China's Drama in Photography

19 13 years, China filmed the first feature film "Difficult Couples" written by drama critic Zheng Qiuzheng.

19 13 "monogamy is hard to find"

When the camera meets a civilized drama,

Dingjun Mountain, shot by Beijing Fengtai Photo Studio 1905, is only a simple record of the performance fragments of Beijing Opera. It is generally believed that the first feature film in China was 19 13, the film "It's hard to find a wife", and Xinmin Company was responsible for the specific shooting. The film was written by Zheng Qiuzheng, directed by Zhang Shichuan and Zheng Qiuzheng, and the actors were all civilized actors. Because there was a rule that men and women could not be on the same stage at that time, the female roles in the film were also played by actors. The film is lost now. According to the records at that time, although the production of "A Hard Wife" was crude, it meant a beginning after all, and it was also the first step for Zhang Shichuan and Zheng Qiuzheng, the founders of China film legends, to enter the film industry.

Movie history: The story begins here.

One husband is hard to find —— China's first feature film. This is a grand event. But when it comes to writing, it's hard to say. There is only one question: how can I tell if this film is lost?

There is a strange article on the Internet, which spans time and space, as if on the edge: "1965438+September 29th, 2003, Shanghai. The movie is about to start. Zheng Qiu is sitting in the left corner of the front row of Xinxin Ballroom Theater, with his heart beating like thunder. He took off hundreds of pairs of black-rimmed glasses and wiped them repeatedly, leaving his eyes blank. He couldn't imagine that at this moment, at the entrance of the theater, the audience who came here was surging like a flood, and the hall was almost packed. They flocked, not to enjoy the western dance of fashionable dancers wearing modern clothes, but to watch a movie called "It's hard to find a wife" ... "

Spring and autumn brushwork, aplomb. It's exciting, and it's hard to avoid giving birth to fear. According to the film history review, Zheng Qiuzheng and Zhang Shichuan, the directors of Monogamy, two pioneers of China films, said that Zheng Qiuzheng was concerned about the country and the people, and Zhang Shichuan only wanted to entertain the public. The shadow of ideology suddenly enveloped, making people feel ashamed. Perhaps, jumping out of the trap of a film history review, this year-long topic will have its own soul.

Judging from the only literature, it is not easy to tell a story with a screenwriter. This is China's first film. It's hard for a husband to find a wife, which was written by Zheng Qiuzheng according to the local conditions and customs of his hometown Chaozhou. Story telling: Gan Kun and his family wanted to have a good relationship with Qin Jin, so they ignored their children's wishes and let the matchmaker run for them. After the matchmaker's sweet words, it deceived the other party. Through red tape, it chose the right person to get married and went to the bridal chamber. A couple of strangers were forced to become husband and wife.

This single-cell story sounds extremely boring now, but it has unusual significance. From the birth of China's first film Dingjun Mountain in 1905 to the appearance of 19 13, China Film finally began the journey of telling stories through the lens.

Although, on the surface, the shooting technique of "A Hard Wife" has not produced any technical leap, according to Zhang Shichuan's statement in "Since I Directed": "The director's skill is beyond my dreams. When the camera is in place, the actors are ordered to perform in front of the camera, and various performances and actions will continue until a box of 200-foot-long film is finished. " "The position of the lens will never change, and it will always be' vision' ... If the film is finished and the expression of the action has not come to an end, then when you continue shooting, you will continue shooting according to this action." In a sense, this is no different from shooting a civilized drama that was popular at that time with a camera. However, this process indicates that a brand-new storytelling language has begun to rise in China. Its significance is no less than the birth of China's first novel.

Speaking of storytelling, the word "feature film" seems to be a specific title in front of every educational film from the 1960s to the 1980s. Now, I'm afraid no film critic dares to use such old words. The disappearance of the word "feature film" may represent the overall evolution of China's film industry. However, this does not mean that China films have found their own way of telling stories like Hollywood. In the confusion, China's films are still trying to find stories and expressions, but I don't know if it comes from the endless light of the origin of the coordinates of A Hard Wife.

"Civilization Drama" and the Beginning of China's Feature Film

Although China's traditional opera has a long history, the formation of modern drama actually goes hand in hand with China's films. Movies and plays are "imported". The earliest movies that China people saw were "Western movies" brought by foreigners. The beginning of China's drama was also inspired by the "new drama" prevailing in Japan at that time. The founders of Chunqiu Society, Zeng, Zhang and others, are all Japanese students studying in China.

At that time, people generally called this newly imported drama style "new drama", which means "new drama", which is different from the old drama and called "new drama" and "civilized drama". The word "civilization" in "civilized drama" is a good name given by enthusiastic audience, which means "progress or advanced". Civilized new drama became a popular term in society at that time. The period from 19 1 1 to 19 12 was the heyday of civilized drama. After the success of the Revolution of 1911, the civilized new theatrical troupe, which advocated revolutionary ideas, became popular because it was in tune with the masses.

At that time, the famous troupes were Chunqiu Society (Zeng, Zeng) and Xinmin Society (Zheng Qiuzheng). ) and Min Mingshe (Zhang Shichuan), the main members of the latter two are the backbone of China's early films. Most of the performances of the new dramas are about praising heroes in Jianghu, free marriage or exposing official corruption. In the period of great social change, people come to the theater not only to see the play, but also to listen to the discussion and learn new facts. The change of political power made the rulers have no time to take care of the activities of new drama artists, which gave the new drama more freedom at that time, so that they could meet the requirements of the audience and compile a series of new dramas that they were afraid or unable to perform in the past. Even if there are childish, rough or inappropriate places, they are forgiven by the audience.

In recent years, 19 17, 19 18, the civilized drama has declined, because the performance of the civilized drama did not strictly follow the script, and later it even completely abandoned the script and simply used a little plot. During the performance, there was no rehearsal or audition, and sometimes even the actors didn't know the plot after they took the stage. It is said that there was a play called "Qiu Jin" at that time, and the title of "civilized play" already had the meaning of contempt, disdain and derogatory.