"Divine Eagle Hero" is the second work in Jin Yong's long martial arts novel Shooting Eagle Trilogy series, and the story continues at the end of "The Legend of the Shooting Eagle Hero", the main line is the twists and turns of the love story between Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü, Guo Jing and Huang Rong have become supporting characters in this novel, but they are still very important.
As early as 1960 to 1961, when the novel was still serialized, Emei Film Company adapted the novel into a 4-episode Cantonese feature film, written by Jin Yong and Zhu Ke, directed by Li Hua, starring Xie Xian and Nan Hong; Shao also made a version in 1982, written by Zhang Che and Ni Kuang, directed by Zhang Che, and starring Fu Sheng.
In 1983, Shaw also filmed "Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü", written by Tan Ning and Cai Naibin, directed by Hua Shan, and starring Zhang Guorong and Weng Jingjing, who were still newcomers at the time.
Since the 1970s, the best-selling novel has been continuously remade into a TV series, with a total of 8 versions, and most of them are well-known. Today, Brother Eggplant will take you to review and see which drama is your favorite one.
1. Jiayi Television (CTV) was the first to shoot, and TVB filmed two versions
1. 1976 Rollelin edition
In 1976, Jiashi was successful in filming "The Legend of the Condor Hero", so it continued to make this "Eagle Hero".
Bai Biao, who played Guo Jing in "Shooting Eagle", Michelle who played Huang Rong, Yang Zelin, who played Ouyang Feng, and Qin Huang, who played Zhou Botong, also continued to play their respective roles in this "Divine Eagle".
The Jiashi version of "Shooting Eagle" has been filmed for 70 episodes, and this "Divine Eagle" is also 59 episodes long, which can be imagined how protracted the plot is. The pace is slow, the actor's acting skills are not online, the fledgling Luo Lelin, the jerkiness of the acting skills are written on the face. Coupled with the shabby indoor set, the little dragon girl (played by Li Tongming) with a small cage face also lacks temperament, and the influence of this version is really limited.
2. 1983 Andy Lau TVB version
In 1983, TVB launched this "Eagle Hero" after Huang Rihua and Weng Meiling's version of "The Legend of the Eagle Hero", and Xiao Sheng, who was already in TVB at this time, became the director of "God Eagle" again.
This drama and the previous "Shooting Eagle" still have a continuing relationship, except for Huang Rihua and Weng Meiling, who have not returned, most of the other characters are the original team.
Ouyang Feng, played by Yang Zelin, and Hong Qigong, played by Liu Dan, appeared gorgeously at the beginning and ended together at the top of the snowy mountain, which shocked the audience.
Huang Yaoshi, played by Zeng Jiang, Yi Deng, played by Liu Zhaoming, and Zhou Botong, played by Qin Huang, run through the entire series. It is worth mentioning that Yang Zelin and Qin Huang have played their respective roles 4 times from Jiashi to TVB.
TVB's "Shooting Eagle" in the 80s was 59 episodes long, and "Divine Eagle" also had 50 episodes, which was the most classic big production in its glory period.
"Shooting Eagle" was once introduced to the mainland, and once became a hot drama broadcast by mainland television stations in turn, becoming an irreplaceable classic; while "Divine Eagle" was not introduced, only audio-visual products flowed into the Guangdong area, and its influence was relatively small.
3. 1995 Gu Tianle edition
After entering the 90s, TVB remade the Jin Yong drama again, and director Li Tiansheng filmed Zhang Zhilin and Zhu Yin's version of "Shooting Eagle" in 1994, and then filmed "Eagle Hero" in 1995.
Bai Biao played Guo Jing again, Liu Dan also returned to play Hong Qigong, and Gu Tianle, who had not yet tanned, was paired with li Ruotong, who was immortal, making this drama the most classic version of "Divine Eagle" in the hearts of Jin Yong fans.
This version of "Shooting Eagle" only has 35 episodes, "Divine Eagle" only 32 episodes, compared to the 80s version has a significant shrinkage, many of its scenes are completed in the studio, the sun, moon, cave, flowing water, waterfalls are fake, compared to the same period of Singapore dramas are filmed in the mainland, these distorted scenes have somewhat affected the perception.
Li Ruotong is still considered to be the most in line with the original xiaolongnü image, and Gu Tianle was also at the peak of his appearance at that time, and their acting skills were unanimously affirmed by the audience.
It is precisely because of the excellent performance of the two that this imperfect TV series can become a classic that is difficult to surpass in the minds of netizens.
2. Different versions of Taiwan China Television, Taiwan Television and Singapore MediaCorp
1. 1984 China Television Meng Fei edition
In the 1980s, when hong Kong's Jin Yong drama was popular, Taiwanese television stations did not introduce the TVB version of "Divine Eagle" for the sake of protecting local productions.
Producer Zhou You decided to shoot it himself, although the show only has 18 episodes, it is also a big investment, the set alone costs NT$500,000, the costumes and props are also carefully designed and produced, and the action scenes are remarkable.
After the broadcast of this drama, it caused a great sensation, Pan Yingzi, who played Xiaolongnü, and Meng Fei, who played Yang Guo, although they were both stars who turned from Hong Kong to Taiwan, they became the best partners on the screen and became popular throughout Taiwan. After being introduced to the mainland, it also became the first "Eagle Hero" TV series that mainland audiences came into contact with.
The most interesting thing is that Zhou You saw the success of "Divine Eagle" and the combination of Pan Yingzi and Meng Fei, and unexpectedly moved, and then adapted Liang Yusheng's "The Legend of the White-Haired Witch" to concoct a 24-episode "Shenzhou Heroes", which is still starring the two. In the play, the appearance of the two is also very close to that of "Divine Eagle", which makes many viewers at the time stupid and unable to distinguish which drama they are watching.
2. 1998 MediaCorp Li Mingshun edition
The Singaporeans had wanted to shoot Jin Yong dramas as early as the early 1990s, but it wasn't until 1996 that they had the conditions to shoot "Eagle Heroes" and bought the rights from Jin Yong. From the beginning of filming in October 1997 to the end of May 1998, a total of 40 episodes were filmed, and it cost 5 million yuan at that time, which is a veritable large-scale production.
The evaluation of this version in all the "Divine Eagle" TV series is still in the middle of the ups and downs, because with Gu Tianle and Li Ruotong in front, the combination of Li Mingshun and Fan Wenfang is really difficult to surpass. But there are also many netizens who like Fan Wenfang's version of Xiaolongnü, thinking that she is also very temperamental, and she is very obsessed in the play.
Compared with TVB's Gu Tianle version, the Singapore version has made great efforts to express the sincere feelings between Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü. Li Mingshun and Fan Wenfang also have a tacit understanding, and the audience can deeply feel the tacit true love between them, which is the best difference between the Singapore version and other versions.
3. In 1998, Taiwan Television Ren Xianqi edition
Before the mainland version of Yu Zheng came out in 2014, this drama was considered by Jin Yong fans to be the most failed "Divine Eagle" TV series, and it has only 5.2 points on Douban so far, which makes people dare not believe that this is the work of two big directors, Li Huimin and Lai Shuiqing.
But at that time, it was also a big production, a total of 47 episodes, the crew went to Yunnan to shoot, and all the locations were live shooting.
Unfortunately, the level of the screenwriter is limited, and Jin Yong's original work has suffered a magic change, which is unacceptable to fans.
Yang Guo, played by Ren Xianqi, is known as the combination of Duan Yu and Erkang, and is madly complained by the audience; the little dragon girl played by Wu Qianlian is also very subversive, because she is actually dressed in black, and her acting skills and appearance are difficult to satisfy the audience.
Third, the second attempt of Huaxia Audiovisual Global Media
1. Huang Xiaoming edition in 2006
Producer Zhang Jizhong began filming Jin Yong dramas after 2000, and after completing "Tianlong Babu", he threw himself into the preparation of "Divine Eagle". This drama is produced by Huaxia Audiovisual Global Media, which is a large production of 40 episodes, the crew filmed in Jiuzhaigou live, and for the first time, the big eagle was produced with CG technology, which is its biggest feature.
Because there is Li Ruotong's version in front, the choice of the role of Xiaolongnü is quite difficult, and after a series of auditions, it has not been decided.
In the end, Zhang Jizhong still chose Liu Yifei, who cooperated happily with him in "Tianlong Eight Parts", after all, only she was the closest. The results proved that Zhang Jizhong was correct, and most people believed that Liu Yifei was the best choice after Li Ruotong.
Yang Guo, played by Huang Xiaoming, was controversial in the early stages, but fortunately, he gradually entered a better state later, especially after Yang Guo became a "god eagle hero", and the sense of vicissitudes also came up. Although the score on Douban is not high, this drama still has many advantages, and the adaptation of the original work is also within the acceptable range.
9. Chen Xiao edition in 2014
In 2014, Huaxia Audiovisual Global Media remade "Divine Eagle Hero", which was only 8 years away from Zhang Jizhong's version.
Due to Yu Zheng's wayward choice to let Chen Yanxi play Xiaolongnü, this caused crazy bad reviews from netizens, and the rating on Douban was only 4.8 points, which was the lowest of all the "Divine Eagle" TV series.
Yang Guo, played by Chen Xiao, is very attentive, which has been affirmed by many audiences, but being dragged back by Chen Yanxi is also a very helpless thing. Although Yu Zheng forcibly added a lot of scenes to the supporting characters in the novel, the main plot was still filmed according to the original work, not as magically changed as in 2013's "Smiling Proud of the River", so this drama actually has a lot of merit.
4. Summary
In less than 5 years, in the summer of 2019, Starry Sky and Mango Entertainment jointly launched a new version of "Eagle Hero", written by Wang Pei and directed by Lin Feng. This drama uses newcomer Tong Mengshi as Yang Guo, Mao Xiaohui as Xiaolongnü, after releasing a few stills, it encountered a bad comment on the Internet, so it was delayed in broadcasting.
It can be seen that in recent years, netizens have been aesthetically tired of the TV series adapted to Jin Yong's masterpieces, and even if the production of the new version is careful, it is inevitable to suffer from sneering. In fact, Jin Yong's more unpopular novels are also very valuable, and they do not have to stare at the shooting trilogy.
I hope to see more "Book of Swords and Vengeance", "Smiling Proud of the Rivers and Lakes", and "Snow Mountain Flying Fox" in the future, because the TV series adapted from these novels have not yet had a highly completed version. And the three works like "White Horse Whistling West Wind", "Mandarin Duck Knife" and "Yue Female Sword" are also very potential for development.
(Rotten Tomatoes Movie Editorial Department: Blood Dan Heart)