THE WANDERERS俠客行
Get an introduction to the popular wuxia genre onboard this month
Like the Western in American fiction and Japan’s samurai cinema, wuxia (or ‘wandering warriors’) in Chinese fiction depicts the adventures of powerful warriors who roam an isolated world bound by a code of chivalry. Stories of these martial artists have been around for centuries and they have become a mainstay in contemporary popular culture – partly thanks to an explosion of wuxia literature in the 20th century.
Film is the perfect medium to bring these epic wuxia stories to life, and they have become one of the most popular genres in Chinese-language cinema. This month, we have curated a collection to showcase this fantastical genre.
Oscar-winner Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon gave Western audiences a real gateway into the genre. Based on the fourth part of Wang Dulu’s Crane Iron pentalogy, the film is about the chase that ensues when a masked warrior steals the legendary Green Destiny sword. It was the fulfilment of a lifelong dream for director Ang Lee, who grew up reading wuxia novels, and his enthusiasm for the material clearly shows in the graceful action scenes. The bamboo forest sequence was a tribute to King Hu, the director who changed the visual language of the wuxia genre with
A Touch of Zen and Dragon Inn.
In Hong Kong, the king of contemporary wuxia fiction is Louis Cha (or Jin Yong), whose novels’ popularity still endures today. In 1994, director Wong Kar-wai
offered a radical reimagining of Cha’s The Legend of the Condor Heroes with Ashes of Time. The film repurposes the novel’s villain, Ouyang Feng, as the protagonist, a broker for assassins in the desert. Wong uses Cha’s characters to explore unrequited love and alienation, themes familiar to Wong’s fans. The Redux version onboard this month is considered Wong’s ultimate vision, featuring a new score and colour palette.
Fans should also see The Eagle Shooting Heroes, the hit Chinese New Year comedy that Wong produced with the Ashes of Time cast and crew to appease investors when the Ashes production ran overtime. The Jeffrey Lau-directed film, completed in just 27 days, has since become a Hong Kong comedy classic.
For pulpier takes on the genre, see
The Bride with White Hair and Swordsman II. These films embrace the genre’s fantastic elements with relish, doubling down on wild action scenes, magical powers and impossible feats. The unbridled energy in these films is characteristic of commercial Hong Kong cinema, where directors take a maximalist approach to keep audiences entertained. Fortunately, the wuxia genre provides the perfect material for it.
美國有西部片，日本有武士電影，至於中國，就有講述武功高強的俠客縱橫江湖，行俠仗義的武俠片。武俠故事源遠流長，最早可以追溯至唐代以前。民國時代武俠小說日漸風行，成為當代流行文化的重要支柱。電影傳入中國後，武俠片也就順理成章成為一個重要的電影類型。
電影不但將武俠小說內的神奇武功呈現觀眾眼前，江湖上快意恩仇的故事，亦令人看得痛快淋漓，因此一開始就成為華語電影中一個非常受歡迎的類型。本月我們在機上精選多部武俠電影經典，讓你隨著俠客一起闖蕩江湖。
榮獲多個奧斯卡獎項的《臥虎藏龍》是當代武俠片經典，改編自王度廬的「鶴─鐵」五部曲第四部，講述著名的青冥劍被一幪面人盜走後，隨之展開連串追尋寶劍下落的故事。將這個故事搬上銀幕一直是導演李安念念不忘的夢想，他自小就是武俠小說迷，從片中多場優雅的武術動作場面，可見他對武俠小說的熱愛。片中最為人津津樂道的竹林大戰，更融入了《俠女》和《龍門客棧》的視覺風格，向武俠片大師胡金銓致敬。
至於當代武俠小說大師，當然是非香港的金庸（查良鏞）莫屬，他的武俠小說至今仍然非常流行，亦被多次改編成為影視作品。1994年，王家衛將金庸的《射鵰英雄傳》作脫胎換骨的徹底改編，拍成《東邪西毒》。電影將原著中的大反派西毒歐陽鋒變成主角，在大漠裡為職業刺客穿針引線，尋找僱主。王家衛利用原著小說的角色來探討單戀的痛苦和人與人之間的疏離感，這些都是王家衛電影中經常出現的主題。本月機上放映的《東邪西毒終極版》是
王家衛將影片重新剪輯整理後的最終定本，配上全新的配樂，畫面色調亦經過調整。
看過《東邪西毒》之後，不妨再看《射雕英雄傳之東成西就》。由於當年《東邪西毒》製作時間超出預算，為了安撫投資者，製作組拍攝了《射雕英雄傳之東成西就》，安排於農曆新年賀歲檔期上映，以作彌補。影片由劉鎮偉執導，花了27天拍完全片。電影上映後不但賣座，而且成為香港喜劇電影經典作。
若喜歡較通俗的武俠片，可以欣賞《白髮魔女傳》和《笑傲江湖 II 東方不敗》。這兩部電影既有激烈的動作場面，還有奇幻的武功與不可思議的故事，令人目不暇給。這些電影散發自由奔放、無拘無束的能量，正是香港主流商業電影的一大特色：導演盡力施展渾身解數，務求令觀眾看電影時樂在其中。而武俠片正好為商業片提供上佳的題材。