Zhang Yimou's Wuxia Hero: A Model Work of Fine Drama

Theater by detail

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? The movie focuses on the end of the Warring States period, when the seven kingdoms rise up, but Qin is the most powerful, eager to annex the six kingdoms and unify the world. In order to fight against Qin's annexation, a group of chivalrous men from all over the six countries want to assassinate the King of Qin.

? In the latter part of the Warring States period, wars were raging, and the great warriors were rising up. Among the seven great powers, Qin is the only one that dominates the country. In order to unify the world, the King of Qin (played by Chen Daoming) launches a crusade against Zhao and other vassal states. The King of Qin's ambition has aroused strong dissatisfaction among the chivalrous warriors of the vassal states, who are waiting for an opportunity to assassinate the King of Qin. Zhao assassin Changkong (Donnie Yen), couple assassins Broken Sword (Tony Leung) and Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung) are the three most feared by the King of Qin. The King of Qin ordered: Anyone who can apprehend the assassin Changkong can approach the King of Qin at 20 paces; anyone who kills Broken Sword and Flying Snow can approach the King of Qin at 10 paces, and will be given an official title plus silk.

Three years ago, the couple of assassins Broken Sword, Flying Snow, both broke into the Qin Palace, assassinated the King of Qin, but at the last moment, Broken Sword gave up the opportunity to kill the King of Qin; Broken Sword, Flying Snow is very puzzled by this move. From then on, the two had a grudge. Three years later, the Qin warrior Nameless (Jet Li), who is actually from Zhao, joins the assassination team to avenge the hatred of his country and his family. He infiltrated into the Qin country, spent 10 years of hard work, practiced a body of the most superior kung fu "ten steps a kill", that is, within ten steps, can kill any target.

? The story is about a man who was killed by a man in the middle of the night. In order to bring Nameless closer to the King of Qin, Changkong feigns defeat under Nameless' sword at the Leaky Cauldron Chess House. When Nameless seeks help from Broken Sword and Flying Snow, Broken Sword flatly refuses. The attitude of Broken Sword attracts Flying Snow's resentment. Remnant Sword persuades Nameless to give up the assassination, which makes Nameless very puzzled. On the way to Qin, Remnant Sword gave Nameless two words: "The World". He explains that this is the truth he has realized over the years, that the King of Qin cannot be killed. Feixue, who has accumulated deep resentment, can no longer understand Broken Sword's dissuasive behavior. In order to prove his feelings for Feixue and his expectations for the world, Broken Sword died under Feixue's sword in a grim manner. The two of them were killed in the Gobi Desert, leaving the maid Ruyue (played by Zhang Ziyi) to weep alone.

The King of Qin summons Nameless. Nameless recounts the assassination of the three assassins, and obtains the highest specification of ten steps in the King of Qin. Nameless seized the opportunity and flew to stab the King of Qin. In the nick of time, Nameless finally gave up. Nameless demanded the King of Qin to unify China and put an end to years of wars and historical grudges on the grounds of the gods of the earth and the gods of the people. The King of Qin was shocked when Nameless died in the midst of a shower of arrows from the Qin soldiers.

? The third time I watched this movie, I only have one word to evaluate it - fine, it's fine performance in the following aspects:

First, use color to tell the story

? Color as an important means of film modeling, in Zhang Yimou's film played to the fullest, "Hero" is no exception, the color becomes a cryptic appearances, not only reproduced but also performance, and participate in the portrayal of the character's heart, to express the mood, as a drama element to promote the plot development, etc., the color greatly expands the film's mirror language space.

? The hero of the set of Kurosawa Akira "Rashomon" story structure, but Zhang Yimou director does not use the structure of the story and color to speak, with the color of the cryptic function to express and imply the truth of the fictional story, the beginning of the heavy black performance of the Qin Wang Palace of the solemnity of the solemnity, oppression and dominance of the air, the second mirror is a red Zhao word hall, anything is red, even the nameless seek "Sword" is also written in red cinnabar, red is a symbol of hatred and desire, but also the subsequent blood stained Zhao's padding, but also jealousy and confused love portrayal, blue is the king of Qin's rationality and meticulous mind, but also a symbol of chivalry of the broken sword Flying Snow serenity and Zhiyuan, green is the language of nature, is the "Road", is peace, yellow is the language of nature, is "Road", is peace, green is the language of nature, is "Road", is "Road", is peace, yellow is the color of the king of Qin's palace. ", is peace, yellow is ripe and fall, leaf yellow and withered, white is simple is pure and flawless, but also a kind of mourning for the past, for the old country, the end and with black, black empty palace, is the king of Qin's lonely and lonely, is the world of no friend of the sad, but also the nameless sad heroes of the nature.

? Color is also an important means of portraying the image of the heart, "Hero" has a more special black and white, which is also a color, in the nameless and the long empty duel with the black and white, black and white symbol of false fabrication, half black and half white ambiguity, but also the nameless to the king of Qin to tell his duel with the long empty, he and the king of Qin the same heart of the portrayal, the narrator of the true and false difficult to distinguish, and listen to the king of Qin's heart of the jealously The portrayal is very well done. In addition, the contrast of colors produces meaning, expresses emotions, and becomes an element of the play. Black, red, blue, green, and yellow are mainly used in Hero, and the contrast of colors tells the whole story.

Regarding the colors of Hero, Spielberg once said, "I don't understand Chinese, but through the colors, I understand Hero."

II. Second Language-Soundtrack

? The vast Qin army rides its horses amidst the sound of Yao drums, the duel of heroes holds its breath beside the white-haired, old and decrepit guqin, the red hatred is accompanied by the low, evil aura of the ghostly taiko drums, and the mournful thoughts of the violin come from across the vastness of the desert. All of these are the most delicate feelings and emotions to be expressed in the movie image, which will be conveyed and sublimated and beautified by music - this is the great power of movie music! But there is only one prerequisite: you have to know the movie well before you can appreciate the emotion and richness of its music.

My favorite of the period is "Pale. Overture"

The first shot of the opening of the movie "Hero" falls on the old and familiar yellow land, and Perlman's mournful violin plays the first low and beautiful melody - "Pale. Overture", this is the infinite attachment to the earth and hot emotions, but also Zhang Yimou y hidden in the heart of the thick of the yellow earth complex. Immediately thereafter, the solemn ancient Yao sound and thunder drums correspondingly resonate, stirring up a piece of loess flying, mellow baritone in the strings under the padding depicts a picture of the magnificence of the mountains and rivers - the vast Qin army in this stirring music in the horse Mercedes-Benz in the return to the Qin Palace on the road. And here the story begins ......

The opening piece, "Cang. Overture," is simple, beautiful, but equally imposing. Tan Dun in this opening song did not render too much of the grandeur of the army's march, but with a lonely violin realized the yellow soil flying left behind full of pallor, as if to make people more able to clearly feel that piece of the pallid land that once gave birth to many generations of heroes.

Perlman said that the music of Hero contains an ancient Chinese soprano sound, which sounds like the bleakness of the ancient desert. In order to use the violin and the horse-head fiddle to express the ancient Chinese music melody, he also re-tuned the four strings of the violin, so that it has a "Chinese flavor" of the sound.

The soundtrack that best fits the Chinese culture of a Chinese movie must be expressed in music with a Chinese flavor, which is not only an auditory effect, but also a visual effect. The opening song reminds us of the Qin Dynasty, when they raised the dust of the world and united the six kingdoms with their iron horseback riding across the territory.

Another example is the hero duel scene in the chess hall, nameless long empty handle sword against the hold, a white-haired old man sitting in which, in the hands of the guqin accompanied by the sound of the rain gently played, melodious and elegant, antique, suddenly the violin played a trace of murderous gas, the picture with the camera moving rapidly, then the guqin playing more and more manic, the drums louder and louder, the more the atmosphere is tense, and then, violently, the string breaks the piano mute, nameless long empty pulling out the sword stabbing! ...... tense images, compact soundtrack, constitute a perfect combination, every detail is encrusted with a note, every note touches the audience's most subtle emotions. This is movie music, this is Tan Dun's movie music. Its excellence lies in its ability to capture all the most subtle details of a movie and give them the most appropriate rendering.

? Qin army theme song "wind", director Zhang Yimou originated in the Qin land , that is, now Shaanxi, wind is an ancient lyric poetry , but also an embodiment of ancient folk music, the ancient Chinese poetic scripture includes wind, elegance, ode to three categories. The appearance of the song "Wind" in the movie further emphasizes the unbeatable momentum and oppression of the Qin army, and reaches a ****ming with the black tone of the Qin Palace in the sense of hearing and vision.

? The three soundtracks, whether it's the production, or the match with the plot, can be described as fine.

Three, fine "ritual"

This is a historical dynasty based on the martial arts movie, then the performance of the Chinese culture is bound to be consistent with the history of the macroscopic, the movie is still dealing with the fine, such as the opening summoned nameless, the majestic Qin Palace outside the line of soldiers, according to the rank to guard the post, nameless is the only way to get to the top of the movie, and the movie is not a good idea. Rank to guard the post, Nameless went in after the first body inspection easy to dress hair bun, before going to meet the king of Qin, outside the gate, attached to the long worship, to be declared after the reward and then into a door, and then into the king of Qin, ten steps away from the king of Qin, kneeling to answer ...... also such as the assassins dueling each other when each other will be the first salute, including Ruyue in the gauze tent outside the intention of the lady to ask for instructions, these are all in line with the traditional Chinese culture of "the", "the", "the", "the", "the", "the", "the" and "the". These are all in line with the requirements of the traditional Chinese culture of "etiquette", and this movie has a subtle treatment.

Four, the detailed portrayal of the big scene

? Often a detail is easy to grasp, but the big scene to do fine is not so easy, but "Hero" to do fine in the big. The majesty of Qin's domination of the world is demonstrated through big scenes, using the artistic effect of this fine art scene to express the movie scene effect.

? There are many depictions of big scenes in Heroes, often rendering an atmosphere and grandeur, as well as a reproduction of the historical picture, fleshing out the storyline and giving a sense of reality in the monotonous colorful storyline.

Fifth, the beauty of sadness

? Hero" is a good embodiment of the "death" for the beauty of the tragic aesthetics, in the Chinese cultural tradition, death is the beauty of this aesthetic idea has a long history, especially in the spirit of chivalry, Qin united the world, inevitably killing and bloodshed into the river, many of the descendants of the extinction of the country on the assassination of the King of Qin's thirst, along with the rise of the assassin, chivalry style. Chivalry, in fact, "Hero" is a tragic aesthetic.

? First of all, the nameless, the long sky, the broken sword flying snow chivalry of grief, they shoulder the heavy responsibility of assassinating the king of Qin, carrying the family hatred, but they are also the representative of the chivalrous, they pursue the pursuit of self-sacrifice, to level the world's inequality of the chivalrous spirit, they are the king of Qin is a great hatred, but to the world is the fraternal love, their contradictions and righteousness to make them go on the tragic end, the year rushed into the palace of the king of Qin, the broken sword had the opportunity to kill the king of Qin, but he gave up, not without hate, but he gave up, not without hate, and the broken sword, the broken sword is a tragic end. But he gave up, not not hate, but comprehend the "way", he knows the world situation, today is the king of Qin, tomorrow will be someone else, and suffering is always the people, he does not want more people like them to wander the world, seek revenge revenge, his abandonment of the gap between him and Flying Snow, this abandonment is also the last of them both killed themselves! Even so, their death is beautiful, for the world and die, for the righteousness and die, abide by their pursuit of "chivalry, for the country and for the people," the spirit of chivalry.

The nameless bear the trust of friends, shoulder the hatred of the country and family, he hated the king of Qin to the bone, when the nameless stood in the king of Qin ten steps away, with his sword speed can be assassinate the king of Qin, to complete their thirst, but he temporarily realize the "sword", know the meaning of the world said the broken sword, he was only a symbolic use of the hilt of the sword stabbed! He only symbolically stabbed the King of Qin with the hilt of his sword, and chose to die so that the King of Qin could live. Just because the King of Qin said that he had the whole world in mind, he sacrificed his life for righteousness, and became an unsung hero, dying a tragic death, which is a kind of beauty of killing oneself to fulfill one's benevolence. Especially the back of the nameless only to go is a kind of indescribable beauty, his righteousness to give up his life is also a kind of tragedy of beauty, his righteousness to die in the Qin army like locusts of arrows, but has been enlightened, no complaints, rather than sad, but rather than the beauty of the great wisdom. This coincides with the aesthetics of death in ancient Chinese culture.

? Secondly, it is the sorrow of the soulmate. Flying snow said the sword is a high mountain and flowing water, people do not leave people, the sword does not leave the sword, but because of the knowledge so that can hurt more y, Flying Snow does not understand the sword of the year the mercy of the sword, failed to assassinate the king of Qin, but also on his resentment in the heart, so a heart to help Nameless assassinate Qin, and the sword is bent on preventing Nameless Flying Snow, that is, a confidant, Flying Snow is to die also do not know the sword of the world of the family's bosom. There is the king of Qin in ten thousand people, but the great Qin Palace, no one from his near ten steps, not to mention the confidant, living in a high position of loneliness and loneliness is his all, in the end, the world's most understanding of him is to put him in the death of the assassin, this is how sad, but lonely is not the king of Qin no one can tell no one to understand, he and the nameless of the three dialogues, his meticulous and jealousy portrayed in the best, especially his final realization of the truth, but also the king of the Qin, the king of the world is not a man who can tell no one understand, he and Nameless three dialogues, his thoughtful and jealousy portrayed in the most. Especially his final realization, but also let people see a king's great wisdom, although there is no confidant, better than a confidant, his sadness is only that no one understands its heart of great ambition, rather than the lack of domination of the world's mind. He endured the pain of killing his confidant, but achieved the unification of the six countries of the hegemony, to fulfill the wish of his confidant, to accommodate the world with a big heart. His loneliness and solitude became a realm and a beauty.

"Heroes" of the film, whether it is the picture, music, action design, color, clothing, styling, props, language, or narrative structure have great achievements and praise, I think these aspects of the achievement is a word - fine, in the film face to face fine production is rare, coupled with the actors on the expression of the details and grasp of the post production The fineness of the post-production makes it no matter whether it is the artistic effect of the picture, the effect of the plot, or the expression of the theme, there is a fineness in the drama, and the fineness makes the drama. This attitude of excellence is worth learning and inheriting, especially in the big business environment today, the movie is only done for the flow, no one will buckle the details of the fine production, so this movie's spirit of seeking fine is invaluable.