It has long surpassed the meaning of a movie
engraved on the veins of history like a symbol
connects many glimpses of the times and the back and forth and the back.
"Watching the close-ups of the protagonists appearing on such a large screen, I recall the little things at that time, and I feel very special and excited." In the IMAX screening hall of MCL cinemas in Hong Kong, 62-year-old Liu Weiqiang sat in the dark, and the light and shadow reflected into his pupils, flashing through all the memories from twenty years ago.
In 2002, with the great success of the " Young and Dangerous " series and "The World of Wind and Clouds", Liu Weiqiang formed his own studio "Basic Film". In order to establish the name of a new company, he is looking for a suitable entrepreneurial work everywhere. Just then, Mai Zhaohui gave him a piece of paper with a story outline written on it: the underworld sent an undercover agent in the police force, and the police force also sent an undercover agent in the underworld. He thought this idea was quite interesting. When Mai Zhaohui finished writing the script, he decided that this was the pioneering work of the studio. But he was not very satisfied with the title of the film, so he made a special trip to Thailand to pay homage to White Dragon King , and finally got the name " Infernal Affairs ", which means "Infernal Affairs" in the Buddhist scripture.
scene was filmed for two months, and its first show was at 9 pm on December 12, 2002. 101 minutes later, the theater ended, and someone called Liu Weiqiang one after another, and he knew he had succeeded. In the end, Infernal Affairs won the box office championship of the Hong Kong market that year with a record of HK$55.04 million, and Warner Bros. also purchased the remake rights for US$1.75 million. The following year, Awards awarded seven trophys to this movie, and the sequel has started filming, with the second and third movies released one after another before the end of the year.
"Infernal Affairs" poster.
White clouds and cuckoo dogs, wild horses and dust, time suddenly passed twenty years passed. In the past twenty years, "Infernal Affairs" has never been forgotten. Countless movie fans regard it as a masterpiece. It has even surpassed the meaning of a movie, engraved on the veins of history like a symbol, connecting many glimpses of the times and the taste of the situation.
Just one month ago, the copyright holder, released a trailer, and the newly restored 4K panoramic version of the "Infernal Affairs" series will be re-screened in Hong Kong on December 12. Liu Weiqiang personally served as the producer of this restoration. For a while, he watched color tuning and mixing in the later company every day. For him, filming twenty years ago was like having a baby, but now it is like marrying a daughter. When going to the cinema for a test film, Liu Weiqiang often walked around alone and sat around to ensure that he could get the best experience in any position. He told "China News Weekly ": "In addition to hoping that the audience who have watched it before will feel it again twenty years ago, we also hope that more young people who have not watched it will watch this movie."
Two years ago, "Infernal Affairs" was born in a cold winter.
Since the 1970s entered a period of rapid development, Hong Kong films ushered in a peak in the early 1990s: in 1992, the box office of Hong Kong films in Hong Kong alone was as high as HK$1.276 billion; in 1993, the annual production of films reached an astonishing 380 films. But in the midst of prosperity, hidden dangers were also quietly buried. Director Anhua Xu said in an interview with China Newsweek: "At that time, everyone was shooting movies randomly, but there was nothing we could do, and it was very helpless."
Under the temptation of the huge market, the production companies and practitioners at that time made rapid progress and embarked on a "shortcut" of "how fast, how much is better and more cost-effective". The existing routines and models of successful cases were copied in large quantities, selling trailers, seven-day freshness, flying paper jeans and flew paper jeans, and star dramas were even more popular. A large number of films with rough quality and simple content quickly caused the audience's aesthetic fatigue. Coupled with the influx of Hollywood blockbusters, the proliferation of pirated movies, and the changes in the markets of Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia, Hong Kong films gradually showed a decline.In 1996, the local box office fell to HK$660 million throughout the year, and overseas revenue fell sharply to HK$435 million. At the same time, the annual output dropped to 109 units, and the market share also dropped to 52%.
1997, the Asian financial crisis broke out, and the overall economic hit made the already difficult film industry even worse. That year, the production of Hong Kong films fell to less than 100 for the first time. Many top filmmakers who grew up in prosperity had to leave one after another, trying to find a new way out in , Hollywood, and other places. More ordinary practitioners can only stay where they are and wait for work to start. Some even have to drive taxis after get off work to subsidize their household income.
At that time, there was a tragic story circulating in the Hong Kong film circle: at the end of 2001, one night before Christmas, an old director celebrated his birthday in a bar in Tsim Sha Tsui. The old director accepted 7 apprentices. After half of the tour, five of them each picked up a glass of wine and knelt in front of the master and choked and said, "We are sorry for you. There is really no way to get through this industry. We have to find another way to survive."
Mai Zhaohui and Zhuang Wenqiang are also struggling in this situation. In 1995, they met on the crew of "Happy Time" by Chen Musheng , and then gradually formed a cooperation model of screenwriter Zhuang Wenqiang and director Mai Zhaohui. In 2001, the two teamed up to create two movies, " Wish Tree " and "Farewell Love", but the box office was a complete failure. Mai Zhaohui was in a situation where there was no film to shoot, while Zhuang Wenqiang opened a bar in Causeway Bay .
But Mai Zhaohui still had a thought in his heart. A few years ago, after watching Johnnie's "Dark Flower", "True Hero" and John Woo's "Hide Change ", he wanted to write a story about two heroes. Because his father is a policeman, he lived in a police dormitory since he was a child. He had seen his father greeting a gangster. Later, his father told him that the man was an undercover agent. The creative impulse collided with his childhood memories, so he started writing the outline and named it "Killing Police".
with an outline. Mai Zhaohui has found many people, including Johnnie and Zou Wenhuai . They think the story is good, but they don’t give the following. Mai Zhaohui was unwilling to give up, and he made a vow in his heart: If this drama cannot be filmed, he will leave the film industry. Fortunately, Liu Weiqiang appeared at this time, and he asked Mai Zhaohui to write the script quickly. So, Mai Zhaohui brought Zhuang Wenqiang and spent three months polishing out the complete plot and lines. Mai Zhaohui remembered that after reading the script, Liu Weiqiang immediately called himself and said that this would be an A-level movie, and the protagonists were played by Tony Leung and Andy Lau and his . He was shocked because an undercover film in the market hit a new box office low in a new thousand years. If his undercover story becomes an A-level film, the Hong Kong film industry will not recover if it fails miserably. Zhuang Wenqiang was even more pessimistic. He felt that it was "criminal" to decide to start filming. The safest type of the previous year was comedy and love sketches.
Liu Weiqiang had similar concerns in his heart, but the reason why he still made this almost gambling choice is because he buried a rebellious mentality: "We don't do all the bad habits that appear in Hong Kong movies. I don't want this movie to go hasty. At that time, American and Korean movies left Hong Kong films with perfect creations. If we want to win back the audience, we must make this movie more attentively." For this reason, Liu Weiqiang also found many people, and the process was also repeatedly hit. Until the door of Lin Jianyue's was opened, the 20 million investment was finally put into the pocket. At that time, Lin Jianyue had just invested in Huanya and was full of enthusiasm. He felt that only when someone made investments that took risks could they be followed and the market would flourish.
Liu Weiqiang (left) and Mai Zhaohui. Photo/IC
To a certain extent, "Infernal Affairs" born in a depression actually benefits from this cold wind. It is a hopeful sustenance for the Hong Kong film industry in a desperate situation, and a battle of back-to-backs for a group of filmmakers to keep warm.As Liu Weiqiang said: "The Hong Kong market was too bad at that time, and no one had any filming work. When the script seemed to be good, many people agreed. One night, Andy Lau knew that we still owe some money, so he took the initiative to start filming without paying for the time being." Liu Weiqiang told China Newsweek: "At that time, I and the crew of Infernal Affairs said that if everyone doesn't do well this time, everyone might have to change careers. Maybe it was because of this mentality of burning the boats. Each staff member put in 200% of their efforts to finally create the miracle of Infernal Affairs."
New urban Jianghu
In the creation of the creation, Infernal Affairs also left traces of collective efforts in many places.
Police undercover Chen Yongren When he was in contact with his boss Huang Zhicheng, there was a line that Zhuang Wenqiang originally wrote "being an undercover agent for ten years." Tony Leung found him on the set and said whether he could say this sentence "three years later and three years later." Zhuang Wenqiang thought about it and suddenly realized that after this change, Chen Yongren's inability to control his destiny and struggle was indeed more powerful. He agreed to Tony Leung's suggestion and turned around and rethinked all the lines in the script.
Another scene is that the underworld boss Han Chen was arrested and returned to the police station after trading with a Thai drug dealer, but was released again due to insufficient evidence. In the design of the first version of the script, Han Chen waved his hand to sweep off the lunch box on the table, then left his sleeves with a harsh words. Liu Weiqiang and Mai Zhaohui felt that this was too exaggerated and asked Zhuang Wenqiang to change it again. Zhuang Wenqiang wrote three more plans, one was that Han Chen brought a group of subordinates to worship Guan Gong in front of the police, the other was that Han Chen played chess with Huang Zhicheng in the detention room, and the other shifted the focus to Chen Yongren and Liu Jianming . The last plan was immediately rejected by Tony Leung and Andy Lau. They felt that the two characters could not speak here, otherwise their identities would be exposed. The first two plans were given to Zeng Zhiwei . He watched it while saying no, and then directly asked drama to buy 60 side dishes and 10 meals. Zhuang Wenqiang knew that he wanted to use the first version, but Liu Weiqiang refused to film it. It was a stalemate for a long time before he had to turn on the film. At that time, Tony Leung was the only one who said that the scene was good, but after it was released, this scene became a classic.
and the rooftop meeting near the end. Originally, two undercover agents were arranged to duel in the elevator, and the action guidance Lindian even designed the action. It was Tony Leung. He thought this was boring, so he pulled Zhuang Wenqiang and said one by one that said, "I didn't have to choose before, but now I want to be a good person" and "I'm sorry, I'm a policeman." In the end, Chen Yongren did not die in the elevator. The moment he stopped at the elevator, he shot his eyebrows and fell between the opening and closing doors. The soundtrack sounded, tragic and desolate.
Zhuang Wenqiang later said that if it weren't for Tony Leung's persistence, such an ending would have been scolded at that time - Hong Kong police and gangster movies have always been famous for their action scenes, and audiences who are accustomed to sensory stimulation and avenge for their revenge will not be easy to accept such a "warm" ending with hidden aftertastes. Not only the ending, except for a short gunfight against police and gangsters, the entire movie "Infernal Affairs" weakens the violent scene. According to Liu Weiqiang's disclosure to China Newsweek, in fact, the distribution company reminded him to add more gun battles and action scenes in the preparation stage, but he ignored it. "I remember the scene when Sir Huang fell from the building. The action guide had already designed the action of being interrogated and beaten on the rooftop before falling from the building. But after watching it, I found that this movie should not require these plots, and falling from the building directly was dramatic, so I decided not to shoot it on the spot." Liu Weiqiang said that he was thinking two or three months before the filming started: "I have made many undercover films in Hong Kong movies, so I set rules for myself. If there were scenes in Hong Kong undercover films before, I would not shoot them."
"Infernal Affairs"'s breakthrough and changes in Hong Kong police and gangster movies are related to the overall development and changes of Hong Kong society.As Ma Jiahui said to China Newsweek in an interview: "Why can Hong Kong produce such a wonderful "Infernal Affairs"? Because Hong Kong was once a colony and a society of refugees and immigrants, it has this ambiguous and chaotic characteristic, with white in black and black in white."
Scholar Xu Wei of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics pointed out in "The Ethics of Jianghu, Fate Reincarnation and Modern Legal System - The Evolution of Values of Hong Kong Police and Bandit Films Over the Past 40 Years": Starting from "Infernal Affairs", "Hong Kong Police and Bandit Films seem to have lost a winning rule full of confidence. In a world where good and evil are difficult to distinguish, the characters are often invisible hands of fate." This is undoubtedly an externalization of anxiety, which originates from the confusion and struggle that individuals naturally arise when facing the uncertain external world and unknown future.
is accompanied by this anxiety, and is confused and reconstructed about self-identity. Whether it is Chen Yongren who reminded himself over and over again "I am a policeman" or Liu Jianming's always lingering in his heart, it is a kind of search and confirmation of identity. If in the story of the first part, the identities of the two people do not constitute the focus in the clear confrontation between the camps, or the creator did not intend to focus on it, then Liu Jianming's schizophrenia and self-fantasy in the third part have become the key to promoting narrative; and in the second part, when Wu Zhenyu played , Ni Yongxiao played , fell under the police gun, Han Chen played tseng rose to become a new boss, and a major historical change is also being completed. The real era is hiding behind the fictional legend, but it is clearly about to emerge.
may be related to this important meaning. Liu Weiqiang’s favorite is also "Infernal Affairs 2". "Because I insisted on filming this story first, Mai and Zhuang, I have put a lot of scheming in it," he said.
When creating this script, Zhuang Wenqiang had been stagnant for a while. Just then, SARS was raging, and Hong Kong, which had not yet fully recovered from financial crisis, was showing an unprecedented sense of fragility, so he and his wife went to Thailand to relax while looking for inspiration. Until one day he received the news that Leslie Cheung had passed away, he suddenly understood what he was going to write. "In Hong Kong, Leslie Cheung symbolizes a kind of elegance. You watch him fall like an angel fall." That night, he completed the whole story in one breath, used more than twenty pages of paper, and then said to Mai Zhaohui: "The next one will definitely not be better than this."
"The Last Glory"
"Infernal Affairs 3" was released in 2003, Liu Weiqiang said that he completed the trilogy in 18 months, which was entirely due to passion. "We hope to fight for the prosperity and dignity of Chinese films in our own way with all those who love Chinese films. In my heart, the standard for making sequels is to be like "The Godfather"."
However, he does not deny that "Infernal Affairs" can bring confidence to Hong Kong movies, whether it is for investors, staff, or even audiences. The appearance of "Infernal Affairs" proves that Hong Kong movies can reply to quality ranks, and can even bring new feelings to the audience."
In a broader evaluation, "rescue the market" is also considered the most important meaning of the "Infernal Affairs" series. Mai Zhaohui said: "After the success of "Infernal Affairs", more investors have 'entered the market' observation. "Infernal Affairs" cannot revitalize the film industry, but it undoubtedly brings some inspiration to our prospects." Johnnie also said that the greatest success of "Infernal Affairs" lies in revitalizing the Hong Kong film industry.
However, twenty years have passed, and the next "Infernal Affairs" has not appeared again. Hong Kong movies have failed to save their declining fate after all. Even in 2002 when "Infernal Affairs" was released, the local box office of Hong Kong films was only HK$118 million, with a production of only 91 movies. These two numbers continued to decline in the following years. In this sense, "Infernal Affairs" is often called the "last glory" of Hong Kong films, and perhaps it is not a false statement. The era of
has changed.Just when the Hong Kong film industry was still cheering for "Infernal Affairs", a movie called "Hero" won 250 million yuan in the mainland. If it were counted as the Shanghai foreign market, this number would increase to about 1.4 billion yuan. Although Hong Kong audiences contributed more votes to "Infernal Affairs", this is obviously just a partial victory. On the larger blue ocean , the giant wheel has quietly sailed away from Victoria Harbor , heading north.
In fact, starting from "Infernal Affairs 2", Liu Weiqiang is also taking a step to explore "going north". Not only in the cast, three mainland faces, Hu Jun, Chen Daoming, and Huang Zhizhong, were added, but the third one was jointly produced with mainland film studios. It was also that year that Hong Kong and the Mainland signed a CEPA cooperation, and the Mainland opened up and relaxed market access conditions for Hong Kong service and service providers in multiple fields, including culture and entertainment. Since then, "going north" has become a collective trend for Hong Kong filmmakers.
In fact, this is not a new challenge for Hong Kong movies. Mai Zhaohui once said in an interview with China Newsweek: "Hong Kong is so small. Its film market has always been outgoing and will always change itself with changes in the environment." Since 2009, he and Zhuang Wenqiang have joined forces with Zhuang Wenqiang to launch the " eavesdropping on the wind and cloud " series, " listener ", " extraordinary mission ", " unparalleled ", etc., creating the most successful "Mai Zhuang model" of co-production.
Liu Weiqiang has also carried out more intensive cooperation with mainland companies and performing teams. A series of movies such as " Dragon and Phoenix ", "Jingwu Fengyun", " Blood Drops " were born. In recent years, he has participated in the main theme projects and directed " Army Building and Dafa ", " Chinese Captain ", " Chinese Doctor ". Facing China News Weekly, Liu Weiqiang said: "I often say that I am a director of commercial films. Of course, I hope the market is bigger. I want to watch more audiences when filming. The mainland market is so big, I must try it. Many people say that I have to please many people when I come to mainland China to film. In fact, I have to please many people when filming in Hong Kong."
However, he also admitted that "going north" is not a easy way. "Of course it is difficult to do a director from the north. Although my early movies have already been filmed in the mainland and I have a little understanding of the mainland. But to really make movies produced in the mainland, there are two worlds." For "northbound people", this is probably a common problem: this does not mean simply adjusting the course, and you also need to accept and adapt to it at all times. And in this process, many people have returned, some have left, some have hidden, and some have become obsolete.
Of course, some people chose to stay behind. During the interview, Liu Weiqiang said: "In recent years, I have seen many new directors in Hong Kong appear. This is a very good phenomenon, proving that investors are willing to give them opportunities. And I have also seen that Hong Kong audiences have been very supportive of Hong Kong films recently, and many works have good box office results." These "left-behind people" still adhere to the local perspective and local themes, relying on local funds and local markets to continue the bloodline of pure Hong Kong films, forming a self-circulating lake. But compared to the past, this lake is too small. Even if it is still stubborn and pride, it cannot curl up the waves of the past.
Everything is like the " Treasure Seafood Boat " that appeared in "Infernal Affairs 2". Now it is sleeping in the sea, and the pace of time will not stop or return because of any attachment and nostalgia. Also like the line spoken by Shen Cheng, played by Chen Daoming in "Infernal Affairs 3", " Often things change people, people cannot change things." (Xu Pengyuan/text)
(excerpted from the WeChat public account China News Weekly)
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