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Have you heard? Director Zheng Baorui's latest masterpiece "The Siege of the Kowloon Walled City", since its release, has relied on its excellent production standards and gripping storyline, and the box office results have soared like a dark horse, easily breaking the 300 million mark.
This is not a small fight, this is after "Journey to the West: The Daughter Country" and "Journey to the West: The Monkey King Three Fights the White Bone Spirit", Director Zheng once again showed his strength in the field of commercial films, which is really amazing.
Back then, Zheng Baorui was really busy in the busy year of 2017, editing his work "Wisdom Teeth" while staring at the post-production of "Daughter Country".
At that time, he already felt that the constraints of commercial films made him a little breathless.
So, he discussed with his boss Yip Wai Shun and decided to return to the Hong Kong film industry to explore more stories with local characteristics.
After experiencing the character crisis in the filming of "Jigong", his mentor Johnny To also profoundly told him that he must create a film work with his own unique imprint.
Inspired by this, Cheng was determined to return to his homeland through works such as "Wisdom Teeth" and "Murder", which eventually led to the birth of the shocking "The Siege of the Kowloon Walled City".
The film is adapted from Yu Er's novel of the same name, and the story is set in the mysterious Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong.
As early as 2016, Yindu Film Company had already bought the adaptation rights of this novel.
Speaking of which, when Cheng was asked to direct the film, he was hesitant because he was worried that he would not be able to perfectly show the true appearance of the Kowloon Walled City.
However, after delving into the history of the walled city, his mind changed drastically.
He was determined to go all out to recreate the Kowloon Walled City of that era.
Although many crews have stopped work for various reasons in recent years, Zheng Baorui gritted his teeth and insisted on filming this movie to the end.
As a result, the box office bucked the trend for three consecutive days after its release, and the total box office is expected to reach a staggering 75.4 billion.
In the process of filming this movie, Zheng Baorui dug out his mind and specially invited Lin Jiadong, who grew up in the Kowloon Walled City, to serve as a consultant.
Lin Jiadong not only invited the old neighbors who used to live in the walled city to revise the script together, but also added his own childhood experience to make the script more real and deep.
He emphasised that despite the reputation of the Kowloon Walled City as a "three-regardless" zone, most of the residents here are ordinary people who have come to seek temporary refuge.
Moreover, the filming location of the film has also been changed from the original Foshan to Hong Kong, in order to better reproduce the historical style of the Kowloon Walled City.
In this movie, Sammo Hung's role as the big boss made the audience's eyes shine.
In the scene where he died, the use of Sammo Hung's suggested concise and powerful tightrope effect is really amazing.
This is also enough to see Zheng Baorui's deep understanding and respect for the details of the action.
Not only that, but there is also a well-arranged prop in the movie - the "Dragon Tiger Gate" comic book.
Don't underestimate this comic book, it was purchased by the director himself, which is enough to see Zheng Baorui's extreme pursuit of film details.
Wu Yunlong played the role of Wang Jiu in the movie, and the image design is simply a perfect replica of the character in the original comics.
Do you see his retro suit and long flowing hair adding a strong personality to the character? Moreover, Wang Jiu's hard qigong skills are still guided by a master who is also a rock musician, which can also be seen Zheng Baorui's meticulous research on the background of the character's skills.
In order to enhance the historical atmosphere of the film, there is also a wonderful bus chase scene.
Did you know that the scene was an antique bus from the '80s.
Such detailed processing really shows the crew's dedication and intentions to restore history.
Liu Junqian's role in the movie is also presented in a more natural and direct way of acting, breaking through his previous academic performance style.
And the double-knife chef Ah Qi, who was brilliantly interpreted by Qiao Jingfu, and his image of both civil and military affairs was also well received by the audience.
The process of making this film was really challenging.
Let's just say that Hu Zitong was unfortunately injured while filming a scene and needed 14 stitches.
It also showcases the actors' dedication to the arts.
And the ultimate showdown scene between the "Four Sons of the Walled City" and Wang Jiu at the climax of the film is the best verification of Zheng Baorui's careful design and team efforts.
That's the result of trial and error.
Regarding the preservation of film culture, Zheng Baorui also has his own ideas.
He hopes that through the film "The Siege of the Kowloon Walled City", he will leave a deep impression on the history of the Kowloon Walled City.
Although he initially hoped to keep the film's set as an art collection, it was inevitably demolished in the end.
But it doesn't matter, these scenes have been immortalized in the movie, and they also symbolize the end of an era and the beginning of a new era.
Through this film "The Siege of the Kowloon Walled City", Cheng Baorui not only looks back on his film career, but also depicts an expectation for the future of Hong Kong action movies.
The significance of this film lies not only in its artistic achievements, but more importantly in its ability to inspire a new generation of filmmakers to continue to pass on the unique style of Hong Kong cinema.