In 1982, the students enrolled in the 78th year of the Beijing Film Academy were facing graduation assignments. At that time, the situation was still relatively grim, and the number of places left in Beijing was obviously limited, so where should more students go? It has become the most concerned issue for students who have graduated from the Department of Directing, the Department of Photography, and the Department of Acting.
Zhang Junzhao, who graduated from the directing department and was in the same class as Chen Kaige and Tian Zhuangzhuang, because he was admitted from Xinjiang, so he never wanted to stay in Beijing, and his original wish was to go to the Xiaoxiang Film Studio in Hunan, but later his teacher talked to him and hoped that he would go to the Guangxi Film Studio. At the same time, zhang Yimou and Xiao Feng, who graduated from the photography department, and He Qun, who graduated from the fine arts department, were also assigned to the Guangxi factory.
It is estimated that he is worried that Zhang Junzhao is not willing to go to such a small factory in Guangxi, so Zhang Yimou, Xiao Feng and He Qun found Zhang Junzhao together, saying that since they have decided to go to the Guangxi factory, they hope that Zhang Junzhao will also go, otherwise there will be no director for the film, and the crew will be incomplete. Zhang Junzhao heard Zhang Yimou's meaning, that is, to tie them together, or to do something after entering the factory.
To this end, these people also specially held a "ceremony", the four Men shaved their heads collectively, and made a vow: if you are not an adult, you will become a benevolent person.
In this way, they came to Guangxi together, and in the next year they formed China's first "youth film crew", with Zhang Junzhao as the director, Zhang Yimou, Xiao Feng as the photographer, He Qun as the artist, and Guo Baochang, who later filmed "The Gate of the Big House", became their "unnamed" art director. Several people are ready to make Guo Xiaochuan's long poem "One and Eight" into a movie and put it on the screen. The choice of actors, chen Daoming was originally for Zhang Junzhao as an assistant director, and later as an actor played the role of Xu Zhi, the chief of the Eighth Route Army's hoeing and rape section, and the male protagonist, Wang Jin, the instructor of the Eighth Route Army who was framed by the traitors, was originally set as Wang Xuexi, but later changed to Tao Zeru.
The film tells the story of Wang Jinmeng, the instructor of the Eighth Route Army, who was unjustly imprisoned, but still put the cause of national liberation first, and reformed and educated the bandit deserters who were in prison, so that they could atone for their sins with practical actions and throw themselves into the battle against the Japanese invaders.
The theme of this film is very novel, and it has made "breakthrough" achievements in story structure, photographic composition and character shaping, while Tao Zeru, Chen Daoming, Zhao Xiaorui, Wei Zongwan, Xie Yuan and other actors also contributed good acting skills in it, becoming a new star in the film industry at that time.
This film is the screen debut of Zhang Junzhao, Zhang Yimou, Xiao Feng and He Qun, and is also known as the "pioneering work" of the fifth generation of Chinese directors, which is of great significance. The film's cinematography is quite powerful and sculptural. The director is also extremely careful in shaping the character image, so that each character is full of strength and strength.
It is also from this film that the fifth generation of directors such as Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, Tian Zhuangzhuang, He Qun, etc. emerged in China, and made many masterpieces representing the highest level of Chinese cinema, such as Zhang Yimou's "Red Sorghum", which won the Golden Bear Award at the 38th Berlin International Film Festival, becoming the first Asian film to win this award.
Chen Kaige made "Farewell to the King", which won the Palme d'Or, the highest award at the Cannes International Film Festival in France, becoming the first Chinese film to receive this honor; in addition, "Farewell to the King" also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film, the International Film Critics League Award and many other international awards. And successfully selected as the "100 Best Movies in Global History" by Time Magazine in the United States.
The other two people who made a vow when they first went to the Guangxi factory, Xiao Feng, served as the cinematographer of films such as "Arc Light", "Rock And Roll Youth", "Honmei Year", "Falling Mountain Wind", "People About Dusk", "The Afterword of Yang Guifei" and other films, and since 2009, he has directed "The Story of the Sea", "The Story of shouting over the ridge", "The Great Disaster", "The Year of Qingming", "Lanting" and other films, and has gained a lot.
He Qun later created the film "Yellow Land" together with Chen Kaige, Zhang Yimou and others. In 1988, he directed his debut film "Mutiny" as a director, and in 1994, he won the Best Feature Film Award at the 14th Golden Rooster Awards of Chinese Film and the Outstanding Feature Film Award at the 17th Hundred Flowers Awards for Popular Film for directing "Phoenix Qin". In addition, he has also directed many TV series such as "Ping's Shadow", "The Legend of Lü Liang's Hero", "Begonias", "Tea House", "Zero Cannon Tower", "Adoptive Father's Fancy Years" and so on. Not only have there been numerous awards, but the reputation among the audience is also very good. He is one of the few excellent directors in china.
However, it is very sad that on December 31, 2016, He Qun unfortunately died of heart failure caused by pneumonia at the age of 61.
And just today, in the early morning of June 9, 2018, another man who made the oath at the beginning, Zhang Junzhao, the founder of the fifth generation of Chinese directors, also came to the news of his death, only 66 years old, how not to be lamented!
As a friend of the same window and a brother who struggled together, Zhang Yimou entrusted his wife Chen Ting for the first time to express his deep condolences: "Looking back on that year, many details are still vividly remembered, and I sighed! Jun Zhao all the way! ”
In Zhang Yimou's memory, he can't forget the original four people, the newborn calf, full of spirit, filmed the shocking "One and Eight", becoming the debut of the fifth generation of directors that can never be erased.
It was an era full of idealism, and a few young people with film dreams came to a remote small factory together, not for anything else, just for the dream to have a place to stay, just to make a good movie that can truly represent the Chinese level. "If you are not an adult, you will become a benevolent person", which is the oath they made at the beginning, and they have indeed spent their lives practicing their original commitments and never giving up.
And now, the entertainment industry is becoming more and more complex, and how many filmmakers with ideals who really save their original intentions are left? Does Zhang Yimou feel lonely?