The name of this movie is.

You are talking about Zuotou City in Kitano Takeshi!

English title: Zuotou City

Zatoichi, English title

Director/Screenwriter: Kitano Takeshi

The main actor: Kitano Takeshi plays the first city.

Tadanobu Asano's clothing department, Harasuke

Daigor? Tachibana plays a geisha.

Everyone is decorated by geisha in Duan Liyang.

A piece of silver jewelry on the shore.

Original: Quan Hong

Type: Action/Plot/Crime

Length: 1 16 minutes

Issuing Bank: Matsuzaka Film Studio/Kitano Museum

Release time: 2003 Venice Film Festival premiere

Zuotou City: A Symphonic Poetry of Rural Violence

Finally, I waited for this movie, the only movie I expected like Kill Bill.

Just like killing Bill, this is a very simple story. What style does Kitano Takeshi want to give to such an old film? After watching the movie, I feel that the movie has an unexpected violent aesthetics and is more intimate with local care; Kitano Takeshi wrote a symphonic poem about rural violence with the theme of dispelling violence and settling down.

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Obviously, Kitano Takeshi doesn't want to cut off everyone's cordial feelings for the old edition of Zuotou City series. An old film series can make so many sequels, and it is popular, bearing at least one generation's memory. At the beginning of filming, diehard fans signed a letter to the crew, expressing strong doubts about whether Kitano Takeshi's new version of Zuotou City can live up to the feelings of fans. This suspicion is reasonable. With Kitano Takeshi's whimsical and innovative style, this time it's still uncertain what new tricks will be brought to this ancient blind swordsman!

However, after reading this new edition of Zuotou City, I don't know what local audiences in Japan think. Anyway, I personally feel that the intimacy of classic old movies has come. Of the 26 old editions of Zuotou City, I have only seen Liao Liao, so as far as style is concerned, I can only compare with the new edition. It can be said that the new version is not inferior to the old version in terms of rural friendliness. The hero of the film, the blind swordsman, is a very ordinary comrade. Compared with the petty bourgeoisie colleagues clamoring for peach blossoms under the lens of Master Wang, the market is simply vulgar. Needless to say, the appearance is not as good as our world-famous "electric eye"-even if people are blind, they still make you want to die; Even if he likes to drink a little wine, Oichi can only grope for a penny and ask for a pot of sake produced by the most homely store. It is estimated that he has never heard such an ambiguous word as "let life slip past him", let alone drink wine of the same name.

However, this seemingly vulgar "street flavor" is the foundation for Zuotou City to become a folk hero, and it is also the biggest source of goodwill that die-hard fans can feel. Kitano Takeshi's new film restores this kindness to the greatest extent: Zuo Toucheng is still "not growing", and massage and gambling are still his two major occupations; Walking in the street, you meet either street hooligans, prostitutes, crazy idiots and half-aged village women; Even his bravest opponent, as always, belongs to the "small-scale rogue criminal gang" in the "urban-rural fringe" and can't get on the big stage. Accustomed to American old movies, European exquisite blockbusters and Hong Kong ambitious black movies, the audience may think such stories and scenes are too old-fashioned. But for fans of old movies, their feelings and scenes are exactly what they are looking for.

Needless to say, there are obvious nostalgic aspects such as site selection and scene layout. Although the local charm is related to visual expression, it is the acting skills of Toutou City and the performance of other little people that can evoke warm memories of fans who win the heart. The original work of Zuotoucheng is very funny, which can be regarded as an action comedy, and Zuotoucheng himself is actually an old man with a good sense of humor. On the one hand, this is reflected in body language-because the eyes can't see, no matter how sensitive other senses are, there will always be many jokes in the market. I remember that at the beginning of an episode in the old edition, a village woman suddenly had a "seizure" after being robbed of money, and he enthusiastically helped others deliver the baby. Anyone can't help laughing at her hectic and blind appearance. Kitano Takeshi's version of Toutou City is also very funny. Actually, he doesn't need to talk much. As long as he bowed his head slightly and showed an awkward smile, the simple and honest strength of the city came out. The same is to laugh at yourself with your eyes. The eye-catching shots in the film and the shaking baggage at the end of the film can make people laugh to death. Kitano Takeshi really didn't miss his cross talk kung fu. Other similar to the old version, some gamblers think that the school can win by listening to dice, but close their eyes and guess at random; In addition to the traditional Japanese clown performances, there are also supporting actors whose main purpose is to gag. All the comedy colors are displayed in the traditional way, and you can imagine the Japanese who are nostalgic and full of joy.

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However, Kitano Takeshi will never be satisfied with copying classics; In fact, even for the loyal audience of the old version, it is unbearable to repeat the same details completely. No matter how perfect Kitano Takeshi is, he and Katsutaro are always different. Instead of nostalgia, it is better to highlight the determination of the times appropriately, thus creating a double experience of nostalgia and novelty.

The so-called situation has been set, and the most intuitive feeling of the audience is definitely the shape of the hero seat. In fact, Kitano Takeshi hasn't changed anything, but she has done something with her hair-it is said to be golden in Jianghu, but it actually looks a little pale gold, so it can only be called "melatonin". At first glance, this outrageous hairstyle seems to be inconsistent with the costume style of the film, but who said that samurai ronin should have long hair and a bun? In fact, in the old edition, Katsutaro often kept a "buzz cut" that couldn't be shorter, saying everything was out of line. Therefore, Kitano Takeshi basically inherited the particularity of Satou City in Japanese folklore, giving him a more vivid image.

If the characters' keeping pace with the times is just a gimmick to increase the attraction of the film, then the relaxation of the film in scene scheduling and atmosphere creation will bring visual and psychological impact that the old version did not have. I've always wanted to see a good samurai film: the sword should be fast, the lens should be steady, the scene should be smooth, and people's blood will boil if it goes too far. The reason why the old version of Zuotou City series is a monument in the history of Japanese samurai movies is that it has shaped the unique image of Zuotou City and his unique swordsmanship. But people are not satisfied. I have always hoped that the murderous look of Toutuo City swept up by a sword should be more thrilling. "Black Girl Amo", which was heated up a while ago, has a scene of "beheading a hundred people", but it is too superficial because of the lack of invisible murderous look; Moreover, the little girl obviously lacks basic skills. When she looked at her light movements, she knew it was just a show.

There are not many action scenes in the new version of Zuotoucheng, but from the beginning, people have learned what fierce murderous look is. After the crackling blow, with the slow motion of shaking a sword, the murderous look of Toutoucheng "the strongest in history" stimulated people's blood boiling, at least I did. In the next few fighting scenes, the characteristics of Japanese samurai fencing are fully reflected. Under the wonderful scene scheduling and calm and delicate lens, the sword fighting scene in the film gives the audience a sense of imposing manner and ferocity, which may only be found when reading Gu Long's novels or watching the animation of Grand Theft Auto Sword Heart. Moreover, Gu Long's brushwork draws lessons from the styles of many Japanese samurai novels. It can be said that the new version of Zuotou City perfectly reproduces the spirit that originally belonged to Gujiandao. Among them, the modification of CG technology is indispensable. In the old edition, we can see that Katsutaro's sword is very fast (by the way, we worship Katsutaro), but it still gives people the feeling of human strength. The special effects rendered by CG in the new version really make people understand the power of "Lightning Sword". What surprised me even more was that Kitano Takeshi simply used CG to deal with bloody scenes and abandoned the traditional Japanese way of spraying blood: less exaggeration and more violent beauty, which was more in line with the violent aesthetics of the film; Anyway, every time I see the Japanese blood spray method, whether it is made by the Japanese themselves or borrowed by Quentin, I can't help laughing. ...

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It is said that when the production company asked to make this film, Bei said that the play must follow his own intentions; Of course, the "intention" he said is not just about packaging "old wine in new bottles" with new images and new technologies. In fact, the mellow taste of this "wine" is also brewed in his own style, showing a completely different Kitano Takeshi characteristic from the old version.

Most obviously, the role of Kitano Takeshi's "Number One City" is quite different from the old version of Shinto Yoshitaka. The old Zuo Toucheng is basically a warm, cheerful and helpful old man, who often draws his sword to help when he has to. Kitano Takeshi's version of Zuotou City, like the violent characters in his previous works, is ruthless and leaves no survivors. If Nobutaro, the victorious city, is basically a "chivalrous man", then the new version of Kitano Takeshi is more spontaneous, and good and evil are only between thoughts. This image setting is undoubtedly in line with Kitano Takeshi's own temperament. In addition to showing cruel violence in a serious way, he is also an expert in humor, so many scenes in the film also have a strong "northern humor." For example, there are two scenes in which a rogue swordsman who is stupid accidentally hurts his partner when drawing or swinging his sword, which is very spoof; Others, such as the sword that fell from the beam, the pistol that hit one's own people, and the silly boy with a spear that suddenly appeared, are always hit by humor inadvertently.

However, personally, it is the rhythm control and narrative style of this film that can best reflect the characteristics of the North Wind. Perhaps it's because he didn't come from a film class. Kitano Takeshi's director style pursues freedom and lacks many traces of academic thinking. People used to talk about his "sudden violence", but in this film, what I personally feel most is his editing method without warning. For example, shortly after the movie started, Mr. and Mrs. Hattori and the geisha "sisters" appeared in a photo at the same time. Before the audience can see the characters clearly, the next scene is switched to the scene where Hattori kills people while his wife is watching. Then, for "Sister", insert another picture in the same editing method. Such a sudden, direct and simple editing method may not be suitable for people at first, because "induced" or "associative" editing is more in line with people's way of thinking; Too abrupt fragments often make people unable to associate or produce wrong associations. For example, the opening paragraph is likely to make people confused whether the inserted fragment is the future or the past of the previous picture; Moreover, because the film has just started, the inserted clips are too short, and it is difficult for the audience to establish a logical connection between all the pictures that appear at this moment. However, if we look at it from another angle, such a straightforward fragment with no hint of action just arouses the curiosity of the audience: the audience knows that the inserted content is related to the characters, but they don't know what kind of logical connection it is in time, what role these contents have played in the evolution of the whole plot, and so on. This is much more interesting than telling the audience clearly that it is about the recent experience of the characters. There are several editing modes in the film that are the same, some are "flashback" (for example, killing people in the rain in Zuotou City), some are "foresight" (for example, the rehearsal in Hattori's mind and the duel in Zuotou City), and some are parallel montages (the duel between Hattori and his wife), which are completely different from the popular editing techniques and the audience's mindset.

Think about it carefully, what's so abrupt about such a direct editing technique? Why do you have to push the camera into a close-up of one eye, suggesting that the character is thinking before you can insert a picture about his thinking? In fact, people's natural thinking often has a great leap, and more importantly, the leap of thinking does not necessarily require much action. The preference for "sudden editing" (which he used many times in his previous works) only shows that Kitano Takeshi likes to shoot according to his own sensibility, and his expression technique is so simple and direct, which makes even a new film like Zuotou City show the pleasure of free creation. More importantly, those sporadic and abrupt inserted paragraphs, if carefully recalled, are consistent with the overall narrative structure of the film, but more improvisational and casual.

four

In fact, it is with such a free heart that Kitano Takeshi can integrate the local intimacy, the determination of the times and his personal style, which makes people have both the warmth of revisiting old dreams and the excitement of experiencing novelty. At the same time, the use of direct and simple techniques based on sensibility makes the director's creative intention more likely to infect the audience.

Let's take the so-called music and dance with the greatest integration in the film as an example. I have heard many people say that Ghost Horse's music and dance style is a combination of ancient and modern, local and foreign ensemble. My understanding of musical instruments is the same as the last stone in Zuotou City, and I pay more attention to the cooperation between music and pictures. If you watch and listen carefully, you will find that many labor scenes in the film should be in tune with the music. The sound and rhythm of the first farmer's hoe acted as the harmony between the background percussion; The second is in the middle of the film, where several farmers are playing in the rain, and the sound between barefoot and mud is clearly the melody of tap dance; Towards the end, the villagers helped build a house. All kinds of labor tools have become musical instruments, and every hammering corresponds to percussion music, while every push and pull of planer and saw only becomes the accompaniment of background music.

I'm afraid this harmonious correspondence is not a coincidence, but Kitano Takeshi's original intention. Listening to the melody, the tunes in these places are lively and cheerful. At that time, the characters in these scenes were all working farmers. Can we infer that Kitano Takeshi is taking this opportunity to praise the working people? Yes, working people, this word seems to have not been used for a thousand years, and it looks so strange; But once written, it is so kind. We already know that Zuotou City is a street hero, or to put it bluntly, a hero of the working people. In the old series, he has also been fighting all kinds of evil forces for good ordinary people. Although this new version is not as active as the old version, he will manage it in the end.

In this way, I understand that there will be a celebration dinner for farmers at the end of the film. More specifically, why did ancient farmers dance modern tap dance? Need a reason? As Kitano Takeshi said, it is a very free form for farmers to sing and dance happily while working. Who said they couldn't kick? In this sense, Kitano Takeshi's determination in the era of film decoration and his strong personal style are not all to show the stability of the market. There is a detail in the dance scene at the end of the film: the "sisters" changed back to what they were before the family tragedy, and then changed back again, but they were as relaxed and happy as smiles. At the end of each episode of the old version of Zuotou City, everyone can relax so much. Because there is less evil, we are one step closer to happiness. "Although I try to keep my eyes open, I can't see anything ~ ~ ~" Zuo Tou finally did not forget to make fun of it, but his tone sounded like happiness to me.

Just as the title of the film is cold outside the city, full of feelings for the working people, Kitano Takeshi in reality has also integrated his feelings for the country and the people into this film. This may not be his strongest work, but it is definitely the most "Japanese" film he directed.