The first foreign director in history who was allowed to enter the Forbidden City to make a feature film passed away shortly after Mr. Stan Lee passed away. His spokesman and many media confirmed the sad news.
Bernardo Bertolucci , in 1986, he entered important places in the Forbidden City to shoot the movie "The Last Emperor" . At that time, it was expressly forbidden to shoot in the ancient buildings of the international key cultural relics protection units, but Bertolucci became a special case.
After that, he proved why he could be a special case. People saw the scene of Puyi ascending the throne in the movie. It was a real shock.
Of course, there are also directors in China who can produce this kind of grandeur, but there are only a handful of people in the world who can successfully integrate Chinese and Western characteristics in their films. Thanks to Bertolucci's western expression, "The Last Emperor" was able to sweep thousands of troops at the Oscars, nominated for 9 awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, and won all of them.
This is also the only film of Chinese origin that can win the Oscar for Best Picture at the finale so far.
In the past, for many Westerners, including Bertolucci himself, China was a mysterious country. Especially in the early days of reform and opening up, the exchanges between China and the West were not as frequent as they are now, and almost no one dared to come here rashly. film in mainland China.
There was also an Italian man who came to China during the Cultural Revolution and shot a documentary called "China" . Even though it only reflected some of China's customs, it still encountered surging criticism in China.
This man is called Michelangelo Antonioni , the Oscar and the Venice Film Festival Lifetime Achievement Award winner, his works have won the best film trophies of the three major international film festivals.
I don't know if it is Italians who have a special affinity with China. More than ten years later, another Italian came to China, that is , Bernardo Berto , who became a director as early as 21 years old and became famous through "Last Tango in Paris" . rucci .
Cheng Ye "Last Tango in Paris" and defeated "Last Tango in Paris" , because some of the scenes in the film were too large, Bertolucci was convicted by the Italian court for instigating adultery and theft. The protagonist Marlon Brando had inappropriate behavior during the filming. At the age of 75, he personally came forward to clarify and apologize to calm the storm.
Bertolucci's career was not affected by the "Last Tango in Paris" storm, but in the 1980s, he still fell into the low ebb of his life. Between 1982 and 1986, he had no real film productions. The book "Thus Said Bertolucci" showed the reason. He said, "I don't know where Italian society is going." Since he couldn't find the direction of Italian cinema, he set his sights on a foreign country.
It is not an easy thing to shoot a movie in a foreign country, especially in an extremely unfamiliar place, so it is necessary to make a long preparation.
In 1984, Bertolucci came to China, and with the aura of a Communist Party member and the chairman of the Venice Film Festival jury, he successfully contacted relevant Chinese leaders. Originally, he planned to adapt the novel "The Destiny of Man", because this novel is very famous in the West, but the Chinese side was more interested in his other project.
Then, he started the shooting plan of "The Last Emperor" .
After about two years of preparation, the film officially started shooting. Bertolucci has received the full cooperation of the Chinese government, and has the joint support of the China Film Co-production Company, the Italian Yanco Film Company, and the British Dao Film Company, and has sufficient funds and creative space. At two o'clock he can make other colleagues envious.
What's more, he was also licensed to go to the Forbidden City to create art with a lot of photographic equipment. Although there have also been opportunities for film crews such as "Yongzheng Dynasty" to film in the Forbidden City since then, it is "insignificant" compared to "The Last Emperor ".
You must know that the buildings of the Forbidden City are cultural relics, and the photographic equipment is something that has fire hazards, so the relevant regulations on the protection of cultural relics for film and television dramas promulgated by the relevant departments are reasonable and reasonable. Almost all Qing palace dramas can only be filmed in places like Hengdian Film and Television City. Even if you are lucky enough to get the opportunity to film in the Forbidden City, you will still be subject to strict restrictions. Generally, you can actually shoot some exterior scenes, which can already be used for a blow. Centuries.
Bertolucci and his crew were also strictly restricted. Motor vehicles were not allowed to enter. The biggest actor, Peter Otto, could only ride a bicycle to the set. Once he was arrested for forgetting his work permit. Denied entry.
By the way, Peter O'Toole , who played Johnston , passed away in 2013. He was nominated for a total of eight Oscar winners. Compared with him, Xiao Lizi is really lucky.
Compared with other Qing palace dramas, for the first time, "The Last Emperor" was allowed to be filmed indoors in the Forbidden City , that is, shortly after the beginning of the film, when Puyi ascended the throne, he walked out of the Hall of Supreme Harmony. It was in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Real shot. You must know that the Hall of Supreme Harmony is no longer accessible to idlers.
According to some data, the shooting requirements in the Hall of Supreme Harmony are extremely demanding, and no equipment can touch the ground, and don’t even think about bringing in carts, rockers, or other lighting equipment. It is conceivable that even if you can take pictures, it is difficult to take good results.
This is the time to test the director. In addition to making artistic decisions, a very important function of the director is to solve problems. In the end, Bertolucci was allowed to shoot with a Steadicam, and only a single operator handheld Steadicam could complete smooth mobile photography, but at a higher cost.
By lighting the outdoors, Bertolucci teamed up with Vittorio Storaro to create a scene that would have earned the film an Oscar for Best Cinematography:
First is a subjective shot, Xiao Puyi walks down the stairs from the throne, followed by a follow-up shot, Xiao Puyi runs to the huge yellow silk, the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty, and then stepped onto the stage of history. It's just that he didn't think that it was not actually the stage of history, but the torrent of history. The uncontrolled huge yellow silk seemed to imply the shaky imperial power.
Bertolucci said, "If we hadn't gone to the Hall of Supreme Harmony to actually shoot that day, the film wouldn't be what it is now."
The content of the whole film is mainly based on "Twilight of the Forbidden City" written by Johnston, a foreign teacher, and "The First Half of My Life" , Puyi's autobiography . Even if Bertolucci has absolute decision-making power, the script must be reviewed and approved by the Chinese side before it can be used. Fortunately, the script that won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay has not been drastically revised, but some historical details have been corrected. It can be seen that the film has a certain historical cognitive value . Coupled with the real-life shooting of the Forbidden City, the CG technology in the Palace cannot be replaced. The mottled and shabby feeling is like traveling through time and space, Bertolucci takes the audience back to the end of the Qing Dynasty.
Of course, "The Last Emperor" has his subjective thoughts. He believes that Puyi is an idealistic person, a passenger who took the wrong train, and a model of a citizen. Therefore, in the movie, Puyi is not a puppet in the historical image, but like a bird in a cage. In the cage of the palace, he has a strong desire to spread his wings and fly high. Blowing up and down, in his life, it seems to be a little sigh.
On October 23, 1987, "The Last Emperor" was released in Italy. With a voice of doubt, it swept the Oscars, the Golden Globe Awards, and the Italian David Awards. Bertolucci won the award and got a hand cramp during the awards season. He reached the pinnacle of his life in one fell swoop.
Bertolucci and "The Last Emperor" have gone through a glorious period together. No matter whether the film is perfect or not, we should thank him for bringing Chinese history and culture to the top of the world film. The film poems he wrote in his life will forever sail in the long river of human history.
God can take him himself, but he cannot take away the "last emperor" he left behind .
The emperor is the loneliest child in the world.
--"The Last Emperor"
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