Film Graphic Entertainment Weekly
March 1939 Vol. 28
The general review of China's film industry in the past 19 years
In the future, it will tend to be the way of costume films
Hu Di is like ManliBike Fu
At present, the Chinese film industry has entered a lofty goal held by producers and entrepreneurs, that is, to produce a film that can be equal to European and American productions in terms of art, and will probably enter the road of costume films in the end. This kind of film, the story is based on China's historical legend, according to the current view, this lofty goal must be achieved.
Although all kinds of films, self-crude fights, nonsense comedies, like the original Hollywood McSannatt Film Company produced, and to the very complex legendary dramas, Chinese film companies have produced.
However, due to the revelation of experience, it is known that films based on legends in Chinese classics are welcomed by the general Audience of China, and are special geniuses suitable for Chinese actors and directors.
"Beauty Count" should be
The predecessor of Lianhua is made by Greater China Lily
There are five films, produced by large companies recognized by the general public, and have achieved the highest success in the art of sound film in China, all of which are historical films.
The first was the now-defunct Lianhua Company's 1930 film "Beauty Plan", when the company cost 100,000 yuan. It is already one of the most expensive productions in China. The story is a legend taken from the Three Kingdoms era.
The other four are "Sable Cicada", which is now released in the United States, starring Gu Lanjun and Jin Shan, and "Mulan Congjun" directed by Bu Wancang, starring Chen Yunsheng, a Guangdong girl who is twenty years old. "Wu Zetian", the story is based on a famous female emperor of the Tang Dynasty, starring Gu Lanjun. "Chu Bawang", starring the famous Jin Suqin. As far as the criticism of the general Chinese, these are outstanding works.
Gu Lanjun "Sable Cicada"
The cost of ordinary Chinese films exceeds 25,000 yuan, and the cost of each film is usually only about 25,000 yuan.
This is not the case with the above films.
The story of "Mulan From the Army" is to go deep into the psychology of Chinese. And in order to be written in Mei Lanfang's repertoire, so foreigners also know this story.
Chen Yunsheng "Mulan From the Army"
"Wu Zetian" is the greatest set, the costume is peculiar, the famous set designer Fang Peilin is the director, and the set and costume are all obtained by him and are engaged in design - this volunteer, which he has been looking forward to for a long time, has now been implemented.
"Chu Bawang", another historical film, is a great production of Yihua Company, which can represent the company's considerable position in China's sound films, and has only recently been released, which has caused a sensation among many Chinese audiences, in order to be very interested in the military in this historical competition.
"King of Chu"
In China, the early silent films of Chinese films were first filmed in 1920, and the Commercial Press originally produced films, initially focusing on improving the education of audiences, but the nature of entertainment was very small. Generally, those who are engaged in film industry are patriots, and those who have studied abroad, especially in the United States, use film as a new medium to eliminate illiteracy.
However, educators were only educators, not entertainment experts, and because Hollywood producers made Chinese such a welcome to Chaplin, many Chinese producers were very enthusiastic when they began to engage in film industry, and later for lack of capital and lack of experience, they almost stopped, and it was better in 1924.
Beginning in 1932, Progressive Star Company was the first company in China to set up a sound silent film shooting company, and Hu Die was China's first movie star, just like Man li bi Kefu, who has not had many works recently, as if he is going to retire. But the average film fan can still imagine Hu Die in his mind, just like Hollywood achieved amazing success in 1929 sound films.
For a period of time, China's film industry suffered repeated setbacks, on the one hand, a number of old film companies were closed, and on the other hand, new companies and new talents were being produced. Then Chinese films are very important in the lives of audiences and cannot be stopped. The emerging film companies, at the expense of huge sums of money, purchased various equipment from Europe and the United States, and saw what kind of production was needed in the market. Since 1932, there have been amazing advances under the new method facilities.
Compare Hu Di to Manlibi Kefu
Sound films have broken the dialect puzzle of different languages, and immediately became a problem in the production of sound films, and then it turned out not to be as difficult as initially thought. Chinese sound films, with only two different dialogues, namely Chinese and Cantonese, are enough. At present, Cantonese sound films are only filmed in Hong Kong, and as for Jingyin or Chinese sound films, they are completely filmed in Shanghai.
Legends and tragedies have been most popular for a considerable period of time, and from experience, it is known that comedy dramas have their place on the Chinese stage, but they are not as important on the screen as in the United States.
Legendary dramas are directly compared with the experience of Hollywood, but they are not popular with the experience of ending in tragedy, and in this process, due to the experience gained in a number of social semi-educational productions, the use of modern sets in social dramas allows the audience to see how the so-called life of the privileged class is, which will be welcomed by the audience.
The need for such films is a new Trend on the Chinese Stage that will never be extinguished. "The Fan of the Little Grandmother", based on the original work of the British writer Wilde, compiled into a script, is currently being released in the first round of Chinese films. This theater is starring Yuan Meiyun, and the plot is completely consistent with the original work.
"Little Grandma's Fan"
For a time, the film company produced films that directly educated the public with political implications, and the National Government inspected them and released them. In the past year, on this isolated island in Shanghai, of course, such films cannot be screened.
In this regard, we are reminded of the Cantonese female star Ruan Lingyu, who committed suicide in 1935. The last film she starred in was this style, which showed how hard life was for a young girl working in a factory in Shanghai.
Three Modern Women
Not Nguyen Ling Yu's last work
Ruan Lingyu's suicide is an astonishing sensation in Chinese films, and when the tragedy of Ruan Lingyu's suicide occurred, it obtained a significant evidence that had never been seen before.
After Ms. Ruan's tragic death, for several weeks, Chinese newspapers published many books about her life and stories, about her short history and funeral pamphlets, which sold more than a million after publication.
Chinese audiences also worship stars
Chinese zheng, like foreigners, has a penchant for celebrities and directors.
Female stars seem to have more power to appeal to the audience than male stars and directors, and although Hu Die has maintained her status as a protagonist in the film industry for ten years, the average star and screen life are probably relatively shallow.
At present, there is a famous actress Lu Ming, she starred in the "Woman", is being released, she admires Diana Baoping, she is like BaoPing, all her films, there are singing and performing the same typical role - is a young and beautiful girl.
Lu Ming took a group photo with "Woman" director Chen Haoran
Ms. Lu is only eighteen years old this year, a high school graduate, and she speaks English fluently. Yuan Meiyun is another actress, twenty-one years old this year. There is also a very famous Cantonese actress Chen Yunsheng, who is 20 years old this year and is a graduate of a secondary school in Hong Kong.
Among the male stars, the famous ones are the funny partners Guan Hongda and Han Langen, who are also known as "China's Laurethatai". Wang Yuanlong entered the higher school in Beiping and was a famous male star of the William Bowier type. Many fans of Li Ying called him "Tairo Baohua in Chinese films".
"Skinny Monkey" Han Langen
Female stars do not value movie fans
Now there are almost twenty experienced Chinese directors. There was a Fei Mu who directed Cantonese films in Hong Kong, and he studied in France.
Like the West, Chinese stars also receive letters from fans, because Chinese stars do not employ private secretaries, so there are a number of stars, more than others are always driven by conscience, some reply to all letters one by one, some only write replies to some letters, but some even do not return at all.
Chinese films are unlikely to lose money
In terms of business, Chinese films are also different from the United States in many places, and foreign films are sometimes at a loss, but Chinese films are not likely to lose money.
The main reason is that the competition is not very sharp, the production cost is relatively low, and the script is written by professional writers. The remuneration for a play will rarely exceed more than 500 yuan. There are also directors who write their own books or collaborate with writers.
Before the war, there were 270 cinemas in China that specialized in Chinese films, and there were 42 in Shanghai, and now there are only 30 left. It also includes the first round of national films of the three films, that is, Jincheng Xinguang and Huguang.
Huguang Cinema
Last year Chinese mainland film industry, in many places where it was completely stopped, but the producers of Chinese films in Shanghai can still be released in "Manchukuo" and all over Northern China.
Most of the Chinese films are rented and screened, and the accounting system is used, unless they are rented to the mainland. In these places, every film that is willing to rent a film from a film company at a fixed rental price may be released in the mainland from time to time to make a profit from it.
Odd love comments
Today to share with you, is published in 1939 Shanghai Island Period "Film Entertainment Picture Weekly" a translation article, the author is a foreigner, the surname is unknown, because of the times, this article includes punctuation slightly different from today, it is not "smooth" to read, but out of respect for historical archives, Ge Ge recorded here.
When the translation was published, an editor in front of this article said: "Recently, the Shanghai English Mainland Newspaper star journal contained the article "The General Review of the Chinese Film Industry in the Past Nineteen Years", although from the perspective of outsiders, to discuss the Chinese film industry, the records are untrue, the observation is wrong, it is inevitable, but the full text is still organized and can be read." ”
As a reporting rather than academically rational article, there are indeed many historical errors in this article.
For example, Ruan Lingyu's last film should be "National Style" directed by Luo Mingyou, because there is also a tribute to Ruan Lingyu's death, but this film is completely in line with the National Government's "New Life Movement" concept, even if it has "political implications", it is completely in line with the "main theme film" of the Kuomintang policy.
As for the outstanding director Fei Mu specifically emphasized in the article, the information is almost all wrong, Fei Mu did not shoot Cantonese films in Hong Kong, nor did he study in France, but only studied at the French higher school in China.
"National Style"
But in the eyes of this foreigner, we can still see some interesting information, such as the emergence of a wave of costume films with large investments in the isolated island period, tragedy is more popular in China than comedy, female stars are more appealing than male stars, Ruan Lingyu's death caused a social shock, and so on... These are basically accurate.
At the same time, we can also see that before 1930, the important position of film as a major form of urban entertainment has been established; the creation of Chinese films in the isolated island period in the 30s can be screened in the northeast and north China that have fallen; and the box office distribution and film buyout methods that are very popular today have been widely realized as early as Shanghai during the Republic of China.
All of the above are very valuable materials, which are fully worthy of further in-depth exploration by our researchers.
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The Annual Conference on Chinese Film Historiography was exhibited in Shanghai
Li Lihua photo
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