1980 My literary era

Since May, the domestic film industry has been flooded with news about two blockbuster films, "Hero" and "The Opium War."

As early as early May, the movie "The Opium War" held a huge joint distribution signing ceremony in Yanjing. The film will be produced by China Film Company, Emei Film Studio and Sichuan "Opium War" Film and Television Production Co., Ltd. Jointly issued.

In order to film "The Opium War", Xie Jin raised funds everywhere, and finally found Emei Film Studio, Huitong Urban Cooperative Bank, Chinese National Culture Promotion Association, Shanghai Jingwen Investment Co., Ltd. and other investors to jointly invest, and even established a special A cross-regional joint-stock monolithic project company - Sichuan "Opium War" Film and Television Production Co., Ltd.

The film invested more than 90 million yuan, and it was claimed that the investment was 100 million yuan. But in fact, the total cost of the movie is far more than 100 million.

Because of the name of the great director Xie Jin, and because the theme of the film is consistent with the return of Hong Kong, this film has received various welfare support from the domestic government and private parties since the beginning of filming.

Free use of physical props from Yanying Factory, purchase of decommissioned warships at low prices, Air China exempting the crew from air tickets, troops participating in performances...

Compared with the super-standard treatment of "The Opium War", the treatment of "Hero" is not that high. However, during the filming process, local governments also received courtesy and provided a lot of help. However, "Hero" received This kind of help is more of a mutual benefit with local governments.

The filming locations of "Hero" are all over the country, including Populus euphratica forest in Ejina, Inner Mongolia, Jiuzhaigou Valley, Sichuan, Dunhuang, Gansu...

Local governments all hope that the release of the movie will increase the popularity of tourist attractions and develop the local tourism industry.

The publicity battle before the release of "The Opium War" started on the day of the release signing ceremony. Ten days later, various news about "Hero" began to appear in the newspapers.

The publicity campaign for the two blockbusters has officially begun. For a time, the domestic film industry was in a state of flourishing.

The publicity campaign for "The Opium War" has lasted for more than a month. The publicity planning and distribution work jointly responsible for China Film, Emei Factory and the "Opium War" joint-stock project company are in full swing.

On June 9, "The Opium War" was released under much attention.

Due to more than a month of publicity and momentum in advance, two days before the film was released, there was a rare sight of audiences queuing up to buy tickets in many cinemas across the country, and it was hard to get a ticket. It was very popular.

"Oops, are we a little late?" Liu Jianzhong looked at the long queue to buy tickets and was a little frightened.

Tian Congming looked very pleased and said, "Just line up first, so you won't be unable to buy tickets."

Lin Weimin didn't say anything. He passed the two people and came to the front of the queue. He murmured a few words to others, took out his money and got a few movie tickets.

"Come on, come on, I'll invite the two leaders to watch a movie today!" Lin Weimin smiled and divided the movie tickets between them.

Liu Jianzhong said in surprise: "Can you buy tickets for this? You really have one!"

Tian Congming said: "This ticket is quite expensive, isn't it?"

"Hehe, it's okay, it's 20 yuan a piece!" Lin Weimin said with a smile.

Listening to the conversation between the two, Liu Jianzhong suddenly realized that Lin Weimin's ticket was bought at a higher price. No wonder he ran to the front and bought the ticket so quickly and easily.

"Don't feel bad for him. As a landlord, how can GDP grow if he doesn't spend money?" Tian Congming said to Liu Jianzhong.

There was still more than half an hour before the movie started, and several people were standing in front of the cinema chatting and laughing.

It was Tian Congming's suggestion that the three old men go out to watch a movie today. The domestic film market is about to enter the summer vacation recently, and two large-investment domestic films, "The Opium War" and "Hero", have made a strong appearance. The market has swept away the previous decadent atmosphere and is full of The Ministry of Radio, Film and Television and the Film Bureau are indispensable for the vitality and restlessness.

As one of the driving forces behind the scenes, Tian Congming naturally wanted to personally experience the impact of their operations on the market.

The two managers, Tian Congming and Liu Jianzhong, were very happy to feel the audience's enthusiasm for watching the movie in the cinema. However, after watching the movie, their faces were not as relaxed as before.

During the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty, the British opium trade posed a serious threat to the Qing Empire. Emperor Daoguang was forced to issue an edict and appoint Lin Zexu, the governor of Huguang, as the imperial envoy to Guangdong to ban opium.

However, the opium trade situation was complicated, and corrupt officials were colluding with British businessmen. Lin Zexu's anti-smoking campaign faced many difficulties. On June 3, the 19th year of Daoguang's reign, Lin Zexu commanded Gunsmoke at Humen Beach in Guangzhou, making the people applaud.

But soon, the British merchants were entrusted by Yilu to return to the UK to lobby, and the British declared war on China. The British navy was well equipped and sailed from the mouth of the Pearl River straight down to Tanggu. Emperor Daoguang was weak and incompetent. He blamed Lin Zexu for irritating the foreigners. He dismissed him and sent Qishan, the governor of Zhili, as an imperial envoy to reconcile with the British.

Later, the British proposed to cede territory as compensation. Daoguang could not bear to cede territory, so he ordered the navy to fight. Guan Tianpei and others led their troops to engage in a fierce battle with the British army at the Humen Fort, but eventually fell due to outdated weapons. All officers and soldiers sacrificed their lives for the country, and Lin Zexu was sent to the XJ. The British and the Qing government signed the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842, and Xiangjiang became a British colony.

After watching the movie, the three of them squatted on the curb in front of the cinema, analyzing the movie they just watched.

The advantages of "The Opium War" are obvious. The content basically restores history and truly reflects the beginning and end of the Opium War. It not only eulogizes the heroic spirit of the Chinese nation who resisted the oppression of foreign powers and fought bravely, but also breaks through the past stereotypes of characters in domestic films. Shortcomings, reappearing historical figures on the screen, leaving a deep impression on the audience.

But the shortcomings are also obvious. It is too restored to historical facts. The story line of the film is almost completely based on historical facts. Watching the entire film makes people feel heartbroken and extremely useless.

This is true even for professionals like Liu Jianzhong and Lin Weimin who have watched it, let alone ordinary viewers who just go to the cinema for entertainment.

The results of history are of course unchangeable, but as a narrator, you should have some emphasis and choices. Especially for a movie with a huge investment like "The Opium War", this way of handling the story is very dangerous.

When Lin Weimin and the three of them walked out of the screening room, they heard more than one audience member make negative comments about the movie.

When most moviegoers come to the cinema to watch movies, they are certainly not seeking to feel aggrieved and useless.

Even if everyone has a certain psychological preset about the content of the movie through the title, they can accept appropriate emotional frustrations during the movie viewing process, but the final ending must give the audience an outlet for their emotions.

This outlet does not necessarily need to be a comic ending, but it should be able to allow the audience to express the emotions accumulated throughout the scene.

In the second half of "The Opium War", officers and soldiers sacrificed their lives for the country. Lin Zexu was sent to the frontier and the Qing court lost power and humiliated the country. He ceded territory and sued for peace. The scene at the end of the film where Emperor Daoguang cried under the angry eyes of his ancestors was very literary and artistic, but But it was a fatal mistake.

This is a mistake no big-budget movie should make.

The negative emotions accumulated in the audience have not been vented and relieved. They are accumulated in their hearts. The more they think about it, the more frustrated and useless they become. No matter how well-made the film is and how ups and downs the story is, it is difficult for people to identify with it.

Such a movie may be good, but they will definitely not watch it a second time, let alone recommend it to people around them.

Movie promotion, the promotion work of the film studio and the distributor is very important, but their job is more like igniting the fuse in their hearts so that they can accept and love such a movie from their hearts, because with the love of these audiences, the movie's Only then will the influence be further expanded, thereby attracting more audiences to enter the cinema, just like many domestic movies in later generations that relied on tap water to achieve high box office.

After listening to Lin Weimin's analysis, Liu Jianzhong nodded, "Weimin is right. There is nothing wrong with this movie. It is an excellent work, but it does not take into account the psychological feelings of the audience. The handling of the second half is close to historical facts. There's nothing wrong with it, but if it's too straightforward, it will definitely not be accepted by the audience. I feel so suffocated watching it, let alone ordinary viewers. I think it will affect the box office to some extent."

He added: "It would be better if Director Xie handled the ending a little more gently."

Lin Weimin shook his head, "Director Xie has been filming movies all his life, he should understand this kind of thing."

Tian Congming said: "Is this the problem you mentioned about the creative consciousness of the two generations of domestic directors?"

Before the fifth generation of directors, Chinese film directors did not have the concepts of "commercialization" and "market" in their minds. In their view, making movies was just a propaganda machine no matter how poor the artistic creation was. Talking about money, Talking about business is vulgar.

"almost."

After several people talked about this, Liu Jianzhong asked Lin Weimin again, "Weimin, isn't the story about Jing Ke's assassination of Qin in your "Hero" also a tragic story? This kind of problem also exists, how did you deal with it?"

Lin Weimin smiled and said, "Won't you know when you see it?"

"You're so good at it!" Tian Congming laughed and scolded Lin Weimin.

Liu Jianzhong smiled and said to Tian Congming: "He can only sell it for a day. I will treat you to a blockbuster movie tomorrow."

"Hero" has just been produced in the past two days, and tomorrow the tape will be sent to the film bureau for review. The content of the film is naturally no secret to Liu Jianzhong and Tian Congming.

The next afternoon, in Lishi Hutong, not far from Chaonei Street, there was a former Qing Dynasty house at the intersection of Dongsi North Street. This was the residence of Liu Yong, an important minister of the Qianlong Dynasty, the same Liu Luoguo in "Prime Minister Liu Luoguo" prototype.

Liu Yong's Mansion is now the office of the Film Bureau. It is a beautiful large courtyard.

The Film Bureau attaches great importance to the review of "Hero". Today, not only comrades from the Ministry of Radio, Film and Television are present, but also comrades from culture, publicity and other fields.

Seeing several comrades at the company's deputy level coming, Zhang Yimou's expression became nervous involuntarily.

He had never seen scenes like this in the films he had shot before.

Seeing Lin Weimin who accompanied him chatting and laughing with the leaders, Zhang Yimou couldn't help but feel envious.

"I think everyone has almost arrived, let's start?" Lin Weimin suggested to Tian Congming.

On an occasion like today, Liu Jianzhong, the landlord, didn't dare to intervene, and he didn't care when Lin Weimin took the initiative.

Just seeing Lin Weimin chatting and laughing freely with those heads of higher rank than him, Liu Jianzhong couldn't get angry and could only admire him in his heart.

Everyone is at the same level, why are you so awesome?

The movie starts to show. At the beginning, before the plot has unfolded, the powerful use of colors is the first to catch the eye.

The bold scenery and the collision and fusion of various colors are one of the highlights of "Hero".

The originally relaxed expressions of everyone present immediately became serious, and even their postures while watching the movie involuntarily became solemn.

An idea popped into everyone's mind.

It's a kind of movie they've never seen!

Not only in content, but also in form.

Bold, the director's creative concept is very bold, not only bold, but also novel, unique and unique.

As soon as the film screening began, everyone watching the movie was immersed in the beautiful scenes.

Subsequently, the plot slowly unfolded, and various characters appeared on the stage.

The plot of "Hero" is not much different from the original version, but with Lin Weimin's intervention, the script is far more solid than later generations.

There are no pretentious plots and character settings, and the dialogue is concise, powerful and consistent with the characters.

In the early stage, the negative portrayal of the successive wars between the seven kingdoms was strengthened, which made Wuming and others' purpose of assassinating Qin more reasonable, and also strengthened the sense of concern for the country and the people in Wuming's character. At the end of the film, he was willing to sacrifice for the sake of the whole world. The tragic ending is enough foreshadowing.

The 96-minute film screening ended, and the final credits of the film were still rolling. Zhang Yimou looked around in the darkness, trying to clearly see the expressions on the faces of the many leaders who came to review the film.

Lin Weimin, who was sitting next to him, took the lead in applauding, and then bursts of applause erupted in the screening room.

A review team of only a dozen people could not create deafening applause, but Zhang Yimou, who has participated in reviews many times, knew that this kind of applause is not something that every film can enjoy.

The applause from the leaders is the highest affirmation of "Hero".