"Wild Fire, Spring Breeze Fighting in the Ancient City" filmed by the Bayi Film Studio in 1963 is a film that reflects the party's underground workers' inside instigation of rebellion in the enemy-occupied areas of North China. It vividly reproduces the sharp, intense, tortuous a

文/ Zhu Anping

During the arduous course of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, organizations at all levels of the Communist Party of China went deep behind enemy lines to lead the struggle against the Japanese and puppet rule, which was an important part of it. "Wild Fire, Spring Breeze Fighting in the Ancient City", filmed by the Bayi Film Studio in 1963, is a film that reflects the party's underground workers' inside instigation of rebellion in the enemy-occupied areas of North China. It vividly reproduces the sharp, intense, tortuous and complicated story. The struggle scenes have successfully created the heroic image of underground workers who are resourceful, courageous and persistent. They enthusiastically eulogize the noble revolutionary integrity and firm fighting spirit, and have ups and downs and fascinating artistic characteristics.

coincidentally planned to shoot the

movie "Wild Fire, Spring Wind Fighting in the Ancient City", which is adapted from the novel of the same name. The original work has the characteristics of autobiographical creation. The author Li Yingru (1914-1989), a native of Qingyuan County, Baoding, Hebei Province, graduated from high school in 1937 and joined the revolution. He participated in local work in the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Border Region Central Hebei area. In 1938, he joined the Eighth Route Army and worked as an editor, reporter and military officer. Commander, he began publishing short stories and poems in local publications in the border area in 1940. After the Japanese army launched the "May Day raids" in central Hebei Province in 1942, Li Yingru was sent to Baoding City, the capital of Hebei Province, to engage in underground work. He went deep into the enemy and puppet troops to divide and disintegrate them, and organized workers, students and citizens to fight against the enemy and puppet forces. In 1946, he served as section chief of the Political Department of the North China Military Region, and later as director of the Liaison Department of the North China Bureau. After the liberation of the country, he was first transferred to the political commissar and party committee secretary of a hospital in Tianjin, and began to engage in military cultural work in 1953. He successively served as deputy director of the cultural department of the political department of the General Logistics Department of the People's Liberation Army and deputy director of the propaganda department, and also engaged in amateur creation. Following the publication of the novel "Battle on the Hutuo River" in 1954, he began writing "Wild Fire, Spring Wind and Fighting in the Ancient City" in 1955, which took three and a half years to complete. It was first published in the 6th issue of "Harvest" in 1958, and a separate volume was published in November of the same year. The novel uses its own life and struggle experience as the material to reflect the most difficult period of the Anti-Japanese War from the end of 1942 to the beginning of 1943. After the Japanese army launched the "May Day raids" in the Jizhong Plain of Htung, the area of ​​activity in the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei base area was relatively reduced. In order to overcome the difficult stage and welcome the new victory, the party called for "march behind enemy lines." While organizing a large number of armed workers' teams, it sent a group of cadres to carry out underground work in large and medium-sized cities and transportation thoroughfares such as Ping, Tianjin, Bao, and Shijiazhuang. It was against this background that the protagonist of the book, Yang Xiaodong, the regiment political commissar and county party secretary, broke into Baoding, an ancient provincial city in the enemy-occupied area of ​​North China, and launched an arduous and thrilling underground struggle against the seemingly powerful enemy, puppet, traitors and spies. He united and relied on Yinhuan, Han Yanlai, Xiaoyan, Zhou Dabo and other basic forces, strived for and used social relationships like Mr. Miao, and used contradictions to disintegrate the enemy and puppet forces. In a series of meticulous work and hard struggles, Yang Xiaodong's mother, Yinhuan Sister Jin Huan died heroically one after another, and the novel ended with the puppet leader Guan Jingtao leading his troops in an uprising. Because the author's art summarizes his own personal experience and feelings, the work has a very strong sense of real life, the terrifying and turbulent situation in the ancient provincial capital in the enemy-occupied area, the noisy and desolate life, the tense struggle and struggle with the underground workers The optimistic spirit interweaves and shines, successfully creating a series of flesh-and-blood, vivid and lifelike images, revealing the complex, sharp and fierce struggle on another front in the Anti-Japanese War, and praising the patriotism of the Chinese people and the great power that can defeat any enemy. , is an excellent work that reflects the party's underground struggle since the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Just like this kind of "Legend of Revolutionary Heroes" creations that are known as "Red Classics", due to their unique themes, vivid stories and distinctive characters, they are very popular among readers and have a wide social impact. They have become an important resource for converting other art forms, especially the richest ones. Favored by films that are graphic and mass-oriented, "Railway Guerrilla", "Song of Youth", "Red Flag", "Lin Hai Xue Yuan", etc., which were born at the same time, had been or were being adapted into films at that time, and the novel "Wild Fire Spring Wind Fighting Ancient City" Also began his journey towards the screen. The original author Li Yingru personally managed it and cooperated with Li Tian from the Propaganda Department of the Political Department of the General Logistics Department to adapt it into film and literary script in May 1959.After Beijing Film Studio learned about it, it was first published in the "Film Creation" organized by the studio and prepared to make a film.

◆ Li Yingru

At the same time, the novel was also taken by the Bayi Film Studio, which specializes in military themes. The film's director Yan Jizhou once recalled: "This best-seller, which is deeply loved by readers at home and abroad, was serialized in the Beijing Evening News before it was published. The master of pulling foreign rickshaws in Wangfujing no longer has any business, and just sticks to the newspaper. I waited for the newspaper to come and get a sneak peek. I heard people talking about this novel in small restaurants, on the streets, and wherever I went. Although I subscribed to the Beijing Evening News at home, I still bought one when I went to the city to do errands. Look. It cost two cents for a newspaper. The plot of "Wild Fire, Spring Wind Fighting in the Ancient City" is thrilling and twists, and the language is the local language of Hebei. I read it immediately after it was published! I bought the book and read it from beginning to end, and I decided to make it into a movie. "He also said: "In the early days of the Anti-Japanese War, I participated in the underground work led by the party in Shanghai, and then I participated in the anti-Japanese base areas behind enemy lines. Having worked as a military worker behind enemy lines, I had personal feelings and understanding of the people and things in the book, and I had the creative urge to try to put the novel on the screen." He plays both Jin Huan and Yin Huan in the film. Wang Xiaotang also recalled: "At that time, I was filming " Haiying " under the guidance of Yan, and I saw the novel "Wild Fire, Spring Wind Fighting the Ancient City". I read it all night and couldn't put it down. Several lesbians lived in one room, and I was afraid It disturbed others' rest, so I went to the corridor to watch it until late at night. At that time, I thought, it would be great if this was made into a movie. "

led the Bayi Film Studio to officially decide to adapt and film "Wild Fire, Spring Wind and Ancient City" in June 1961. In August, Zhou Enlai delivered an important speech at the National Literary and Art Symposium and the Feature Film Creation Conference, emphasizing the need to respect the laws of literary and artistic creation and encourage the creation of works that are more popular with the people, stimulating an upsurge of exploration and innovation in film creation. After coordination by the General Political Department of the People's Liberation Army, military writers wrote and filmed military works themselves, and Beijing Film Academy agreed that the film would be shot by Bayi Film Studio. Chen Bo, the director of the Bayi Factory who was present at the meeting, assigned Yan Jizhou, who was also at the meeting, to take the lead in directing, and discussed using the "Sisters" and "Life and Death Together" films shot during the left-wing film period to have two roles played by Hu Die and Yuan Muyi. , the two roles of Jin Huan and Yin Huan were played by the same actor. Yan Jizhou then tried it in "I Am a Soldier" created and performed by the Nanjing Military Region Frontline Repertory Theater, which was directed by him. Zhang Liang starred as twin brothers. The film was completed Later, it was renamed " brothers are good ", which was very popular with the audience and accumulated experience for it.

Adapted

in a unique way. One year after Yan Jizhou finished filming "Hello Brothers", he immediately prepared for "Wild Fire, Spring Breeze Fighting in the Ancient City", and first began to write the script. The previous version adapted by Li Yingru and Li Tian still retained the inherent framework and was actually an abbreviation of the novel, which was not suitable for the capacity and requirements of the film. Moreover, the author has since listened to many opinions and revised the original novel, except for accidental and coincidental contents. Corrections have been made, and some positive plots have been added to give the underground struggle a second line. Some inappropriate love entanglements have also been revised. The theme has become more distinct and prominent, and the characters have become more real and believable. This adaptation is based on the 1962 novel. Published new revised version.

Yan Jizhou, Li Yingru, and Li Tian made a special trip to Baoding, which was still the capital of Hebei Province at that time. This was the place where the story took place, and Li Yingru was doing underground work here. He led him to visit various places that he had personally experienced and written into novels, such as the hospital where he once hid, the streets he often visited, the shop where he ate steamed buns, etc., which gave Yan Jizhou and others in-depth experience and perceptual understanding. Entering into re-creation amidst memories and passion.

◆Yan Jizhou

It is not easy to compress and adapt a 340,000-word novel into a movie script of only more than 30,000 words. After repeated research, it was finally determined that from the intricate and complex plot of the novel, one line should be extracted to run through the overall situation. In order to effectively cooperate with the base area operations, Yang Xiaodong and Jinhuan, Yinhuan and other underground party members launched a campaign to win over and dismantle the puppet security forces, especially to win over the puppet leader Guan Jingtao to lead an uprising. Based on this line of action, the main characters and plots related to this in the novel are connected together, and necessary changes and processing are made in accordance with the requirements of film art. The essence of the original work is not only retained, but also made into the most exciting, vivid and powerful. And it is most suitable for the screen and reproduced in a performative way. The main contradiction in the play is carefully set up: our side wants to win over and dismantle the puppet troops, protect the interests of the people in the anti-Japanese base areas, and disrupt the enemy's strategic deployment; the enemy wants to strengthen control of the puppet troops and carry out its so-called "security strengthening" campaign. , and strive to limit and eliminate our underground activities, the two sides launched a series of sharp, complex, and tortuous struggles. Through the twists and turns of the plot and the interlocking fierce conflicts, Yang Xiaodong's perseverance and ability, Yang Mu, and Jin Huan's unyielding determination , Yinhuan's simplicity and wisdom, Guan Jingtao's hardship anyway, as well as the brutality of the puppet commander Gao Dacheng, the insidiousness and cunning of the Japanese consultant Tada, etc., are all vividly and powerfully portrayed, thus demonstrating our party and our army's policy towards the puppet army during the Anti-Japanese War. and the correctness of strategies, embodying the hardship and complexity of underground struggles, and demonstrating the underground workers’ resourceful and flexible art of struggle and revolutionary heroism.

When he first accepted the adaptation task, a colleague once suggested to Yan Jizhou, "It can be made into a thrilling style film that surpasses "Heroes Die Hard ", and the sales rate will be high." He seriously considered it and felt that it was inappropriate. The movie is not famous for its twists and turns, nor is it thrilling to win, but it mainly writes about "people" and their experiences and fate. It should be "a movie with intense conflicts, clear love and hate, tense plot, and thrilling tendency". Therefore, in the adaptation and filming, we did not exaggerate the bizarre or exaggerate the thrills, but used real and simple narrative techniques to reproduce the underground struggle of that year with thick outlines and meticulous paintings.

To this end, on the one hand, the film starts from a specific "important main line" and creates the necessary thrilling atmosphere that matches it through plot layout, scene scheduling, lens use, etc. For example, when Jin Huan was arrested and interrogated, he was suddenly confronted by Guan Jingtao. He was quite shocked but calmed down immediately before the enemy could notice. He turned from defense to attack and confessed his knowledge. He then listed his crimes and slapped him angrily, so that the hostility was eliminated and he helped Guan pass. He jumped up and stabbed the enemy with a hairpin, but failed to grab a vase and smashed it at the enemy. He was eventually shot and died heroically. When Yinhuan was grieved and anxious after Yang's mother was arrested, she accidentally leaked the time and place of the meeting in front of the traitor, and rushed there desperately. But he watched Yang Xiaodong fall into the enemy's hands. The plot, scenes and the fate of the characters were closely related, which naturally touched the heartstrings of the audience. Another example is when the enemy interrogates Yang Xiaodong and claims to have someone with him. The camera "mysteriously" opens one door after another to reveal the strong and kind figure of Yang's mother, making the audience as suspenseful as the character; Yang Xiaodong waits for rescue in prison and uses the wind to blow out the lamp. The flickering lights and shadows on the face accentuate the character's nervousness and make the audience worried; when Yang Xiaodong is rescued from prison, the enemy soldiers chase him madly, and the camera is deliberately tilted, creating a tense atmosphere again.

On the other hand, the love relationship between Yang Xiaodong and Yinhuan is presented as a "romantic undercurrent", giving the film a certain lyrical color. The description of this in the original novel is clear and delicate. When adapting the film, due to "critical revisionism", the expression of personal emotional life was derogatory. Yan Jizhou had hesitation and confusion, but in the end he was "reluctant to cut off 'love'." "Everything is clean" and felt that "in this movie, 'love' is not a dispensable embellishment, but an indispensable and organic part of the plot development." Therefore, with good intentions, he used the so-called "curve to save the country" method. A red heart ring expresses your feelings.The first time it appeared in Yinhuan was to deliver information to Yang's mother. Yang's mother revealed that the ring was for her wedding, which showed both intimacy and hint. The second time it appeared when Yang's mother was imprisoned, she wore the ring on On the hand of Yinhuan who came to visit, he said that he was not afraid of anything, just to remember his son's marriage as a wish entrustment; the third time he appeared when Yang Xiaodong was rescued and escaped from danger, Yinhuan returned the ring on his hand, indicating that he had fought side by side, The two people who depend on each other for life and death are connected; the fourth time it appears at the end of the film, Yang Xiaodong gives a small bag as a farewell, the silver ring is opened and found to be a ring, and the distant shadow is gazed at deeply. The love between the two goes from cuteness to maturity. Although there is no line, it is self-evident with the help of a small ring. It is clearly layered yet natural and implicit, successfully adding a bright emotional supplement to the film.

One person and two roles enhance

In November 1962, the film crew was officially established, and the cast was quite strong. The male protagonist Yang Xiaodong is played by Wang Xingang, who has a handsome and unrestrained appearance, and a natural and sincere performance. He has successfully played Zhang Min, the energetic, wise and courageous speedboat captain in "Sea Eagle", and the broad-minded and broad-minded captain of "Red Detachment of Women". Hong Changqing, the steadfast and unyielding party representative, has a certain influence on the screen; Guan Jingtao, the leader of the pseudo-security corps, according to the director, "should not be made into a foreign style like someone who came out of Whampoa Military Academy, but should be a local who was born and raised and has some temperament." According to the request of the Party, Wang Runshen, who had just played Yang Zirong in "Lin Hai Xue Yuan", was chosen to play the role; as the actor of Yang Xiaodong's mother, Chen Lizhong, who has been transferred to Beijing Film Academy from the General Political Repertory Theater and is good at playing rural aunts, was hired. Not only does his appearance and temperament appear simple and strong, but his speech always has a Baoding accent, which is very suitable for the character's characteristics. In addition, Zhao Ruping plays the underground party member Han Yanlai, Li Renlin plays the pseudo-security army commander Gao Dacheng, Wang Xiaozhong plays the Japanese military adviser Tada, Zhang Huaizhi plays the spy Lan Mao, Henry Zhang plays the traitor Gao Ziping, etc., and they all have their own unique roles. Features, just right.

◆ Stills from "Wild Fire, Spring Breeze Fighting in the Ancient City".

The most eye-catching thing is the candidates to play the roles of Jin Huan and Yin Huan. It establishes that the film is centered on the underground party's struggle to instigate the uprising of puppet army leader Guan Jingtao. Jin Huan and Yin Huan, as internal and external communication, have a lot of public actions and their roles are relatively heavy. In particular, although the two sisters have similar looks, they have different personalities. Director Chen Bo and director Yan Jizhou determined that the two roles should be played by one person. The performance is quite difficult. Which actor is used to play the role is particularly important and is the key to the success or failure of the film. Due to the great influence of the novel "Wild Fire, Spring Breeze Fighting in the Ancient City", peers have also recommended actors. Cui Wei, the actor from Beijing Film Studio, recommended Xie Fang, who has just finished filming "Song of Youth", and Xie Jin, who is now popular, and Xie Jin, the actor from Shanghai Film Academy. Xiangmei , who has starred in "Women's Basketball Team No. 5" and "Red Detachment of Women", Li Yingru is also optimistic about a famous actress. Yan Jizhou filtered through the young actresses from major film studios across the country in his mind, and finally settled on Wang Xiaotang, who he had initially been interested in when writing the script. She had starred in his director's "Heroes", "A Thousand Miles a Day" and "Sea Eagle" As the protagonist, he is very photogenic, has good performance, language, figure and image, has profound artistic skills, has passion for acting, is smart and clever, has a profound understanding of the director's intention, has strong adaptability and adaptability, and is creative. When Yan Jizhou tentatively proposed to Wang Xiaotang: "What if I ask you to play Yin Huan and Jin Huan alone?" She almost jumped up when she heard it: "I liked these two characters very much when I read the novel. Please allow me to consider it." One day, I will answer you tomorrow." She re-read the novel that day, and the next day she went to Yan Jizhou and said, "If you can trust me, I will do my best to complete the task. Director, I think she needs to be as energetic as Jin Huan. Huan wants to show her taste, isn't it?" Yan Jizhou agreed happily.

As he studied the script in depth and went to Baoding to live in depth, especially when he visited Fan Suyun, the wife of martyr Zhang Bo who died heroically seven days before Baoding was liberated, Wang Xiaotang, like everyone else, was deeply moved by the outstanding qualities and noble sentiments of the revolutionary predecessors, and was deeply moved by Jin Huan. , Yinhuan, the revolutionary sisters also have a deeper understanding. After all, we are playing two characters in the same creative process, and the personality gap is so big, the task is indeed difficult. In order to cultivate and grasp the different temperaments of the two, Wang Xiaotang read the novel over and over again. He could recite the descriptions of the two sisters in the book backwards and forwards, telling different details as if they were his own stories. As her character is close to Jin Huan, but very different from Yin Huan, she concentrated on breaking through Yin Huan when preparing for the role and letting herself live in Yin Huan's world, whether it is dealing with people, speaking in meetings, walking, standing, etc. , follow Yin Huan's every move, try to be as gentle and agile as possible. During the rehearsal, according to what the director pointed out: "The golden ring is fierce, but not capable enough; the silver ring is quiet, but gives people a deep impression of a city", and appropriate fine-tuning was made to blend the depth, maturity and simplicity into the respective tones of the characters. , childish component. She also specially bought a violin tuner, and repeatedly practiced the different pitches, intensity, length, and timbre of the two characters, defining the difference as 5 degrees. From this, she found the different pronunciation and breathing methods of their lines, insisting on doing so every morning Practice alternately until you can change your voice in an instant and clearly differentiate the character's personality in all aspects.

◆Stills of "Wild Fire, Spring Wind and Ancient City".

entered the filming stage. Wang Xiaotang worked very hard on character creation and kept improving. He often made supplements and modifications to the original plot based on the logic of character development, which was appreciated and adopted by the director. There were many ingenious designs for scenes, moods, and actions. The appearance of the character is crucial. In the script, Jin Huan appears when Captain Liang of the martial arts team leads Yang Xiaodong to a small farmyard. After knocking on the door, Jin Huan opens the door. Wang Xiaotang felt that it was too general, and suggested another way, so that the golden ring should not stay in the house, but be hidden on a low wall shaded by trees in the yard. Because I knew someone was coming from my hometown tonight, I was afraid of being discovered by the enemy and puppets, so I kept observing invisibly. When I heard Captain Liang knocking on the door, I jumped down in response to "Here". This not only complied with the vigilance of underground work that should be reflected in the prescribed situation, but also highlighted the The shrewdness and ability of the character. The scene "Sisters Joining" is Yinhuan's first appearance. It originally had a lot of dialogue. Wang Xiaotang believed that it did not meet the requirements of underground work and the characteristics of film art. With the director's consent, it was redesigned by him, leaving only the three words "Old Place". , and the rest were performed by the eyes of the two sisters. The sharpness of the hairpin on the golden bun was not explained at first, but later it was used to assassinate Tada. Wang Xiaotang proposed to use it in the scene where the guerrillas detain Guan Jingtao for education. Guan sternly asked, "I want your conscience, do you have it?" The close-up shot highlighted the violent trembling of the silver hairpin and the flashing cold light of , which not only strengthened the shocking atmosphere required for the plot here, but also set up a strong foreshadowing for the subsequent plot. After Yinhuan was eager to save Yang's mother and unintentionally leaked the secret, causing Yang Xiaodong to be arrested, the original novel only had one sentence: "Yan came and pushed Yinhuan out of the door." Wang Xiaotang felt that it was "too simple" to express it this way. "Such a big thing happened." The two Li Yingru thought that this idea was very good, and Yan Jizhou let her add it. The result was a good scene known as "sparks in the whole film": Yinhuan was severely criticized by Yan Lai and his heart was as sharp as a knife. However, in the midst of grief, he controlled himself with party spirit, resolutely blocked Yan Lai's adventurous actions, and actively proposed a proper rescue plan, which played an important role in portraying the characters and exaggerating the atmosphere.

The film was released in November 1963 and caused a huge sensation. The audience rushed to watch it and the critics praised it. Wang Xiaotang successfully played two roles, with strong contrasting personalities and clear emotional changes, which attracted much attention and praise from all aspects. The famous actor Zhao Dan once praised "the elder sister is a freehand ink painting, and the younger sister is a meticulous painting".In the third "Hundred Flowers Awards" held that year, she won the "Best Actress Award" with a high vote, but the award could not be announced due to changes in the situation. Because Jiang Qing completely denied the film, accusing him of "the uprising for Guan Tuanzhang, which was not connected with the struggle environment at that time, failed to see the necessity of fighting, and beautified Guan Jingtao" and "wrote the traitor as righteous and patriotic", "Yang Xiaodong in She is weak at the critical moment, Jin Huan is like a shrew, and it is unreasonable to prick the enemy with her hairpin; Yin Huan is the middle character, makes many mistakes, falls in love with Yang Xiaodong at first sight, and over-writes this love story. Yang's mother appears three times, twice to talk about her son's daughter-in-law. "Distorted the image of the revolutionary mother", the film was labeled as a "poisonous weed" during the "Cultural Revolution". After the rehabilitation, it not only became a hit movie that was re-released on the screen, but the original novel was remade twice into a long-form TV series and adapted into an opera, a Pingju opera, etc., all of which used the film as a reference, showing the strong vitality of the film.

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