[翻譯/策展] 胡金銓 King Hu｜電影論述 Film Discourses｜國影中心 Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute｜TaiwanPlus｜國際影音串流平台計畫

King Hu: The Master of Martial Arts Cinema

 

“What matters the most is not the theme nor plot. A movie’s artistic value is not theme or plot driven. The dynamic camerawork, however, is what truly matters.” 

—“King Hu on Filmmaking”

 

King Hu, one of the legendary directors and a prime mover in the development of Modern Sinophone Cinema, has framed and reframed martial arts cinema with historical significance. He endured the hardship in the 60’s and 70’s with blazing passion and set the template for nearly all the martial arts cinema to come.

 

Some other cinema masters and their unabashed tributes decades after—New Dragon Gate Inn (1992) produced by Tsui Hark and The Flying Swords of Dragon Gate (2011) directed by Tsui, The Romance of Book & Sword (1987) and Princess Fragrance (1987) by Ann Hui, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2106) by Ang Lee—were indelibly influenced and inspired. 

 

However, Hu’s cinematic aesthetics were not about action grammar only. He distilled the inner notion of the chivalrous literati in Chinese traditional culture, respected the negative space in Asian art and philosophy, and made the cultural context and compositional depth his trademark. 

 

Hu also aspired toward authenticity. He characterized the figures with multiple aspects, including costumes, props, and scenes with meticulously researched art direction to spark humanities in different eras. The content-creating process also involved Hu’s literary study of Chinese Classical Literature, such as Yuan Drama (Zaju), the storyteller’s script, and the novel. Therefore, Hu separated himself from other Sinophone filmmakers, illustrated Chinese culture with his scope of work, and revealed the artistic potential of action-packed movies in Asia.

 

As an auteur in storytelling, Hu was also an exemplary visual stylist in film editing. He sculpted the fly-and-jump-around motion with the persistence of vision by cutting down some frames and editing with fewer frames on descending and leaping actions. The assembly of acrobat images became montage and was incredibly ground-breaking without any digital touch and wire-fu in his era. 

 

The editing skill, for example, was seen in A Touch of Zen. It took 155 shots in 5 minutes and 49 seconds to finish the classic sword and sorcery scene in a bamboo groove. Because of his artistic achievement, Hu was awarded “Grand Prix de la Commission Supérieure Technique du Cinéma Française” at the 28th Festival de Cannes in 1975. Indeed, King Hu has shown unflinching determination throughout his career at a time when it demanded much more fortitude and patience than nowadays.

 

Traditional Chinese inns, a key element in Hu’s work, were where danger lurked and conflict collided among gangs and governors to visualize the idea of “ganghood” (jiang-hu). Hu defined his signature style in mise en scene by reprising the setting, intensifying the feelings, and creating a compelling climax for the film. 

 

Hu also made the delicate composition in a chase scene to speak to the strong character relationship. He often used multiple chasing groups, reminding the audience that there was always someone watching your back. As the old Chinese saying goes, “A mantis is stalking a cicada, but it doesn't know there is an oriole behind him”. The chase scene in the temple, for example, ripped the predator-prey relationship, gave the audience heart-racing adrenaline, and sprinkled the film with accurate comedic timing. 

 

Hu was not a fan of flowery expression and moral preaching in scriptwriting. He polarized his characters, such as a hero-villain duo, and designed the accent of martial choreography. The archetypes were with a silent swordsman by Shih Chun and a swordswoman by Hsu Feng, and the archetypes are still popular among modern martial arts cinemas. 

 

A taste of feminist films, then, was introduced with swordswomen, the key ingredient in Hu’s work. The swordswomen were strong-willed and self-assured, unlike the weak and waiting-for-rescue female roles that long represented a gatekeeper of patriarchy. They defied the stereotypes and were cast in a stronger, central role than any studio had before. What needs to be clarified is that they were more than a shero. Swordswomen also represented the community who broke the code, such as the hunted down, the wanted, and the exiled. Rounded and sophisticated, they were one of the favorite characters in Hu’s work. 

 

This year in 2022, we are honored to celebrate the 90th birthday of King Hu with the online film festival, “King Hu: The Master of Martial Arts Cinema.” We selected seven enduring classics, including Dragon Gate Inn, A Touch of Zen, Raining in the Mountain, Legend of the Mountain, The Wheel of Life, Four Moods, and All the King’s Men from the thirteen official releases. King Hu, the pioneering master with artistic innovations, will make you clamor for more excitement and enthusiasm in his martial arts cinema.

原稿如下：

胡金銓：開創華語電影新時代的武俠美學

 

「我覺得對電影而言，主題不要緊，故事也不要緊，故事的好壞與主題都不足以影響一部電影，電影最重要的仍是表現的技巧。」

(摘自《胡金銓談電影》〈胡金銓與王敬羲對話〉King Hu on Filmmaking)

 

胡金銓，開創華語電影新時代的重要導演之一，在六、七零年代有限的拍攝條件與資源底下，為「武俠片」所做的原型開發與革新，至今對華語影壇仍有深刻的影響。徐克[u1] 監製的《新龍門客棧[u2] 》、導演的《龍門飛甲[u3] 》；許鞍華[u4] 的《書劍恩仇錄[u5] 》、《香香公主[u6] 》；乃至李安[u7] 的《臥虎藏龍[u8] 》，皆深受胡金銓作品啟蒙。然而，胡金銓的武俠電影美學，不只是表面的打鬥招式，更著重於「胸中丘壑」的文儒俠義[u9] ，關注中國傳統文化的俠義哲學與含蓄美學。在角色的塑造方面，不僅在服裝、道具、場景方面，重視歷史考證，更為了呈現不同時代的人文精神，對於古典文學：雜劇、話本及小說，都有深入的研究。因此，他的作品比起當時其他華語片，更深刻詮釋中華文化的意涵，開創出西方主流之外的東方電影美學。

 

胡金銓不僅在故事結構與敘事邏輯上，有自成一家的獨特風格，在剪輯技巧方面，更善用視覺殘留的原理，透過鏡頭的拆解與抽格[u10] ，將較少格數的膠捲接起來，並利用高空下墜與跳彈簧床上升的動作，創造出螺旋式的跳躍影像，在尚未有電腦特效、吊鋼索的年代，像達成不可能的任務一般，建立起蒙太奇式的動作美學。這樣的剪輯技巧呈現於《俠女》的竹林大戰，整場戲約5分49秒，共用了115顆鏡頭，更因此獲得第28屆坎城影展(1975年)「法國電影最高技術委員會大獎[u11] 」。胡金銓那份土法煉鋼、絞盡腦汁突破環境限制的堅持與努力，我們從現代資源相對豐富的創作環境回頭看，更能深刻感受胡金銓對拍電影投注的心力與熱情。

 

「客棧」是武俠片中不可或缺的元素，常被作為抽象概念的「江湖」具體化的空間，也是黑白兩道交手的實境。客棧裡龍蛇雜處，來自四面八方的人馬互別苗頭、明爭暗鬥……胡金銓擅長在這樣的空間，以俠士與盜賊間的你追我趕、算計埋伏等情節設計，營造衝突氣氛，凝聚暴風雨來臨前的緊張危機感，進而將劇情推向高潮。關於空間的利用，胡金銓也很注重畫面構圖與場面調度，除了前述客棧空間的精采調度外，有時利用多組人物如「螳螂捕蟬、黃雀在後」般的你追我奪中，讓人物在另一個空間：寺廟裡靈活穿梭，不但自然烘托出人物的利害關係，也在動態中掌握精準的節奏與幽默。人物間的複雜關係，都在精采的場面調度中不言而喻。

 

胡金銓通常不給角色太多對白，更不讓對白流於說教。他擅長營造兩派鮮明的對立，直接了當切入人物的正邪身分，再花更多時間透過動作詮釋真正的對決。以石雋為代表的儒俠樣貌和以徐楓達到巔峰的俠女形象，都成為武俠人物的典型，並持續傳承於當代武俠類型中。其中，俠女的角色在胡金銓的武俠片裡佔有極重的份量。胡氏的俠女有別於傳統父權社會中，需要被保護的柔弱女性。流露的卻是堅定、內斂、與獨立自主的氣質，甚至可以反過來保護男性。不過胡金銓所塑造的俠女，也不是大眾眼中的俠：為正義而戰的女人。她可能是被追殺的女人、被通緝的女人、或是逃亡的犯人，也是這樣的設定，塑造出了內涵更豐富、形象更立體的角色。

 

本次胡金銓導演線上影展，從其正式發行的十三部作品中，選映以下七部作品：《龍門客棧》、《俠女》、《空山靈雨》、《山中傳奇》、《大輪迴》、《喜怒哀樂》、《天下第一》，在2022年胡金銓90歲冥誕之時，除了讓資深影迷回顧曾經雋永的記憶，也期待將這位華語武俠電影的元祖，介紹給新世代的觀眾。