From the birth of 1905 China's first film "Dingjun Mountain" to 2005, China films have gone through a whole hundred years. In the hundred-year history of China films, the development of China films can not be separated from the integration of China martial arts.
China movies range from silent, stand-alone and black-and-white movies to high-tech, big investment, surround sound image maximization, and even the most influential film festival in the world. Martial arts films and chivalrous thoughts of advocating martial arts play an important role in China's films. Therefore, it can be said that China Wushu promoted the development of China films; China's films promoted and publicized China Wushu.
2 Wushu and the three climaxes of China film development
2. 1 the first climax
The first climax of China's martial arts action movies appeared in the 1920s and 1930s. At that time, people used to call it "martial arts movies". With the development of China films, the martial arts films reached their first climax. During this period, various martial arts films appeared one after another.
The rapid development of his martial arts films is related to the cultural background and martial arts novels at that time. 1928, Shanghai Star Film Company adapted and produced the martial arts film Burning Red Lotus Temple based on the martial arts novel Legend of the Wonders in the Jianghu. Historically, people have always thought that Burning Red Lotus Temple was the first martial arts film in China.
At that time, the smash hit "Burning Red Lotus Temple" reached its peak in box office and social popularity. In the next three years, in order to meet the requirements of the audience, the sequel to Burning Red Lotus Temple was filmed as many as 18 episodes. Even today's American blockbusters Batman Ⅰ, Batman Ⅱ and Batman Ⅲ will feel ashamed. "Burning Red Lotus Temple" is about Liuyang, Hunan Province and Heping River competing for the dock, involving Kunlun School and Kongtong School in Wulin, as well as Red Lotus Temple. There is no need to delve into the plot, but 18 episode "Burning Red Lotus Temple" actually formed the first climax of martial arts action movies in China film history. Later, 1940 and 1993, two more episodes were released in Hong Kong, thus making a total of 20 episodes of Burning Red Lotus Temple.
1929- 193 1 During the period, more than 50 film companies in Shanghai produced more than 250 martial arts films, accounting for 60% of all the films produced.
Due to the Japanese invasion of China, China films suffered great trauma, which also led to the end of the first climax of China martial arts films.
2.2 The second climax
The second climax of China's martial arts action films appeared in the late 1950s and 1970s. In the 1960s and 1970s, martial arts action movies, like romance movies, became the two pillars supporting the film industry in Hong Kong and Taiwan. During this period, a group of actors and directors representing the highest level of martial arts action films in this period emerged. For example, Bruce Lee, Sammo Hung and later Jackie Chan and Yuanshi brothers.
1958, Hong Kong Emei Production Company first filmed Jin Yong's Legend of the Condor Heroes and Sword with Royal Blood, and later, martial arts films appeared in Taiwan Province Province, such as 1960 Taiwan Province United Film Company's Seven Heroes and Thirteen Righteousnesses.
1973, China's martial arts action film turned an important page. "The Raptors Crossing the River" is a film written, directed and acted by Bruce Lee. It is recognized as a martial arts action film that successfully made an expedition to Europe and entered the world cinema. In the same year, Long Hudou was jointly produced by Bruce Lee and Hollywood Warner Pictures, becoming the first martial arts action film in China to cooperate with foreign film companies. The Game of Death is the last film written, directed and acted by Bruce Lee. Unfortunately, Bruce Lee died before he finished the film.
Since then, although the production of martial arts action films in Hong Kong and Taiwan has continued, the creation, shooting and effect of martial arts action films as a group have gradually declined.
2.3 the third climax
The third climax of China's martial arts action films appeared in the early 1980s. 1980, the Beijing Film Studio filmed the mysterious giant Buddha starring Liu Xiaoqing for the first time, which opened a precedent for martial arts action movies. From 65438 to 0982, produced by Kaifeng Performance Company and Hong Kong Lianhua Film Joint Company, Shaolin Temple starring Jet Li really set off the third climax of martial arts action movies. During this period, a large number of martial arts action films were born, such as Shaolin Temple disciples, Wudang disciples and Wu Linzhi of 1983. 1984 young heroes, kapok robes, Wang Wujian, etc. At the same time, martial arts action movies have the significance of blending action movies with national culture.
Martial arts action movies triggered by Chinese mainland and Hong Kong and Taiwan are different. That is to say, in comparison, under the premise of telling stories, it shows more the connotation and ideological edification of a national traditional culture.
In the 1990s, Hong Kong martial arts action films entered a new chapter, 1992 Xinlongmen Inn, 1993 Dong Fangbubai, and the lion king's hegemony had a great influence on China films. In particular, Burning Red Lotus Temple, which was separated by more than half a century, made 20 series in succession at 1993. And "Tanabe" in 1994. All contributed to the third climax of martial arts action movies. Among all the martial arts action films, Huang Feihong, born in Foshan, Guangdong, has reached an unprecedented height. Since 1949' s Biography of Huang Feihong, there have been more than 100 feature films about Huang Feihong's martial arts career.
3 representative figures of martial arts action movies and their representative works
There are many representative figures in the whole martial arts action film, and the most representative figures are mainly discussed from the following points.
3. 1 Bruce Lee
In 1960s and 1970s, Bruce Lee began to create Jeet Kune Do from the martial arts wing chun quan, and then entered the film and television circle, making a sensation in the world film circle. Thus, China's martial arts films entered the second climax.
Bruce Lee's works include his childhood works: Rich Clouds, Alleys, The Beginning of Life, Thunderstorm and Lonely People. 1969 "scandal wyndell dichinson"; Brother Tangshan is in1971; 1972 Jingwumen; 1973 Raptors cross the river and enter the dragon; 1973 the game of death (unfinished).
Bruce Lee's films, especially "Big Brother in Tangshan", a martial arts action film, are produced by Hong Kong Jiahe Film Company. The successful portrayal of China hero's "Brother Tangshan" in this film has driven China's films to the world film market, and Bruce Lee, the protagonist, has thus become a generation of international film stars.
3.2 Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan was born in 1948. After decades of filming, he became a global public figure. There are many of his films, and the series "Never Give Up" and "Drunken Boxing" have basically established his position as a martial arts action film. In addition, other films with great influence include The Story of the Dragon, Plan A, Snake-like Diao Hand, Miracle, Red Fan District, Thunderstorm, Simple Mission, Who am I, Good Man, Rush Hour and so on. Jackie Chan received an honorary doctorate in sociology from Hong Kong Baptist University on 1995. His Drunken Boxing Ⅱ was published in American Time magazine and was rated as one of the top ten movies. Jackie Chan is keen on charity and public welfare undertakings, especially as the image ambassador of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
3.3 Jet Li
From 65438 to 0996, the "Exhibition of Jet Li's Works Album" was held in London, England, and there was an unusually warm stirring scene, which showed that Jet Li had become a well-known China Kung Fu star in Europe after Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. Jet Li's martial arts movements, in addition to the traditional China Kung Fu, also added Hollywood stunts. Jet Li has successfully entered German, Belgian, American, Japanese and other western countries.
Jet Li's works are 1982 Shaolin Temple; 1984 Shaolin boy; 1986 North and South Shaolin; 1988 Men are called heroes; 1989 enter the dragon; Huang Feihong is in1991; Huang Feihong Ⅱ and the legendary swordsman in1992; 1993 lion king strives for hegemony, Fang Shiyu, Thailand, Zhang Chi, Sanfeng, etc. Hong Xiguan in 1994, hero in Jason Wu, hero in 2004, Huo Yuanjia to be released in 2005 and so on.
Jet Li's worth is getting higher and higher with his fame, from 1982 Shaolin Temple, to 1996 Hong Kong Longxiang Film Co., Ltd. signed with Yongsheng Entertainment Co., Ltd., reaching 36 million Hong Kong dollars. Later films also cost tens of millions of dollars.
3.4 Other Representatives
Sima Jian (Zhao Changjun) in wu-tang clan, Zhuo Jihang (Wenqing Yuan) in Wonders of the Great Wall, Xu Dongfang (Li Junfeng) in Wu Linzhi, etc. Among many martial arts action movies, the movie with the theme of "Huang Feihong" can be said to be the most accomplished martial arts action movie. The actor who plays "Huang Feihong" also includes almost all famous actors in martial arts action movies. Such as Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Sammo Hung, Yuan Bin, Donnie Yen, Chiu Man-Cheuk, Wang Qun and Qiu Jianguo. There are many other famous stars. Such as Alan Tam, Liu Jiahui and Liang Xiaolong. Among them, Huang Feihong (Kwan Tak-hing) is in Huang Feihong. From 1940, Kwan Tak-hing played Huang Feihong, to 1970, he played 99 films with Huang Feihong theme.
4 the development trend of China martial arts action movies
From Dingjun Mountain to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to Kung Fu by Stephen Chow and Seven Swords by Tsui Hark in 2005, we can see the development trend of martial arts movies.
4. 1 Pay attention to the selection and award of film festivals.
There are more than 3,000 film festivals in the world, and the number of international A-level film festivals recognized by the International Producers Association is 1 1. Among all these film festivals, Oscar is the most important international film festival among international A-level film festivals, and it is also one of the most commercialized film festivals. China's film industry attaches great importance to this. For example, every blockbuster in Zhang Yimou in recent years seems to point to the Oscars, and they are all related to martial arts action movies.
For China films, Oscar is not only a good opportunity to show to the world, but also an opportunity to compete for the world film market. It's not easy to win an Oscar, but it's also meaningful to be nominated. If it wins the prize, it will be of immeasurable value to the promotion of the overall image of China films and the positioning of the world film market.
200 1 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which won the 73rd Academy Awards, once again made China's martial arts action films appear in the global film industry. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is directed by Ang Lee, and Ang Lee has lived in China, Taiwan Province Province of China and the United States. The whole crew consists of actors from Chinese mainland, Taiwan Province Province, China and Hongkong, China, as well as China actors from the United States and Malaysia. At the moment of winning the prize, the media called it "the achievement of China's film art in the world".
Among the Oscar nominations, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon nominated 10 awards. Finally, he won four awards: Best Foreign Language Film Award, Best Production Designer Award, Best Photography Award and Best Original Music Award. This is the first time that a China film has won an important award at an international A-level film festival.
Interestingly, this China film with English letters has also triggered a craze for learning Chinese in the United States, and some schools even use the script Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon as a teaching material.
In 2005, China films had a brand-new selection activity-Chinese film charts. There are four items in the leaderboard, and each item has five nominations. We found that two of the five best-made movies are martial arts action movies, namely "Kung Fu" and "House of Flying Daggers". Among them, "House of Flying Daggers" has three nominations.
4.2 The box office value lever of the movie market
In terms of box office value, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon has reached nearly $200 million at the box office in North Taiwan Province Province, while Yu Hui Multimedia has obtained the exclusive animation rights of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon at the price of 8 figures or10 million yuan, including disc licensing and business cooperation. Undoubtedly, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon has earned hundreds of millions of dollars.
Similarly, after the nomination of the 76th Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2004, the box office of Hero in the United States reached $65.438+0.8 million in two weekends, and finally reached a box office miracle of $65.438+0.72/kloc-0.0 billion in the world, while the box office revenue of Hero in China only accounted for 654.38+0.7.24%. After the overseas copyright of House of Flying Daggers was purchased by Sony Classic, the box office exceeded $72 million. Statistics from China Film Distribution and Projection Branch, a film distributor, show that Tsui Hark's Seven Swords was released on July 29th, 2005, and earned 26 million yuan at the box office in the first three days of the national weekend, which was basically the same as the first week of prefix D ... and made 40 million yuan at the box office in Southeast Asia in the first three days. Weng Li, the person in charge of distribution, said, "Judging from the performance of Seven Swords in the first week, it is not difficult for the total box office to reach 70 million to 80 million." So "Seven Swords" is probably the best in Chinese movies.
It is worth noting that the box office income of China movies is a very important indicator.
4.3 Entertainment martial arts action movies will suddenly emerge.
My Kung Fu Girlfriend was praised as "the first modern Kung Fu comedy" in China in 2005. It combines romantic, funny, kung fu and inspirational elements. "My Kung Fu Girlfriend" is another masterpiece after the TV series "Success of Smart Girls" by Korean movie star Anglenala reached the peak of ratings and made Anglenala an Asian diva. People in the industry call it the success of China's smart girl. Although Anglenala couldn't appear in the play because of the schedule, My Kung Fu Girlfriend combined China Kung Fu with comedy and attracted everyone's attention. Many overseas filmmakers are also optimistic about this film, hoping to introduce the modern kung fu comedy My Kung Fu Girlfriend.
In March 2005, the first film introduced from Hong Kong to the mainland was called Angry House. It is a martial arts action movie that integrates martial arts, action and comedy. The film was produced by Jackie Chan, and the "Home Economics Class" participated in all the shooting work. The House of Fury, with a total investment of 40 million yuan, has thrilling jumping scenes and difficult martial arts moves.
In April, 2005, Sammo Hung, the star of another Hong Kong martial arts action film, also released a "flood-style" comedy kung fu film "Long Wei and Son". "Wei Long and Son" was filmed in Yunnan and Guangxi. Beautiful natural scenery, spectacular waterfalls and rivers set off the legend of China's martial arts action film.
In the New Year film market in 2005, Kung Fu, a China kung fu film starring Stephen Chow, showed the combination of computer kung fu and real martial arts. In addition, the film also makes this New Year Kung Fu movie different from ordinary Kung Fu movies. Kung Fu invested HK$ 6,543.8+0.5 billion, imitating many classic passages of Hollywood movies, which was very eye-catching.
After three years of silence, Tsui Hark released the martial arts blockbuster Seven Swords. At present, the film has been filmed and met with the audience on July 29, 2005.
Tsui Hark thinks the sword is the king of weapons, which symbolizes the spirit of China's martial arts culture. The sword contains chivalry and self-cultivation, and there is a romance in it. No matter when attacking or defending, you will find that there is philosophy in it. Regarding swords, Tsui Hark thinks there are many things that can be developed. One move and one potential make people know the sword again. Sword is not only a fighting tool, it should have seven spirits and seven colors.
Although Seven Swords has always been called the most anticipated Hong Kong film in 2005. However, after the recent screening of "Qin Mo" in Hongkong, it has a tendency to grab the limelight of the Seven Swords. Qin Mo is a martial arts action film in ancient costume, costing tens of millions, and the light prop Qin Mo cost 65,438+10,000. According to industry insiders, the competition between Seven Swords and Qin Mo will drive the further recovery of the whole Hong Kong film market.
4.4 The development of Wushu and China movies coexist and advance together.
The development of China movies can not be separated from the source of Wushu. The global publicity and promotion of Wushu can not be separated from China movies. In the ups and downs of China movies in 100 after the success of Dingjun Mountain shooting, the development of China movies and the development of China Wushu have always coexisted and progressed together.
In the 1970s, Bruce Lee, a kungfu superstar, introduced China Wushu to the world, which became a kungfu craze in China.
In 1980s, Shaolin Temple in Jet Li set off a martial arts craze all over the country. According to incomplete statistics, within a few years after the release of martial arts action films such as Shaolin Temple, amateur martial arts schools have sprung up all over the country, reaching more than 10,000. There are more than 100 martial arts schools in Dengfeng, Henan where Shaolin Temple is located. There are many large-scale and high-grade martial arts schools. For example, there are more than 10,000 martial arts students in Tagou Martial Arts School. At the same time, the global martial arts craze has risen again.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, a martial arts action film that won four Oscars in 200 1, has reached an unprecedented level in terms of its influence in the global film industry, the market factors of box office revenue, and the promotion of China films and China martial arts.
During the 65,438+000 years of film development in China, martial arts action films not only promoted the international status of China films and expanded the market effect of films, but also played a bridge role in carrying forward China's traditional culture and national spirit. To some extent, China's thousands of years of civilization history can be publicized through movies, so that China can go to the world and let the world know about China. Such as Oscar, Cannes and Tokyo Film Festival. It is the window for China movies to let the world know about China. Another example is the movie "Huo Yuanjia", which attracted countless people, thus greatly enhancing national cohesion and pride.
China movies are the bridge for China Wushu to go to the world, and China Wushu is the source of China movies. Their mutual existence and advancement will last forever.
5 conclusion
Wushu is a unique national traditional sport in China, which is rich in content, diverse in sects and forms, and has great fitness value, attack value and entertainment value. Movies reflect people's cultural and spiritual life, and martial arts action movies play an important role in movies. Martial arts can be combined with movies to promote the development of both sides.