Cover of the hong Kong edition brochure of the movie "Wang Tiger Robs Relatives" (1961).
The Hong Kong opera film Wang Hu Robs Relatives (1960) was produced by Great Wall Film Productions Co., Ltd. The film was co-directed by Hu Xiaofeng (1924-2009) and Jin Yong (1924-2018), and starred Xia Meng (1933-2016), Li Yan, Yu Wanfei, Feng Lin, Bai Di, and Hong Hong. In accordance with the Tradition of Yue Opera, the film is performed entirely by female classes.
The film tells an interesting story between Zhou Wenbin, a talented son in Hangzhou, Xiuying, the daughter of Shangshu of the Bingbu, and Wang Hu, Xiuying's brother, and finally Zhou Wenbin wins the return of the beauty. Xia Meng as Zhou Wenbin, sung by Bi Chunfang, Li Yan as Wang Xiuying, and sung by Qi Yaxian. The open voices of Bi Chunfang and Qi Yaxian, coupled with the flower appearance of Xia Meng and Li Yan, can be said to be a model of video singing. Although xia meng's taste of xiaosheng's body is not enough, the overall effect is still in place.
Stills from the movie "Wang Tiger Robs Relatives" (1961).
This is Xia Meng's first anti-string performance, and together with Li Yan, baiyue opera masters Qi Yaxian and Bi Chunfang as teachers, learning to walk, water sleeves, figure, and eyes, for several months. Xia Meng is the head of the Great Wall Film Production Co., Ltd., and the great director Li Hanxiang (1926-1996) said: "Xia Meng is the most beautiful female star in the history of Chinese cinema, with an extraordinary temperament and intoxicating." "The whole film is full of fun, the characters are vivid and interesting, and people can't get tired of watching."
At the beginning of 1960, a humorous and witty Yue opera with humorous themes attracted the attention of Hong Kong director Hu Xiaofeng. However, this plan is not to transplant opera stories into comedy feature films, but to directly let the actors imitate and learn opera masters, make a Yue opera opera movie, and be sung by the famous Yue opera masters in the mainland.
This movie is exactly "Wang Tiger Robs Relatives". The play is transplanted from the reserved repertoire of the Shanghai Cooperative Yue Opera Troupe, and is also the first famous play of two Yue opera masters, Qi Yaxian (1928-2003) and Bi Chunfang (1927-2016). Through coordination and communication, the great wall company's request was approved by the Ministry of Culture and supported and cooperated by the Shanghai Cooperative Yue Opera Troupe.
Therefore, in early 1960, the producer, director and other four people came to Shanghai, invited the main members of the troupe to have a meal at the Overseas Chinese Hotel, and then Qi Yaxian, Bi Chunfang, and the original team of "Wang Tiger Robs Relatives" went to the Shanghai Science and Education Film Studio to perform officially, and the "Great Wall" was filmed into a work film, which was filmed for three days. Then this information work film was brought back to Hong Kong and began to prepare for the filming of "Wang Tiger Robs Relatives".
Li Yan recalled: "At that time, Xiaofeng they took this video back, in fact, it was a long-range view, a floor plan, a lens shot there, the expression was not clear, saw some three-dimensional figures, just these as a reference. Then, the main thing is the tape of the original troupe's performance, because it is the soundtrack of the movie. In addition to the usual actors practicing their own exercises, everyone also sent a tape, and listened to it constantly when they went home, mastering the rhythm, counterpart, ventilation, feelings, etc., in order to give the audience a sense of reality..."
Talking about the preparation of "Wang Tiger Robs Relatives", Xia Meng said at the time: I am a lover of Yue opera, and I have begun to be fascinated when I was a child. A few years ago, I enjoyed a number of beautiful Yue opera performances in the mainland. For Yue opera, I am very obsessed with it, and when it comes to singing Yue opera, I am a layman, although I sometimes hum along with the record. However, this is just a play, and if you make a Yue opera singing film with this interest, you can't cope with it.
The hong Kong version of the movie "Wang Tiger Robs Relatives" (1961) has a positive scene list
Xia Meng has the cultivation of Peking Opera, but the profession of learning is Qingyi, although it is not necessary to sing by himself, but the performance requirements are mainly based on Yue opera opera gong frame body. This time, it is necessary to become Kunsheng and imitate Bi Chunfang: Xia Meng will reverse the String Jiangnan Talent Zhou Wenbin in the movie, and Zhou Wenbin in the play will also reverse the String Xu Big Girl, especially in a very limited time, almost to learn from scratch, which is a thankless task.
The back of the hong Kong version of the movie "Wang Tiger Robs relatives" (1961).
"In the play, half of me appeared as a child, and half of me played Hua Dan, so when I learned to play, I had to learn both postures... Acting (Yue opera) cannot be learned overnight, and we are not wizards, and in a short period of study, how can we be coaxed to act the whole play well. Therefore, we specially invited teachers to come to class, and we studied for more than three months, even if the scene was filming, our teacher (Mrs. Sun Yangnong) was also on the side to guide. When the scene was filmed, I felt too bold after taking a breath. However, this boldness made me learn a lot. Therefore, I have a special affection for the scene "Wang Tiger Robs Relatives". In addition to liking it, I also cherish this experiment even more. Xia Meng recalled.
On April 21, 1960, "Wang Tiger Robs Relatives" was officially opened at the Clear Water Bay Film Studio in Hong Kong. The first set is Wang Xiuying's boudoir. During rehearsals and filming, the actors also made a lot of jokes.
On July 1, 2012, Li Yan recalled with a smile: "This play, filmed quite happy, hehe, we also have a lot of foreign appearances, for example, we sometimes rehearse it, we must sing out loud, you can not use it when shooting, but when you rehearse, the vocal cords are put on, if you don't sing it, you can't feel home, you can't catch the breath, so this singing out loud, everyone's tone is different, and some can't sing (laughs), then it's very fun, sometimes it really practices everyone laughing, And then, again, again... Laugh again... It was a pleasure..."
As for the performance of "Wang Tiger Robs Relatives", Xia Meng has always had quite regrets: (when filming "Wang Tiger Robs Relatives") Because my eyes are inflamed, red, and watery, I am pregnant with my eldest daughter, I do not tie the belt, because the waist is thick, I have not formally trained, plus my "big belly" (pregnancy) is even worse! The male protagonist of the stage, Bi Chunfang, said that I exaggerated her shortcomings... I had a big belly and walked a little shaky, so that I exaggerated her shortcomings. I wanted to finish the shoot quickly, more "on the end" (Cantonese: clumsy), so it was a little shaken. At that time, it was different from now, and now I can know the effect in time, but at that time, I didn't know that I was shaking after the full set of shooting, and I didn't know until the film rushed out that it was "too late"!
On July 1, 2012, Li Yan said at the Clearwater Bay Studio: "Everyone lacks experience in this play, and it can be seen that it is relatively layman, but we have all worked hard, this is a drama film, not an ordinary costume film, and the difficulty is very high." In particular, the role of Sister A Meng, not only anti-string Xiaosheng, but also this small student, but also men dressed as women, to grasp this measure and the charm of the role itself, it is more difficult. At that time, she was pregnant with a baby (child), and it was inevitable that there would be a physiological reaction, and it was not easy during the shooting. She modestly said that she had a baby (child), as if the body (movement) was harder, in fact, I personally think, it is just right. Because of what, (Zhou Wenbin) men dressed as women, his behavior can not be as gentle as women, so it is just clear that it is a man dressed as a woman, although she has not been satisfied, saying that the body is not turning well, we say just right, just ..."
Stills from the movie "Wang Tiger Robs Relatives" (1961), Xia Meng and Li Yan
The success of "Wang Tiger Robs Relatives" also enabled the Great Wall Company to confirm the commercial feasibility of Yue opera opera films. And Zhou Wenbin's dashing has also become one of the classic characters in Xia Meng's film works.
In 1985, Yishu said that Xia Meng was the idol princess of their family: an actor who can make the audience admire for so many years is really not simple, and he is the most critical-eyed audience... I like Zhou Wenbin in Xia Meng's anti-string "Wang Tiger Snatching Relatives" the most memorable. No matter how fashioned and costumed, she was beautiful and banged...
In 2010, Yishu sighed again: most of the audiences who have enjoyed "Three Looks at the Royal Sister Liu Jinding" (1962) and "Wang Tiger Robs relatives" will affirm that there are more temperamental and beautiful actresses than Xia Meng.
Stills from the movie "Wang Tiger Robs Relatives" (1961), Xia Meng
One of the big scenes in "Wang Tiger Robs Relatives" is that Zhou Wenbin disguised herself on the platform of the Lantern Night, and the Hong Kong premiere was also on March 1, 1961, the Lantern Festival of the Ugly Year, and the Shanghai Yue Opera Troupe performed a sensation in Hong Kong.
During the screening, the two theaters of "Xianle" and "Capital City" lined up every day, and the venue was full, not only Jiangsu and Zhejiang nationals and "Chinese film" audiences bought tickets, but even Cantonese audiences were also quite large, so the movie was very popular.
From the 11th, the film also added a documentary on the performance and life of the Shanghai Yue Opera Troupe visiting Hong Kong, which attracted a lot of people who bought tickets, from the 1st to the end of the theater on the 16th.
Stills from the movie "Wang Tiger Robs Relatives" (1961), Li Yan
At the request of the audience, the film was arranged to be released in two theaters of "Jingxing" and "Cathay Pacific" for a total of four weeks. On 6 September 1962, the film made a comeback and was re-released in Kowloon 'Seng Lok' and "Hong Kong Capital City", which remained very popular.
On March 7, 1961, as the first attempt at Yue opera films, Xia Meng, Li Yan, Yu Wanfei and others also specially visited the Xianle Theater to listen to the opinions of the audience, as a reference for the future production of similar themes. On the evening of March 8, Xia Meng, Li Yan, Yu Wanfei and Feng Lin invited people from the press and cultural circles to set up a thank-you banquet in the Legong Building to thank Mrs. Sun Yangnong for her guidance and celebrate the success of "Wang Tiger Robbing Relatives".
On 22-23 July 1961, the distribution of "Wang Tiger Snatches Relatives" in Singapore was represented by Cathay Pacific. Consecutive night shows were tested at the Grand Theater of Odian and declared full. On July 29, 1961, the three hospitals of Cathay Pacific (Dahua, Odian, and New Entertainment) were screened in the middle of the night, and a long dragon appeared again. The screening lasted for a full week, and finally for nine consecutive days, breaking the record. Seeing that the contract period was completed, I had to ask commercial competitors to screen again in the Hollywood theater for another week, a total of 16 days, or I couldn't stop. However, because the same copy was to be transferred to the Malaya Peninsula theater line for screening, it had to be "painted".
Drama films such as the Yue opera "Wang Tiger Robs Relatives" produced by Great Wall Film Production Co., Ltd. and Huang Mei's "Cowherd Weaver Girl" (1963) further set off a boom in Chinese opera films, which had a great impact on Hong Kong and the mainland.
Since the Release in Hong Kong of the Shanghai Film Studio's Sang Arc (1916-2004) and Huang Sha (1919-1988), the Yue opera film Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai (1954) and Shi Hua's (1915-1957) Huang Mei's film Tianxian (1955), which was successively released in Hong Kong, it has been popular with local audiences.
Hong Kong Shaw's Li Hanxiang (1926-1996) began to "stare" at Huang Mei's genre films, and then made the HuangMei-toned films "Sable Cicada" (1958-1959) starring Lin Dai (1934-1964) and Zhao Lei (1928-1996), which also responded very well in the market; Shaw's rival Deng Mao still loved the Hollywood song and dance film model, making "Mambo Girl" (1957) starring Glen, such a hit.
Stills from the movie "Tianxian Match" (1955), Yan Fengying
Next, the mainland made a "blockbuster" song and dance film - "Liu Sanjie" (1960) directed by Suri (1917-2005), which was only a small screening in Hong Kong and had already "warmed up" Hong Kong, and then the Yue opera film "Dream of the Red Chamber" (1962) directed by Cen Fan (1926-2008) also received a very good response at home and abroad, and Great Wall Film Production Co., Ltd. invested in the next film directed by Cen Fan, which was "Cow Lang Weaver Girl" (1930-1968) starring Yan Fengying (1930-1968). 1963); In the same year, Li Hanxiang also made a film starring Ling Bo and Leti (1937-1968) in the Popular Southeast Asian Huangmei tune film "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai" (1963).
At this time, DengMao and Shaw's imitation of "Liu Sanjie" films, "Mountain Song Love" (1964) and "Mountain Song Marriage" (1965), also began to be released on the market, but the box office was average.
Stills from the movie "Ashima" (1964), Yang Likun
No one ever imagined that Liu Qiong (1913-2002) director Yang Likun (1942-2000) starred in "Ashima" (1964), which was a truly national song and dance film, which could not be surpassed from then on, and the grand situation of drama or song and dance film seemed to have closed its doors because it was incompatible with the environment at that time.
Back to the Yue opera film "Wang Tiger Robs Relatives", Jin Yong's love and artistic achievements for movies and operas can also be confirmed from the film. Later in life, when someone mentioned this movie to Xia Meng, she said calmly, "I don't like this movie at all. But the audience liked it. I don't think that movie carries enough weight. Not only that, Xia Meng expressed "dissatisfaction" with all the movies she had made, saying that she "didn't recognize the goods when she went out" and didn't watch them again after filming. However, the films she later supervised, such as "Running to the Fury Sea" (1982) and "Like the Year of Flowing Water" (1984), were more of her own appetite.
The movie "Wang Tiger Robs Relatives" (1961) Chinese DVD version of the cover
"Lin Chong" Wu Yonggang's half-finished product in his directing career Comfortable pro-line "leading orders" while acting and directing
"You Third Sister" Tong Zhiling has the courage to innovate and reshape the "noisy wine" Wu Yonggang to carefully carve eleven scenes
"Like a Year of Flowing Water" Is the first of Hong Kong's top ten business cards in the 1980s Yan Hao's self-identity
In 1959, the classic blowout of the new Chinese film Lin JiaPuzi five golden flowers and other masterpieces were frequently produced