Although it was released on the same day as Mahua FunAge's "The Richest Man in Xihong City", it was inevitable that this potential box office dark horse would steal the limelight. But once we saw "Di Renjie's Four Heavenly Kings", we should not worry about the surprise Tsui Hark gave us.
It can be said that among the three Di Renjie series, the Four Heavenly Kings is the most eye-catching one, which makes Tsui Hark's "fantastic skills" in his early years appear again in front of the audience. What's different is that this Chinese director who can make films with special effects has long exchanged shotguns for cannons, blowing up all the ideas he failed to realize 20 or 30 years ago, which really makes people gasp.
Tsui Hark is a Hong Kong director who, along with Andy Hui, Zhang Guoming, Yan Hao, and others, took on the lead. However, from the beginning, he enjoyed showcasing his amazing imagination in movies.
So in the first movie "Butterfly Change", he told a story of martial arts, detective, and thriller themes. But the most satisfying aspect of "Butterfly Change" is not the superficial themes, but the details of the scene. The so-called martial arts investigation and revenge suspicion are just a means, and here in Tsui Hark, it is just to show his "strange and cunning skills".
The butterflies in the sky are no longer romantic like falling petals, but a symbol of danger, a mask of fear and horror. In "The Butterfly Change," these sudden appearance of killer butterflies are actually similar to Hitchcock's "The Birds," filling the visual diversity and density in the scene, forcing you to tremble.
Similarly, traditional martial arts are no longer a thing on the ground here with Tsui Hark. Tsui Hark's martial arts films require freehand brushwork and do not require a big battle like Zhang Che. He likes to make these martial arts figures wear iron armor, use various hidden weapons, and be able to come and go without a trace, like Japanese ninjas.
However, due to production cost limitations, "Butterfly Change" did not fully satisfy his whimsical ideas. By the time of 1983's "New Shu Mountain Swordsman", he was finally able to use Hong Kong's visual effects technology to create a Dunhuang Flying Immortal.
This movie is adapted from the martial arts novel "Swordsman Biography of Shushan" during the Republic of China period, and the theme can perfectly satisfy Tsui Hark's obsession with fantasy. This film not only involves the wonderful martial arts of various sects, but also uses a strong Blood red color to shape the villain blood demons, increasing the sense of visual panic.
As for the battle between Ding Yin and the castle lord of Yaochi Immortal Castle, as well as Di Mingqi and Yi Zhen in their final battle with the Blood Demon, they were all flying immortals in the sky without falling dust.
Tsui Hark truly achieved the texture of these sword fairy films. He often used ribbons, scarves, skirts, and headbands as decorations for the immortals, and the rich clouds often set off the background of these characters.
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So in the series of Wong Fei-hung, which made him famous, he did not change because the film was based on national feelings and the story was drawn from the past of the Republic of China. Although the fight between Wong Fei-hung and the villains must be on the ground, he will not turn the fight into positional warfare. The two will wave their hands and feet to finish the fight, but will use some props to make the characters feel uplifted.
For example, the lion dance at the beginning:
For example, a ladder in an orgasmic fight:
