Origin: Singapore

Director: Gao Jianguo

Year: 1994

Classification: martial arts drama

Lotus for hegemony is a martial arts masterpiece of Singapore Radio and Television Bureau in 1993, which was introduced to the mainland in 1994.

"Lotus for hegemony" is a Singaporean costume martial arts drama which was popular all over China in 199s. It is a mixture of the legendary swordsman by Jin Yong and meteor butterfly sword by Gu Long, and its style is fantastic. At last, the figure similar to Dong Fangbubai is impressive, and the theme song "No regrets, I will go my way" sung by Tam is even more popular.

Introduction to the drama

There is a mysterious killer organization in the Jianghu, among which Shen Chong is the best killer, but for a long time, he was tired of the life of a killer and took refuge in the Nangong family patriarch.

feiyingbao, a mysterious organization rising in the north, has formed a hegemony situation with Nangong aristocratic family in order to compete for the secret of Wulin, Lotus Collection. In order to win this secret, Bai Yuchuan colluded with Feiyingbao and echoed the old man at the same time. Shen Chong won the trust of his father and was sent to secretly investigate black and white. He met strange girl Nangong Butterfly in an assassination attempt. Fluttershy witnessed the Jianghu feud and committed suicide several times, and was rescued by Shen Chong several times. The two had a deep affection, and life and death were lingering.

cast

Shen Chong-Li Nanxing as

Nangong Butterfly-Zhu Leling as

Nangong Sword-Chen Tianwen as

Bai Yuchuan/Duan Susu-Tarentoya as

Qiu Ruolan/ Feng erniang-Liu Qiulian as

Gao Xiang-Li Tianci as

Ye Qun-Xie Shaoguang as

Nangong Jun-Zhu Houren as

Yang Tang-Zhang Wenxiang as

Ren Hailong-Chen Guohua as

Kong Xiaowu-Yu Hongrong as

a poem-Weng Story ★★★★★☆

On the surface, the story of "Lotus for Hegemony" is marked as "The story of this play is pure fiction, and it is a coincidence if there are similarities", but in fact, the audience who have seen Gu Long's novels and Tsui Hark's movies can see that this play is a synthesis of Gu Long's novel meteor butterfly sword and the movie the legendary swordsman. Among them, before Bai Yuchuan (that is, the novel's Law Xiangchuan) failed to usurp the throne, the plot was basically the same as that of meteor butterfly sword. After the failure, he was not framed and killed by his friends with poisoned wine as in the novel, but turned into a figure similar to Dong Fangbubai, who went to the palace to practice the Lotus Collection (in the legendary swordsman, it was the Sunflower Collection). Finally, we will fight the Nangong family.

Although the plot of "Lotus Hegemony" is copied from meteor butterfly sword, Dong Fangbubai and the resurgence of Fengyun, there are swords and swords, bloody violence, women, perverts and homosexuals, and it is suspected of being mixed. But the overall plot is compact, ups and downs, but it is still consistent, and the screenwriter should remember a merit.

2. Characters ★★★★★☆

Almost all the characters and performances in "Lotus for hegemony" should be praised-except our heroine is a little poor-in fact, if you look closely, there are still some beautiful women's feelings.

Li Nanxing is the first leading actor, playing the No.1 killer Shen Chong. In 1993, he was at his zenith in Singapore, and he was already the chief niche. In the play, he made Shen Chong, a lonely killer, introverted and calm.

When it comes to TV performances in Singapore, it has never been very comfortable. The actors in the plays are very hard and exposed, and sometimes their expressions are exaggerated and ridiculous. This was true before the 199s, and it was probably deeply poisoned by the workshop-style performance of TVB dramas. Even in another drama series I have always liked, All-powerful, the performance traces in it are quite exaggerated.

However, in "Lotus for hegemony", we find that these actors have learned to restrain their own ways, and their body language expressions are not as rich and exaggerated as other dramas. Although there are still some flaws, from beginning to end, the actors' performances in this drama series are very valuable in Singapore dramas. Probably the depressing atmosphere in Gu Long's novel "meteor butterfly sword" plays a leading role in the performance mode (I personally think), because compared with the original work, they are really trying to figure out the prototype of the novel to perform, rather than exaggerating it compared with the TV series.

I think the second leading role should be Bai Yuchuan, which I think is the most successful cross-dressing, because if you are watching it for the first time and don't know the actress Tarentoya, it is difficult to tell the difference between male and female. Or you can't tell it's a female actress at all. Compared with this Bai Yuchuan, Bai Yunfei in ATV's "The Crane Needle" in the same period turned out to be inferior. I don't deny that the cross-dressing of Brigitte Lin and Dong Fangbubai is extremely successful, but the characterization of Bai Yuchuan is obviously another classic.

Even a big brother like Li Nanxing, sometimes in the scene of two people (there are two scenes of the two of them in the opening song), Tarentoya will still steal a little charm.

The third thing to praise is Chen Tianwen's Nangong Sword. Chen Tianwen is one of the few tough guys in Singaporean dramas, and he was born with an athletic figure. It is said that he has a good knowledge of martial arts and a black belt in Taekwondo. In his impression, he played Zhao Guangyi, the younger brother of the historical figure Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin, as early as in "Two Girls". He was an excellent traitor. In fact, although Singapore is a small country in Southeast Asia, its sense of identity with China's history is relatively serious. Although the early "Wandering Across the Sea" reflects the rough rivers and lakes in the late Qing Dynasty, it has a positive ink on the historical fact of the Reform Movement of 1898. There is a heavy sense of history. Not as ridiculous as some so-called historical dramas in Hong Kong.

I have always liked Chen Tianwen's performances, and I feel very calm, including his "Two Heroes" and "The Brave Are Fearless". Although most of them are supporting roles, his scenes always attract people's attention. I downloaded 3 episodes of Electric Donkey again the day before yesterday. Just after he appeared, there was a scene in which Nangong Jun took Bai Yuchuan out to do things and left him to take care of his mother in the house. Before he performed that kind of loss and resentment, I was still worried that he would show too much traces of this performance. As a result, his just-right expression was close enough to be evaluated with full marks.

Nangong Sword has a rude and fiery temperament, and has always been worried about his father's reuse of Bai Yuchuan. It is similar to Rong Shao's jealousy of Ji Ge's reuse of Si Jingchen in the film "Dark Flower", the pinnacle of Hong Kong's Galaxy image. Perhaps it was the director's preference, so the Nangong sword didn't die prematurely like Jian Sun in the original (in the play or at the beginning of the film, there was a passage: Nangong sword was assassinated, the killer attacked Nangong sword-Nangong sword flew out from the top of the sedan chair-the killer destroyed the sedan chair-Nangong sword drew his sword in the air to fight back. . . This is a sharp clip. In the novel, Jian Sun was ambushed by the Twelve Flying Pengs for a moment, but kept playing until the end, which is also the place where "Lotus Hegemony" changed its brilliance.

Some netizens once commented that Nangong Sword was "above average in martial arts, with low intelligence, but the hardest life." It is the simplest but most appropriate evaluation. But I expected it, because I liked his performance. Perhaps it would be a pity if Chen Tianwen really left Lotus for hegemony prematurely-although Nangong's swordsmanship and IQ were average.

Nangong Jun, the godfather figure who is extremely rich in the original work, is vividly portrayed by Zhu Houren as a majestic and scheming lean man (to be exact, a gangster leader), which is the most in line with the spirit of the original work in many versions of meteor butterfly sword. The ATV is led by Qin Pei, an old actor, and it is also relatively successful, but it is slightly sinister, especially in Pei Shu's eyes. The image of Adam Cheng's old man is really flattering, and Qiu Guan's acting skills are not to be said, and the key image temperament can't be performed.

Qiu ruolan should be an actor named Liu Qiuping (with a simple name), who plays the elder sister of three killers and is also the sexual enlightener of three ignorant teenagers (there is no physical contact in the play, but she acts as the sexual fantasy object of their adolescence, and every boy has this experience). Unfortunately, this cannot replace love. In Shen Chong's heart, she is also a sister and mother, and her feelings for Shen Chong have not been accepted from beginning to end.

In "Lotus for hegemony", the most injured woman should be her. The sadness and sadness in the beauty overshadowed the heroine Fluttershy.

There are many others, Gao Xiang, Ye Qun and Lan Lan. Together with the red flowers, these green leaves constitute the classic of "Lotus for hegemony".

iii. Wushu instruction ★★★★★ ★

Another classic of Lotus for Hegemony is the martial arts movements in it.

The martial arts instructor of "Lotus for Hegemony" is Liu Zhihao, who studied under Cheng Xiaodong, and helped his mentor * * * to co-create a series of action scenes under Cheng Xiaodong. Cheng Xiaodong's martial arts pay attention to freehand brushwork and aestheticism, and his two disciples, Ma Yucheng and Liu Zhihao, have made achievements in their respective works. For example, Ma Yucheng acted as the action designer of ATV meteor butterfly sword in 1996 (this action is also a typical Cheng Xiaodong style), and should be known to mainland audiences as "The Condor Shooting" in 3.

We can appreciate Liu Zhihao's classic works in the title: first, the unique LOGO of the Singaporean TV series "The story of this drama is pure fiction, and if there are similarities, it is a coincidence", and then the majestic atmosphere from the galloping of horses to the assassination of Shen Chong, plus the cut-off parts of the upper and lower pictures, the interlaced use of black and white and color can be comparable to that of the film.

Shen Chong and Bai Yuchuan's moves in front of Nangong Mansion are skillful and neat, which bring out the best in each other.

Then Nangong Sword was assassinated, and the killer attacked Nangong Sword-Nangong Sword flew from the top of the sedan chair-the killer destroyed the sedan chair-Nangong Sword drew his sword in the air to fight back. . .

In the latter part, Shen Chong confronts several killers in a smoky bush at night, and the picture is black and white. The use of color is also a major feature of the title, which shows the intention.

Many fights in "Lotus Hegemony" are fierce and bloody. Liu Zhihao not only learns from Cheng Xiaodong's aesthetic feeling of action, but also adds a fierce texture. He feels that there is a vicious and chilling atmosphere in the moves and routines, as well as bold bloody and violent pictures. For example, in the first episode, Shen Chong and Gao Xiang jointly killed the Lord of Feiyingbao, and his body was divided by firm but gentle, which is completely the shooting method of the film.

In addition, we can see every detail clearly in the master's confrontation. The actors have positive confrontation pictures (such as the confrontation between Shen Chong and Bai Yuchuan at the beginning of the film). It is difficult to tell that it is body double, unlike the martial arts dramas filmed in the mainland or Hong Kong, which are either simple and soft, or bizarre and mysterious. At first glance, we can see that the actors are all playing and have no sense of fighting. Many actions use some special techniques. Among them, I think the most brilliant one is the Nangong sword with martial arts skills, but in the play, martial arts belong to the upper-middle class. Especially his cheating and aerial leap sword-pulling.

We often pay attention to the classic martial arts and reminisce about the 83-shot sculpture. However, from today's perspective, the action of the 83-shot sculpture does bear the brand of the times, and I think "Lotus for hegemony" is a classic action that has not faded for a long time. Because that was the best time for martial arts.

IV. Photography ★★★★★ ★

We can see the exquisite photographic pictures of this series only from the application of color in the opening song. Because we chose to shoot the location in Yungang Grottoes in Shanxi, the magnificent scenery also shames the rough design of the rockery and rockery scenes of TVB. Compared with me, the lighting is just right, so it will not be too bright to distort or too dark to see clearly.

Another interesting thing is that each episode is divided into four chapters, and at the end of each chapter, there will be a sketch-like illustration with the title of the play. Of course, this illustration can be done with some graphic editing software today, but 12 years ago, this way of adding portraits in the middle was still very novel. And every portrait is a cool feeling-including Bai Yuchuan.

V. Music ★★★★★ ★

There are three original music, all of which are led by Tam. The theme song "Jianghu Road" sings a kind of vicissitudes of life that can't help but be easily infected by the lyrics and their artistic conception. This song is also used as background music, melodious and passionate; The other two songs are the ending song and interludes "Looking Back" and "Looking Back at the Red Dust". The song is still fascinating, but it is already a swan song.

Laughing at the World of Red Dust is the theme song of The Rise of the Storm in Dong Fangbubai, including a lot of background music from that movie. This background music created by James J.S.Wong has been adopted endlessly by many TV series. In fact, The Rise of the Storm in Dong Fangbubai and Lotus Struggle are filmed in tandem, so I have to admire the foresight of the crew of Lotus Struggle.

Kitaro's "The Serpent" music is used in the middle four chapters of each episode, which is bizarre and mysterious.

General Comment ★★★★★ ★

Lotus for hegemony has become a milestone in the martial arts drama, and it is difficult for Singapore to surpass itself in the future, and I am afraid that it is difficult for Hong Kong mainland to have this classic realm.

Introduction to the Diversity Plot of "Lotus Hegemony"

Episode 1: The Wulin in the Central Plains has always been led by the Nangong family, and many gangs are affiliated with the Nangong family. However, a mysterious organization, the Twelve Flying Eagles, has emerged in the north. In order to compete for the interests of the rivers and lakes, these two factions launched a life-and-death struggle.

The Lord of the Black Hawk Sect and the Three Friends of Qushan received a secret letter from the special envoy of Eagle King, asking them to form an alliance. While the Lord of the Black Hawk Hall was celebrating the submission of the Three Friends of Huangshan Mountain in the Peony Garden, he was killed by the special envoy of the Eagle King and another killer.

This special envoy of Eagle King is called Shen Chong. He, Gao Xiang and Ye Qun are both killers of the same organization "Meteor Gate". These three people are skilled in martial arts, and Shen Chong is the best among them. However, the leader of this organization is Qiu Ruolan, the proprietress of a brothel with a variety of amorous feelings, who is called Qiu Boss. Then, why did Boss Qiu kill Lord Black Hawk ...

Episode 2: Nangong Jun (also known as the old man) is the head of Nangong family, and his men are full of talents, and he loves the respect of Wulin people very much. His son Nangong Jian is a hot-blooded young man, and he likes the pianist Cui Nong in Peony Garden. In order to recover his mother's illness as soon as possible, he decided to redeem Miss Trinon from the Peony Garden and marry her to celebrate her mother's birthday. Just then, a Japanese ronin named Yang Tang was frantically looking for Cui Nong. It turned out that he and Cui Nong were childhood lovers. They left their hometown three years ago to learn martial arts, and this time they came back to marry Cui Nong, but he never expected Cui Nong to marry Nangong Jian.

Episode 3: As soon as Nangong Junzi Hailong Gang got home, things went haywire at home, and his wife died of illness. All the people sent by his son to celebrate the wedding were killed, and the bride was taken away. The Nangong Sword ran out and met the oncoming Yang Tang. The two men threw themselves into a fight. Nangong sword went home injured. Yang Tang found the Nangong family and defeated Qiu Xiangtian, but Bai Yuchuan wounded Yang Tang with hidden weapons, and Yang Tang asked Bai Yuchuan to duel.

Nangong Jun's daughter Fluttershy was very sad after her mother died. Bai Yuchuan, the adopted son of Nangong family, told her the secret of her heart when she walked with her. Fluttershy left angrily and met a drunk on the road, but the drunk died inexplicably. All this happened to be seen by Shen Chong.

Nangong Jun not only didn't kill Yang Tang, but also gave Cui Nong to Yang Tang. Next, Yang Tang finally understood that Cui Nong wanted to marry Nangong Jian because of vanity. In a rage, Yang Tang killed Cui Nong. In order to repay Nangong Jun for not killing, Yang Tang joined the Nangong family.

Episode 4: Fluttershy moves to the Butterfly Garden to avoid Bai Yuchuan's entanglement; one