Since the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, the central and local TV stations have launched "Red Gift TV Series" one after another. A drama called " The Age of Awakening " has entered people's field of vision and inspired people across the country, especially " The patriotic enthusiasm of "post-95s" and "post-00s".
In addition to the two early party leaders who have attracted much attention - Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao in "The Age of Awakening", there is also an impressive Hou Jingjian version of "Mao Zedong" .
Chairman Mao’s image can be said to be with many people throughout their lives. Many actors have played him in film and television dramas, but each person’s effect on the screen is different. For example, the well-known guyue, Compared with Tang Guoqiang's version of "Mao Zedong", what is the difference between Hou Jingjian's version?
01 Hou Jingjian's version of "Mao Zedong"
When it comes to "Mao Zedong" played by Hou Jingjian, we have to start with the drama "The Age of Awakening".
"The Age of Awakening" is a film about the magnificent history from 1915 when Chen Duxiu founded "Youth Magazine" (later changed to "New Youth") to 1921 when the Communist Party was founded.
The drama won the Magnolia Award for Best Actor, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay Award at the 27th Shanghai TV Festival in 2021, and the Best Drama Series Award in the 2022 Film and Television Model·2021 Annual General Evaluation List.
Story Centered on a group of advanced intellectuals such as Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao, it reflects the suffering life and ideological awakening of people at that time.
"Mao Zedong" played by Hou Jingjian firmly caught people's attention when he first appeared.
It was on the streets of Changsha, Hunan. Under the pouring rain, a man was running against the crowd with a copy of "New Youth" he had just bought.
used a series of metaphorical lens language to let the audience use the montage method. I was shocked by the appearance of "Mao Zedong" in this section.
There are pedestrians holding umbrellas, women standing upstairs looking down, rich children sitting in cars eating sandwiches, and some having to sell their daughters because of poverty. The mother, the beggar eating steamed buns on the ground, etc.
All kinds of living things reflected the suffering of that era in this performance.
The young Mao Zedong, who was still studying in Hunan First Normal University, was different from those people. He did not bring an umbrella and ran in the opposite direction of the crowd while running. This scene can be regarded as one of the classic scenes in the drama. Hou Jingjian himself talked about this shooting in an interview, saying: "I have actually acted in many stages of Mao Zedong, including up to now, before the founding of the People's Republic of China. I have basically encountered every period of history. When I was filming the first scene where the old man, the Chairman, appeared, I had an idea at the time that it couldn't be that simple. His appearance will definitely bring out many aspects of society at that time. "
During the actual filming, not only the actors, but also the various staff members of the crew spent a lot of effort and time to shoot this section repeatedly to show the best effect.
Facts have proved that the broadcast of "The Age of Awakening" After it was released, many viewers repeatedly mentioned this part and thought it was well shot.
This drama is not the first time Hou Jingjian has played "Mao Zedong", but this time he has successfully become known as Hou Jingjian born in the 1980s. , and has also appeared in many dramas.
starred in the first TV series "Anti-Corruption Chronicles" in 1994, made his official debut, and played "Mao Zedong" for the first time in the 2009 TV series "Iron Shoulder Bearing Morality" . in , and he has played "Mao Zedong" for the second time.
After "The Awakening Age", audiences have seen him in more TV series, such as the 2021 TV series " Glory and Dreams " and the movie " Red Boat ".
"Mao Zedong" in the recently broadcast " Number of Romantic Figures " is also played by him.
The young "Mao Zedong" played by Hou Jingjian is especially loved by the audience, who think that his eyes are bright and full of determination, and you can see him at a glance.
was the most versatile actor of "Mao Zedong" at the same time. When he played the young Mao Zedong, he was eye-catching. Compared with the actor Tang Guoqiang who played the middle-aged and elderly Chairman Mao, he was more He has a scholarly spirit and the enthusiasm of young people.
's experience of playing Mao Zedong many times has brought Hou Jingjian closer to this great man in Chinese history. Without violating history, he has added some understanding of himself, allowing people to get closer to this great man and understand and learn Chairman Mao's thoughts.
In the recently aired "A Number of Famous People", Hou Jingjian began to challenge Chairman Mao's middle age. In fact, his performance was also very brilliant and won praise from most viewers.
2 Tang Guoqiang's version of "Mao Zedong"
"Mao Zedong" played by Tang Guoqiang is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. He has participated in a large number of excellent red historical dramas. In his demeanor, expression, conversation, and behavior, he is relatively close to the image of "Chairman Mao." Most of the middle-aged and elderly Mao Zedong on the screen is played by Tang Guoqiang.
In 1970, after graduating from middle school, Tang Guoqiang entered the Qingdao Repertory Theater and experienced five years of life on the drama stage.
starred in his first movie "South China Sea Storm" in 1975.
has since participated in the filming of many TV dramas and movies. was rated as a national first-class actor in 1988.
The role that people still talk about today is Zhuge Liang in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" played by Tang Guoqiang in 1990. He successfully portrayed the most sage prime minister in ancient China. The drama won the "Flying Sky" and "Golden Eagle" , " Five One Project " and many other awards. He was also named "Top Ten TV Actors" and "The First National Top 100 TV Workers".
The first time he played "Mao Zedong" was in the movie "The Long March" shot in 1996. This participation officially opened Tang Guoqiang's film and television career as Mao Zedong.
has since acted in many excellent dramas and has become the most well-known "Chairman Mao" actor.
Take the 2013 documentary epic "Mao Zedong" and the 2019 " Diplomacy " as examples. Tang Guoqiang both played Mao Zedong's middle-aged and elderly years, and the latter has a larger time span than the former.
In more than 40 performances, he has improved his acting skills time and time again, trying to restore the real historical events to the audience as much as possible.
It can also be seen from his performance that he has indeed achieved "spiritual resemblance" and "physical resemblance", showing the characteristics of Chairman Mao at different stages in detail.
In "Diplomacy" , Tang Guoqiang needs to play Mao Zedong in his old age, recreating the major diplomatic events in his later years when he was seriously ill. This stage is a difficult part to act. After repeated research and careful consideration, will be seriously ill. The combination of his state and the burst of spiritual power gave the audience a deep understanding of the leader's firm will.
Compared with Hou Jingjian, a young actor, Tang Guoqiang has rich acting experience and will have his own style and characteristics when playing Mao Zedong.
focuses more on Mao Zedong’s majestic and solemn side, as well as his calm and unhurried courage in handling national affairs. Compared with the image of "Grandpa Mao" in the hearts of the people, it is closer to the image of the great man and leader that the audience has known since childhood.
In an interview with "Diplomacy", Tang Guoqiang once mentioned the biggest difference between playing the chairman - that is, "He is a leader and I am a common person. This gap makes it difficult to say that I can play him. Because I feel that by now So far, I have played a lot of roles as the chairman, but I don’t think there has been any image that I feel quite satisfied with. It is always catching up, and it is just scratching the surface, so I think that in the future. There is still a long way to go."
3 Gu Yue version of "Mao Zedong"
Speaking of the actor of "Mao Zedong", one cannot avoid Gu Yue, the actor who is the most popular among the people.
Gu Yue, whose real name is Hu Shixue , 1937 Born in 2005,
Mao Zedong's special actor was personally designated by Ye Jianying. Since then, he has spent his whole life playing the role of Chairman Mao, a great man.
In 1981, he starred in "Xi'an Incident" and was well received by the audience; He successfully portrayed the image of "Mao Zedong" in subsequent film and television dramas and stage plays, and became increasingly famous.
Why is the Gu Yue version of "Mao Zedong" so popular among the people?
There are three reasons:
looks like
In 1978, Marshal Ye Jianying identified Gu Yue as Chairman Mao's special actor, and felt that his appearance was very similar to "Chairman Mao"
After Gu Yue read and studied a large amount of historical materials, no matter his appearance, behavior, tone, or demeanor, he was very similar. He thought about it thoroughly one by one, striving to achieve "authentic restoration"
For example, in the 1989 movie "The Founding Ceremony ", when "Chairman Mao" played by Gu Yue stood on the Tiananmen Gate Tower and announced the founding of the People's Republic of China. It seems to overlap with reality, taking the audience back to that exciting moment.
Due to the limited shooting conditions at the time, the entire picture is not as clearly visible as it is today, but has a hazy feeling, like a yellowed old. The photos are like oil paintings hanging on the wall.
The "Mao Zedong" played by Gu Yue is like walking out of history and coming among the people.
Dialect
is different from most "Mao Zedong" actors today. , Gu Yue’s lines are in Hunan dialect , which shortens the distance between him and the audience.
Chairman Mao is originally from Xiangtan, Hunan. Compared with Mandarin , the Hunan dialect makes people feel more " "Real". Many viewers also like this.
Affinity
Different from the image of a great man performed by Tang Guoqiang, the "Mao Zedong" played by Gu Yue is closer to people's lives, more amiable and more like the image of "Grandpa Mao".
Chairman Mao once said in the report "On the Chongqing Negotiations": "We Communists are like seeds, and the people are like the land. When we get to a place, we must unite with the people there and take root and bloom among the people."
The same is true for Gu Yue's version of "Mao Zedong".
He often smiles in TV dramas and movies, and treats people with kindness, allowing the audience in front of the screen to see the image of a grandfather.
has more warmth than the solemn and solemn great man. Even Chairman Mao's daughter Li Ne felt so much like him when she saw him, and she cried bitterly while hugging him.
Gu Yue used her whole life to interpret the great man Chairman Mao, and also left a strong mark on the screen, which made people remember "Gu Yue" as an outstanding special actor. To this day, there are still people I love his role as "Mao Zedong".
Finally, let me summarize
No matter who plays "Mao Zedong", they all reflect different characteristics of the performance and give the audience a good viewing experience.
There will be more and more young actors like Hou Jingjian. The younger generation of actors should be given more opportunities to play national leaders or heroes like "Chairman Mao", leading them further and further towards the correct and positive path of acting. Only in this way can the audience enjoy more good dramas.
As Tang Guoqiang said in the interview: "I hope that someone will step on my shoulders and continue to move forward, so that the image of 'Chairman Mao', a great man of the generation, can truly be remembered and left in history. Next stroke.”
