When it comes to movies reflecting the 1976 Tangshan earthquake, many people will immediately think of Feng Xiaogang's "Tangshan Earthquake". In fact, as early as 1977, he filmed a movie with the Tangshan earthquake as the theme of "Earthquake". For various reasons, the film was not released in the end, and Lu Gang, who was the film's assistant director at the time, told the beginning and end of the film's shooting.
"Earthquake" was launched in the aftershock
After the Tangshan earthquake occurred, under the cordial care of the PARTY Central Committee, the timely rescue of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, and the vigorous support of the people of the whole country, the people of Tangshan quickly healed the huge wounds and produced many touching stories that can be sung and wept. The Bayi Film Studio lost no time in quickly deciding to embark on a feature film depicting the struggle against the earthquake, "Earthquake". Two months after the earthquake, in October 1976, screenwriter Shi Chao (screenwriter of feature films such as "Five More Cold", "Secret Drawings", and "Armageddon") and others wrote the script "Shengtian Qu", which was the predecessor of the script of "Earthquake". I had just finished the completion of the feature film "The Great Wall of the South China Sea" and was ordered to participate in the filming of "Earthquake".
It was an eventful autumn of mixed joys and sorrows. A few days after I finished reading the script of "Shengtian Qu", bayi factory held a factory-wide meeting and announced the great news of smashing the Gang of Four. The crowd was excited, firecrackers were fired, and parades were paraded in the factory to celebrate. On the 24th, I marched to Tiananmen Square with the comrades of the whole factory and participated in the Beijing Celebration of the Smashing of the Gang of Four. Factory leaders and creators followed the situation and decided to include a critique of the Gang of Four in the script.
In order to rush to shoot the location after the Tangshan earthquake, in the case that the script has not yet been revised and the film crew has not yet been formally established, on the 26th, I rushed to Tangshan with the old director Shi Wenzhi (the director of the feature film "Five Heroes of Wolf's Tooth Mountain", "Hero Island", "Furious Tide", "Commander He Long" and "Crossing the River Expedition"),, and began intense filming work under the condition of continuous aftershocks. We only spent one day in the rain to select the location and develop a shooting plan. The next day, using the ruins after the earthquake, the camera was filmed with a group of shots of Deputy Commander Xu of the People's Liberation Army (played by the famous actor Li Yan) and Shi Tie (played by Li Changhua), deputy secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, leading an ambulance to rescue the affected people. On the third day, with the vigorous cooperation of a certain unit of the People's Liberation Army that rescued Tangshan, a set of footage of the troops marching rapidly toward Tangshan was snapped. The scene was large and was shot with a lift. After booting, 120 military trucks full of soldiers were seen lined up in two rows, led by motorcycles and jeeps, straight to the camera, and the infantry team was side by side with the truck, running in the direction of the camera. Seeing that the motorcycle was about to crash into the camera, the elevator rose in time to overlook the scene of the troops advancing towards the disaster area from the air, which was spectacular and shocking.
Collective creation
"Zhen" was filmed in the late cultural revolution, when special emphasis was placed on exerting collective strength and wisdom to collective creation. The script has been revised many times by Shi Chao and four other screenwriters, and the director team has also participated in the revision. After director Shi Wenzhi led us to shoot some of the Tangshan locations, Hua Chun (director of feature films such as "Overture to the East", "Fighting the Invaders", "Fierce Battle of the Nameless River" and so on), Wang Xiaotang, Zhang Weijia, Huo Deji and others have also successively entered the director group to enrich their strength.
Wang Xiaotang has starred in feature films such as "Mysterious Traveling Companion", "Border Village Beacon", "Sea Eagle", "Wildfire Spring Wind Fighting Ancient City", "Hero Tiger Guts" and other feature films, and is one of the 22 major movie stars selected in the country before the Cultural Revolution. Don't look at Wang Xiaotang as an actor, but his first time as a director is not ambiguous at all. Because it is difficult to show the scene during the earthquake in real time, most of the interior scenes of "Earthquake" are built in the studio. A scene in the studio where Liu Shu (Gang of Four minions) suffered an earthquake in his new home, directed by Wang Xiaotang. In order to show the shaking of the house during the earthquake, The new house was built on a huge bearing that could roll. Before filming began, Wang Xiaotang rehearsed the actor's play repeatedly until he was satisfied, and after checking that all departments were ready, he calmly issued the order to start shooting. As the plot progressed, Wang Xiaotang gave an order: "Shock! The staff immediately pried the house, so that the house swayed from side to side on the bearing, only to see the chandelier flickering, the furniture rolling, and Liu Shu and his wife and brother-in-law in the room, screaming in panic. This difficult shot was successfully completed at once.
Holds three positions
I not only worked as an assistant director in the crew, but also as a field reporter, and played a miner with a sense of justice in the play. There was a scene where I was criticizing the Gang of Four at a mass meeting. This scene was originally filmed in the central square of Tangshan, in order to buy time, instead of making up for the shooting in the studio, in order to avoid the environment to wear the gang, specially gave me a big close-up. I finished my job as an assistant director while taking the time to memorize my lines. After entering the studio, under the strong lights, facing the camera, I was passionate, denouncing the crimes of the Gang of Four, and gave a minute's speech. That night, I went into the recording studio to arrange the sound for myself. After the film was completed and screened inside the film industry, an old classmate of the acting department of the film school saw my lens and was amazed and smiled at me: "I have studied acting for half a lifetime, and I have not fished a close-up scene, so that your boy can catch it!" ”
Two firsts
"Earthquake" is an 85-minute black-and-white feature film that tells the story of the military and civilian cooperation in earthquake relief after the earthquake, under the leadership of the municipal party committee. Efforts were made to shape Shi Tie, deputy secretary of the Municipal CPC Committee, Xu Deputy Division Commander of a certain unit of the People's Liberation Army, Secretary Li of the Municipal CPC Committee, Dr. Ding of the army, Master Fang, an engineer from a miner, and the old branch secretary of the brigade, who were open and selfless in the struggle against the earthquake and disaster relief, and sacrificed themselves to save others, and sang praises for the water conditions of the military and the people. Out of a political need to criticize the Gang of Four, the film also fictionalizes the image of a Gang of Four minions. In order to avoid putting the characters in the play and the real-life people in the seat, and for the convenience of creation, the film will rename Tangshan City jinfeng City.
"Earthquake" was not finally completed until August 1977, but it was not released for various reasons. Looking at it today, the content of this film is indeed suspected of illustrating politics, and the art is relatively rough, and there are problems of straightness, whiteness, shallowness, and exposure, which is caused by the limitations of the times, and we should not be harsh on the creators at that time. After all, "Earthquake" is China's first feature film depicting the Tangshan earthquake, and it is also China's first feature film criticizing the Gang of Four, which has its historical value.
Associate director Lu Gang (first from right) and cinematographer Yin Qiaofang (second from right) in a Hongqi sedan for filming
Group photo of some members of the film crew of "Earthquake": the third from the left in the front row is the famous actor Li Yan (who plays Vice Commander Xu); the sixth from the left is the director Shi Wenzhi; the eighth from the left is the actor Li Changhua (who plays deputy secretary Shi Tie); the first left in the back row is the assistant director Lu Gang
Director Shi Wenzhi (second from right) and photographer Yin Qiaofang (first from right) on the shooting scene, famous actor Li Yan played Deputy Commander Xu (second from left), and Li Changhua played Shi Tie, deputy secretary of the Municipal Party Committee (third from left).
Deputy director Lu Gang (the microphone holder) is directing the filming of mass scenes criticizing the "Gang of Four" in the central square of Tangshan
A lift truck was used to film the big scene of the PLA troops rushing to aid Tangshan
Source: Tangshan Labor Daily