Chapter 417: Screening
As the film continues to show, Ip Man begins to look for work in Chinatown after defeating the gangsters, carrying bags at the docks, and one day, his co-workers clash with another wave of workers who are grabbing jobs, and the two sides fight at the docks.
One of the co-workers, a porter named Coolie - is played by Master Xu, who cultivates the 12-way Tan legs. In the movie, this guy is more ornamental than Taekwondo, Tan Leg, watching the Americans in the theater one by one shocked, Americans in this era inherited the toughness of the western cowboy, and they are no strangers to fights and duels, but they have never seen such a fight.
The tattered pants on the screen, the dark-skinned "coolie", and the constantly kicking legs are really cool.
However, Master Jiang, who cultivated the Seven Star Mantis Boxing, appeared.
The hands are pinched into the claws of a praying mantis, the five fingers are curled like hooks, and Master Jiang's movements like a big mantis make all the audience doubt, can he fight like this? But soon the martial arts master of this mantis fist reproduced the scene of taking out two kidneys in the ring, of course, this is just a disguised shot using corpses and props.
The coolie's abdomen was broken open by the hand, the two hands reached in and spun in a circle, grabbed the two waists and pulled them out, and a frightened cry sounded in the entire movie theater, many viewers stood up suddenly, and some people covered their eyes, this bloody and cruel fighting scene is nothing if it is placed in the future, this era is simply a bomb!
The audience was completely shocked by this scene, but some of the filmmakers looked at it from a different angle, Mr. Ador Chukor, the 70-year-old president of Paramount, raised a hand and subconsciously touched his chin.
In his opinion, in the movie just now, the scene of "Mantis Boxing" breaking open the opponent's abdomen with both hands and grabbing two kidneys will probably become a classic.
The coolie dies on the screen, and that night, Ip Man sees the body of his co-worker and is determined to take revenge.
After this part of the plot, the audience's initial ridicule has disappeared, they saw the weird cruelty of Mantis Boxing, and became worried about Ip Man as the protagonist, and there were whispers of discussion in the theater, most of which were "Can Ip Man beat that demon?" "God bless him", hearing such discussions, Vivien Leigh secretly clenched her fists.
This movie, less than a quarter of an hour after it started, has already mobilized the emotions of the audience, and with the fight scenes that have never been seen before, it will definitely succeed!
Next is the small climax of the film, Wing Chun vs Mantis Boxing, Mantis Boxing is ruthless and tricky, the shot is fast, the Wing Chun defense is tight and the boxing method is also fast and flexible, the two kung fu masters in the movie are real hard kung fu, and they are decisive battles on the dock, the photography refers to the storyboard techniques of some later films, and Yan Luo also asked the director to prepare a flock of pigeons.
The two stood on the dock, each punch collided with a fist wind, and at this time, a gust of sea breeze blew, and Ip Man used Wing Chun to fight with his hand, blocking the mantis fist's trick and cramping, and then a burst of broken hands quickly broke the opponent's defense, and the last blow hit Master Jiang's chest with a straight hand.
With the sound of "click", the ribs of the great master of the seven-star mantis fist were broken, and he slowly fell to the ground in slow motion, at this time a group of white pigeons "hulala" flew through the sky, and in the distance was a round of bloody remnant sun.
Many viewers watched sluggishly with their mouths wide open, they didn't know what John Woo's violent aesthetics were, but when they saw the dim sky, the gray sea, the blood-colored sunset, after a tense and intense battle with some depressive feelings, a group of white pigeons suddenly appeared, and the impact of this picture brought everyone a shock that went deep into the soul.
"It's amazing."
Warner Bros., who was sitting in the VIP seat on the second floor, only thought it was incredible, John used to be a director of their company, but he was driven away because he had no talent, and "Ip Man" was filmed by John? This freeze-frame is enough to go down in the history of cinema, and he even doubts that it is Hitchcock's work.
"However, it is a little unwise to put such a wonderful battle in the first half hour of the movie, and directly enter the climax, the audience's emotions are mobilized to the maximum, if the plot is a little dull and dull, the sense of expectation will drop rapidly, which will have a great impact on the rhythm of the entire film."
Warner Bros. whispered while continuing to watch, in the movie, Ip Man defeated Master Jiang but did not kill him, and the mantis boxing master was grateful and suggested that he set up a martial arts gym in Chinatown, but there were already eight martial arts gyms here where all the masters had to be defeated before they could get permission.
Next is a competition and a fight, this movie has no complicated connotation, as a kung fu movie, it is necessary to have a good fight.
Xingyi Boxing, Cai Li Fo, Tong Back Boxing, Shaolin Luohan Boxing, a variety of different martial arts boxing debut, when Ip Man hit the fifth martial arts hall, there was a plum blossom pile, standing on the wooden stake with "two words tong Yang Ma" to the plum blossom boxing master, the audience was dumbfounded.
With such a wooden stake, you can't stand on it and fight on it? That's an exaggeration, isn't it?
However, in the seventh martial arts hall, a round table appeared again, fighting between the square inches of the table, which is a movie that refers to "Ip Man 2".
In short, a martial arts hall challenged one after another, and finally defeated Ip Man of the eight martial arts halls to obtain the qualification to open the "Wing Chun Pavilion", these masters were not convinced and invited a hidden boxer: Master Hong, this guy's appearance and figure are similar to Sammo Hung, his face is fierce and extraordinary, plus he uses the "Iron Fist", and the arm is covered with eight iron rings, and the aura of the boss immediately calmed all the audience.
In the final battle, Ip Man was difficult to fight against the Hung family iron fist empty-handed, and he used the Wing Chun Eight Slash!
The weapon battle, which was completely different from the previous empty-handed fighting, made the audience who were originally dazzled by various boxing techniques feel a huge shock again.
In the end, Ip Man won the victory by slashing eight hoops in a row with eight slashing knives.
This "Ip Man", even from the perspective of people in the watch world, is enough to be called a masterpiece, and the "coolness" even exceeds the "Ip Man" movie in the watch world. After all, isn't kung fu movies about fighting? From the initial fight of the gangsters, to the final fight of the big boss Hongjia Iron Fist, plus the competition between Mantis Boxing and the Eight Great Martial Arts Gyms, a full 11 battles, various styles and genres, are enough to make people fascinated.
Wouldn't it seem cumbersome to have too many fights?
Of course not, after all, "Chinese Kung Fu" is completely unfamiliar to Americans now, and most of what people usually watch in this era are dramas and romance movies, and there are very few real action movies, not to mention groundbreaking new themes.
At the end of the 2-hour movie, no one left in the theater, first there was silence, as the first person stood up and applauded, the theater resounded with tsunami-like cheers and applause, and many audience members burst into tears with excitement: "It's incredible!" ”
For today's Americans, the movie "Ip Man" is like the games everyone played in the 80s such as tank battles, Super Mario, Contra, etc., and suddenly saw World of Warcraft, this shock is completely beyond imagination and beyond the times! It's 1951, and Ip Man won't be out of date until 50 years later.
The theater lights came on, and John and Vivien Leigh stood on the podium.
"Thank you, thank you for the applause."
Vivien Leigh's face was flushed with excitement, although she did not appear in this movie, but the film from reviewing the script to finding a director, shooting and post-editing, and the promotion in the past half a month, everything is basically her efforts.
Now the woman's mood is as if she has seen her own child, who has grown up and achieved great success.
That intense sense of happiness and contentment!
The applause in the theater lasted for five minutes before stopping, and Vivien Leigh said emotionally: "I ...... now I really feel like I'm not standing on the Oscar podium, but even if I get Best Actress again, the joy it brings me will not be as strong as this time, after all, I was standing on the podium as an actor at that time, and this time, I was the screenwriter and producer of the film. ”
In this era, even the most well-known movie stars do not have too high status in the entire film industry.
Only in an era when the social productive forces are highly developed and the people's living standards are extremely high, will the status of entertainment stars surpass all other industries. In the 50s, actors couldn't compare to the future after all - now Vivien Leigh is equivalent to re-entering the film industry as a screenwriter and producer, it can be said that with this Ip Man, her qualifications will be completely different in the future.
"The protagonist of this movie, whose name is Ip Man, in fact, plays Ip Man is none other than the Chinese kung fu master: Ip Man himself."
"It's a pity that Mr. Ip Man couldn't be there in San Francisco's Chinatown."
At this time, someone shouted below: "Miss Vivien Leigh, is the Chinese kung fu in this movie all real?" ”
"Of course it's true!"
Vivien Leigh smiled and explained: "When I went to San Francisco for an investigation, I saw the Seven Star Mantis Boxing with my own eyes...... It was the master Jiang who killed the coolie in the movie and used the same technique to pull out another person's kidney in the ring. And at the end of the film, Master Hong, who fights a teenager with iron fists, is destroyed by a kind of kung fu called hard qigong. ”
"Do you know why the movie was shot in only 2 days? Because these people are equivalent to acting in their true colors, playing themselves in the movie, and using their own kung fu to compete, of course the shooting is fast. ”
"Amazing, really amazing."
Originally, Ador Chukor had a contemptuous and hostile attitude towards the 2-day film, but now he has been conquered by Ip Man.
The old man stood up with a civilized stick: "Such a masterpiece was made in 2 days, I can foresee that this film will be remembered by history, even if decades, a hundred years later, when people mention the 50s, they will remember Ip Man's great movie." Great Chinese, great Chinese kung fu, originally I thought that Chinese were evil people like Fu Manchu, Chinatown is a place full of evil, but now I see a different place. ”
"Bang Bang Bang ......"
The applause rang out again, and Chukor made a downward gesture and continued: "Miss Vivien Leigh, how did you come up with the idea of making a Chinese kung fu movie?" ”
"In fact, there is a screenwriter for this film in addition to me, and I just made some suggestions and changes based on the script he provided."
Vivien Leigh paused for a few seconds and then said, "Do you remember an Oriental teenager I once recommended to you?" ”
"Is it ......?"
Chukol was somewhat curious and surprised.
"Yes, he's the guy who actually wrote the script for this movie."
"Mr. Yanluo, please come to the stage."
Yan Luo originally wanted to leave after watching the movie in a low-key manner, but now it seems that he can't keep a low profile.
Suddenly became the focus of everyone's attention, many of them are celebrities, big shots, I am afraid that ordinary people will be nervous, but Yan Luo is a person who used to "fight the sages of the tongue", this is just a small scene, he walked on stage, first took off his top hat and saluted everyone, and then, took off the sunglasses that covered his face.
Inside the theater, it became silent again.
"This ......"
Ador Chukol's face was shocked, this is the "most beautiful person in the world" that Vivien Leigh said? Really...... With such a appearance and temperament, I'm afraid that nothing will be made in the movie, it will be a beautiful scenery...... Why are there such beautiful people in this world? It's like an angel! Such beauty transcends gender.
"Hello everyone, I'm Yanluo."
Yanluo, who is fluent in eight foreign languages, greets everyone in pure English.
"I'm glad you all liked this movie: Ip Man."
"As for me, as a Chinese, I have always wanted to introduce Chinese kung fu to everyone through the expression of movies. China, an ancient oriental country with a 5,000-year-old civilization, has sunk in modern times, but it has left a great legacy in history. Kung Fu is one of our heritages, in fact...... We have an even more powerful one, called Xianxia. ”
Of course, these people don't understand what Yan Luo said about "Xianxia", but after watching such a wonderful film, these American audiences have a strong interest in the ancient oriental civilization.
"Now, everyone here should think that kung fu movies are good, right?"
"I'm going to tell you a piece of news, actually...... There's an even better kung fu movie in the pipeline, and I'll start shooting when I get back to San Francisco. Ip Man took 2 days, and we plan to use 20 days, or even a month, for that movie. Ip Man contains only a small part of Chinese Kung Fu, do you know what is the most powerful and wonderful in Kung Fu? ”
"Tai Chi and Baguazhang, because these two are not just kung fu, they also contain philosophy."
"In fact, all over the world, many civilizations have their own kung fu, such as Brazilian jiu-jitsu and capora kicks, Thai boxing, Philippine stick techniques, and Japanese kendo...... The next kung fu movie will bring all the genres together and the main characters ...... I will play in person, and of course, the great master of Ip Man in this movie will also appear. The name of the movie was set to be Game of Death...... Stay tuned. ”