When I was young, I once thought that the underworld was Hong Kong in the 1990s. Only a certain place and a specific era could breed such people.
The elegance and grace of Xiao Ma's era, even when he was down and out, he could still shout out loudly:
Unfortunately, the chivalry and the loyalty of the world have been overthrown by the purple drunken gold fan. Replaced by being anxious to get the upper hand, just like the dialogue between Xiaozhuang and Li Sir in Chow Yun-fat's "Bleeding Heroes" later:
And Chow Yun-fat could only answer in a chic and lonely way:
In the age of innocence, everything is casual Flying away with John Woo’s favorite white pigeon.
In the 21st century, Hong Kong-style gangs have evolved from simply showing the battle of loyalty in the underground society to a binary confrontation between police and gangsters.
Among them, the struggle between the police and the gangsters is the main line, and many clues are derived from it. The connection between each person and other people is just one or a few of them, and the whole world is therefore It can be seen as a big network with many intricate connections.
In the movie, there are two parties, good and evil, one among you and one among me. The identities of the members are unpredictable, and the superficial boundaries gradually blur.
Therefore, the world in "Infernal Affairs" is really as dull, depressing and gloomy as hell. Even in a scene between Chen and Liu on the rooftop, the dazzling sunlight was only used to illuminate the chilling scene. . In this world, there is only depth, but no pleasure.
The era between the two is probably the Young and Dangerous series.
In 1996, the Young and Dangerous trilogy was released.
Pheasant's sentence:
"My name is Pheasant, a chicken from Chicken BA."
In Xiao's highly subjective ranking of movie lines It has been ranked first in the list for many years, surpassing the entire Bolan Street in second place.
25 years later, Jordan Chan, Tse Tianhua, and Lin Xiaofeng performed in "Brother Who Overcame All Troubles" as the opening performance. During the carnival of concert-like barrage of "Friendship Years", countless people shouted: Ye Qing is back.
And behind this carnival in nostalgia, where is the starting point of all the stories?
guy.
When I was young, I lived in a public housing estate in Lam Tin. Andy Lau lived in the adjacent building, and Alan Tam and Stephen Chow lived in the public housing farther away.
At that time, a quarter of Hong Kong’s population was crowded into public housing. There were no kings, no singers, only the world.
The future of this vast city is uncertain. Destiny is wrapped up in Wong Tai Sin’s fortune stick, while rules are wrapped around the incense candle of Mr. Guan.
When he was 27 years old, he watched "My Days in the Underworld" starring Chow Yun-fat in the cinema and felt something.
Three years later, he set up his own business to draw Young and Dangerous.
The name of the gang is taken from Hung Hing in the movie three years ago, Jiang Tiansheng imitates Chow Yun-fat, Pheasant is based on Tony Leung, and Chen Haonan is modeled after Andy Lau.
At that time, bosses in movies were mostly called Dong Ge, so Niu Lao deliberately chose the word "nan" and the word "hao" from the company name. In order to please the heroine and fit the characteristics of a stutter, the heroine chose a detailed name. grain.
Perhaps it was because the main creators, the actors and the director, were young, and the story they presented seemed childish, monotonous, and shoddy by today's standards. But what is interesting is that the immaturity of the film itself has nothing to do with what it wants to express. The meanings coincide.
It is definitely not like "The Godfather" that reveals the hardships of the weak at the bottom of society in order to obtain various resources. At the same time, it shows the harsh norms and strong morals of the underground world and the ambition to establish a world view. Nor does it have the so-called reckless righteous heroes in ancient China who are willful and have no discipline. They only rely on loyalty to survive and stand up for injustice. They also pay attention to the classical style of "doing justice for heaven, robbing the rich and giving to the poor". romantic.
Those "dwarf mules", they cut their enemies with their hands, licked the blood from their swords, fled to the world, and were in jail. Some of them succeeded in one battle, stepped on the bones and climbed to the throne; some suffered physical and mental scars. Tired and retired quietly, hoping to spend their remaining years in peace; some have long since become ghosts, lying dead on the streets, without even a soul.
What is the purpose of doing this, and what is the meaning?
I guess they can’t explain it themselves. Oh, maybe the answer is finally classified as “loyalty”. People with a discerning eye will know that it is just an excuse. In fact, it may be just a momentary word of a certain big boss, or , just because of a hot and violent turbidity in my chest.
A sloppy crew was quickly assembled.
Third-rate screenwriter, third-rate director, third-rate funding.
Just as gangsters liked to use it to launder their capital operations in the past, producer Wang Jing said bluntly to director Liu Weiqiang and screenwriter Wen Jun: "Don't go over the budget, no one wants this kind of Jianghu film." ! ”
On the premiere night, Liu Weiqiang and the crew hid near a cinema in Mong Kok to eat late night snacks, feeling uneasy.
He called Wang Jing to test his tone, but Wang Jing told him in shock: The entire box office in Hong Kong was a blast.
The good news came one after another. In the next month, celebration banquets were held ten times in a row. The crew was so happy and drunk that they felt like they were in a dream.
At the end of the first Young and Dangerous movie, Shan Ji, who was defeated in Taiwan, unexpectedly returned to Hong Kong with a group of younger brothers to support his former eldest brother. In the rainy night of the rivers and lakes, the grudges were forgotten with a smile.
The night in Causeway Bay is beautiful and the lights and shadows are confusing. Victoria's sea breeze spreads friendship across the ocean to the other shore.
#2 Superstar in Troubled Times
No one expected that Young and Dangerous would leave such a profound impact
On January 15, 1991, he was in Jianghu On the night of the release, Liu Weiqiang decided to make a sequel. Ekin Cheng has no schedule anymore, so he focuses on Pheasant.
On March 30, 1996, "The Way of the Dragon" was released, from screenwriting, filming, post-production, to release. It only took 75 days and became the highest-grossing film in the series, with a gross of nearly HK$23 million.
Gigi Lai recalled that when she went out on the street, someone called her sister-in-law. Zhu Yongtang said that strangers always paid the bill when going to bars. Charmaine Sheh is still excited to work with Ekin Cheng after many years: Who wouldn’t want to be Chen Ho-nam’s woman?
When Jordan Chan went to Taiwan, after drinking coffee and going out, two rows of people lined up in front of the door: Master Ji, we are all Mr. Chiang’s people.
Jordan Chan said it was just for filming, but the other party insisted that it was true. Chen Xiaochun awkwardly thanked him, and people in both rows kept bowing.
After the marriage, the media interviewed Ning Cai'er about whether she was worried about Jordan Chan cheating. Ning Cai'er said bluntly: Pheasant will only love one woman in his life.
To this day, there is a question on Zhihu: "Does the Young and Dangerous series harm people?" There are more than 2,000 answers and more than 16 million views.
There are many praises and ridiculing messages in the comment area of ??NetEase Cloud: You fake fans, the real fans haven’t come out yet?
"Invincible" was released in 1997, and the title "97" was specially added. In the play, the characters in Hongxing changed dynasties, and the scene of the new Hongxing Society's leaders arriving in Hong Kong was just after the construction of the Hongxing Society. Filming on the Tsing Ma Bridge, which has been opened to traffic, Jiang Tianyang bluntly said: Political power comes from the barrel of a gun.
It was finally released on March 28, only 4 months before its return.
The theme of 1998 is the story between two Ho-nams, and it is emphasized that there can only be one Ho-nam in Causeway Bay.
For the first time, gangs contact the police to coordinate the conflict. The final way to decide the outcome is no longer the traditional chaotic gang fight on the street, but a legal and legal boxing match. Win or lose.
In the final chapter "The Winner Takes All", the name "Young and Dangerous" was directly abandoned. The theme of the story was also changed to Taiwan, and the fight between the two sides also evolved from gangs to the conflict of interests between the old and the new. The villain rises to power and is called the underworld leader.
In reality, this film was filmed in 2000, under the flat deep water, and an inauguration ceremony that year was also shouted by countless people as a day of shame.
The era is dappled with light and shadow, with love, darkness, money, and desire.
Three years later, a book "How the Bad Guy Was Made" came out. This book was named after the world famous book "How the Steel Was Tempered". It was subsequently permanently banned and the author disappeared. . Together with its serialized Zhulang novels, they also disappeared under the waves.
Netizens in Shenyang said that the disc with the most scratches in the video club is always Young and Dangerous; netizens in Jingzhou said that listening to the song reminded them of the years when they stayed up all night long; the boss in Inner Mongolia was already middle-aged and said that the movie was ridiculous It's childish, but when it comes to the saying "call me big brother, you will be the big brother for life" and feel full of confusion.
His fellow countryman Kong Ergou said that he loved to watch Chen Haonan dig his ears with his thumbs, as if he was looking at youth with cold eyes.
The young man in his painting drives a Passat and the stereo roars "Sword, Light, Sword, Shadow". He specially named a character in the book Zhao Shanhe - the real name of Young and Dangerous Pheasant.
In 2001, Ekin Cheng performed "The Ice Room", which completely sealed the "Young and Dangerous" series. The theme was:
Acting young and deceitful will never end well.
#3 No matter what
In 26 years, the world has changed a long time ago.
During SARS, the business of nightclubs in Hong Kong plummeted. After SARS, the most prosperous stores in East Tsim Sha Tsui changed from nightclubs to gold shops and pharmacies selling milk powder crowded with tourists.
In 2004, the large shopping mall Langham Place on Portland Street was completed, and the red light district has become a legend. Large shopping malls have introduced security companies, and associations have nowhere to collect protection fees. Even valet parking has been replaced by electronic QR code settlement.
A former gang leader complained: Now that the Young and Dangerous boys make their own money and spend it, there is no one to protect the association. In the past, when we came out to negotiate, we would respect each other's prefix and seniority, and even drink and read poems. Who cares about these things now?
The underground gang was cleansed and transformed, and the remaining gang members changed to worship Guan Gong once a month. The final initiation ceremony is also omitted, just give the eldest brother a red envelope.
Since when did people stop watching videotapes; and since when did people stop watching DVDs.
Even movies, known as the seventh art, are a little lonely. After all, under the high-intensity dopamine stimulation of short videos of 30 seconds to 1 minute, it can take up to 2 hours of motionless ritual feeling. Seems a bit outdated.
I’m a little curious about where the young people who opened the video rental shop back then are doing now. What do we, who now like to be surrounded by short videos, believe in?
Fortunately, the cover has been preserved forever on the Internet.
There is also Gigi Lai who is full of collagen, Ng Zhenyu who is showing his abnormal acting skills for the first time, and Chen Hao, a cool young boy.
Simon Yam, who became the big brother for the first time, and Zhang Yaoyang, who was reported by the people in Chaoyang. More people will no longer know about Young and Dangerous, as if the world is annihilated and the big hermit is hidden in the city.
#4 Fighting the Fire
Young and Dangerous is, after all, just a story about rivers and lakes. When it was born, it used rivers and lakes morality to fight against the newly emerging money order. When it came to an end, that order was unbreakable.
Exquisite rules give birth to an exquisite generation. They don’t like vulgar stories, they don’t believe in crude friendships, and naturally lighters can’t make fire.
On April 30, 2020, the last issue of Young and Dangerous was released.
This long story is like a leaf, falling on the unfamiliar Hong Kong, drifting away quietly, with few people paying attention.
At the end of the story, Niu Lao asked 52-year-old Chen Haonan to retreat to Laos, without seeing any old friends in the world or asking about any old stories in the world.
The Fit people in Causeway Bay will never return to Causeway Bay. The pheasant, who was hugging her from left to right, hugged his beloved wife, bowed to his descendants and said bluntly: I'm sorry, I'm afraid.
This is the first issue of the Overcoming Troubles series. If you are interested, please leave a message.
What I want to do in the future is about:
(1) beyond, Black Panther, the rock chronicle between faces;
(2) Hot dog, GAI The game between rock and roll and capital behind the scenes;
(3) Memories of the era of Yan Chengxu, Lin Zhixuan, Hu Haiquan, Li Yundi, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry and hops.
Welcome to leave a message, so stay tuned.