zhang yimou film presentation

8/8/2019 Zhang Yimou Film Presentation

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A Zhang Yimou Film

PRESENTATION BY: ANGELA YANG & NICKI

WONG



Shanghai Triad

Name from the Chinese lullaby, which is also sung in themovieOriginally a novel by Li XiaoDirected by Zhang Yimou; Cinematography by Lü YueStarring Gong Li, Li Bao Tian, Wang Xiao Xiao

Set in the criminal underworld of 1930s Shanghai, this thriller is about a fourteen year old boy, Tang Shuisheng, who istaken from the country side and brought to the rich, exotic life

of Shanghai to work for a gang-lord's mistress, Bijou. It spansthe course of seven days.



The Cinematography

Shanghai Triad uses a fastfilm stock to produce that grittyand monochromatic look,especially in the scenes at thenight-club. It's also to show an

old look; if everything is verysharp it gives a more modernfeel. The colors aren't detailedand the image isn't very sharp,a little bit blurred to emphasizethat the place is very busy,and also that it's very brightand pretty with all the lighting.



Since the gangs live and conduct all their businesses indoors, and atnight, the film is mostly shot in interior locations. This is how Zhang Yimouwanted to depict their wealth and power. In the beginning of the film weare shown the mansion belonging to the Boss, where the first half of themovie is shot. The colors are saturated because of the yellow lights used;

also to show the fact that they are inside. When the scenes are outsidethe colors become desaturated, become less intense and vivid, and theimages are sometimes tinted blue. This is usually during the night timeand it enhances the darkness of the outside world and it gives a coldfeeling. The color blue is used to show sadness and also give a

melancholy feeling.



Because of almost all the scenes are shotindoors, a low key lighting is used to to createa dramatic and mysterious effect, as thescenes are also set during the night time. Thelights are always on, especially since it's night.

This is also used to compliment the color saturations.

Soft lighting isused to blur theborder between

line and shadowsenhance the darktones andshadows.



When the film setting changes to the countryside, the naturalworld, all the colors and lighting change. It is not so bright andso vivid anymore, everything is dulled and the colors are

desaturated. It contrasts from the extravagancefrom the previous scenes; morenatural and the tones soften. Thecountryside is tinted brown but

still with hints of yellow;emphasizing the remoteness of the area with the earthy tones, far away from the gaudy, rich lifethey've just experienced in the

city of Shanghai. The colors alsochange the mood for the scene.

The brown tones along with thegentle blow of the wind, swayingreeds and the songs of birds make the audience feelmore peaceful and morecomfortable compared to the citylife filled with blinding lights.



We think that the film was shot on 16mm film and thenenlarged onto 35mm film to enhance the grainy effect as mostof the film, especially the beginning, like the scenes in the night

club, has a gritty feel with not so sharp images and not verydetailed. Some parts of the film use a 35mm film becausethere are some scenes, mostly in close-ups, in the beginningwhere the camera focuses onto the expressions of thecharacter and the projected image becomes more sharp and

detailed.

Grainy effects

Sharper image



ormal lenshat the normal eye would

ee; looking at the reflectionhrough a mirror.

Telephoto lensClose ups and shallow focus onthe background; at the islandsinging children's songs

Wide angle lensEmphasizing distance,causes all planes to appear further away; tranquilsunset on the island

Shanghai Triad usesall three

kinds of lenses:

The most used is normal lens and telephoto lens.



The 180 degree rule:She walks out of theroom, the camera

position at #3,shooting front-on.Camera switches tothe back, position #2and then to position

#1, side-on, as sheslams the door andwalks away.

The rule of thirds:The position of the woman is

close to the leftgrid line and theposition of thegirl is on the rightgrid line.

The darker areas are in the left

third and the over-exposedareas, where the sunlight isshining, are in the right third.



We think that special effects have been used in this film. Thecolor tints: when they were at the countryside, at night the colorswere tinted blue to give a sense of loneliness and sadness. The

scenes upon arriving the island the colors were also tinted, thistime a brown earthy tone, to emphasize the surrounding nature.There was also the fight scene, where the rival gang had set upa fight to try and kill the Boss, who was saved by Shuisheng'suncle. Shuisheng's uncle sacrificed himself. When Shuishengarrived at the scene, it was tinted red to show the signs of murder and violence. The red color also represents the crueltyand ruthlessness of the world Shuisheng has been unwillinglydragged into.

Another example of special effects is the rain at the endingscenes. We think that they created the rain just for the scene, asthey need to shoot the scene over and over again just to get itright and natural rain isn't reliable to always be there when youneed it. This is called Atmospheric effect, part of the category

mechanical effects.



The cinematography of the film matches it's content becausefirstly it's shot indoors, which is where gangs conductbusinesses. Indoors also gives a sense of imprisonment,

proving that each character is controlled, although theyappear to be free and of their own will. Once you are in theworld of the Boss, you are closely supervised and tightlyconfined.

Bright colors, the low key lighting and the contrasts createdwith the lights and the shadows are used to attract theviewer's attention. Also the contrast between the mood of thescene and the music in the background also catches people'sattention.

The camera zooms in on people's faces very often, highlighting their expressions and emotions. There are also many point of view shots,like the scene where Shuisheng is about to find the aftermath of thefight between the rival gang, and the ending scene where the camera

pans back and forth showing what he's looking at from upside down.



Shuisheng views the this new and unfamiliar world of hismistress and the Boss incompletely. The story propels

forward through the things sees, or isn't supposed to see.There are many times when he doesn't fully understand thethings that are going on. The story also ends fromShuisheng's point of view, as all hope and a way out of thecruel world is lost. Shuisheng's future has already been

determined.In a way the three protagonists of the film Shuisheng, Bijouand Aijao are all the same, just at different points. Bijou wasdrawn in and lived the glamorous life, and paid the price for her greed. Shuisheng learns what happens when you try and

fight against the world he now lives in, the hard way. Aijao isa young Bijou, who's captivated by the wonders she thinksawaits her. She is the beginning, Shuisheng is in the middleand Bijou is the end.



ThemesZhang Yimou uses the theme of overpowering patriarch in many

of his movies. He uses many techniques to achieve the sense of absolute and unchallenged power. In Shanghai Triad the Bossseems superhuman; he is ruthless and manipulative, makingsure of his position as the Boss, with a capital B. He knowseverything that happens even when you have carefully

concealed the evidence and he controls everything even whenyou think you are free. In the last scene, his laughter is a symbolof power over those around him. He is mocking those who darequestion his authority and his power, and shows his lightheartedattitude towards the world because he has all the control.

Also the situation of the protagonist being enveloped by theworld they live in appears a lot. Shuisheng has had hisinnocence taken away from him and is left a broken young boybeing controlled, tossed around and left to just observe other

people's unfortunate fate.



The final movie differs from the original script, which tells the strugglebetween different gangs for control. The original script had included alot more violence and fighting. The final movie doesn't show a lot of violence, although it is implied."Violence is very fashionable in the cinema today. I want to get awayfrom it. That is the basic reason for changing the original script. Nowthe film deals primarily with the fate of a woman living in a societycontrolled by the mafia. The struggle between the mafia gangs isrelegated to the background of the story."

We were surprised to find the movie very clean. They don't show a lotof the killing scenes, or even the expressions on the people's faces

just as they're about to die, which is what we usually see to

emphasize the moment. Although the storyline is dark and the issue with what the movie isabout isn't a happy topic, it's good that Zhang Yimou chose not toshow an excess of violence. In fact he used children's music, full of innocence and purity to counteract all the heaviness of the situations.



The music

Usually the soundtrack is made to accompany the scenesand to create the atmosphere or mood. But Zhang Yimoudidn't want to follow the "traditional practice" by using intense,fast music to backup the action during a violent scene, tobuild up suspense. Instead, he used simple, soft songs

played on traditional instruments and sung by children.

"Through the music I want to portray the generosity of humanbeings. "

The songs were light and clear, a cheerful song. Children'ssongs are usually happy and full of life, but although that'sthe case, in the context of the scene in the movie the songbecame very sad and the voices of the children almosthaunting.



Zhang Yimou"Zhang Yimou as a director has

established himself over the course of his career as a master of photography.His ability to express so many ideas onscreen and tell a story both in narrationand in film is astounding."

In the beginning he enters the violent,cruel world quite oblivious to what itholds. We watch his journey through hiseyes, we see what he sees. The endingof Shanghai Triad allows the viewer to in

a sense, participate, the sense of lossand the helplessness that Shuisengexperiences.

"Yimou is one of thebest visual stylists of current cinema."- Robert Ebert,renowned American film critic

zhang yimou film presentation

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