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Spoltlight -
State of the Kungfu Movie Industry
Future of the Kungfu Movies
Film Pictorial, March
2002
Li Bao Jiang
In the diverse movie industry, Chinese kungfu movies hold the audience
spellbound and bowl them over with their deep cultural influences, dangerous,
exhilarating scenes, adept, extraordinary martial arts. Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan,
Jet Li, with their exceptional martial arts skills, their tough bodies, with
little or no reliance on stunt doubles, real fights in the shows, managed to
break successfully into Hollywood. John Woo and Lee Ang adroitly blend Chinese
kungfu with Western art of filmmaking and conquer the world's movie-goers.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, having won four Oscar awards, is the envious of its Chinese
counterparts. However, driven by profits and competition, kungfu movies (including
drama serials) are massed produced, with disastrous over-saturation in the
industry.
That certain script writers, directors and cast lack some "kungfu", and can only
do imitation painting of tiger according to the cat's appearance, write the
script sloppily, or depend on special effects, doubles, 3-D animations
result in atrocious kungfu pians being made, together with an influx of the audience's
acrimonious tongue-lashings. The drama serial Wandering Insouciantly through the Pugilistic World
(xiao-4 ao-4 jiang-1 hu-2) and the
movie Legend of Zu are prime examples. What direction is kungfu pians heading,
what constitutes a mainstream kungfu pian, how should kungfu pian be shot to ensure
its quality? These are the concerns and arguments of the people within and
without the entertainment circle. Ergo, this reporter spoke to four
relevant intellectual dignitaries for their insights.
Zhang Hua-Xun:
Beijing Movie Production.
Nation's first class director. Works include Mysterious Budhha (1980), Casting
Swords (1994), The Swordswoman in White (1992), Sins in the Wutai Mountains
(1989), OK, Big-Belly Arhat (1988)
Culture is the Essence
When shooting Mysterious Buddha, I wasn't solely in pursuit of spectacular box-office
takings or to pander to the audience's tastes, neither was it my intention to make
a gongfu pian. It was to integrate Chinese wushu culture with the art of
film-making, to do a new genre of movie that show our fortes and is yet
different from Hong Kong martial arts movies. I didn't expect it to be so
well-received by so many people and also lead to rapid increased production of
this genre of movies, with rising popularity of wuxia movies and dramas as the
outcome.
However, the recent state of the wuxia movie industry is indeed worrying and the
audiences are expressing their concerns and frustrations, protesting that the
cultural worth of the kungfu pian be raised. To solve these problems,
four factors ought to be examined:
1. The theme must relate closely to culture and history, encompassing a broad scope
on
human nature. It should impart some historical knowledge,
encourage the audiences to strive for the perfection, convey noble ideals of
diligence, valiance and righteousness.
2. The work must portray the sentiments of ridding the tyrants to put the
civilians at ease, of good versus evil, of loyalty to the country, and reflect
certain ideals and hopes.
3. The work should carry classic loftiness of China and its folk culture. It
should
utilise wushu choreography and various weapons to symbolise endurance,
fearlessness, wisdom, chivalry of the Eastern people, drawing references from
the society, history and philosophies while concurrently showcasing the
distinctive attributes of Chinese
kungfu. This would be in place with the Chinese' views of perfection and at the same
time be accepted by the audiences from the every corner of the world.
4. The work must showcase the aesthetics and charm of Chinese martial arts. One must
be aware that fighting is only a mean but not the ultimate goal. It's there to carve out
the
image of the characters, their traits, to propel the storyline further and
heighten the drama. There must be breakthrough in martial arts choreography, to
avoid doing more of the same.
Dan Tian
Fang: Famous book and
arts performance critic. With ten-thousand book critiques experience. Respected
by billions of readers and listeners. Delves deeply into wuxia culture.
Richly Drawn Characters are Pivotal to the Success of a Movie.
Nowadays, only one tenth, or even lesser, number of wuxia productions is
great. Some
works are awful for they concentrate too much on novelty, bizarreness or special
effects; their pacing is too quick, with messy fighting once the show begins,
which
may appear thrilling. However, over-emphasis on all these would entail lack of plot
intricacy, inability to put priority on feelings, making the characters look
insipid. A good movie should draw the audiences with the characters' behaviour,
personality as well as emotions.
Jin Yong novels had been adapted time and again, and I feel that it's not
necessary and neither would I want to watch them. In his adapted works, the
characters would cause explosions when they make a move, and fly in the air
endlessly when they make a leap, relying too much on special effects, on
quick cuts, rapidly
changing camera-angles, lacking in real martial arts skills. It's little
wonder the viewers would keep hurling abuses after watching them.
As to how to handle well the fight scenes in kungfu pians, I shall use Swordsman
in Double Flag Town as an example. The fight choreography was very well done,
putting emphasis on the setting. The two opponents would stand still facing each
other, and only strike when the mood is sufficiently built up. Whoosh! Whoosh. Two moves and
one of them was already knocked down. Quick movement and neat action, unlike
some movies and drama serials with slovenly, dragging fight scenes. Some are
even more artificial - the people can never die not matter how many times they
are hit.
Be it a kungfu pian or wuxia pian, they should neither be after commercial factors,
after high viewership rating or box office taking, nor should they always be putting the characters
in eternal triangle whether the plot calls for it or not. Without arresting plot
twists, without richly drawn characters, they are merely shooting blindly.
 Wu
Jing: Famous
martial arts star from Beijing Wushu Team. Fellow Junior of major international
star, Jet Li. Entered Beijing Wushu Team at the age of six. Champion of national wushu competitions in Spear, Sword, Fist and Simulated Sparring. Discovered by
Yuen Wo Ping and Cheung Sing Yim (Zhang Xin Yan) in 1995. Has starred in Taichi
2, New Shaolin Temple, Master of Taichi, Love in Turbulent Times, Swordsman Lee
of Flying Dagger, How Affectionate the Empire's Sons and Daughters Could Be, The
Aftermath of Water Margin, Whipped Horse Roaring Amidst the West Wind,
Metamorphosis of Heavenly Silkworm, etc. Being officially acknowledged within the
entertainment circle as the next person with the best chances of becoming an
international martial arts star after Jet Li.
The Actor or Actress Should Possess Real Kungfu, They Should Fight Real Battles
To produce a good kungfu film, the actors must have solid foundation in martial arts.
The fight scenes will only be stunning with real fights between the characters.
When I was in production of Taichi 2 and Master of Taichi, one opponent was a Muay Thai Champion, Billy Chow,
while another was a senior, notable figure in the national wushu
field, Yu Hai, Our fights were authentic, nothing was fake, and everyone was
very into the production, had very clear ideas of what to do. There was a strong sense
of co-ordination and rhythm, and the moves were very powerful. The audience
found them very thrilling and enthralling.
When actors or actresses not trained in martial arts act in a kungfu pian, it is very difficult
for them to get the moves right - their strokes can look very unsightly. Some
actors don't even bother learning the fundamentals and just depend on special effects and
help from quick cuts, evasive shooting; They can never succeed. There are some scenes in
Eagle Shooting Heroes (Legend of Condor Heroes) that cannot be made convincingly without real martial artists.
As for Legend of Zu, it is beyond the boundaries of kungfu pian or wuxia pian -
it's closer to a mythology movie. The kungfu pian I like most is Jet Li's Fist of
Legend, while my favourite wuxia pian is Jet Li's Taichi Master. My favourite
kungfu stars are Jackie Chan and Jet Li. I like Jackie Chan for his
diversity and Jet Li for his charm.
To produce good Chinese kungfu movies and to ensure healthy development of
Chinese kungfu movie industry, there are three areas where attention must be
paid to: Firstly, they must carry strong cultural values. Secondly, the
story must be captivating, the main theme must be special yet within logic,
while minor details must be taken care of. Third is the respect for the ethnic relationships
and feelings.
Gao Jun:
Movie sales and advertising planning
expert. Publicity Planning Manager for Beijing Xinying Lianying Company. Famous film
critic. Behind the promotion of hundreds of movies, with high returns. Is very
clear about the history and development of Chinese kungfu movies. Offers great
analysis and views on the trend of kungfu movies.
The Second Flourish Would Only be Possible with the Emergence of New Stars
When talking about the interest in kungfu movies, it is necessary to trace its
history. In the late 70s to early 90s, before Mainland China started making
kungfu films, Hong Kong was already producing kungfu movies starring Bruce Lee,
Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Corey Yuen and Yuen Biao. The 80s was the climax of
kungfu movies, with Jackie Chan's Seven Little Fortunes series, Bruce Lee series and
Jet Li series. It was on the account of the traditional, closed-door
views of the people that led to the soaring interests in kungfu movies across
the two lands. Due to various reasons, and that people of the 70s did not have
much exposure to the wuxia culture, when wuxia culture was transformed into amazing,
mysterious images on the the silver screen, the masses' strong yearning for wuxia
was finally satiated. Naturally, it was sought after passionately by the
audiences, and this peak is a necessity in history.
However, since then, wuxia pians were mass produced, and the biao xian xing
xiang conyeying were more and more complex and those who don't understand wushu
also jumped onto the bandwagon, damaging people's impressions of wuxia pians. With
the release of those
shows with arbitrary, perfunctonry fights, chaotic scenes such as Flying Brigands from Ermei,
Eight-Trigram Lotus Palm, the genre became weaker. Some production houses
couldn't find up to the par directors, forcibly mix wuxia with modern stuff,
creating such neither donkey nor horse films as resulting
in wuxia cop-robber films, leading to wuxia pians
losing their hold in the market. On the other hand, Jackie Chan's works such as
his Lunar New Year movies, and Jet Li's movies, such as Born to Defence, Fong
Sai Yuk and New Legend of Shaolin, are still very popular. This is testimony to
the audience's better sense of judgement. The viewers can tell whose kungfu pians are
worth watching based on the director, cast and script.
Whenever something new appears, there is bound to be an overwhelming effect. As
such, I believe that whether a new Jackie Chan, Jet Li will appear will
determine the second wave of kungfu pians blossom. According to my personal
observation, Wu Jing is the one with the most hope and brightest future.
To produce a good wuxia pian, kungfu pian requires authentic martial artists, rather
than good-looking teen idols or pop singers. The audiences, with their keen
powers of perception, can
tell easily at a glance whether the actors, actresses are trained in martial arts or not. Your
movies will not be able sell when they don't watch.
Next, do not indulge too much in special effects, doubles or computers; All
these lack life. It is of paramount importance to plot out the characters, their
personalities. Any work without persuasive characters is not a real work. Study
of culture is study of humanity and the characters should function as the pillar of the movie. Without
exciting story and inspiring characters, a movie would be worthless.
Information and Picture Courtesy of Chuchu
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