Text | magasa

The 1970s was a period of transition in the history of Hong Kong films. Cantonese films began to rise again after their production dropped to zero in the late 1960s, and gradually Taking up space in Mandarin films. Compared with the two-power competition between Shaw Brothers and Cathay in the 1960s, the competition in the film industry in the 1970s was more intense, but it was not as decentralized as the later 1980s.

At that time, the Hong Kong film industry was still dominated by the vertically integrated Shaw Brothers Company, and because of the exit of its competitor Cathay Pacific, Shaw Brothers enjoyed a stable period of being the only company for several years.

However, Shaw Brothers’ dominance was soon challenged by Golden Harvest. The person in charge of Golden Harvest was Zou Wenhuai, who was promoted by Shaw. He invited many former Shaw generals to help out, and even quit. Cathay Pacific in the industry also generously provided support for the idle Yonghua Film Studio, giving Golden Harvest the strength to compete with Shaw Brothers.

But dominance does not fall from the sky. At the beginning, Golden Harvest completely imitated Shaw Brothers' management system and market strategy, and it was difficult to move forward. Until it boldly signed Bruce Lee who returned from the United States, Golden Harvest ushered in a turning point. .

The significance of Bruce Lee to Jiahe is not actually his great appeal, but the way of cooperation with Bruce Lee, which made Zou Wenhuai realize that it is necessary to implement an outsourcing production model, decentralize power, and support satellites Only by introducing dividend rewards can the company overturn the rule of Shaw Brothers.

Zou Wenhuai and Bruce Lee

Therefore, after Bruce Lee's sudden death, Golden Harvest relied on Xu Guanwen, Sammo Hung, and Jackie Chan to continue to encircle and suppress the Shaw Brothers, and gradually gained the upper hand.

The competition between Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest is very similar to the conflict between the two systems when Hollywood transitioned from the studio period to the post-blockbuster period in the 1950s, except that the conflict that occurred in Hollywood was more about itself. Their own vertical replacement, while the conflict in the Hong Kong version is horizontal and simultaneous. The competition between these two systems also corresponds to two different star systems.

Almost all the stars of Shaw Brothers are contract actors "supported" by the company. As soon as they enter the industry, they enter Shaw Brothers, receive training from the company, live in the company's dormitories, receive a relatively fixed salary, and are meticulous Take over the drama according to the company's arrangements.

Most of Jiahe's stars have been in the world for a while, and their relationship with Jiahe is more like partners, taking risks and sharing the fruits together. Stars under these two systems do show great differences in their temperament, abilities and future destiny.

The stars of Golden Harvest, represented by the above-mentioned Xu Guanwen, Sammo Hung, and Jackie Chan, will become evergreen trees and mainstays in the Hong Kong film industry, and their influence will continue to this day.

After the decline of Shaw Brothers, some of Shaw Brothers' stars, such as Wang Yu, Li Lihua, Yue Hua, Ti Lung, Jiang David, Liu Jiahui, etc., stopped acting, some immigrated, and some moved to television. The big screen has been given over to the newly emerging TVB art training class generation.

Li Lihua

Here we only talk about Shaw Brothers stars. Shaw Brothers in the 1970s can be said to be the world of male stars. The martial arts masculine revolution launched by Chang Cheh changed the previous yin and yang. situation. In Shaw Brothers before 1965,

the most popular actresses were Lin Dai, Li Lihua, Leti, and Ling Bo, and the male stars who supported them were handsome actors like Zhao Lei and Guan Shan. An elegant traditional niche.

"A Chinese Ghost Story" starring Leti and Zhao Lei

After the rise of martial arts, the most popular male stars became Wang Yu, Ti Lung, David Jiang, Chen Guantai, and Fu Sheng "Bazai", the actresses who acted for them also changed, from elegant and charming princesses like Lin Dai and Li Lihua, to small and fashionable girls like Jing Li, He Lili and Li Jing.

Jing Li is the daughter of the veteran Shaw Brothers actor Jing Miao. Jing Miao is also the mentor of the Shaw Brothers Actors Troupe. Therefore, Jing Li is an out-and-out "second generation star". This situation was at that time This is no surprise in the Hong Kong film industry. Jing Li joined Shaw Brothers when she was still in college, and her debut film was "Ship", adapted from Qiong Yao's novel.

"Ship"

Jing Li's temperament is not suitable for costume films or martial arts films, but those were the mainstream genres of Shaw Brothers at the time, so she also appeared in "The Ten" In films such as "Er Money Dart", "Ma Yongzhen" and "Jingma".

Part of the reason for saying this is that Jing Li inherited her father’s square face and is indeed not the ideal traditional beauty. And she herself does not have the heroic spirit of Zheng Peipei. If she wants to be " "Hitting Women" is also not convincing enough, so she leaves more impressions on people as characters of good family women.

Jing Li collaborated more with Zhang Che in the early stage, and later also cooperated with Chu Yuan. I think "A Dream in a Small Building" is Jing Li's most representative work. It is a typical Shaw Brothers sad literary film. Her partner is Ling Yun, who has worked with her more than ten times.

"The Remnant Dream of a Small Building"

In Chu Yuan's words, this film can only be cast by Jing Li, because she has a unique melancholy temperament that makes people laugh at the first sight. Then there will be a feeling of pity. There are many female stars under Shaw Brothers, and there are actually many more beautiful than Jing Li, but none of them have her temperament.

In this film, Jing Li frequently changes her hairstyle and clothing according to the different situations of the character. She has tried long hair, short hair, braided hair, windbreakers, bell-bottom pants, and fur furs one by one, which reflects her Excellent ability to grasp the appearance and psychology of characters.

In real life, Jing Li is not as melancholy as Chu Yuan said. She is generous, well-spoken, never pretentious, lively and playful, and occasionally likes to joke with others. Father Jing Miao said he couldn't predict his daughter's temper.

Jing Li was used to acting in martial arts at first, but as costume films declined, she was very unaccustomed to it. Because according to Shaw Brothers' rules, the costumes of actors in costume films are taken care of by a special costume department, and in fashion films, they have to choose their own clothes to match, which makes Jing Li very difficult.

If Jing Li were replaced by He Lili, choosing clothes would not be a problem at all. He Lili is recognized as one of the best beauties in Shaw Brothers. Because of her excellent appearance, tall figure and standard oval face shape, she can easily control different types of fashion and costumes.

He Lili

In life, He Lili was very keen on fashion and particular about dressing. At that time, if some of the top department stores in Hong Kong introduced any new European fashions, they would be the first to buy them. Call He Lili and ask her to try it on. He Lili is willing to spend money on clothes, buying many pieces at a time. She spends more than 200,000 yuan on clothes a year. So He Lili later opened a fashion store, probably for her own convenience.

He Lili is from Taiwan, and "Wen Suchen" and "Ship" made her stand out. Although she is very eye-catching in fashion dramas and costume dramas, some people still think that He Lili is more suitable to play ancient costumes, especially the ancient courtesan dressed in silk and satin. She made the thief Luo Lie risk his life to see her in "The Meeting of Heroes" The famous prostitute Shi Zhongyu also played the role of the famous prostitute Buddha who made Emperor Zhengde played by Yue Hua fall in love at first sight in "Rouge of the North".

"The Club of Heroes"

"Northern Rouge"

He Lili will also play the role of the young hero Yang Wenguang in "Fourteen Heroines", wearing a tight Armor, handsome and unrestrained, and then he once again disguised himself as a man in "The Great Warlord". Except for Brigitte Lin later, there is no actor in Chinese movies who can portray her grace.

"Fourteen Heroines"

"The Great Warlord"

In He Lili's short acting career, the most representative work should be "Love Slave" , also directed by Chu Yuan, she still plays an ancient prostitute. He Lili's good looks are naturally impeccable, and she also combines a strong and tolerant personality.

"Love Slave"

"Love Slave" may be the earliest lesbian-themed film in Hong Kong. The scene where Lily Ho and Betty kiss has become a landmark in Hong Kong film history. classic.

"Love Slave"

The acting careers of female stars such as Jing Li and He Lili are invariably short. Perhaps this is an axiom that does not need to be stated in the Hong Kong entertainment industry - female stars are the most suitable The ultimate destination is to marry into a wealthy family, especially before the 1980s. Therefore, no one among the stars of that generation was as long-lasting as Maggie Cheung and Carina Lau.

Jing Li and Li Jing retired from acting in the mid-1980s. They were only in their early thirties at the time. He Lili left the film industry even earlier, at the age of 28. Zheng Peipei, who became famous for her martial arts films, also retired early and got married. She gave birth to a child, but she came back several times later.

Li Jing

Time flies by and beauty grows old quickly. No matter how glamorous the red star was back then, white hair has grown on their temples today, and their beauty, fame, and wealth are all gone. Come and go, only movies can defeat time and make themselves the mark of time. Once it is engraved, it becomes immortal. Jing Li and He Lili should feel lucky for this.

Sairen's collection of film reviews "With Light: Discussing Chinese Films in the Past 110 Years" is first released on Iris.com and exclusively provides signed editions. Order today, ship today.

Mr. Sairen signed so many autographs for Iris readers that his hand is said to be disabled

Introduction to Sairen: Senior planner of the "China Film Report" column of the movie channel, and served as "New Movies" ” magazine chief writer and deputy editor-in-chief of “Movie World” magazine.

In "Along with the Light: A Random Talk about Chinese Films in the Past 110 Years", Sai Ren systematically reviews the characteristics of the times and artistic characteristics of China's first to fifth generations of directors, and analyzes them from the perspective of film history, filmmakers, The film's three perspectives provide a detailed interpretation of the historical context, personal anecdotes, and the evolution of ideas and forms of Chinese films. Among them, the film history section is titled "A Hundred Years of Shadows". It uses specific themes such as directors, actresses, colognes, and translated films from past generations to lay out the complete style of China's film history over the past century.

Mr. Sairen signed for a whole day

If you want to improve your understanding of Chinese movies, free yourself from the vicious cycle of expectation-surprise-disappointment-anger for domestic movies. , Sai Ren's "With Light and Dust" provides a broad perspective.

This book is your first choice if you want to get started or even have an in-depth understanding of domestic movies. It is to Chinese films what Tadao Sato's "History of Japanese Film" is to Japanese films and Hou Lang's "Understanding Movies" is to basic film and television knowledge. Its significance is irreplaceable.

The title of this book is "Being with the Light and the Dust", which is a reference to the "Tao Te Ching" "Frustrate the sharpness, resolve the confusion, reconcile the light, and be the same as the dust", which means not to show the edge, Live in peace. You can see in this book a Sailor who is different from the angry Sailor in "Shadow Xiangbiao", who speaks calmly and eloquently. With his original love for movies that began in his childhood, he devoted most of his life's education into it.

His love goes beyond calm, industrially standardized audio-visual analysis, and also extends to rich cultural backgrounds and delicate character interpretations. We often say that behind the ruthless anatomy of characters by first-class artists, there must be an understanding and deep sympathy that is not easy for others to detect. The same is true for Sai Ren. The virtual experience of watching a lot of movies is integrated with the real encounters. Every time he talks about a movie he has watched, his whole life experience is stimulated like an electric shock. When Sai Ren writes about movies, he is actually writing about life. .

This is evidenced by the observation of Professor Du Qingchun of Beijing Film Academy:

"Sai people have such rich memories of Chinese movies and the resulting presentation of the relationship between movies and life. These For me, it is enough to constitute an amazing experience, just like a rainbow appears in the sky after heavy rain. Although we no longer think it is a miracle, we still have excited eyes... The history of his life watching movies It formed the starting point of all his work."

There is also the testimony of his old friend Wei Xidi:

"Every time I have a meal with the Sai people, he has three or five bottles of beer, and I have one bottle. I'll give you half a sentence. It's all about the movie, the people in the movie, and a certain moment in the movie. Three or five hours is not a long time. . Over the years, a conversation with Sai Ren has become a part of my film experience."

Wong Kar-wai said, "At this time every year, a man will come to me for a drink. His name is Huang Yaoshi." Speaking of which, Huang Yaoshi may be the best drinker in Jin Yong's works. If he meets Sairen, who can drink better? Will they talk about martial arts or movies?

Press and hold to identify the QR code to enter the exclusive sales channel of Iris and treat the person to a drink.

The current batch of books are all signed editions, please feel free to buy.

Moreover, some signed editions also have Easter eggs, but whether you can get the Easter egg edition depends entirely on luck. No one knows which copy it is.

Disclaimer: No animals were harmed in this shoot.