The Film Critics Society has organized a "film reading conference" to guide and interpret 10 episodes of the TV drama "Fortress Besieged" in 5 episodes. Director | Activity | Fortress Besieged

On June 26, the last episode of "wutong Shadow Talk · Reviewing the classic TV drama Besieged City" was concluded. Sun Ganlu, the writer, walked out of the old house of the Shanghai Film Studio on Caoxi North Road and couldn't help sighing, "I hope there will be more such" film reading sessions "in Shanghai."

In the past, director Huang Shuqin spent 100 days filming 10 episodes of the TV series "Fortress Besieged" in the form of a movie, which is now considered quite luxurious. On the occasion of the first anniversary of Huang Shuqin's death, the Shanghai Film Critics Society and FILM Film Time Bookstore jointly held a series of screening and guided activities for the TV series "Fortress Besieged". In each of the 5 events, 2 episodes of the TV series "Fortress Besieged" will be screened, and more than 10 experts, scholars, and filmmakers from different fields will be invited to comprehensively analyze the cultural and film codes of the novel and TV series "Fortress Besieged" for the audience, just like reading books.

In the era of fragmentation and fast-paced drama watching, holding such a "luxurious" series of film reading events, Zhu Feng, the president of the Shanghai Film Critics Society, said, "This is our attitude towards classics, towards director Huang, and also our attitude towards the audience."

Experts and scholars comprehensively interpret "Fortress Besieged"

The novel "Fortress Besieged" is a classic of modern Chinese literature, while the TV series "Fortress Besieged" adapted by Huang Shuqin is a classic of contemporary Chinese film and television, and every actor seems to have stepped out of the book.

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Why did Fortress Besieged become a classic? In the series of activities of "wutong Shadow Talk · Reviewing the classic TV play Besieged City", writers Sun Ganlu, Chen Danyan, Huang Yuning, scholars Chen Zishan, Ni Wenjian, Yan Feng, Tang Weijie, film critics Zhu Feng, Mao Jian, Sun Mengjin, director Teng Junjie, screenwriter Zhang Qi, Huang Shuqin's son, director Zheng Dasheng, director Xia Xiaoyun, actor Yu Hui, who once participated in the filming of Besieged City, and others successively walked into the site of the guided tour to talk and share the story about Besieged City. Dialogue is cross-border, and many tour guides have different cross-border identities. They magnify the details in film, television, and literature from different perspectives, further opening up the audience's perspective to understand "Fortress Besieged".

In the guide, Chen Zishan reviewed his correspondence with Mr. Qian Zhongshu and his interaction with screenwriter Mr. Sun Xiongfei, and elaborated on the significance of this literary work in literary history; Xia Xiaoyun presented the signed copy of "Fortress Besieged" and the behind the scenes story during the preparation of the TV series "Fortress Besieged"; Zhu Feng interpreted the letter from Mr. Qian Zhongshu to Director Huang Shuqin.

Zheng Dasheng revealed that the reason why his mother Huang Shuqin was able to successfully bring "Fortress Besieged" to the screen was related to his maternal grandfather, drama and film artist Huang Zuolin. Back then, Huang Zuolin went to study in the UK and after returning, he taught at the National Theatre School in Chongqing, where he had a similar experience as Fang Hongjian. "My mother had met my grandfather's old friends who resolutely returned to China to participate in the Anti Japanese War during a critical period in history. Fang Hongjian and others also reflected the typical young intellectuals' choices of that era."

The story of "Fortress Besieged" takes place from the 1920s to the 1940s. Sun Ganlu revisited two episodes of "Fortress Besieged" while creating "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains" that portrayed the hidden struggles of the Shanghai front in the 1930s, and was most impressed by the walking posture of the characters in the play. "The performances of the actors were able to capture the characteristics of the people of that era. I read a lot of historical photos and videos because of writing, and found that people at that time liked to walk slowly on the streets with their hands behind their backs, at a slower pace than they do now. In" Fortress Besieged ", whether it was the street scenes or the close-up shots of actors such as Ge You and Dai Zhao'an, they all captured such characteristics. Director Huang must have done a lot of preliminary work with the actors."

Tang Weijie, an associate professor at Tongji University, noticed that Qian Zhongshu once wrote in the preface of his academic work "Tan Yi Lu", "Tan Yi Lu" is a volume that, although appreciated, is actually a book of worries. In his view, "Fortress Besieged" is also a "book of worries". The book reflects the changes in the spiritual state of Chinese intellectuals after the Anti Japanese War, and the portrayal of the human emotions of the times, which is similar to the drama and film works of Huang Zuolin and director Sang Yu at the same time. ".

Writer and translator Huang Yuning greatly admires Huang Shuqin's ability to convincingly portray the changes of characters such as Fang Hongjian, Sun Roujia, and Su Wenwan before and after marriage in 10 episodes. "With the same content, TV dramas nowadays can produce 30-40 episodes."

Looking forward to more "film reading events"

Fortress Besieged is a work that is difficult to adapt into film and television. From novels to TV dramas, it's no less than writing for the second time. Back then, Huang Shuqin completed this difficult second creation with immense mental pressure. Tang Weijie believes that the adaptation and release of TV dramas can serve as a dividing point in the dissemination history of "Fortress Besieged". "Before the TV series, the dissemination of" Fortress Besieged "was mainly limited to the intellectual circle. After the TV series aired in the 1990s, the most obvious phenomenon was the novel" Luoyang paper is expensive ". He remembers that at that time, due to the high demand, the People's Literature Publishing House had no time to reprint it, and many people had to buy" Yellow Fish Books "with a lot of typos, which were pirated books.". "It was the TV series that added a spark to 'Fortress Besieged' and made it a widely read work."

"Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains" will also be adapted into works such as film, drama, and Pingtan. It is worth mentioning that the film version will be produced by Shanghai Film Group. Sun Ganlu believes that "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains" depicts the story of Shanghai, and it is only natural for Shanghai Film Studio to make a film version.

Coming to the place where Huang Shuqin used to work and participating in the "Fortress Besieged" sharing and exchange activity made him feel warm and moved. Sun Ganlu is one of the main initiators of the Sinan Reading Club. In his view, the series of classic film and television appreciation activities organized by the Shanghai Film Critics Society are also a type of reading activity, promoting the "nationwide reading" of Shanghai films. "Through such exchange activities, the film life can be enriched. Shanghai is the birthplace of Chinese cinema, with so many outstanding films and filmmakers. We hope that this kind of film reading will be more, better, and richer in Shanghai."