Why do Chinese films need this film?
Why didn't Yang Gensi or Ice Sculpture Company be the core?
The main creator explains in detail the six questions of "Changjin Lake"
"Every fifty years is when people close history textbooks and prepare to forget, so we need movies to prevent us from forgetting something." Tian Huiqun, a professor at the School of Art and Media, Beijing Normal University, quoted a director to explain "Changjin Lake" "It is the movie that China needs most now.
The film bureau of the Central Propaganda Department, organized by the Propaganda Department of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, organized the creation, vigorous support, and co-production, the Beijing Film Bureau approved the project and reviewed the film "Changjin "Lake", which was released on September 30, created numerous movie records.
The production scale, investment scale, filming time span, and the number of cast and crew of "Changjin Lake" all set the record in Chinese film history.
The ultra-large-scale preparation of costumes and military equipment, and the design of battle tactics over 100 kilometers can be regarded as the largest number of people in the early stage of Chinese film history, reaching more than 7,000 people, and in the later stage, the number of people participating in the film reached 12,000.
The Beijing Youth Daily launched two editions of special reports to tell why China today wanted to shoot "Changjin Lake".
Screenwriting
After five years of writing, what did the screenwriter Lan Xiaolong do?
Yu Dong, chairman of Bona Pictures Group, the producer and chief producer of the film "Changjin Lake", said that Bona Pictures first received the National Film Bureau’s task of filming the theme of Anti-U.S. Aid Korea in July 2019. When all the creators prepared for 9 months to start filming, the sudden epidemic caused the filming to be interrupted. "At that time, nearly two thousand people were stranded in Dandong, including a large number of foreign actors. Not only could they not leave, they also faced visa expiration. problem".
Later, after the Beijing Film Bureau and the Central Propaganda Department Film Bureau decided to postpone the filming, in the next 9 months, the crew spent a lot of time and energy on polishing the script, "The current degree of completion of the film Such a high level has a lot to do with the preparations during that period of time."
Although it was decided to shoot "Changjin Lake" in 2019, the script of "Changjin Lake" was written by screenwriter Lan Xiaolong earlier. He wrote the original script of "Changjin Lake" with 130,000 words in 5 years.
Lan Xiaolong has created classic military film and television works such as "My Captain, My Regiment", "Soldiers Assault", and "Life and Death Line". Many netizens regard them as the quality assurance of military works-"You can always trust Lan Xiaolong ".
Audiences who have seen Lan Xiaolong's works know that there is always a special company mentioned in Lan Xiaolong's works: Gangqi Company.
The story of "Changjin Lake" once again presented the "Seventh Steel Company" to the world. The seven soldiers represented by the company commander Wu Qianli reported their names and numbers one by one in the film. The inheritance of heroic spirit and Qilian's "unbeatable, more unbeatable" battle spirit moved countless audiences.
Regarding the cooperation with Lan Xiaolong, Yu Dong said that "Changjin Lake" not only outlines the macro history, but more importantly, it must shape the artistic image.
In the face of such a multifaceted, magnificent and complex history, Lan Xiaolong is obviously the most suitable screenwriter.
After the 130,000-word script is refined, there are still 60,000 words, and after repeated polishing, "In the end, these characters are touching and can make the movie stand up."
Plot explanation
Why didn’t Yang Gensi or Yi
Is the story of Ice Sculpture Company as the core?
During the Battle of Changjin Lake, the heroic deeds of Yang Gensi, Bing Sculpture Company and others who "unreturned until death" were widely circulated. Why didn't "Changjin Lake" focus on their stories?
Yu Dong said that "Changjin Lake" is not about a battle story, not a battle hero.
"The Battle of Changjin Lake is an epic battle. From how the battle is arranged, the two armies confrontation to the final confrontation, it needs a grand perspective to show it, not from a single individual. So the Seventh Company was used. As a story line, it organically combines the artistic image of this company with historical figures and real events. Yang Gensi and the Ice Sculpture Company are part of the war and part of the movie, but not all."
Huang Jianxin said that movies such as "Shangganling" were made on the Western Front on the North Korean battlefield, and many people have relatively little knowledge of Eastern Front.
"Like the story of the'Ice Sculpture Company', I only knew it in the 1990s. The Eastern Front was so difficult. Faced with the cold weather that has not been seen in decades in history, our soldiers did not even have thick cotton-padded clothes. The plane bombing had to be hidden and came out at night. In addition, there was insufficient communication equipment, no tanks, no heavy weapons, and no planes. But the U.S. military was full of Sabres (F-86 fighters) and Black Widows (P -61 fighter jets), B26, B29 bombers, etc., the Volunteer Army is faced with weapons that are countless times stronger than itself. At that time, I felt that it was unbelievable, but it was indeed a fact. When we learned that we sacrificed so many people, You will think this is a cruel and great turning point. Later, with the Internet, you can see more images. The more you understand, the more you will have an impulse. If one day you can shoot it, then It will be a particularly meaningful movie."
Huang Jianxin said that Qilian in the film is fictitious. "If it is too realistic, it is difficult to write it down. Therefore, Qilian is fictitious, and many aspects have been referred to in the setting of the background."
Although Yang Gensi and "Ice Sculpture Company" are not the key narrative objects in the film, their spirit is reflected in the film, and the combination is "Changjin Lake".
Shooting team
It's not a "composite movie", why use three directors to shoot?
Yu Dong revealed that after deciding to shoot "Changjin Lake", he has been considering who will shoot.
"In such a short period of time, it is extremely difficult for any director in China to shoot alone. Its layout, its subject matter, and its story require that it must seize all the time to finish the filming in winter, so it needs a better team and more A good production team and more time preparation. In the early stage, director Liu Weiqiang began preparations, but the epidemic stopped in the middle; later, director Tsui Hark and director Chen Kaige reorganized, we reorganized the script, and finally director Lin Chaoxian joined. The whole process is a chance. Combination, at this point in time, these people will appear, and this opportunity will come."
Both Yu Dong and Huang Jianxin said that although "Changjin Lake" is a joint work of three directors, it is not a "complex movie."
Huang Jianxin explained: "First, "Changjin Lake" is a complete story. It is not a script on a whim. "Changjin Lake" is a film with a complete trend. The film creates a collective image of a company. Created two protagonists—two brothers, Qianli and Wanli. At the same time, we also wrote about the leader’s son, a leader’s child, and a commoner’s son. They all charge for the country. It is a kind of spiritual accessibility, very Complete, the premise of'Pan Pan' simply does not hold."
The second reason is the difficulty of filming.
There is also a director team in "The Great Battle", with many directors participating. Huang Jianxin said, "For a war movie of that scale, only one director will shoot it, and it will take at least 4 years. Therefore, it is very good for "Changjin Lake" to have three directors to direct together. Normal things".
Yu Dong said that the three directors have their own strengths: "Director Chen Kaige has a very macro-historical dimension, and has the strongest knowledge reserve; Director Tsui Hark is good at modern film technology, special effects and the grasp of the entire commercial film; Director Lin Chaoxian has been in these years. The best director for war films and action dramas in China. I asked Director Chen Kaige to grasp the tone and theme of the overall film; Director Tsui Hark focused on the expression of his commercial films and the pursuit of aesthetics; Director Lin Chaoxian focused on action dramas and war The play, and the grasp of the details-these three people put it here, the chemistry is very strong."
Division of Directors
How do the three directors collaborate and what to do if they disagree?
Yu Dong introduced that the three directors were divided into three groups and proceeded at the same time. "It is said that there are three groups. In fact, behind the three directors there is group A, group B and group C. There are 16 groups of all sizes in total following the directors at the same time."
Speaking of the specific division of labor between the three directors, Yu Dong revealed: "Director Chen Kaige is responsible for filming the part of the volunteer army entering North Korea. Director Chen has perfectly grasped the characteristics of the times, the atmosphere of the times, and the establishment of the characters in those scenes; Tsui Hark The director mainly pays attention to the integrity of the film story and the vivid detail display part; Director Lin Chaoxian pays more attention to the thrilling battle scenes, and the completion of character and emotion shaping in the action design. The three directors have a clear division of labor, and each has its own focus. In addition, director Huang Jianxin acts as the director system to coordinate the deployment of personnel, props, costumes and military equipment between the three major groups. In this process, the total number of people in the film crew exceeds 7,000. If the three groups are superimposed in parallel If the time is equalized, it will take at least 400 days."
As a director system, Huang Jianxin's job is to lead.
When asked whether the three directors had any disagreements during the filming process, Huang Jianxin said that the connection between the three directors is not a matter of him alone, but a huge system to ensure the connection between the directors.
"The main energy of directors is still on character creation. Other details are coordinated to complete the convergence. If there are major problems and conflicts with the drama, then the director will be invited to a meeting to discuss. Or I will run in groups, After opening with this director, we will discuss with that one, and come up with a conclusion before negotiating. Everyone obeys a structure, which is very important. Therefore, Chinese films have improved because of this structure."
Huang Jianxin praised the three directors for their special commitment, "all showed their own characteristics, including the poetic expression of director Chen Kaige, the particularly subtle depiction of characters and subtle emotions, and the visual manifestation and superb emotion of director Tsui Hark. Rhythm, and director Lin Chaoxian’s tough feeling and strong stimulation."
Role selection
Why did the two brothers Qianli and Wanli choose Wu Jing and Yi Yang Qianxi?
Thousands of miles and thousands of miles in the film have symbolic significance. The two brothers traveled thousands of miles to fight side by side in a foreign country. Wanli grew from a rural child who could not shoot at all to a fighting hero.
Why did you choose Wu Jing and Yi Yang Qianxi to star in the two brothers? Yu Dong said that when he saw the script, he reflexively thought of Wu Jing and Yi Yang Qianxi, "These two characters are like they were written for them. I'm watching After "You are in the Youth", I think the image of my younger brother Wanli is Yi Yang Qianxi. Five years ago, when Lan Xiaolong wrote Qianli and Wanli, Yi Yang Qianxi hadn't been in the drama yet, but there seemed to be such a role. Waiting for him not far away."
Wu Jing happened to be the most serious leg injury at the time, and he was in the recovery period. If he was injured again when he went to film, his knee would be broken.
Yu Dong recalled: "The first time I saw him, he was on crutches and took the film just taken from the Third Hospital of Beijing Medical University to resign. After an afternoon and an evening of in-depth conversation, he still said:'I can't act anymore. !'I said at the time:'You don't need to answer me now, read the book first.' He took the script. After reading it, he took the initiative to come to me and said:'Does it count?' I said:'I'm waiting for you !'He said:'I play!' So there are these two brothers."
Creation problem
What difficulties did you experience when shooting?
Mentioning the difficulty of filming "Changjin Lake", Yu Dong described it as "difficulties and dangers".
Yu Dong said that when the film was filmed, it was at a stage where the epidemic had just stabilized, and everyone was unavoidably worried about the film market.
"We have to spend money on every shot and every scene, because almost every scene of this battle needs to mobilize more than a thousand filming teams and extras. The most difficult thing about making this movie is that Overcoming these difficulties, not to mention the preparation of a large number of costumes and props, a large number of battle tactics design, just the costumes, there are many changes. From entering the dynasty to fighting in the coldest wind and snow, the style of makeup and clothing should be unified. , Continuity. There are also a lot of equipment and props. The preparation work for these is actually very large. For example, tanks, the tank props we built can run, and the tank is used when shooting "Incheon Landing" Brand new, but it will be smashed later, one is not well coordinated, and the shooting sequence is wrong, the tank is gone."
Because all the plays have to be completed in winter, almost three directors start at the same time, with a difference of up to one month before and after. This kind of parallel shooting will involve a lot of coordinating work. Supervisor Huang Jianxin played a key role.
Huang Jianxin said that the shooting was greatly affected by the epidemic.
"We have set up an epidemic prevention team. There are only 17 people in the Xu Dao team. Nucleic acid is done once in three days. If you count, 7,000 people do it once in three days. How many times? I have done it in less than a year this year. I have done more than 50 nucleic acids just to make this scene. We have a large number of foreign actors. Some of us have not returned from abroad. How we control the epidemic and ensure our safety has become a huge issue. When it's time for a bigger scene, I can't come. I am anxious and immediately adjust the plan. It changes every day."
In addition to the epidemic, the crew has to bear cost pressures.
"For example, we have to make 80 tanks, and one tank is millions. We don’t have ready-made American tanks. They are all Soviet tanks, so we have to redo them. There are only a few that can be driven in China, and this tank needs Every time I tuned back and forth from two groups or three groups, using a big crane to hoist the tank, and then I pulled it there after the filming was completed. The shooting of "Changjin Lake" was completely beyond the scope of my experience. Say we want to find a way to coordinate. For such a large group, once the plan is adjusted, a series of problems will be caused. We are all working hard to move forward. This movie cannot be completed without collaboration."
In addition, it is the test of progress. Huang Jianxin said: "Because this scene is too difficult to shoot at all, there are hundreds of people, thousands of people at every turn, and sometimes there are six or seven thousand people working on the spot, and there are A large number of night scenes are very difficult. There are also special effects synthesis and so on. This series is beyond the conventional scope of filming and encountered many challenges. We have dozens of special effect companies, and almost 40 special effect companies are participating at the same time. .Because no company can pack the ticket to complete, including the world's large stunt companies, some newly emerging stunt companies in China, and very creative young people also come to collectively participate."
"Changjin Lake" is a huge project in the history of Chinese film. Yu Dong said that this is a huge film crew, which has set a precedent in terms of creation and scale of film production under the background of the industrialization of Chinese film industry. .
After experiencing another test of his film career, Huang Jianxin believes that all the hardships are worthwhile, ""Changjin Lake" will make you excited and love this country even more."
This edition article/Reporter Xiao Yang Coordinating/Man Yi