Hong Kong director Lee Han-cheung
Li Hanxiang represents a distant era and also represents the glory of Shaw's films. Li Hanxiang not only has court dramas in Shao's, he also shoots court dramas, which is his "Qianlong Emperor" series, which is starring Liu Yong, which is also the peak of Liu Yong's personal acting career.
Li Hanxiang represents a distant era and also represents the glory of Shaw's films. Li Hanxiang is Shaw's ace director, the ups and downs of his film career, and the fate of Shaw Company is closely linked, Li Hanxiang's films can not only win a good reputation, he is also a big director with great box office appeal. Almost all of the most representative films of his life were filmed at Shaw's. The most proud thing about Li Hanxiang is that he does not only rely on one type of film to promote the film industry, but can shoot a variety of types of films to the extreme, and in films of different themes, he has made many classic works, worthy of the title of a generation of masters. There are three types of films that best represent Li Hanxiang's life achievements, namely Huang Mei tone films, Wind Moon films, and court films.
Hong Kong director Li Hanxiang poses with Liu Xiaoqing and mainland director Tse Jin (right).
Li Hanxiang is a film director, producer and screenwriter in Hong Kong, China. Participated in the creation of hundreds of films. He is an outstanding figure in the history of Hong Kong cinema. Xiangzi was born on April 18, 1926 in Xiaosujiatun, Jinxi County, Fengtian Province (Liaoning), China.
In 1930, he moved to Rehe Chengde because of his father's public office. After the September 18 Incident in 1931, the Japanese army entered and occupied Jinzhou and Jinxi in January 1932, and attacked Rehe in June, and Li Hanxiang moved to Beiping with his parents and sister. In 1945, he attended the second grade of Beiping Municipal Third Middle School, returned to Xiaosujiatun to visit relatives, and dropped out of school to get married at the behest of his grandfather. In 1946, he returned to Beiping to enter the National Peking Art College, focusing on Western painting; active in activities inside and outside the school, serving as a representative of northeast students and the head of the art variety troupe, on May 31 of the same year, the eldest daughter Li Yanping was born in Beiping. In 1948, Li Enthusiastic participated in various student movements and was expelled from the school on the grounds of "holding a forged high school diploma to apply for the art college". In July of the same year, Ma Yanxiang, the representative of the All-China Playwrights Association in Beiping and a dramatist, was appointed by Xiong Foxi, the principal of the Shanghai Municipal Drama School, to recruit new students in Beiping, and Li Hanxiang once performed the role of the adulterous hero tired and blind in the art variety troupe "The Flower of Tang Di", which impressed Ma and was recommended to enroll; at the end of September, he went to Shanghai, loved to visit the film studio, and got to know the director Shen Fu. In November of the same year, he decided to drop out of school to take a film, took Shen Fu's introduction letter to Hong Kong to ask for directions, met Jiang Nan through the introduction of film star Wang Hao, and in December participated in the film "Full of Wind and Rain" directed by Wen Yimin, produced by Greater China, Yan Hua and Miss Shanghai Xie Jiahua and Miss Hong Kong Li Lan.
Li Hanxiang directed Bao Yu's actor Lin Qingxia on the filming scene of the movie "Dream of the Red Chamber of jin yu liangyuan" (1977).
In 1949, yonghua film company recruited actors, and Li successfully entered the yonghua training class and fell in love with zhou Xiaoye, a student in the same class. Director Li Pingqian began filming "Gongzi Falling into Distress", Zhou Xiaoye was selected as the heroine, Li Hanxiang was tragically expelled by Yonghua; the film "Gongzi Falling into Distress" made a great storm, Li Pingqian turned to the Great Wall Company presided over by Zhang Shankun to shoot "A Generation of Demons" starring Bai Guang and Yan Jun, Li Hanxiang was also introduced to the Great Wall, drawing advertising boards, responsible for set art, and continued to be a special actor.
From 1950 to 1951, the Great Wall film "Flower Street" was written by Tao Qin, directed by Yue Feng, starring Zhou Xuan and Yan Jun, Yan Jun played a patriotic artist, performing several nobles, written by Li Jiaodao, and also received the sound, Yan Xiang performed, Li Hanxiang appeared in front of many film industry predecessors. The Great Wall Company had a financial crisis, Zhang Shankun was forced to retreat, the company was reorganized, and the left turned pro-Communist. Li Hanxiang joined the dubbing class, and Jiang Nan and other responsible for the Chinese group, the first cooperative film is Li Xianglan, Ikebe Ryo starring in the "Song Cherry Magic", Li Hanxiang assisted in compiling the lines, field translation and production and with the study of Japanese film production technology in the same period, laying the foundation for Li's future film editing and directing films.
Li Hanxiang (left) was filmed on the set of the movie "Sable Cicada" (1958), directing the Sable Cicada to play Lin Dai
On January 10, 1952, the Hong Kong government expelled a large number of left-leaning personnel; during the turmoil, Lee Han-cheung was hired as a set designer for the Cantonese film "Sable Cicada" written and directed by Cho Shu-sun, and went to the Far East Company as a choreographer and art designer for Lee Ying's "Fog Hong Kong". Introduced by the producer Er Guang, he returned to Yonghua as a special actor and worked behind the scenes. Yonghua's later masterpiece "Cuicui" (1953) - adapted from Shen Congwen's famous novella "Border City", Lin Dai as the heroine, Yan Jun self-directed and self-acting; Yan Jun specially promoted Li Hanxiang to adapt the script, as an assistant director and participated in the post-production work, learning editing from Chen Yiqing and Wang Chaoxi.
【Worship brother "Seven Great Idle"】
On February 14, 1953, on the first day of the first lunar month, Li Hanxiang and his friends gathered at No. 107 Boundary Street, Kowloon, and a total of seven people, including Feng Yi, Jiang Guangchao, Li Hanxiang, Ma Li, Shen Zhong, Song Cunshou, and Hu Jinquan, in the order of Feng Yi, Jiang Guangchao, Li Hanxiang, Ma Li, Shen Zhong, Song Cunshou, and Hu Jinquan, who called themselves the "Seven Great Leisures".
In the future, the "Seven Great Leisures" will have their own successes in the film industry and the business world. Participated in the production of Yonghua, written by Li Zuyong, but Du Yu directed the production of the costume singing film "Chang'e", served as an assistant director, and also played the role of the old man under the moon. Li Zuyong was dissatisfied with the results of the film and asked Li Hanxiang to reshoot with Jiang Nan, Wang Zhen, Gu Lin and other four assistant directors, and Li Hanxiang became acquainted with Yang's tenant Zhang Cuiying and his daughter Zhang Riwen because of visiting the heroine Yang Ming. He fell in love with Zhang for more than 20 days and married on his birthday (October 10, Double Ten Festival).
Dvd cover of the Hong Kong version of the movie Ghost of a Woman (1960).
From 1954 to August 13, 1955, the Yonghua film warehouse caught fire, suffering heavy losses, on October 9 of the same year, Yonghua creditor Singapore Luk Group on behalf of oudelden newspaper asked the Hong Kong government to auction the film factory, and led lawyers and accountants to clean up the financial property rights, extended to the following year (1955) March 29, the Lu consortium officially entered the ownership, Yonghua reorganization, in name only, Li Hanxiang did not want to follow the new owner, to find a way out.
Yunnan banker Sun Yuliang and Kuomintang intelligence officer in Hong Kong Ni Shaolin set up the Yadong Film Company, invited Li Lihua to be the heroine of the new film, Li Lihua recommended Li Hanxiang as the director, and prepared for the first masterpiece of the people's first time, "Sai Jinhua", which was changed because of its too large scale, and took Li Li's old as the base, gathering Li Lihua, Luo Wei, Ge Lan, Jin Quan, Hong Bo, Wang Yuanlong, Wu Jiajun, Pink Chrysanthemum and other eight major actors to shoot Li Hanxiang's first solo debut work "Snow Red", which was distributed by Shaw Father and Son.
【Joining Shaw has won many international awards】
Shaw's head, Shao Estate, was extremely satisfied with Li Hanxiang's performance, and through Erguang's promotion, Li Hanxiang joined Shaw Company. In 1956, shaw's first work " Narcissus " ( also known as "The Vast Sea") was filmed on Cheung Chau Island, depicting the details of fishermen's lives.
Li Hanxiang (left) directs Li Lihua and Yang Qun (right) on the set of the film "Yangtze River Storm" (1969)
In 1957, inspired by the mainland Huangmei opera film "Tianxian Matching", he persuaded Shao to invest in the filming of the costume color Huangmei tune singing film "Sable Cicada", starring Lin Dai, Zhao Lei and Luo Wei, composed by Wang Chun, lyrics by Li Junqing, and promoted singer Jingting to sing for Lin Dai behind the scenes. On April 26, 1958, "Sable Cicada" won five awards at the 5th Asian Film Festival in the Philippines, and Li Hanxiang won the best director. At the celebration banquet, the People of Shao Estate announced their retirement and Ran Shaw of Nanyang Shaw Brothers Took over the reins. Directed the detective suspense work "Love Letter to Kill" (also known as "Carlton Love Murder"), which was Li Hanxiang's first work after Shaw joined Shaw.
In 1959, he continued the iron triangle production equation of "Sable Cicada" (Lee Han-hsiang - Lin Dai - Zhao Lei), and began filming the luxurious palace giant film "Jiangshan Beauty", creating the highest box office record since the opening of Hong Kong, and becoming the annual box office champion in Taiwan, and also won a slight victory in the international market; in early May, he participated in the 6th Asian Film Festival in Kuala Lumpur and won the Golden Gong Award for Best Film. Filming "The Legend of the Children's Heroes", starring Letty and Wang Zhibo, is Li Hanxiang's only chivalrous work. 1960 work "Qiannu Ghost", starring Letty and Zhao Lei, the film is full of humanistic poetry and classical elegance, the landscape management is exquisite, the scene scheduling is complicated and exquisite, becoming Shaw's representative work of entering the international film world, participating in the 13th Cannes Film Festival competition unit in 1960 and receiving praise.
Poster of the Hong Kong version of the movie "Yang Guifei" (1962).
In 1960, he also produced the black-and-white literary sketch "Back door", starring Wang Yin and Hu Die, and won the Best Picture and the Japanese Minister of Education Special Award at the 7th Asian Film Festival in Tokyo.
【Pushing Huangmei tune movie to the top】
Huang Mei's film emerged in Hong Kong and Taiwan in the 1950s and has been popular in the Chinese areas of Southeast Asia for 30 years, and is an enduring drama. At that time, HuangMei's films were even more sought-after than kung fu films, and major film companies in Hong Kong and Taiwan were competing to shoot Huangmei films. However, only Shaw's company can stand out from the crowd, not only because Shaw has strong resources, but most importantly because Shaw has the golden sign of Li Hanxiang. It is no exaggeration to say that Li Hanxiang is the person who pushed the Huangmei tone film to the peak, and he is definitely the representative of the Huang Mei tone movie.
In 1958, Li Hanxiang released his first Huangmei tune film, "Sable Zen", which was a success, well received by the market, and won 5 awards at the Asian Film Festival. The talented Li Hanxiang is not complacent, and "Sable Zen" is just a market test for him, and the good drama is still to come.
Poster of the Hong Kong version of the movie "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai" (1963).
The following year, he released his director's "Jiangshan Beauty" (1959), which was a film that shocked Li Hanxiang's reputation, according to the scale of the time, this film was a luxurious blockbuster, starring popular movie stars Lin Dai and Zhao Lei, which caused a great sensation, and several classic songs in the play were also sung in Hong Kong and Taiwan. "Beauty of The Beauty of Jiangshan" won 10 awards at the Asian Film Festival, and Li Hanxiang was in the limelight for a while.
Between 1959 and 1963, Lee also changed his style, directing a number of films of different genres and styles, most of which were very successful, which also laid the path for his future diversification. In 1962, he completed the historical drama "Yang Guifei", which is also a Huangmei tune film, starring superstar Li Lihua, and the film was also successful.
By 1963, Li Hanxiang's life was completely changed by a film, which also made the Entire Southeast Asian Chinese fall in love and go crazy, which was the unparalleled love blockbuster "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai". A "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai" made Li Hanxiang the most box-office director in Asia, and Chinese people throughout Southeast Asia are chasing this movie, far more popular than "Titanic Titanic" (1997) 30 years later.
Li Hanxiang directed Ling Bo (right) and Lottie (back left) on the set of the filming of the film Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai (1963).
In Taipei alone, the film has been released for half a year, and many viewers have watched it dozens of times and applauded, and the degree of classics goes without saying. Someone once said that the sensation of "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai" is unprecedented, and it is difficult for the film industry to reproduce such scenes in the past and future, which may be true.
"Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai" is the pinnacle of Huang Mei's film and the most successful work in Li Hanxiang's personal film career. Li Hanxiang went to Taiwan after "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai", hoping to realize his dream of becoming a film tycoon there. When Li Hanxiang directed Huang Mei's film again, it was already 1977.
After he returned to Shaw in 1972 after the failure of business, he only directed one Huangmei tune film, that is, "Dream of the Red Chamber of jin yu liangyuan" (1977) starring Lin Qingxia and Zhang Aijia, of course, it could not reproduce the glory of the past, but it also drew a satisfactory end to his huang mei tone film.
Dvd cover of the hong Kong version of the movie "Pan Jinlian" (1964).
【Unique way to make the wind moon film typed】
If there is one word to describe the Huangmei tone movie, it is "ya", fresh and elegant, and the picture is pleasing to the eye. If you use one word to describe the wind and moon film, it is "customary", the taste of the city, and the jokes in the street. Chinese film Fengyue film, Li Hanxiang is the originator of the mountain, but also the highest achievement. The Fengyue film and the Huangmei tune film go to two extremes, and Li Hanxiang has been controversial in the future, also because he is unscrupulous and free to shoot the Fengyue film.
Fengyue films are erotic films, out-and-out commercial films, even if they are as strong as Li Hanxiang, many Fengyue works are inevitably popular and criticized by posterity. Li Hanxiang developed the genre of wind and moon films, in fact, it was also a last resort, after his failure to start a business in Taiwan, he returned to Shaw, although he was still a director, but he had long been destitute, in order to revitalize his prestige, he turned his attention to the easy-to-make erotic films, and did not expect great success. Later, he shot a large number of films of the same type, which became another important film in his film career.
Movie "Wang Zhaojun" (1964) Hong Kong version DVD cover
Li Hanxiang's first film after returning to Shaw in 1972 was "The Great Warlord", which is regarded as the originator of the Fengyue film. Today, when I watch "The Great Warlord", there are only a few erotic shots, but this was already the first to open up the atmosphere at that time. "The Great Warlord" was a hit, which not only re-accumulated a lot of popularity for Li Hanxiang, but also praised Xu Guanwen, a comedian who will be popular in the film industry in the future. Li Hanxiang and Xu Guanwen then collaborated on classic works such as "YiLe Ye" (1973) and "Sound and Color Dog and Horse" (1974).
Li Hanxiang is very fond of studying "Jin Ping Mei", and his classical aesthetic cultivation is quite profound, which can be seen in his early Huang Mei tone films. Based on his research experience in "Golden Bottle Plum", Li Hanxiang made three films: Pan Jinlian (1964), "Golden Bottle Double Yan" (1973) and "Wu Song" (1982). Among them, "Golden Bottle Double Yan" has the most outstanding results, which can be called the representative work of wind and moon films. The valuable thing about "Golden Bottle double beauty" is that it does not stick to the routine of rendering erotic colors in general wind and moon films, but at the same time shows erotic scenes, it also highlights the portrayal of the characters' hearts and the grasp of the essence of the original work, making this film a wind and moon film with certain artistic taste.
The movie "The Great Warlord" (1972) Hong Kong version DVD cover
Li Hanxiang's Wind moon film also has the most outstanding contribution, that is, it has discovered a large number of sexy stars, adding a lot of color to the Hong Kong film industry. After his promotion, Hu Jin, Tian Ni, Shao Yinyin, Yu Shali, Bai Xiaoman, Chen Ping, etc., they have all become extremely popular sexy actresses and have dedicated countless masterpieces to Shaw.
The most obvious feature of Li Hanxiang's wind and moon films is "dare to shoot", which greatly breaks through the exposure scale of Hong Kong films in the past and the psychological endurance of the audience, which is also an important reason why his wind and moon films are hot. Another feature is that the material is widely used, Li Hanxiang's Wind and Moon Film has a variety of themes, opera, cross-talk, Chinese and foreign masterpieces, anecdotal jokes, folk tales, etc., as long as he feels desirable, he will put it in his own movie. Therefore, although Li Hanxiang has shot a large number of wind and moon films, none of them have the same feeling, and each one can be surprisingly new, ensuring the quality of the film.
Li Hanxiang and actress Hu Jin took a group photo
The last feature of Li Hanxiang's wind and moon films is the structure, most of his wind and moon films are loosely structured works, often to determine a theme, and then divided into several small stories to form a movie, and the structure of the famous book "One Thousand and One Nights" is very similar. For example, his "Picking Flowers and Weeds" (1976), several stories take place in different eras, there is no direct connection in itself, the reason why they can be tied together is because several small stories are about men and women picking flowers and grass, they have the same theme.
After Li Hanxiang returned to Shaw's, he shot a large number of wind and moon films, and he seemed to be tireless later, although his wind and moon films did not have much artistic value, but they were very ornamental, and they were still not outdated today, and his portrayal of the old folk customs in the wind and moon films also provided valuable influence information for future generations. Li Hanxiang is "customary", but also "customary" different, which reflects the maverick principle of the big director.
Poster of the Hong Kong version of the movie "Wu Song" (1982).
【A new high rate of court films】
Court films are historical dramas, in today's parlance, "epic masterpieces." Li Hanxiang has always had the grand ambition to shoot historical dramas, and has constantly put them into practice. The historical drama is one of Li Hanxiang's favorite films, the production attitude is extremely serious, and the production scale is also a record high.
In the early HuangMei tone films "Sable Zen" (1958) and "Jiangshan Beauty" (1959), there were already prototypes of court films, but these films were mainly narrative-oriented, diluting the background of the film's era, and the background of the era is an important part of historical drama.
Li Hanxiang's "Wu Zetian" filmed in 1960 is a veritable court drama, the fate of the characters closely follows the theme of the times, through the political fate of Wu Zetian's life, reflecting the historical changes of the Tang Dynasty from prosperity to decline, is a film that attaches equal importance to ideology and ornamentation.
Li Hanxiang discussed the shooting details with lead actor Lu Yan (right) on the set of the movie "Falling into the City" (1975).
Due to the long shooting cycle of court films, the production cost is huge, and the investment risk is also very large, so Li Hanxiang does not have too many opportunities to show his skills. The most direct reason for Li Hanxiang's defeat in Taiwan is the failure of the historical blockbuster "Xi Shi" (1965), which he invested in and produced, and the dream of a movie tycoon was completely shattered.
Therefore, Li Hanxiang himself is more cautious about shooting historical blockbusters. Li Hanxiang's later court films in Shaw's filming were only "Falling into the City" (1975) and "Yingtai Weeping Blood" (1976). However, "Falling into the Country" is completely a classic, whether it is the set, costumes, or character portrayal, the whole drama is a super first-class level, shooting a rare atmosphere in Hong Kong films, and it is a classic movie that can stand the test of time.
"Falling into the City" tells the story of Cixi's 60th birthday and the eight-nation alliance army's attack on Beijing, Li Hanxiang organically combines two seemingly unrelated things, through Empress Dowager Cixi's lavish birthday feast, reflecting the essence of the Manchu Qing government's corruption and incompetence, which is also the most fundamental reason that directly led to the unscrupulousness of the Eight-Nation Alliance.
Poster of the Hong Kong version of the movie "Yingtai Weeping Blood" (1976).
"Falling into the City" used almost all of Shaw's first-line red stars at that time, the scale of production was unprecedented, and under the premise of not leaving the exterior, the majesty and solemnity of the Forbidden City in Beijing were photographed by relying on the interior scene built, highlighting Li Hanxiang's profound aesthetic skills.
Li Hanxiang not only has court dramas in Shao's, he also shoots court dramas, which is his "Qianlong Emperor" series, which is starring Liu Yong, which is also the peak of Liu Yong's personal acting career.
In the "Qianlong Emperor" series, Li Hanxiang directed a total of 5 films, namely "Qianlong Lower Jiangnan" (1977), "Qianlong Emperor Junchen Douzhi" (1982), "Qianlong Emperor and the Three Girls" (1980), "Qianlong Lower Yangzhou" (1978), "Emperor Baoshi" (1982). The composition of these film dramas is very heavy, which may also be the indiscriminate pursuit of today's Qing Palace dramas.
The theme of these films belongs to the court films, but the pattern is not large, they are all from a small point of view, mainly telling the anecdotes of the Qianlong Emperor, similar in structure to the Wind and Moon films, are made up of a theme to string together several small stories to form a complete film. The "Qianlong Emperor" series is very watchable, funny and humorous, and many plots also copy Liu Baorui's stand-up comedy paragraphs, which is full of fun.
The movie "Qianlong Under the Jiangnan" (1977) Hong Kong version DVD cover
In the early 1980s, Li Hanxiang came to the mainland and cooperated with the mainland to make films, because the extremely rich material resources of the mainland also prompted Li Hanxiang's court drama to be repaired to positive results. "Burning the Yuanmingyuan" (1983) and "Hanging curtains to listen to the government" (1983) were both filmed in the Forbidden City in Beijing, and the overall momentum and scale were far beyond Shao's.
As a representative figure of Hong Kong cinema in the 1960s and 1970s, Li Hanxiang was also one of the very few filmmakers who traveled across the Taiwan Straits and three places to make films at that time, and he invisibly enhanced the exchange of film technology experience between various regions, which played a certain role in promoting the development of Chinese film industry. Li Hanxiang's life is uncertain, and the style of his works is constantly changing with his life circumstances, whether it is "customary" or "elegant", his well-known classic films will be destined to be forever with his name.
Poster of the Hong Kong version of the movie "Hanging Curtains and Listening to politics" (1983).