"Screen Screening Room" Episode 37--Composition and Color Use in Zhang Yimou's Movies 06-"Ambush from Flying Daggers"

"Screening Room" Episode 37 - Composition and color use in Zhang Yimou's films 06 "House of Flying Daggers"

There are techniques for pulling films, and there are ways to watch movies!

Hello everyone, welcome to the pull-up screening room!

Learn to pull the film, allowing you to watch movies technically!

Since "Hero", Zhang Yimou has continued to work on the road of business. Zhang Yimou's film aesthetics is still the highlight of the film. "House of Flying Daggers" is a work dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Chinese cinema. , but it was Zhang Yimou who was completely knocked to the ground by the Chinese people and criticized countless movies. This film has received high praise everywhere except China, won numerous awards, and was a box office hit. It is recognized as a film that has completed China's "cultural export". Even Sophie Marceau said in an interview with iQiyi, "The first open Chinese film that impressed me deeply was Zhang Yimou's "House of Flying Daggers""

Compared to Zhang Yimou's "Hero" ""A City of Golden Armor" and "Shadow" are actually experimental films using color to some extent. Like Feng Xiaogang's "I'm Not Pan Jinlian", they are not universally representative because the use of color in these films is inconsistent with The composition is exaggerated to the extreme. People who understand will see the difficulty and innovation in it. People who don't understand (or don't like) will think the art is too mystical. "House of Flying Daggers" is the only one of Zhang Yimou's films that takes both color into consideration. A masterpiece of practicality and aesthetics.

However, in 2004, after "House of Flying Daggers" was released, it was criticized to a new level by the audience and the media. Due to too many negative comments about "House of Flying Daggers" in the media, the National Film Administration held a media meeting and called on everyone to "view domestic movies with a tolerant and peaceful attitude and provide a good public opinion environment for domestic movies." In order to ensure the box office of "House of Flying Daggers", the Film Bureau even issued a document to postpone the release of imported blockbusters. The official explanation is: "Supporting domestic blockbusters is to build our own aircraft carrier and resist foreign cultural invasion." And the reason why this movie has been around for nearly 20 years The key point that has been criticized is the ending after 1 hour and 38 minutes. Many film critics and audiences agree that the movie is a stunning and memorable film until 1 hour and 38 minutes, and the score can be about 8 points. After 1 hour and 38 minutes, the ending was dragged out, with the little girl dying and resurrecting, and jumping sideways many times. Although the emotions of this arrangement were well-done, the white snow in the sky, the clothes of the three people, and the red blood in the shot were all... It's full of beauty, but there are many problems with the logic itself. In general, this is a "small plot" movie. What the director wants to express is not the story itself, but the gorgeous scenery and extraordinary photography technology that accompany the story. Even in the story, the focus is on love, not on fighting and killing. Most of the previous narratives were fine, and until the little girl returned to the Flying Knife Gate and uncovered the mystery, it was still a very good story. However, there were too many problems with the ending design, which resulted in it being reviled by countless domestic audiences for nearly 20 years. Although it was rumored that the snow season in Ukraine, where the filming was taken, arrived early, leading to temporary changes to the script, a series of logical errors still could not be explained.

Zhang Yimou said in an interview with Thirteen Invitations: Not every movie can focus on writing about people, all of them focus on writing about people... (in original voice)

< p> In addition to the problems with the plot itself, the most visual impact and impression on this movie is still the use of color in the movie.

As we can know from the previous analysis of Zhang Yimou’s movies, Zhang Yimou I especially like to use large color blocks in movies, because such pictures are tougher and brighter, and the visual impact is stronger. This can reduce the energy consumption on light and dark contrast and dark details. After reading many interviews with him, I personally feel that he should be deeply influenced by "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962, directed by David Lean), and he likes to pursue this hard-core style of photography. In "House of Flying Daggers", Zhang Yimou specially created a lush bamboo forest to express the contradiction between love and crisis. However, the dangerous bamboo forest is also accompanied by a sea of ??golden flowers. This creativity is the combination of crisis and romance.

Let’s focus on the use of color in 4 more representative scenes in the movie:

1. Peony Square The well wall of Peony Square uses a combination of green, red and gold, which looks special. Attractive and full of charm, the pavilions and pavilions are filled with peonies, magnificent and colorful. When Jin Pu Tou watches the young girl's dancing skills in Peony Square, the film uses blue as the main color. The young girl's clothes and the artists playing the pipa around, and the waiters standing nearby are all wearing blue clothes. Jin Pu Tou The light-colored plaid shirt is mainly green and yellow, which is also related to the pattern of the carpet on the floor. The color of the carpet is green, blue and red, and the pattern on the carpet is mainly red flowers, supplemented by blue butterflies. The design of the order of colors is also very particular. At this time, the dance of the girl's blue clothes forms a contrast between warm and cold tones. The melancholy and breathtaking beauty of the blue are gathered together. The panoramic view here and several high-rise buildings behind it Even in the medium and long shots of difficulty, it can be seen that it is a dance change. However, the overall sense of coordination and composition are still beautifully rendered.

When Liu Captou asked the little girl to dance "Fairy Guiding the Way", the surrounding drum heads were all changed to dark pink, and the little girl changed into a golden-pink long-sleeved skirt, even the ones with the ground pattern just now The blue butterfly color was also obviously dimmed when the scene lighting was used. In this way, when you listen to the sound to identify the position and dance, the contrast with the surrounding environment is still as obvious as before.

In addition, the onlookers around are also wearing blue or light pink clothes, so that when the photographer focuses on them, the clear contrast between men and women highlights each figure and the surroundings. The contrast between the terraces is also very obvious, and it will not be drowned in the buildings and shadows. When photographing the young girl, the drummer in blue clothes was naturally blurred in the background, and there would not be much color difference or conflict with the close-up of the person in the foreground. There are many close-ups and close-ups of the little girl here, showing her beautiful makeup and color matching, the more gorgeous the clearer, the Chinese beauty in the bones, weak bones and plump muscles, the finishing touch of eyebrow makeup allows the audience to always capture the actor's beauty in the moving shots The face (especially the contrast between the dull eyes and the wide-open dancing posture). Imagine a stunning female actress who is blind. This kind of beauty without knowing it is much more artistic than looking in the mirror and feeling sorry for yourself. If there is no makeup between the eyebrows, the makeup will be overshadowed, and even the stunning beauty will be easily lost in the large area of ??long sleeves and big dance clothes.

When the little girl dances, in the close-up of the sleeves touching the drum head, the color of the drum head is emphasized again, and the golden pink is brightened and enhanced. This brings out the scene of the red-pink balcony and the singing and dancing beauties. During the subsequent fight between the young girl and Liu Capt., they entered a room with blue water shadows. At this time, the curtains were blue, and the water ripples in the bath reflected the light. Under the reflection, the rippling light blue ripples filled the entire room. Because the shaking of the blue curtain makes it impossible for the little girl to hear the voice and identify the position, the original sound needs to be retained in the editing here

This also implies that in the subsequent development of the plot, the little girl will tend to the golden head catcher in blue, because Capt. Liu here is indeed too heavy-handed... and the interlocking routines and ambushes eventually led to the love tragedy of three people killing each other. Zhang Yimou made good use of color addition and subtraction here, that is, redundant colors. No more involved, the specific three primary colors of red, yellow and blue make up most of the film.

2. Sea of ??Flowers Ukraine location, the brilliant sea of ??flowers and the snow-capped mountains, connect the film scenes into a flowing landscape, like splash-ink paintings rendered with colors. Here, more natural primary colors are used, and the color is enhanced in the later stage, making people feel like they are standing not far away from the protagonist and admiring it.

Halfway through the film, the two of them rode horses from the woods to a sea of ??flowers. The panoramic view here uses sight guidance and horizon composition, with blue, green and yellow colors, and then the little girl’s character shot, through the fragrance of flowers, she knows what is ahead Flowers, and the little sister’s line here, you said, you will take me to a romantic place in the mountains (in the original voice). The little sister is surrounded by endless white flowers. The appearance of white is the key to the emotional turning point of the two people. From before, Jin Qiao When I first saw the little sister, she was bathing in a pool surrounded by green leaves. The green color brought out the beauty of the little girl. After taking a shower and changing into men's clothes, he was stunned. His far-reaching gaze here showed that Jin Captou had begun to be attracted to the little girl, and here the little girl was in the flowers, which also echoed the ending in the white snow. Here Jin The catcher rides on horseback to pick flowers for the little girl. The little girl stands quietly among the flowers, contrasting each other's movements. The camera slowly advances the little girl, and the bouquet gradually approaches the little sister. All of this shows that the golden catcher is gradually approaching the little sister. heart. It paved the way for the subsequent rebellion between Jin Captou and Liu Captou and the younger sister's choice of Jin Captou! And I don’t believe what Liu Captou said in the bamboo forest. The three years I waited for you are not as good as the three days he spent with you (in the original voice)

3. The green color of the bamboo forest is a natural part of life. The most vibrant color, it has a sense of calm, stability, and hope. Green symbolizes peace and represents spring. In "House of Flying Daggers", Zhang Yimou chose to shoot in the Bamboo Sea in Yongchuan, Chongqing. The sky, the earth, people and things, the whole picture condensed into a spectacular green ocean. In the film, in the vertical bamboo forest, the policemen hanging vertically upside down on each bamboo slid down one after another. Heaven and earth, people and things, the whole picture condenses into a spectacular green ocean. The sight of that green color makes people excited, but also frightening, because this kind of killing move of the same color is hard to guard against, and it also makes people begin to understand the tumbling and changes in Zhang Yimou's heart. In color psychology, green represents life and peace, calmness and calmness. This kind of color is actually expressed in Zhang Yimou's subconscious, and he calls for a fair public opinion environment. In the current Chinese film critic circle, many people are subject to abnormal thinking. They must criticize the film reviews of well-known directors no matter what, in order to show their taste and knowledge. Although "Hero" received a lot of box office, it was still ruthlessly attacked and denied from all sides. Therefore, the mesmerizing green in "House of Flying Daggers" is a subconscious expression of Zhang Yimou's call for a fair public opinion environment. He longs for pertinent and objective evaluation, and he needs clear direction. He still persists in his dream calmly under heavy pressure.

When the officers and soldiers who are chasing us from all directions in the bamboo forest come, we can find that the background color of the girl's clothes is dark green. The officers and soldiers who are chasing are also wearing green clothes, and the background is a large area. Green bamboo forest,

In this section, only when shooting the girl in close-up and close-up, you can see the red-purple color on the clothes that is incompatible with the surroundings. No matter how the camera is switched in the rest of the shots, green is the main color. Whether it is the policemen who are constantly killing from all around, or the bamboo tubes that are flying from the sky, they are all wrapped in a green package and the different shades of green are used to highlight the difference. When the golden headman is constantly fleeing in the face of incoming enemies, he also responds to the movie. The name "House of Flying Daggers". And I believe that many friends who have watched this bamboo forest fight will unconsciously think of the bamboo forest fight between Zhang Ziyi's Yu Jiaolong and Li Mubai in Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". In terms of color use and scene scheduling, The different styles of the two directors can also be seen in the composition. Ang Lee here has two people dressed in white, which is especially obvious in the green. No matter how the camera switches, the two people are always the visual center of the picture with their white clothes!

?4. Sea of ??Flowers and Snow

In the second half of the movie, Feidaomen rescued the little girl and the golden catcher, and the little girl’s clothes also changed from blue, pink, The transition from black to green of the Flying Knife Gate, the color of the clothing is also a way to reflect the character's heart and highlight the theme. Color affects the emotions of the audience and brings the audience's emotions into the plot of the film. The girl's blue costume in Peony Square represents calmness and coolness. She enters the government's sight and completes the task on behalf of the Feidaomen. She is not only well-trained, but also calm in dealing with things. This attracts the audience's curiosity to this woman. The subsequent warm-toned dress made the girl look more stable and cold. Her red sleeves also represented uneasiness and violence, so she then attacked Mr. Liu with a sleeveless knife. Then he changed into men's clothes to facilitate his escape. This kind of similar color clothing removed the barrier between the two people.

In the second half, the green color here is uncharacteristic, but when the little girl and Jin Datou are candidly facing each other among the flowers, the green and blue here and the sense of the scene shown by the camera movement Especially matching and perfect. In the next 5 minutes or so, the little girl and Jin catch the head say goodbye. The little girl is dressed in green and stands out in the yellow woods. If the movie ends here, I believe it will be an evocative movie for a large number of people. Endless good movies. If nothing else, the little girl was shot dead by Capt. Liu at 1 hour and 40 minutes. Capt. Jin just came back and saw the two of them having another conflict or argument. It would have been much better instead of Capt. Kim returning and taking a brief look and found the murderer. The little girl in the flowers, and then the little girl came alive and told Jin Captou to look back. Jin Captou and Liu Captou fought, and problems started to arise here...

Then Jin Captou was told through dialogue After knowing the truth, the two continued to fight. After the scene of the government officers and soldiers surrounding the Flying Knife Gate, it snowed heavily. Of course, this may indeed be a helpless compromise with reality...

Snow season in Ukraine Arriving early, Zhang Yimou had to revise the script in advance, which resulted in this paragraph being out of touch with the previous plot. However, in Zhang Yimou's shots, the white flying snow in the sky also gave the film a romantic and tragic color, so there was a fall from the sky in the film. The scene of heavy snow covering the little sister's "body". In the next panorama, orange, yellow, green and black are intertwined, and then snow is falling all over the sky. The two people are fighting and fighting. Gradually, all the colors of the earth are covered with white snow, forming a blanket. In the desolate whiteness, between the sky and the earth, only two black figures are still beating to attract the audience's attention. This kind of coldness and sadness infects the audience. If the scene at this time had been supplemented with the scene of officers and soldiers surrounding Feidaomen in heavy snow, it might have added more meaning, and the disconnect between before and after would not be so serious, but the snow battle at the end lasted too long. This resulted in a complete disconnect between the foreground and the narrative. The two people here became completely fighting for the sake of fighting. When the two people were fighting in a close-up shot, the surrounding snow-covered scene naturally blurred into a background board. Zhang Yimou used Yilan. The dark green contrast in this scene is also more beautiful and visually impactful.

Here Zhang Yimou covers all the colors with white snow through the lens, creating a state of return to nature. In terms of plot, this fight scene is used to try to cover up the problems in the plot. It can also be seen that it was a helpless response after compromising by temporarily modifying the script. However, if the plot settings here were a little more careful, it would not have been complained about for so many years. It took advantage of the setting in the previous story that Jin Jin's force was not as strong as Liu's. The little girl is resurrected here to save the golden catcher. Perhaps in order to earn the audience's tears, at the end of the film, the plot has the little girl throw the flying knife and save the golden catcher, but she also died because of drawing the knife. In the ground. The scenes here change rapidly, and the advancing shots that reflect the states of the three people here make it even more difficult to reconcile the characters and the logical relationship. Although the repeated jumps at the end of the film add to the artistic conception and beauty of the film, it makes the film unsettling because of this ending. Being verbally abused and given low marks all the time. Although it is praised by everyone within the wall, it cannot be denied that "House of Flying Daggers" is still regarded as a representative work of Zhang Yimou that combines practicality and aesthetics in terms of color.