Dragon and Tiger Martial Master： Fighting with blood to make a movie.

Wen/Liu Ying

In Hongkong, the movie action body double has a prestigious name "Dragon and Tiger Master". They are martial arts masters who left home when they were young and practiced little by little from their boyhood. They have all the skills, not only acting, but also carrying falls and making dazzling martial arts moves in front of the camera. They are also unsung heroes who have propped up the glory of the industry. In the 1980s and 1990s, it was countless martial arts actors who contributed their bodies and sweat to make Hong Kong action movies prosperous and have a place in the world film history. In this sense, Wei Junzi, a veteran media person and a Hong Kong film researcher, gave a most affectionate look back and coronation to this group of filmmakers.

The form of "Dragon and Tiger Martial Master" is quite popular and easy to understand, which is a combination of current interviews and old movie clips. Ceng Zhiwei, Yuan Heping and many other well-known action movie actors all appeared to tell us about this interesting and dangerous film job. After a brief review of the origins of martial arts in movies, Peking Opera, Kung Fu and other traditions, the film will spend more pen and ink on exploring the mode of getting along with martial arts people, the working concept of "fighting for Excellence with one’s life" by Dragon and Tiger Masters, and the prospect of this industry in the future. Here, the film is not rigidly unfolded in chronological order, trying to completely deconstruct past lives, a militant, with the history of Hong Kong films. Instead, it skillfully highlights and emphasizes important time points and characters through editing from the dictation of many characters. At the same time, due to the particularity of Wushu’s own rules, most practitioners worship under different "sects" and are as close as their eldest brother-Jackie Chan, Yuan Heping and others and their team members are all able to appear in the film and tell about their cooperation, which is quite objective.

Of course, the development of Hong Kong film itself is a heavy and complicated history, and it is impossible for a 90-minute film to cover everything from beginning to end. The biggest regret of this film should be that it failed to show the elegance of action movies in the Shaw period, and failed to let Jackie Chan, the number one signboard of kung fu movies, be interviewed in person. However, the absence of superstars makes the audience pay more attention to those faces that also support the industry, but have never been noticed because of their popularity. They are unsung heroes on the set, because they are body double. When they are fighting desperately, there will be no camera to give any close-ups. The final merit and fame are still placed on the stars. They are not "behind the scenes", but they often appear in the crowd and will not be stopped by fans, enjoying the attention of the spotlight. "Dragon and Tiger Martial Master" captures the spirit of body double, a martial artist-they understand the dangers of work. In the film, they shot the scenes of falling from the sky, racing at top speed and punching to the flesh one by one. But at the same time, they are grateful for the rewards brought by this job: perhaps it was the relatively good economic conditions at that time, perhaps it was the passion when they followed the big brother of the star, perhaps it was the pride that even anonymous participants would have when the film was born. While they frequently pass by death in their work, they enjoy the thrilling fun, and they have the persistence of craftsmen.

This persistence is probably the most touching part of the film, which is not only related to nostalgia for the past glory of Cantonese Kung Fu films, but also attempts to outline the lines for the future of Hong Kong films with the group images of martial arts. The film industry in Hong Kong and the Mainland has exchanged needed goods with each other, and the scrolls providing development opportunities have been slowly unfolded. In fact, it can be seen from the generally good Putonghua level of the film interviewees that Hong Kong martial arts instructors have already had in-depth exchanges with the mainland film industry, and some have even gone north completely and shifted their focus to the mainland. Just as Bruce Lee, who returned from the United States at that time, upgraded Kung Fu movies by herself, the film cooperation outside Hong Kong now seems to indicate the future hope of action movies and martial arts. Xiongguan’s rambling road is as iron as iron. Before we set off again, Dragon and Tiger Martial Master undoubtedly provided us with enough emotion, blood and reflection.