What Kurosawa knew but John Woo didn't

Letha 2022-03-27 08:01:01

I watched Chibi on the digital TV on demand of the hotel during the holiday trip. It looked better than I imagined. When I said good-looking, I meant that I could watch it. Probably because I didn’t have much expectations for John Woo, that’s why I didn’t expect much. I didn't feel too disappointed. I laughed when I saw the famous Tianliang Fan, and I was "cute" when I saw Mengmeng, but Takeshi Kaneshiro was still very handsome, and Tony Leung was still very boring. Liu Guanzhang and other generals lead you to sing the way of martial arts films that I will appear on the stage, which makes people unable to help laugh. For a Hong Kong entertainment film director who has been shooting genre films all his life, it seems that the number of ways has not changed much, but the underworld bosses used to have guns, but now they have knives, forks and swords. It's notable, but because of the familiarity with the genre film routines, the shooting is quite satisfactory, but it is much smoother than the night banquets, Wuji, etc. in the past few years. The first two films were completely irritated by the fake deepness of the pretense. This one is not bad, you will see sincerity, you can see that everyone has done their best, and the level is like this, so it is ok, ok.



I told Bonnie that during the whole process, I kept thinking of Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai", and Bonnie said that it was Akira Kurosawa, how can this be compared together. But I still thought about this question carefully. In fact, I was comparing myself, because sometimes if I don’t compare like this, I think about the difference between the bad and the good, and I don’t know the good things in this world. how did it come.



The film "Seven Samurai", when I first saw it, was completely shocked. It was so good, from the camera, to the actors, to the music, to the characterization, and so on. From every angle, I could write a book. . But I will think of "Seven Samurai" when I watch "Red Cliff", because like "Red Cliff", "Seven Samurai" is also a war-themed movie where less wins more, and few outnumber the crowd. The difference is that the Seven Samurai is completely a fictional story, but it is told incomparably, and the battle of Chibi, everyone knows, this is a classic battle in Chinese history, it did happen, so there is no People will doubt his authenticity.



However, it was precisely because no one would doubt its authenticity that John Woo failed to grasp the essence of the Battle of Chibi. Because the story is a ready-made story, the plot is a ready-made plot, and the authenticity is unquestionable. Therefore, the director focused on many scenes and the performance of things in gestures, and what happened in the Battle of Chibi, and what happened? What kind of details, and why less wins more, it can be seen that Wu Yusen did not make much effort to study it. Therefore, if this movie takes away the premise that all Chinese people know that this is a real battle, then the story of the battle of Chibi told by John Woo is a story that cannot be established. And precisely because he did not have the most essential research and grasp of this battle, in many places, it was very evasive when it was filmed. The Hollywood routine of avoiding reality is imaginary, giving each hero a play to express his heroism, showing part, and then having a big vision. Indicates victory or defeat in war.



When you read "Seven Samurai", you will understand that the greatness of the master is that when he considers a story, he not only grasps the essence of things directly, but also dares to put it firmly and clearly. Take the battle scene in "Seven Samurai" as an example. Seven Samurai, a group of peasants, and a few bandits, how the battle was fought, and how the weaker party won. After watching the movie, I admired it. It was beyond words, and suddenly realized, oh, that's how they won. All the battle scenes are basically using long shots and long shots that can't be tricked. There is no place to play tricks or fake tricks with the audience. Group scenes are not easy to shoot, and group fights are even more difficult to fight. It's so solid, it looks like a real chaotic battle, carefully tasted, but it has layers and rhythms. I really don't know how the director dispatched the actors at that time and how it was filmed. If a director has no confidence, no courage, no confidence in what he wants to express, and no grasp of the essence of what he wants to shoot, he will never dare to play like this.



Speaking of which, this is the same principle as when we write things. We should write what you know, not what you have not thought clearly at all. This is a truth that I have understood in recent years. Showing two points, and now that I can think of a five, and I can write a five, is a personally gratifying improvement. If you don't think clearly about one thing yourself, if you don't understand it, then what you write will be empty, big, empty, lacking in confidence, and lacking the foundation of life. When it comes to artistic creation, these principles are all the same. This is the problem of "Red Cliff". You can just use ready-made materials. However, these things can be used in novels, and when they are put into movies, when they are to be shown to people, they are too It’s not enough, it needs to fill in too many details, and it needs too much foundation. At this time, in the face of limited material, when a director is needed to fill in more details, digging to the source is one way of filling, adding oil and vinegar is another. a filling method. Great directors choose the former, mediocre directors choose the latter. Because I can't think of it, I can't figure it out, so I have to dig the flute, give birth to a foal, these scraps are filled in, and after watching the movie, I just understand one thing, what John Woo said is that I have already I know, those things that I don't seem to know are all made up by him, and it's not important to add water. What happened to the Battle of Chibi? In fact, Wu Yusen really didn't know, and he didn't think about it at all. His energy is all on making big scenes, building up momentum, or if his level is limited, and then digging his head, it will be too difficult. There is nothing to blame.



Some people may ask, John Woo doesn't know what happened in the Battle of Chibi, does Akira Kurosawa know? What if Akira Kurosawa came to shoot Chibi? This reminds me of a sentence that Mr. Green told me the other day, the gist of which is (I forget the source): A great artist, don't look at what he did, but look at what he didn't do. At the beginning, I was a little puzzled by this sentence, but now I understand Kurosawa Akira, that is, a real master is usually an honest person. If you don't think clearly about the battle of Chibi , he can not control the theme of Chibi, he will not go to shoot Chibi. If he can only control the story of "Seven Samurai", he will only go to "Seven Samurai" and make him solid. He knew what he knew and what he didn't know. And an ordinary person always thinks that he knows everything, and he dares to shoot everything without thinking clearly. Does Akira Kurosawa know what happened in the Battle of Chibi? Of course he didn't know. Therefore, Kurosawa may not dare to shoot things that Wu Yusen dares to shoot.



Because John Woo didn't know, what Kurosawa knew.



PS: Gossip aside, I have no problem watching this movie as an entertainment film, but Tang Wei is also a tall girl, and Lin Chiling is also a tall girl. Why is Tony Leung in Tang Wei’s bed still very domineering, Huhu is angry, I don’t think it is Little dwarf, but when I got into Lin Chiling's bed, it made me think, oh my, why are Wei Zai's legs so short. This, this, Director Wu is a little responsible for this.

View more about Red Cliff II reviews

Extended Reading
  • Bartholome 2022-03-27 09:01:23

    How beautiful the Three Kingdoms are, attracting countless heroes to be enchanting!

  • Jaylen 2022-04-04 09:01:08

    It's good but the ending is too orz