Read
any negative posts or reviews about movies like "Stormriders"
and the more recent Tsui Hark epic (yeah, I liked
it) "The Legend of Zu" and you'll probably
hear the same general complaints. Things like, "It
has too much CG" or "The overabundance of
computer animation downplays the actor's skills"
and so on, ad nauseum. While these are, in all fairness,
pretty reasonable complaints, I think most of it is
generated by the viewer's fear of Computer Graphics.
Stay
with me for a second.
|
|
|
|
"…people
worry that Hong Kong films will eventually be
all CGI, depriving us of beautiful, natural
cinematography and brilliant performances "
|
The
more movies like "Legend of Zu" are released,
the quicker the naysayer are to cling to their last
precious thread of "classic" Hong Kong cinema
memories, as if a movie without CG will never be produced
again. For some reason, it seems like a great deal
of people worry that Hong Kong films will eventually
be all CGI, depriving us of beautiful, natural cinematography
and brilliant performances.
|
|
|
|
"I
see CG as a new form of wire-work…"
|
Although,
I admit there is a bit of irony within the fact that
filmmakers of Hong Kong have often been known to pride
themselves on all the realism contained in their movies.
But it's not like the end to realistic stunts and
action will start with the CGI boom. What about the
long-running staple of excellent films that employed
extreme doses of "Wire-Fu?" I see CG as
a new form of wire-work, if you will. It's all illusion,
but the possibilities explode open when a film company
has the resources to produce quality CG and animation.
We all need to remember that, while this may be an
old subject to us over here in the West, this is all
relatively new to those up and coming filmmakers in
Hong Kong and the rest of Asia. Largely in debt to
the overwhelming success of Andrew Lau's triad series
"Young and Dangerous," Lau and friends (Bob
and Partners Ltd.) were able to pioneer a new direction
in the realm of Asian cinema using the abilities of
Hong Kong's version of Industrial Light and Magic,
Centro Digital Pictures.
|
|
|
|
"Amazing
as it is, "Stormriders" was the first
to employ such CG."
|
Amazing
as it is, "Stormriders" was the first to
employ such CG. It's pretty crazy that the virgin
foray into this new medium turned out to be such a
fantastic film. Lau continued on his CG exploits with
the similarly CG-ed out "Man Called Hero,"
and the more humorous film, "The Duel."
All of the effects in these films are very state of
the art, and have paved the way for the more recent
greats, flicks like "The Legend of Zu" and
"Shaolin Soccer." Although these latest
movies have been burning up the Hong Kong box office
(prior to DVD release), I don't really think it's
safe to say that this is all people want to see. The
fact of the matter is, "The Legend of Zu"
NEEDS the CG it incorporates. As much as I love the
good ol' stop motion monsters and movies like the
original "Zu Warriors" that used painfully
obvious camera cuts to display most of the action,
gone are the days where filmmakers can pull this off
without drawing out a chuckle from the audience. Yes,
I do agree that there is an overwhelming amount of
CG in "The Legend of ZU," but that's Tsui
Harks business, and I think he pulls it off wonderfully.
|
|
|
|
"The
Legend of Zu" NEEDS the CG it incorporates."
|
As
for the future of the Hong Kong movie industry, the
only thing to worry about is a bunch of low-budget
garbage movies abusing CG and then we'll really have
an ugly situation. But instead of worrying about Hong
Kong being taken over by CG, be glad that so many
great flicks are still coming out. And if you still
can't stand the way new movies are turning out, then
make your own. Nooch.
Joseph
Luster
01/31/2002
