original title:Tsui Hark: Unintentional realm is hard to come by
Generally speaking, the directors attending the film festival always talk about their “artistic life” in special events held for them, but at the Fifth Pingyao International Film Festival that ended not long ago, they were called “Old Monster Xu” Director Tsui Hark said, “the sword went out of the way” once. Instead of talking about himself, he took “Telephone Murder” as an example to analyze the film master Hitchcock.
In this regard, Tsui Hark’s reason is that “Pingyao Film Festival is a very young film exhibition. It may be easier to talk about Hitchcock, because he is a director who likes to joke and tease people, and his thrillers are not thrillers. It’s a comedy. He has been joking with the audience, how to deal with a murder case, how to scare the audience, he thinks this has the same effect as riding a roller coaster in an amusement park.”
In order to talk about Hitchcock, Tsui Hark spent a lot of thought on “preparing lessons”, and even released 16 photos of “Telephone Murder” prepared by himself on the WeChat account of the Pingyao Film Festival in advance, for the audience to use as a reference when listening to the class. Look at the pictures and listen to the class. Tsui Hark advises audiences to understand the history of film and learn film art from classic works. He also calls on young filmmakers to grasp the present, “this time is when you absorb nutrition and experience in life, and you should cherish this stage.”
“Telephone Murder” and “Small Town Spring” are unexpected classics
Alfred Hitchcock was born in 1899 and entered the film industry as a subtitle designer in 1920. In 1922, he directed his first film “No. Thirteen”, and in 1926 the self-directed suspense film “The Tenant” became The works that laid the foundation for his filming style, the thriller “Blackmail” directed in 1929 became the first sound film in the UK, and the mystery film “Thirty-Nine Steps” directed in 1935 laid the foundation for the formation of spy thrillers.
His classic movies include “The Missing Woman”, “Butterfly Dream”, “Deep Boss Suspicious Cloud”, “Rear Window”, “Northwest” and “Terror”. Hitchcock has filmed more than 50 films in his 60 years of directorship. The film was selected by the British film magazine “Total Film” as “the first one of the hundred great directors in history” in 2007.
As a path to lead the audience into the creative world of Hitchcock, filmed in 1954 based on the stage play “Telephone Murder”, which embodies Hitchcock’s imagination richly and vividly, the plot is intertwined and changed. Many ends are the “unexpected classics” in his creative career.
The reason why it is said to be an “unexpected classic” is because this movie is an “unplanned” work by Hitchcock. Tsui Hark explained that Hitchcock was preparing for “Rear Window” at the time, but “Rear Window” “Unable to start filming immediately. In order not to be idle, he added a production. This is “Telephone Murder”. Unexpectedly, “Telephone Murder” was a big success after it was released, so Tsui Hark said with emotion, “I feel’unintentional ‘The realm is hard to get.’
In this regard, the director Jia Zhangke on the side strongly agrees, “Sometimes the creative state is at its most relaxed, when the burden is not so great, but it stimulates the innovation and innovation of the film language. Hitchcock is filming “The Murder on the Phone” “There was no pressure, and he even used stereoscopic film technology for the first time.”
The entire space of “Telephone Murder” is concentrated in one room. This film method reminds Jia Zhangke of the classic “Small Town Spring” made by Mr. Fei Mu: “Mr. Fei Mu’s filming of “Small City Spring” is also In addition to his plan, he originally wanted to make another work, because his investor Mr. Wu Xingzai’s studio was used by another director, so the film was temporarily shelved, and the director stopped making it. It’s a waste of no one to use this studio for several months. It just so happened that Wu Xingzai and the others had a script called “Spring in a Small Town” and handed it over to Fei Mu. In order to keep the studio from being idle, Mr. Fei Mu took the shot. In “Spring in a Small Town”, the movie is also unfolded in a very limited space. The big space is an ancient city, but it is very simple. There are few outdoor scenes, mainly the stories that happened in a garden and a southern house.”
Regarding this “unintentional realm”, Tsui Hark said that he has also talked with many director friends. This kind of realm is obviously unattainable. Some people do not have a predetermined shooting idea in order to “let go”. For example, Some directors do not distinguish between the mirrors and only do it on the spot. Some directors do not have a script, such as Johnnie To, who just want to write the script on the spot.
Tsui Hark said that there will indeed be moments of inspiration during the shooting. “Even if it has nothing to do with this scene, it may give you a very strong spark at that moment, allowing you to open another door. I always hope that I have this. Moment. At the scene, we will feel the excitement given to us by the environment, because there is a big difference between watching the script and actually shooting the scene. What you see is the text, and what you imagine is the fantasy in your mind. Go to the scene, there will be possibilities that you can’t imagine appear in front of you. So I also agree to go to the scene, the atmosphere of the scene makes you have more ideas.”
Tsui Hark also laughed and asked if Jia Zhangke would go to the scene to find inspiration if it were the scene in “Telephone Murder”. Jia Zhangke replied, “That won’t be possible,” Xu Hark also nodded, “Because the living room you can see is just It’s such a big space, how can I use a space to make a movie, I really want to try it, but maybe no one has invested, because it’s too dangerous and no one will watch the story.”
Admire Hitchcock for shooting a classic thriller in a small living room
What’s interesting is that although it was accidentally made into a classic, “Telephone Murder” has no “status” in Hitchcock’s heart. “The question, Hitchcock said directly, “There is nothing to talk about.”
According to Tsui Hark’s analysis, there are two very important factors why Hitchcock does not value this movie. One is that the film is an adaptation of a stage play, so many plots and horror factors are restricted by the stage play. The shooting process was not too good to follow Hitchcock’s standards. Putting into his usual tactics, Hitchcock was not enjoyable enough.
Another reason is that Hitchcock has always been very opposed to using dialogue to explain the plot. “But because “Telephone Murder” is a form of drama, it must use dialogue to explain the plot. For Hitchcock, this It’s a method that violates his principles.”
It is precisely because Hitchcock does not talk much about the movie that Xu Hark thinks that “Telephone Murder” is more worthy of discussion, allowing everyone to understand what Hitchcock’s film techniques and film language are. “Why did this work surpass his imagination and become a classic? How is this movie different from other Hitchcock works in the past?”
Tsui Hark said that Hitchcock’s thrillers are different from those we usually know. He believes that thrillers should not be scares. All his suspense and tension come from the horror plots produced by the characters trying to hide their own secrets. Hitchcock has four main ways of showing horror. The first is the layout of the story, the second is suspense, the third is tension, and the fourth is climax design.
Take the layout of the plot as an example. Hitchcock’s common method is to hide the secrets of the characters. Tsui Hark said: “Similar to the story of the bomb we told. For example, I and Director Jia are sitting here, there is a bomb behind the screen, and the audience Seeing someone put a bomb here, but the two of us didn’t know, so from the time the bomb appeared to when we started talking, the audience would be very nervous: Why didn’t we detect the bomb? If the bomb exploded, the two of us would become What does it look like? This is suspense. If this suspense lasts for 30 minutes and continues the suspense process, tension is needed, and this tension is dangerous details. For example, a cleaning staff may see something behind the screen, and he takes it out and thinks It is rubbish, clean it up, so that we can solve our crisis, but the cleaner did not take the bomb, we are still in danger. There can be many detailed arrangements to let the suspense maintain the time it takes. “
“Telephone Murder” tells that Tony and Margot are a close-knit couple, and their relationship shines with red light. But Margot, who lives in a lonely life, and the writer Mark have a spark of love. They date and communicate, but Tony unexpectedly finds out. Tony said nothing, but wrote an anonymous letter to his wife as a warning. However, Mark actually visited the home, in order to humiliate him, coupled with the plot to obtain the rich fortune of his wife Margot, Tony secretly committed a vicious plan. Tony offered his old classmate Les a thousand pounds for him to participate in a set of rigorous murder plans he laid out. This plan has evidence of the absence of a well-designed murderer. Telephones, keys, and curtains have all become the props of this conspiracy. However, the plan could not keep up with the changes after all. Not only did he not get the bounty, but he also lost his life.
The plot of “Telephone Murder” is divided into four stages. In the first stage, the husband Tony plans to murder his wife Margot, from the beginning of the plan to the completion of the plan. In the second stage, after the plan failed, Tony continued to create traps to frame Margot. Margot was caught by the police and sentenced. The third stage is when Margot’s lover is going to save Margot, but he didn’t succeed. The fourth stage is to solve the case. Tsui Hark said: “In such a small living room, Hitchcock did all four stages. From a film perspective, it is actually very difficult. I don’t know how big the living room is. I remember the actor left. Seven steps to the end, only seven or eight meters, at most ten meters wide in a living room, the whole movie was performed in it, and it was very nervous. .”
Pay attention to the shaping of dangerous details, and tell stories with colors, props, and close-ups
In Tsui Hark’s view, as a master of suspense and horror, Hitchcock’s most critical method in his movie is to set up a suspenseful point with tension in the plot layout. “The shaping of” and the achievement.
Tsui Hark personally selected 16 reference pictures of “Telephone Murder” as an example to analyze in detail the personal techniques Hitchcock added when adapting the stage play, such as re-focusing the shot scheduling and weakening the dialogue, and expressing the characters through color shifting. The relationship between and so on. Hitchcock is a director who “designs the storytelling in the picture very carefully”, so his shots, from angle to composition, from scene to depth of field, serve for storytelling.
Take color, for example. Tsui Hark said that Hitchcock had made a color film called “Imperial Soul” in 1948, “I also made a whole movie in a closed space, and he was very ambitious, every 90 minutes. The camera tells all the stories, but that movie was unsuccessful because he took a single shot and felt a great influence on the rhythm.”
When filming “Telephone Murder”, Hitchcock once again switched back to filming in color. He paid great attention to color. “For example (picture①) in this picture, three people wear gray clothes, one person wears dark blue clothes, this person wearing dark blue clothes is Margot’s lover Mark, and the three people wearing gray clothes are Tony and Margot. As well as the inspector, only Mark is wearing dark blue clothes. He looks abrupt and embarrassed among this group of people. There is no way to get into this so-called family, so it is a very obvious color change.”
“Later (Picture ②), we saw that their clothes were the same, and the clothes of the lover and the husband were the same. So in other words, he has a closer relationship with this matter. He is not looking outside. The state of the matter. On the contrary, the inspector is very prominent, so it becomes the lover and the husband on one side, and the inspector on the other. Using color to tell stories is one of Hitchcock’s favorite ways. We will see him in many movies. Tell stories with colors.”
In addition, Hitchcock likes to take close-ups very much (picture ③). He feels that close-ups have a very special power and mystery, which will give the story many unimaginable effects. Tsui Hark said: “Hitchcock’s favorite close-ups are close-ups of feet, eyes, and hands. There are close-ups of hands in this movie. Ke likes to use this technique to express the inner world of characters.”
In addition to this close-up, Hitchcock will also feature close-ups on the props. For example, on the phone in “Telephone Murder” (picture ④), Tsui Hark said: “You will not emphasize the dial of the telephone when you make a call, but Hitchcock emphasizes the dial very much. In fact, the camera at that time could not take the dial so close. Therefore, the phone must be enlarged. Hitchcock deliberately zoomed in on the phone so that the lens took close-ups of the circle, and is that finger a real finger or a prop finger? I think it is a prop finger. Hitchcock shot ” In “Beauty”, in order to emphasize the cup of milk, he put a light in the milk, so when the protagonist took the milk upstairs, he looked in the light of the stairs, the milk cup is shiny, and the light is not the light outside. It’s coming out of it, which makes the audience feel that there is a problem with the milk and has a very dangerous feeling. Hitchcock likes to use this method when it comes to props.”
Tsui Hark also took out a picture of a “tug-of-war” lens (picture ⑤), “This picture is very interesting. From a photographic point of view, we don’t like this composition. We often say that this is a “tug-of-war” lens. There are people on both sides in the middle. The’tug-of-war’ lens is a lens that I don’t like in photography, but it has been used many times with Hitchcock. What effect is created in this composition? The two characters have strong opposites. It does not necessarily need to have a lot of expressive shots. If you put this shot, it means that the two characters have a lot of dissatisfaction with each other in their hearts. This is his intention.”
When filming “Murder on the Phone”, Hitchcock also tried stereo shooting. Tsui Hark said: “At that time, there were few 3D movies and all the cameras were huge. It was difficult to put the machine at a low angle. But “Phone In “Murder”, Hitchcock had a low-angle shooting (Figure ⑥). We have no problem with this shooting method, because the machine can be lowered very low, and the machine can be placed on the ground, but the machine at that time was very It’s too big and can’t be lowered too much. What are the characteristics of a low-angle view? Everything in that scene suppresses the character and brings a kind of psychological pressure to the character. There is such an effect. Another effect is that there is an effect in the film. A very important scene is that the murderer wants to kill his wife. When he presses his wife on the table and grabs the scissors with his fingers, the angle is just right to see the hand, the scissors and the murderer. In fact, there is a similar scene in “Changjin Lake”. It was Duan Yihong who was pressed by the US army on the table. When he went to pick up the fork, our camera was shaken to explain the overall relationship. But in the “Telephone Murder”, a low angle is allowed without cutting the camera. There is no need to shake the lens, just one lens can incorporate everything you want to talk about.”
The saddest hurdle for young directors is to find opportunities
Telling Hitchcock also reminded Tsui Hark of his youthful past. Once he and Wu Yusen were filming in Kenting, Taiwan. They had no car after work. They met a tractor willing to ride them on the road and sat in the back of the tractor. Watching the sunset inside. Tsui Hark said to Wu Yusen, “When will we become a particularly awesome director without having to sit in a tractor and suffer the bumps as we do now.” Speaking of this, Tsui Hark said that the feeling at that time was quite romantic. , “It was a stage that was not restrained and very open. At that time, I wanted to do a lot of things, but I didn’t know if I had the opportunity to do it.”
Tsui Hark said that from his own experience, if you persevere, chances will always come. “Everything you experienced when you were young is useful for you in the future, because at a certain age and stage, you will not have the opportunity to experience the kind of scene that is very relaxed. So, I think at this time, the young director When absorbing nutrition and life experience, you have to understand what life is, what is growth, and what is life. Therefore, you must cherish this time.”
For today’s young directors, Tsui Hark thinks that the saddest thing for young directors is to find opportunities. When such an opportunity is not grasped, the next opportunity may have to wait longer. Therefore, he hopes that at this stage when young filmmakers are waiting for opportunities, they must constantly temper their skills so that when the opportunity for filming comes, they can make the film more mature. Tsui Hark encourages young people to create opportunities for filming and temper their skills. “Continuously look for materials in your lives, find characters and stories in your lives. Only when we filmmakers are combined with the entire environment can there be living things. Things, if you just design hard by yourself, the work is lifeless.” (Reporter Zhang Jia)
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