The big battle in the age of gossip and cold weapons

Kennith 2022-04-22 07:01:55

It has little to do with the film Chibi, but it does come to mind.

In the big battle scene in Chibi, I felt that Director Wu had already worked very hard. But other than the CG of the ship on fire, which is very lively and beautiful, there is no particularly "beautiful" scene. I am referring to the romantic feelings based on historical common sense and physical common sense, not the violent aesthetics that Director Wu is good at. With the basis of reality, that short-lived romantic feeling is as bright as a comet, which is especially precious. I couldn't help thinking, why didn't Director Wu learn from the techniques of other great directors?

Still fresh in my memory is the heavy cavalry charge in Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven. Horses hoofs rumbled, the wind roared, the ground trembled, and the collision between the sky and the earth was on the verge of breaking out—a bird's-eye view from the sky showed the two graceful arcs listed by the heavy cavalry, rippling like water waves. This moment is the contrast between solidity and lightness, between fire and water. Looking back, you have to admit that the double-column charge from the beginning to the last two arcs has the actual effect of saving physical strength and expanding the impact surface.

Of course, there is no great plain in Chibi of the Three Kingdoms where you can play heavy cavalry. But Scott's Gladiator credits also feature a fight in the mountain woods. It's the same arrow, Scott doesn't show the arrows that cover the sky and the sun. He is very good at using contrast: the figure of the Roman soldier standing majestically under the camera forms a strong visual contrast with the rocket whizzing over his head; the surging, eager crowd of Germanic warriors contrasts with the motionless formation of the Romans; The white-haired emperor is in contrast to the black-armored garrison next to him. Zhang Yimou has also photographed the big arrow formation: we would like to solemnly thank him for introducing the power of the Chinese crossbow to the world. But the crossbowmen in his shots are just tools and machines, and the human image is ignored as always. Ridley Scott rarely forgets the human factor. Could this be the helplessness caused by the difference in the extras?

How can Mel Gibson's Brave Heart be forgotten? But compared to Chibi, it is another tactic created by different historical regions. Because of the lack of war skills, after a horrific hard collision, the battlefield became a stage for muscular big men exuding masculine charm. But no matter how passionate he was, Wallace couldn't deliver a long swearing-in speech before the battle: there were no loudspeakers at that time, and the loud-speaking leaders took advantage; not to mention the possibility of one-on-one with the King of England. That long sword clanking in the sky is a bit of romance based on the flesh-and-blood realistic technique. Beauty is beautiful, indeed shocking to death. But unfortunately, what Director Wu can learn from is the creative idea of ​​using the beautiful scenery to set off the bloody war.

Not all Hollywood movies are great. But I have to admit that the big battle scene has indeed improved a lot because of the changes in photography technology, capital and CG. From today's point of view, Lawrence of Arabia is still a classic, but his fight scenes are really rubbish. The British infantry phalanx of the Four Feathers is indeed quite satisfactory, but it is also boring. Combat has always been practical first, not about aesthetics. Therefore, to never violate all kinds of common sense and design amazing shots is to turn corruption into a magical stroke of genius.

Lord of the Rings is a weird movie. The first is that it can defy common sense: a group of fairies and goblins are fighting; and the second is that director Peterson spends a lot of money and time on the armor and faces of the actors in order to show that his battles are pleasing to the eye. But from the beauty of the layout to the fighting scene, only Rohan's cavalry and Orcs are like that, because the former is copied from the Middle Ages, and the latter is copied from the Stone Age. Due to the difference in physical quality, the two sides actually fought a tie. Those graceful and tall elf warriors are just eye-catching, and they can't be taken seriously. The first fight scene in the first episode, when the Orcs swooped over their heads with stones and hammers, would you go from bottom to top?

Because Westerners have money and leisure, many people study "dragon slaying", so many Hollywood films are called true tactical authenticity. For example, due to the weight, the long sword can only be swung horizontally and cannot be chopped vertically (13th Warrior). Although Alexander was great, his traditional Greek tactics were the rectangular Phalanx. Oliver Stone also did not give Alexander any inspiration for "two dragons out of the water"; but the eagle that glides in front of the two armies is the beauty of the battlefield (Wu Dao unceremoniously replaced the eagle with pigeons in chibi). The tortoise formation Testudo in ancient Rome was not used anytime, anywhere because of its eye-catching shape. Director Wu let Wu Jun of the Three Kingdoms use Testudo, but firstly, audiences all over the world have known about such a Roman specialty since Hollywood in the 1960s. Crossbow and heavy cavalry were also a total defeat (Battle of Carrhae), so Director Wu really went too far.

TBC

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Extended Reading
  • Birdie 2022-04-05 09:01:07

    The result of watching it as a drama is a historical film

  • Kirsten 2022-04-06 09:01:06

    get used to vomiting