Greater Bay Area Mid-Autumn Festival Film and Music Gala • Light and Shadow Bay Area
The Fan Video List
For friends in the Greater Bay Area, there are always many Hong Kong movies buried in their hearts. If you want to summarize Hong Kong movies in one word, "righteousness" is undoubtedly the most important feature. This multifaceted concept can be related to chivalry, brotherhood, justice, and even more national righteousness. We select four typical genre films in the list of fans - martial arts, jianghu, police and kung fu films, inviting you to experience a climactic "interpretation" together.
Chivalrous
Martial arts films
The One-Armed Knife (1967)
"One-Armed Knife" is the first million-dollar film by zhang Che, a martial arts film master in the 1960s, which borrows the plot of Jin Yong's "Divine Eagle Hero" with a broken arm, and then combines the elements of Japanese sword films and western heroes. In addition to the traditional chivalrous pride played by Wang Yu, Zhang Che also injected reflection on martial arts and criticism of the jianghu struggle. The duo of Zhang Che and Wang Yu showed the world its unique aesthetic of violence, and created an epoch-making martial arts classic with this film.
Dragon Gate Inn (1967)
As a big director of martial arts films with the same name as Zhang Che, Hu Jinquan's "xia" has a deeper home-country grudge. "Dragon Gate Inn" tells the story of a group of patriots who went to rescue the orphan of a loyal minister during the Ming Dynasty and fought with Dongchang in an inn. The common image of "Inn", a martial arts film, is Hu Jinquan's contribution, and this space is not only a stage for fighting, but also a social microcosm. Hu Jinquan laid the standard and pattern of Chinese martial arts films through "Dragon Gate Inn".
The Sword of the Three Young Masters (1977)
One of the most satisfactory adaptations of Gu Long by Director Chu Yuan is also The famous work of Er Dongsheng as an actor. The film is adapted from Gu Long's novel of the same name, telling the story of Xie Xiaofeng, who became famous as a young man, who was tired of fighting in the jianghu and chose to retire from the jianghu, but due to the inspiration of fate, he had to return to the jianghu. The helplessness of people in the jianghu behind "The Sword of the Three Young Masters" is Gu Long's unique chivalrous view, and Chu Yuan successfully captured the essence of it, and finally made him the director who knows how to shoot Gu Long the most.
New Dragon Gate Inn (1992)
As a major player in the Hong Kong New Wave, Xu Ke once again led the trend of martial arts films. Although Xu Ke is a producer, "New Dragon Gate Inn" is full of Xu Ke's fantasy martial arts style. On the story line, Xu Ke continues Hu Jinquan's setting: Zhou Huai'an, who represents chivalry, fights with the overbearing East Factory. But the difference is that Xu Ke's version amplifies "love" and combines it with "righteousness", and in the act of chivalry and righteousness, it is also indispensable to the private feelings of children. The new version gives the heroes more humanity.
Laughing Pride 2: Undefeated in the East (1992)
Xu Ke and Cheng Xiaodong once again deconstructed the classic, they chose a character adaptation of the original book, but the film has little to do with the original work. The oriental undefeated played by Lin Qingxia is contradictory, holding the power and power to dominate the martial arts, but longing for absolute freedom and spiritual liberation. For the undefeated and subversive interpretation of the East, deconstructing Jin Yong's chivalrous concept of "the great hero, for the country and the people", the jianghu is like a fate, and people cannot leave for a moment.
East Evil and West Poison (1994)
The shell of "The Legend of the Eagle Shooter" is applied, but inside it is actually a Wong Kar-wai-style story of a man and a woman. Under his lens, the heroes are not only righteous, but also sentient. Through the space of the station, Ouyang Feng is like a bartender, listening to the intimate history of various passers-by. Referring to traditional martial arts films, "East Evil and West Poison" is less happy and vengeful, and more emotional entanglement. The platter-style narrative structure connects the consistent emotional flow and becomes a Wong Kar Wai style martial arts blockbuster.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
This film is a masterpiece shared by the mainland and Hong Kong and Taiwan, which caused a movie-going movie in the United States that year, and also gave the Oscars a Chinese martial arts film. The film celebrates Confucian forbearance and Taoist idleness. Yu Jiaolong's leap has been repeatedly discussed, so that this movie has been in a state of "unfinished waiting to be continued". The success of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" has raised the artistic height of martial arts films, and also opened a precedent for the entire Chinese film to go to the world.
Wuxia (2011)
Chen Kexin's alternative martial arts film, although titled "Wuxia", is a film that deconstructs martial arts. In the film, martial arts are completely decomposed and "de-enchanted" by science. Wuxia movies have changed from the whims of the cornices in the past to today's accurate scientific calculations, and the traditional routines of martial arts films have been dismantled. From this point of view, "Wuxia" seems to indicate the inopportunity of martial arts, wuxia is no longer, only the remaining is the ancient hot sausage of wuxia.
Brotherhood
Jianghu pieces
The True Colors of Heroes (1986)
In the golden age of Hong Kong cinema, Wu Yusen, who was at the trough of his career, made "The True Colors of Heroes", which not only laid the foundation for Wu Yusen's unique "violent aesthetics" style, but also created a precedent for Hong Kong jianghu films. In his heroic utopia, "brotherhood" is a being that transcends everything. In the face of ups and downs of fate, the brotherhood of Little Brother Ma and Brother Hao transcends blood relations and life and death. Their pride and righteousness of life and death are still the most classic brotherhood in the hearts of the audience.
Carmen Mong Kok (1988)
Wong Kar-wai's film debut is also the clearest and most understandable story line of all his works, and his unique video style and dialogue have emerged. Compared with other jianghu films, this film is like an "outlier", there is no happiness in the jianghu, and some are just the struggles of the people at the bottom. The classic line of the black fly in the film: "I would rather be a hero for a day, and I would rather be a black fly for a lifetime", which seems to indicate that the brotherhood between the lovely Ah Hua and the "moth to the fire" of the black fly will end in tragedy.
Lame Howe (1991)
The legendary life of Hong Kong's famous tyrant "Lame Hao" is favored by the film and television industry, and there are many related works, but the most classic is lui Liangwei's "Lame Hao". It not only won the Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Film, but also started the craze for biopics, known as the Hong Kong version of "The Godfather". Spanning decades, the story is a semi-documentary presentation of the legendary experience of a generation of heroes. Lu Liangwei plays the lame Hao who is ambitious, and his brotherhood is to serve his ambitious goals.
Across the Seas (1991)
If "The True Colors of Heroes" is the display of Wu Yusen's heroism, then "Across the Sea" is the ultimate of his romanticism. Chow Yun Fat and Chung Chu Hong's wheelchair dance is one of the most classic and romantic scenes in the history of Hong Kong cinema. The injection of the "love triangle" element makes the brotherhood of Pot Cake and Ah Zhan particularly precious. The pot cake played by Brother Fa is still the one who is the most righteous and thin cloudy sky, for the brothers can crash into the yacht without hesitation, for the brothers can also give up to the people they like.
Ancient Puzzle Boy Series (1996-2000)
In the recent "Brother Who Cut Through Thorns", the appearance of Chen Xiaochun, Xie Tianhua and Lin Xiaofeng instantly pulled people back to the era of "Ancient Puzzle Boy". In 1996, "Ancient Puzzle Boy" was born in the afterglow of the golden age of Hong Kong cinema, and as soon as it was released, it swept across the Taiwan Straits and three places, becoming the youth memory of a generation. The classic line in the movie: "We come out to mix, just by three points: righteousness, courage, brothers." "It still sounds like blood boiling.
The Birth of a Word (1997)
This is the pioneering work of Galactic Image, breaking through the traditional repetitive narrative and fatalistic black humor making it the most unique avant-garde work in the history of Hong Kong cinema. The film shows the Huang A dog played by Liu Qingyun, who has created two kinds of lives due to different choices, and the absurd story not only makes the audience understand the importance of choice, but also understands that only heavy love and righteousness can make it possible to win the jianghu.
True Heroes (1998)
"True Hero" is an early work of Galaxy Image, which has the flavor of paying tribute to traditional Hong Kong gangster hero films. Liu Qingyun and Dawn are the right-hand killers of the two bosses in the film, and they kill and pity each other. Although the title of the film is titled "hero", it is realized as a downcast. Hong Kong films are obsessed with "fallen heroes", because heroes can only be regarded as true heroes if they do not change their style and feelings in the fall.
Guns and Fire (1999)
"Gunfire", which was filmed in only 19 days, allowed Du Qifeng to win the Best Director of the Hong Kong Academy Awards in one fell swoop, and also made Wu Zhenyu's acting career peak. If Wu Yusen's film is about the pride and righteousness of inserting knives into the brothers' two ribs, then Du Qifeng's film is about how to make a choice about friendship in the face of interests. In "Gunfire", the five brothers who fight side by side finally draw their guns at each other at the dinner table, which tests them and pushes their brotherhood to a climax.
Chasing the Dragon (2017)
In the situation of the decline of Hong Kong films, Wang Jing's "Chasing the Dragon" allows the audience to see a hint of the jianghu momentum of the old Hong Kong films, and also lets the audience see that the two major villains of Lame Hao and Leiluo are not only a community of interests, but also brothers born into death. The advent of "Chasing the Dragon" made the film "return to the light" once, and the reason why people feel that there is a taste of Hong Kong in the past is because Wang Jing is willing to give the two villains a little sympathetic understanding, which is the charm of Hong Kong films, appealing to emotions rather than right and wrong.
justice
Cop films
Police Story (1985)
As Hong Kong's first police kung fu film, "Police Story" challenges the limits of action dramas in countless scenes: Jackie Chan driving into a shantytown, a bus chase scene is a major innovation in film history, a slider fight scene on the seventh floor of the mall, running directly down from a steep slope to force the bus to stop, etc. The film invited Lin Qingxia and Maggie Cheung to help, and with the two actors, Jackie Chan cast the film style into a combination of passion and humor.
The Two Heroes (1989)
Wu Yusen once said that "Blood Double Male" is the most enjoyable play he has played with Zhou Runfa. The killer who is chased and killed by the underworld played by Chow Yun Fat and the policeman who is excluded by his boss feel sorry for each other. Interpretations of "righteousness" abound in the film, with the "four brothers" dying for righteousness, and the police and the killer, although in different positions, are moved by each other's behavior. In the blood spatter, Wu Yusen added a white dove symbolizing peace and a church symbolizing holiness and mercy to depict the righteousness in his heart.
Hot Hands Detective (1992)
Wu Yusen's last film before going to Hollywood contributed to the Violent Aesthetics of Chivalry and Gunfight to the Hong Kong film scene. Chow Yun-fat plays a righteous and fierce detective who does not play cards according to common sense. Liang Chaowei collaborated with Wu Yusen for the first time, playing an undercover Ah Lang who wandered between good and evil. One of the highlights of the film is several gunfight scenes in tea houses, docks and hospitals, and in order to complete the gunfight scene, the entire film shared 100,000 pounds of explosives and cost more than one million Hong Kong dollars.
Streets of Rage of the STORMTROOPERs (1996)
This film is a work that lays the foundation for Chen Musheng's style. At that time, Chen Musheng, who was new to commercial films, completely let go of his hands and feet when directing this film. Liu Qingyun and Chen Xiaochun contributed on the screen both humorous and full of police brotherhood, yu Rongguang played by the crime boss directly brought Peking Opera to the play, the airport scene at the end of the film even found an abandoned airport in Tianjin to shoot, and the small-cost investment film was also filmed into a blockbuster.
Infernal Affairs (2002)
Hong Kong police films are indispensable to mention "Infernal Affairs", whether it is the obscure identity of the police gangster undercover, or the metaphor of "endless hell", or the infinite meaning of the trading environment of the rooftop, which has brought people a refreshing feeling. Liang Chaowei and Andy Lau contributed a love interpretation of both enemies and friends, both of them must find each other because of their secret identities, but at the same time, the opponents of equal strength have the same taste and love, and they both have a deep identification with each other and feel sorry for each other.
The New Police Story (2004)
"New Police Story" has a "reshaping" role for Hong Kong police films. At that time, Jackie Chan suffered a midlife crisis, and the film can be said to be his turnaround chip. Jackie Chan in the film is no longer an omnipotent justice cop, and he has also encountered his predicament. It is worth noting that in the film, There is an action scene in which Jackie Chan and Nicholas Tse go down the wall of the building, and it is said that after Tse finished filming this scene, he was also blacklisted by Hong Kong insurance companies.
Keep Talking (2008)
If you get a strange phone call and the other person asks for your help, will you help? If you were a down-and-out little character and your boss made mistakes, would you be brave enough to correct them? The ordinary people Gu Tianle and the down-and-out little traffic policeman in "Keep Calling" handed over their answer sheets for these two questions. There are too many obstacles on the way to being a hero, but one reason to be a hero is enough, that is, to use conscience to guard more justice.
Anti-Drug (2013)
The scene of the three major film emperors Gu Tianle, Liu Qingyun and Zhang Jiahui gathering together is rare, and "Sweeping Drugs" gathers the three major film emperors to stage a brotherly love. Gu Tianle once again starred in a cowardly man, and Zhang Jiahui, who barely accounted for too much in the first half of the film, became a villain who was both good and evil in the second half to amaze the audience. In the film, a classic dock container collision scene further ferments the misunderstanding, conspiracy and guilt between the three brothers.
Acts (Film Edition) (2016)
In another interpretation of "Infernal Affairs", the "young master" of the criminal group and the undercover group of the police force Blue Bowen are suspicious of each other, support each other but threaten each other, the "young master" pretends to be a police undercover in the hope of gaining the trust of the police, and the undercover criminal group of Blue Bowen is unimpeded all the way, and when he learns that the "young master" pretends to be his identity, he always thinks of the two people and refuses to act. Love and righteousness give a new understanding of justice.
National righteousness
Kung Fu tablets
Dragon and Tiger Fight (1970)
Self-directed and self-acted by action superstar Wang Yu, if you look at it from the current point of view, "Dragon and Tiger Fight" is a film with a thin plot and rough shooting, but in that year, it successfully set off a kung fu movie fever. In the film, Wang Yu pioneered a Chinese kung fu battle in Japanese karate, in which two Chinese and Japanese masters compete in the snow, which contains strong patriotic feelings. The film became the first major production to fully demonstrate its skills, and warmed up for Bruce Lee's kung fu craze afterwards.
Big Brother Tangshan (1971)
This film is Bruce Lee's first work after a setback in Hollywood, and he returned to Hong Kong to work with Jiahe. Within three weeks of its release, the box office had already reached HK$3.5 million, breaking the box office record for Hong Kong films at the time. In the film, Bruce Lee plays Zheng Chao'an, an immigrant who has traveled to Bangkok to seek a living, because he sees his fellow workers disappear one after another, so he investigates and uses his martial arts to subdue the evil people. Despite his martial prowess, Zheng Chao'an has been suppressing himself and reminding himself not to abuse force. The image of a hero who is strong in martial arts but sticks to the bottom line has inspired Chinese people around the world.
Jingwumen (1972)
In this movie, Bruce Lee is not the bottom of the south, but Chen Zhen, the fifth disciple of the great hero Huo Yuanjia. He wants to avenge his master and is eager to revive the jingwu men. The two most classic acts in the movie, one is Chen Zhenyi kicking and smashing the "Chinese and dogs are not allowed" sign in front of the Bund Park, and the other is that he said to the Japanese that "Chinese is not the sick man of East Asia", which was quite exciting for the Chinese at that time. It was from Bruce Lee that kung fu films rose to the height of national righteousness, providing a direction for the theme of future kung fu movies.
Shaolin Temple (1982)
This film is a co-production between the mainland and Hong Kong in the early days of reform and opening up, and with a ticket price of 1 cent at that time, it actually created a box office record of 160 million yuan in the mainland. After its release in Hong Kong, the box office of HK$16.16 million broke the record for a Hong Kong kung fu film in one fell swoop. The story of this film is adapted from the folklore of "Thirteen Stick Monks Save the Tang King", the film does not use martial arts design, the director gave an order, all rely on the actors to play on the spot, so the martial arts scene of "Shaolin Temple" is so realistic. The success of this film has spread the name of the Shaolin Temple, which is a cultural export that has entered the annals of history.
Wong Fei Hung series (1991-1997)
Under the molding of Xu Ke, Huang Feihong became a national symbol, and every heroic battle was a rebellion Chinese unwilling to be a slave. The film is set in the second half of the 19th century when Hong Kong was occupied by Western powers and Chinese was oppressed and humiliated, and Tsui Ke shot it on the eve of Hong Kong's return to the motherland. In a sense, the "Wong Fei Hung" series is a retrospective evaluation of colonial history by Hong Kong filmmakers.
Kung Fu (2004)
This is the most mature work directed and acted by Stephen Chow, from beginning to end, full of his personal love for Bruce Lee and kung fu movies. The story content is not separated from Zhou Xingchi's nonsense style, starting from "Shaolin Football", with the help of special effects technology, Zhou Xingchi has completed a lot of effects that cannot be produced by live-action shooting, and the visual presentation of spectacle has made "Kung Fu" gain more than 100 million US dollars worldwide. If traditional kung fu films are patriotism, zhou Xingchi's ambitions are even greater, and he wants to maintain world peace. This unrealistic dream is exactly where Stephen Chow's films are innocent.
Ip Man Series (2008-2019)
As a veteran kung fu star, Zhen Zidan has played Huang Feihong, played Chen Zhen, and various characters, but for the audience, perhaps the most profound is the character of Ip Man. There is no doubt that the "Ip Man" series is the most successful kung fu series in these 10 years, from fighting Japanese soldiers, to fighting British boxers, and finally fighting American soldiers, with the development of history, Ip Man's opponents have been changing. On the surface, it is only the need of the plot, but from another point of view, this is actually a metaphor for the history of China in the 20th century.
A Generation of Grandmasters (2013)
Unlike Zhen Zidan's version of Ip Man, Wong Kar-wai's "Generation grandmaster" is more feminine. The private feelings of children are not shortcomings in wong Kar-wai's eyes, but the expression of people in temperament. But this does not mean that the pattern of "a generation of masters" is small, "the fist has a division between the north and the south, the country has no division between the north and the south" "the world is big, and it is not only the north and south", when the country is broken and the family is dead, everyone is concerned about the world, which is the pattern that "a generation of masters" should have. Wong Kar-wai lamented the fall of the masters, but also left hope at the end of the movie: remember, there will be an echo, there will be a breath, light a lamp, there is a lamp.
Author: Nandu trainee reporter Liu Yifan Lin Wenqi Nandu reporter Ren Ting
Editor: Zhong Xin