoyuan Theater in Enping District can still encounter this kind of thing, and the two movies selected with amazing eyes are always full of temptations. All in all, it's a good thing to kill two birds with one stone, audiences can watch movies for free, and movie theaters can attract more audiences.
So, what is the position of the studio? For them, this is not only a good thing, but also a very inspiring and innovative business.
First, the box office revenue of B-grade films is not settled as a percentage after the end of the release, but pre-ordered, that is, pre-sold in advance at a certain price, collected first and delivered later. Therefore, after collecting all the funds from theaters across the country, they are within their quotas
(Of course leave enough profit first)
Make a movie, so you don't lose money anyway. B is a capital-preserving trading strategy, and A is a betting money-making game.
This approach is the best way to compensate for the nature of the film industry's stakes. Moreover, the Hollywood stars at that time were all big names who could guarantee income generation as soon as they starred, but unlike today's actors, they obviously could not guarantee box office results and took away high remuneration. It can be seen how easy it was for the popular film companies at that time to make money!
Second, B-grade films are a medium that can actively utilize idle manpower. At that time, the situation was different from now, when the actors and production teams signed labor contracts with professional studios for salary, but not everyone could make A-grade films. In this case, b-grade films that are shot dozens or hundreds of times a year become fragrant. At that time, Hollywood was surrounded by unemployed people in the film industry, which was a very beneficial thing for society from the perspective of job creation alone, it could make idle but still salaried employees play their own value, train newcomers who had little industry experience, and it was also a place where arrogant and rude people were exiled, and it was also a nursing home for those who died of giants.
Third, grade B films are the outpost of the raiders in the crack market. The goal of A-grade films is to make movies that everyone loves, but this universality hides a huge trap. Just as not all coffee lovers love Starbucks, there are minority people everywhere who don't like universality, and that's a fact that any market will exist. Even so, if you think that the bosses of Hollywood's top studios are thinking that those who have long been obsessed with the same star system, the same storyline, the three-dimensional character image, the exact same happy ending, always content with the status quo, support the existing system, and have the right to watch movies with non-critical conservatism such as male superiority and racial discrimination, then I can only say that you are too ignorant of the minds of businessmen. In fact, if a small number of viewers with various orientations are brought together, the number of them is also quite considerable, and it is a pity to miss it. Monogram, best known for Jean-Luc Godard's Exhausted, is a legendary B-movie studio, whose owner, Steve Brody, gives a very lucid note: "Not everyone likes to eat cake, some people like to eat bread, and even some people prefer dry bread to freshly baked bread." ”
Of course, it's not that all B-grade films are very exciting, on the contrary, most of them are garbage. From planning to release in only one month, how good can a movie made in just half a month be? The number of B-grade films is impressive, but there are very few masterpieces, and those masterpieces often exude an unexpected quality beauty compared to blockbusters that have invested a lot of money. After finishing Orson Wells's The Great Ambason, Jacques Turner used his existing location to make another film, Leopards, which earned thirty times the production fee. Of course, from the perspective of the value of the work, it is also a masterpiece that is not inferior. Because it was a masterpiece, it was later remade by Natasha Kinsky, the most famous star of the time. In fact, most of the recent Hollywood remakes are based on the B-grade films of that year.
For example, Jacques Turner's "Leopard Clan", as well as "Fly Changer", "Death Vortex", "Magic Flower", "Alien Base", "Spy Navy Soul", "Magic Boy Village", "Martian Playing with earth", "Long Rider", "Cape of Horror", "Monster", "Postman Always Rings the Bell Twice", "Frankenstein", "Dracula", "Mutant DNA", "Alien Strange Flower", "Crazy Flower"... These works have a vitality that has not faded even after decades, but it is technically deficient, so Hollywood may think that it can be commercialized again by simply repackaging. It can be seen that many of the Hollywood masterpieces that have been handed down to this day are B-grade films, what does this mean? It is talent, not money, that determines success. This is a universal, unique and timeless truth in art and business.
It was a way for Hollywood at the time to combine the least amount of money with the most talent. Because there's nothing to lose by doing whatever you want, studio owners and planners aren't putting too much pressure on the B-movie production team. In other words, it is laissez-faire in disguise. As long as you don't need more money and deliver the film on time, everything will be fine! Another reason is that all B-grade films are genre films, Westerns, horror films, gangster films,, science fiction films... Since the pursuit of shooting speed, these films can only take the path of genre films. Because of the existing shooting scenes, the costumes that have been prepared, and the props used many times to make the film, about these situations, director Tim Burton has made a wonderful interpretation through the movie "Ed Wood".
Some catty directors may still feel free from it. To exaggerate, this is a venting channel. Beautiful poisonous mushrooms grow in the dead corners of businessmen. When extraordinary people complain for days, a few geniuses who know how to be grateful and can flexibly apply these conditions have successively created B-grade film masterpieces. Although the filming of these works is stretched thinly, it is precisely because of poverty that they are more beautiful, which is called good and bad movies.
Doesn't it say that aesthetics comes from economics? This means that if the material conditions are different, then different aesthetics will arise. In other words, low-budget films naturally produce their characteristic aesthetics. Don't understand low-budget films from an economic point of view alone, but from a unique aesthetic perspective. B-grade film producers should defeat blockbusters with human touch, and defeat perfect technology with stubbornness all the way to black. In any case, we must create a difference, and only in this way can we highlight the value that distinguishes it from high-investment films. The first is individuality, and the second is personality, and only individuality is the weapon of poor artists.
(Now I understand why I talked about B-movies in an interview with Rock Music Magazine.)
There is a good example. William Castle has a masterpiece called The Sixth Sense, which sparked one of the most notorious movie-going scandals of all time. The moment the monster in the film kills the film projectionist, the film is interrupted for a while, making people think that the "Sixth Sense" that is playing suddenly interrupts the screening, and then walks on the screen like a terrible monster that looks like an earthworm, and the audience is completely blinded, thinking that this is the real situation. Another was when blood gushed from the faucet filled the bathtub, and at that moment the black-and-white movie suddenly turned into color, and the theater was suddenly in chaos. Isn't that amazing? These are all things that happened in the 50s.
It can be seen that through the aesthetics of B-grade films, the possibility of modern low-cost independent films can be realized. In "Killer Lament", which set off a super low-budget movie boom, there is such a scene: the protagonist Mariachi at the beginning of the movie enters the village, and he eats the fruit next to the village stall. The script was originally written about the nuts that were bought for money, but the time-critical director Rodriguez did not have time to shoot the shots of the money to buy the nuts, so he used the narration "White eating the nuts... What a kind village, with a premonition of good fortune" replaces this clip. But after that, he encountered a nightmare reality. If Tarantino, who made "Falling Dogs", had enough money and time, he should be able to shoot dazzling gun battles and car chases when robbing the gem shop, right? If so, perhaps the film simply does not earn the reputation of "the true starting point of cinema at the end of the century." After planning the crime scene, the crime process is omitted, and the scene of being wanted by the police appears directly, and this very bold storyline is exactly what makes all critics and fans crazy, right? What is really needed for low-budget directors is this technology that can turn bad conditions into original expressions. Of course, I need this talent as a writer now.
As mentioned above, I would like to outline the background of this manuscript and the nature of the article. Now let's get to the point of this article, which is about the lesson I said earlier. ah! What to do? The number of words in the manuscript is full... No way, folks, I can only say goodbye.
Park Chan-wook: "I love the B-grade film"
The Battle of men
Jules Dassin, who was forced to leave the United States because of mcCarthyism, bloomed a black flower in Paris. There is not a single line, just a constant clip of the robbery of the gem shop, and the audience is able to catch their breath after the robbery is all over, which lasts for 30 minutes.
Dead Kiss
Depicting the despicable, cold, brazen detective, it is mike Hammer, the most "Mike Hammer" style. The black-and-white picture expressed with extreme contrasts faithfully shows the unique landscape of the Cold War period.
The Girl Who Chased the Killer Butterfly
Kim, if you had to be born in that era, why not choose France or Spain? If you have to choose South Korea, you can live 40 years later.
Zelith and Isabel
This film tells a subversive story that contrasts greatly with the traditional style of "laziness and silence" contained in Flemish painting. If Alan Ray were someone interested in homosexual love, or if David Hamilton was a genius, he would have made such a movie. This film is also a bit of a B-grade Japanese girls' extracurricular anime.
The Electric Drill Killer
The protagonist is a young artist played by the director himself. The metallic sound of electric drills sounded in the New York night sky. Until today, 30 years later, the script, shooting, and music have no sense of violation.
Tokyo Homeless
The purest Suzuki world should be like this. The thrill of an active photograph occurs when the artist's sense of self has not yet surpassed his sense of responsibility as a craftsman.
The Dim Star
Hollywood distributors who have seen the short film have this to say: "Shoot it in a few more minutes and it will be released in theaters." "That was the moment when John Carpenter and Dan O'Bannon made their official debuts.
The Solver
Lee should be rediscovered as soon as possible. The art film "Skin Membrane" and the masterpiece "The Last Witness" are certainly masterpieces, but the ruthlessness of this film is the essence of Li Douyong. Enough to recall the destructive power of Walter Hill's youth.
Black Sunday
This is barbara Steele's masterpiece, and she also ascended to the throne of the cult goddess with this film, the film's traditional Gothic horror and spooky scenes are unforgettable, and it is a masterpiece of Italian expressionist films.
The Invaders
Roger Koeman has several masterpieces from different periods, but this one is his greatest pride. William Schattner's performance in this film is perhaps the highest in all of Roger Koeman's productions.
Integration 丨 Dong Muzi
Edited by 丨 Dong Muzi Luodong
Introduction Proofreading 丨 Liu Jun