Director Zhang Junzhao China Film Directors Association WeChat public number picture
Zhang Junzhao, the founder of China's fifth-generation cinema and the director of the fifth-generation film", "One and Eight", died of illness in Dalian on the morning of June 9.
Zhang Junzhao was born in 1952. He served in the Xinjiang Military Region for five years, and after being demobilized in 1974, he served as a propaganda officer at the Unity Theater in Urumqi, Xinjiang. In 1978, he was admitted to the Directing Department of the Beijing Film Academy to study directing.
Jiang Haiyang, the director of "College Entrance Examination 1977", is a classmate of Zhang Junzhao, and in his impression, Zhang Junzhao from Xinjiang is a "very humble and simple, very hard working, and very kind classmate." You can joke with him, you can say anything, you can talk to him. ”
Zhang Junzhao became the fifth generation of "pioneering directors", a historical coincidence. When the class of '78 graduated, most of the students from the big cities chose to stay in Beijing or return to Shanghai, and Zhang Junzhao from Xinjiang was assigned to the Guangxi Film Studio. "Going to the Guangxi Film Studio may not be his wish, just his helplessness." But Guangxi Factory, as a small factory, is very, very short of directors. Those of us who return to Shanghai or stay in Beijing may hardly have the opportunity to make independent films in three or five years. And go to Guangxi, you can independently direct the film within a year or two. Jiang Haiyang said.
Along with Zhang Junzhao, "assigned" to Guangxi, as well as Zhang Yimou of the Photography Department, Xiao Feng and He Qun of the Fine Arts Department, just happened to be a set of film creators, and they were all from the film academy, and they were rubbing their fists to put the latest film aesthetic concepts into practice. The four masters shaved their heads and riveted to shoot "One and Eight".
One and Eight poster
"One and Eight" tells the story of the Eighth Route Army and eight prisoners in custody who met the Japanese narrow road on the way to the transfer, and the commanders and fighters of the Eighth Route Army who were falsely accused by the traitors led other prisoners to fight side by side against the enemy, and the prisoners re-realized their own value on the trek after the breakthrough.
Zhang Junzhao said in an interview many years later that the original script of the film was still a very traditional way of showing the Eighth Route Army, and he found the original poem according to his own understanding, almost completely overturned the original manuscript, and re-created it. "Major changes have been made a lot, mainly aesthetically. It is that all those very traditional things are removed from it, and all the human things that have been talked about in the past and dare not meet are dug up for him, including bandits. The heroic sacrifice of every bandit, the death of every person, and the ending of every person have all been adjusted. That kind of tragic, that sense of people's shape, the sense of sculpture has come out. ”
Stills from One and Eight
After 107 deletions, the first "fifth generation" film work was born stubbornly and distinctly. After the first screening, the entire venue was silent for nearly a minute, followed by a standing ovation from the audience. Zhang Junzhao fired the first shot among the 28 students of the 78th class, and the fifth generation stepped onto the stage of Chinese film history from the second time.
Zhang Junzhao also said in an interview that if there is no hard work and fanaticism in a quiet corner, there may not be a "fifth generation" in the full sense. And if these people had not been assigned to the Guangxi Factory, a small factory on the fringes, and had not had the fierce spirit of holding back enough to have to shoot something to prove to people, perhaps there would not have been such an "extreme" "One and Eight".
Old classmate Jiang Haiyang still has a fresh memory of the film, "This film completely uses different narrative angles and video languages in the past to complete a new interpretation of the most traditional theme of the Eighth Route Army against Japanese devils." In this movie that year, Chen Daoming, Tao Zeru, and Wang Xuexi all had very wonderful performances. This movie is taken out today, and I believe that the children after 90 and 00 will also like it. Because it is still brand new, it is a model for representing this non-commercial theme from a new perspective. ”
Director He Qun, Director Zhang Junzhao, Director Xiao Feng, Director Zhang Yimou (from left to right) China Film Directors Association WeChat public account picture
After that, Zhang Yimou, He Qun and others left the Guangxi factory to direct the film independently. "Zhang Junzhao is alone in Guangxi, and it is difficult to clap his hands. This may also be the reason why he was somewhat ineffective in his later creations. In 1989, Zhang Junzhao concurrently served as deputy director, member of the China Filmmakers Association, and member of the China Film Directors Association. "Arc of Light" participated in the 1989 Moscow International Film Festival and won the special prize of "Carpet of Life". In the 1990s, Zhang Junzhao filmed some TV series. Because of his health, Zhang Junzhao's creative chronology was fixed in 2002.
Arc light poster
This year, the China Film Directors Association awarded director Zhang Junzhao the "Special Commendation of the Annual Jury". Zhang Junzhao could not come to the scene in person due to physical reasons, and specially recorded a video to explain the reason and express his gratitude, which also became the last image left by Zhang Junzhao.
The last image left by Zhang Junzhao.
On the day of Zhang Junzhao's death, Zhang Yimou mourned Zhang Junzhao through his wife Chen Ting' Weibo: "Shocked to learn that Junzhao passed away, I can't help but grieve! More than a month ago, I saw Shaohong playing your video in the Directors Association, and you also greeted everyone and all your old classmates, I couldn't imagine it so fast! Jun Zhao, He Qun, Xiao Feng and I, graduated in 1982, were assigned to the Guangxi Film Factory together, and the newborn calves were full of vigor and spirit, and they made the shocking "One and Eight", which was the pioneering work of the fifth generation. It was a debut that will never be erased in memory! Looking back on that year, many details are still vividly remembered, but He Qun and Jun Zhao have left one after another, sighing! Jun Zhao all the way! ”
After learning the news of Zhang Junzhao's death, Jiang Haiyang felt very sad, "Think about the days when we studied together in the past, and think about his significance to our fifth generation of directors, because "One and Eight" fired the first shot, so that our classmates who have not yet become directors in various places have gradually been valued by the leaders of film studios everywhere. It can be said that "One and Eight" is not only the pioneering work of the fifth generation of directors, but also a way for the fifth generation of directors to quickly enter the film world and use their own image aesthetic system to shoot the film in their minds. Thank you very much for this move and also miss him very much. Old classmate, all the way good. ”