Some time ago, the spy war drama "Hidden and Great" ended successfully with a high score of 8.2 on Douban, and the thrilling plot was supplemented by witty humor with a rich sense of life texture, which was undoubtedly an expansion of the theme of spy war.
In fact, the theme of espionage warfare can be traced back to the anti-special films born in the early days of New China, and in the first ten years of the founding of New China, anti-special films have won the support of the majority of the audience with their tense and exciting plots and unique entertainment, and many popular works have also been born.
For example, the 1957 film "Yangcheng Dark Whistle" directed by Lu Yu is a recognized anti-special film classic, and the TV drama version was launched on the 50th anniversary of the film's release in 2007, which shows that the film has experienced the precipitation of time and still has an indelible influence.
01. Based on real cases after liberation
In the early days of liberation, the border guards captured a secret agent code-named "209" at the border, who was already dying when he was found.
209 Confessed before his death, his purpose was to meet a secret agent in Guangzhou code-named "Aunt Mei", in order to smash the secret agent's conspiracy, we sent the scout Wang Lian disguised as a secret agent 209, and the enemy secret agent Bagu pretended to be a husband and wife, so as to discover the enemy's plan little by little...
In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, a large number of kuomintang-left secret agents lurked in the country, waiting for the opportunity to sabotage the new Chinese regime, and "Yangcheng Dark Sentinel", which was filmed in the mid-50s, naturally has more real than today's spy war films.
It is worth mentioning that the storyline of the film is not out of thin air, but based on a real case that occurred in Guangzhou: in 1952, a public security bureau in Guangzhou received two anonymous letters of reporting that a group of reactionaries planned to hijack a passenger and cargo ship from Guangzhou to Hainan Island, preparing to go to the United Nations to "accuse" New China.
The public security organs attached great importance to this political case, dispatched a number of elite personnel to set up a cracking team, and after more than a dozen days and nights of follow-up and investigation, finally swept away all of this reactionary group.
This sensational "Yangcheng First Case" became the creative opportunity of "Yangcheng Dark Sentinel", and the director retained the overall framework of the case when shooting the film, while presenting the case really and dramatically on the big screen with cinematic artistic means and rich details.
The reason why people feel real is not only because the film has the support of real events, but also because when the director creates characters, he is not limited to blindly showing his own wisdom and decisiveness, but also has a complex portrayal of the enemy's image, not just becoming a foil for our characters.
For example, for Dr. Chen, who once had a disgraceful history, but tried to reinvigorate himself, the secret service group set up a series of sets to destroy Dr. Chen's already fragile psychology little by little, and if it were not for the intervention of public security personnel at the last moment, I am afraid that it would have become a puppet of the secret agents.
In addition, the film's most mysterious number one villain", "Aunt Mei", should not be underestimated: she has a strong anti-reconnaissance ability, has always maintained a high degree of vigilance, and has always controlled the situation of the secret service group, until the last moment of the film, she did not reveal her true face, and her true identity also shocked many viewers.
With a kind of "real drama", the director not only strengthens the entertainment and ornamentation of the film, but also makes the audience deeply feel the depiction and transmission of reality.
02, the suspense of the button to create
The most attractive thing about anti-special films is that there are only two major aspects: one is how the protagonist who infiltrates the enemy camp is not recognized by the enemy, and the other is to track down who is behind everything.
"Yangcheng Dark Sentinel" is around these two major suspense, and it has to be said that the film has been quite successful in creating and rendering the suspense atmosphere.
First of all, it is clear that the film draws lessons from Hollywood film noir, and the director is very good at using the changes in the contrast between light and shadow to create a specific emotional atmosphere.
For example, when Wang Lian and Bagu first met in the cemetery, the dead branches and leaves wrapped around the tombstone, the bushes on the side of the road were gloomy, enveloping people in the thick shadows of the trees; when the shadows of the branches hit the faces of the two agents, Wang Lian was bathed in the sunlight, and the black and white good and evil were already clear at a glance.
And when the agent seduced Dr. Chen, the light and shadow of the blinds left a deep mark on Dr. Chen's face, from which we felt the pain and suffering of Dr. Chen's heart at this moment, and the thick shadow was also a hint that he was falling into the trap step by step.
In addition, the film also uses cross-editing techniques to create tension many times, such as when Wang Lian is looking for clues in The Eight Gu's room, the old maid of the Eight Gu, Liu Ma, is rushing home from outside, and the camera switches back and forth between Wang Lian and Liu Ma, making us can't help but sweat a little bit about whether Wang Lian will be exposed.
03, two "female spies" deeply rooted in the hearts of the people
The most impressive roles in the film, in addition to the male protagonist Wang Lian, are the two female secret agent roles of "Eight Gu" and "Aunt Mei".
In the eyes of many people, "Eight Gu" is undoubtedly the most deeply rooted role in the career of Di Fan's actor, Di Fan's portrayal of this role is not in the face, she let people see not only the sinister and vicious female agent, but also let people remember her elegant beauty, and the desire for love moths to fight fire.
As early as the Anti-Japanese War, Di Fan embarked on the road of actors, starring in films such as "Home" and "Lin Zexu", until 2003, at the age of 83, she also starred in the film "Thirty-Eight Degrees", which was also Di Fan's last work.
Liang Ming, who plays the villain's biggest boss, Aunt Mei, also gave a wonderful performance that was amazing.
For most of the time in the film, she is the meek and humble Liu Mama in the Family of the Eight Gus; it is not until the end of the film, when "Mama Liu" appears in front of the camera with a cheongsam and a cigarette, we suddenly realize that this seemingly harmless old maid is the "Aunt Mei" that Wang Lian has been looking for!
Liang Ming interprets the two levels of the role contrasting perfectly, for which she has done a lot of elaborate design for this character: for example, when disguising as a maid, she is always half-bowed, always has a smile on her face, and speaks in a low voice that makes people feel very kind.
It is Liang Ming's careful design in these details that makes the audience believe that this is an ordinary servant, which creates such a shocking dramatic effect at the end of the film.
04, the male protagonist Feng Zhe died at the age of 49
The soul of the film is undoubtedly the public security officer Wang Lian, played by Feng Zhe, whose handsome, heroic and courageous image has long become an indelible screen memory of a generation.
Suit and leather shoes, personable Wang Lian, in the face of the temptation of the eight gu, he calmly responded with the appearance of a wanderer, and cleverly resolved the crisis on the pretext of "afraid of some people being jealous", this classic bridge section is still enjoyed by many older generation audiences.
Before starring in "Yangcheng Dark Sentinel", Feng Zhe has been well known to the audience with many film works, such as the high battalion commander in "Southern Expedition and Northern War", and the experienced and calm Commissar Li in "Railway Guerrilla", all of which are classic characters engraved in the long river of film history.
It is sad that Feng Zhe, who was at the peak of his career, not only interrupted his acting career during the special period, but also received unfair treatment, and died at the age of 49.
After the end of the special period, Emei Film Factory held a memorial service for Feng Zhe and publicly rehabilitated Feng Zhe; in 1995, on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of Chinese cinema, Feng Zhe was named one of the 126 "Chinese Film Stars" by the Ministry of Culture for those classic images created on the big screen.
More than 60 years later, most of the film's creators are no longer alive, but their brilliant acting careers, as well as these classic works left for the world, will be remembered by generations of audiences forever. (Author: Pippi Shrimp)