New Tracks on Tiger Mountain

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A 3D movie directed by Tsui Hark from Hong Kong， The Taking of tiger mountain was adapted from a 1957 novel， Tracks in the Snowy Forest by Qu Bo. The novel recounts the story of the People’s Liberation Army sending troops to suppress bandits in northeastern China in the winter of 1946. Led by Shao Jianbo， a small detachment of 36 soldiers trekked deep into Tiger Mountain during the coldest days of the year and launched a battle of wits and courage against several groups of bandits， eventually wiping them out. The battle gave birth to several heroes represented by Yang Zirong.

Since the 1950s， the novel has been adapted to stage and screen several times including a 1960 film directed by Liu Peiran named after the book and a 1970 revolutionary opera， The Taking of Tiger Mountain， both of which enjoyed enduring popularity. A 2003 television series， Tracks in the Snowy Forest， provoked scathing criticism including from the former State Administration of Radio， Film and Television， citing its unfaithfulness to the core spirit of the original work.

Against such a backdrop， Tsui Hark faced multiple challenges in his stab at adaptation. His film had to be faithful to the original work to avoid the TV tragedy， but must offer fresh entertainment above and beyond the 1960 film C especially content that appeals to younger spectators.

If box office numbers are any indica-tor， Tsui faced down every challenge. The film has been a massive hit. By January 27， 2015， it had broken box office records by earning 860 million yuan as the best-performing Chinese new Year’s release ever.

How？

Many may wonder how Tsui Hark managed such success. His formula is complex， but two pieces of it are fundamental.

First， he made the right casting choices for the leads， including Yang Zirong. Playing such a role is not easy because Yang shares traits with Robin Hood C righteous and heroic.

Wang Runshen， who played Yang in the old version， did a good job because he understood the character. Wang Luoyong， who played Yang in the TV show， didn’t work because he acted too scholarly. In the new 3D movie， Zhang Hanyu moulded Yang Zirong as he should be， refreshing the memories of those deeply impressed by the first actor， while winning high acclaim from the young generation， who are more familiar with the “lone wolf” hero of many Hollywood crime capers.

Another secret to his success is the special effects， which can be seen on many occasions， especially the tiger-fighting sequence. The novelist described the sequence in two pages， but such words were a major headache to depict visually on film.

In the old version， Yang Zirong heads to the mountain empty-handed， and the tiger fight is not depicted for technical reasons. In the opera， the fight is expressed with dance. In the TV series， Yang Zirong kills the tiger with one shot from a gun. In the new film， the hero engages in fierce， realistic combat with the tiger， chasing it up a tree and wrestling it to the snowy ground.

Tsui Hark is manic about technology. He insisted on perfect special effects.

A New Bottle for Fine Wine

The “revolutionary opera” was a product of the chaotic “cultural revolution”（1966-1976） period. Featuring revolutionary realism and romanticism， all such operas were required to address principles of “three priorities”C positive characters， heroes among the positive characters， and leading heroes. Therefore， all the major characters in the plays are flawless， like Li Yuhe in The Red Lantern and Guo Jianguang in Shajiabang.

Unfortunately， these requirements stray far from the rules of dramatic creation， creating flat， one-dimensional characters.

Tsui Hark’s Taking of Tiger Mountain is written in a brand new movie language which seems to pay homage to the op- era from its perspective because it sticks strictly to the core concept， creation principle and methodology. The major difference is that it zooms in twice as tight on original scenes amidst a massive production. Take weapons for an example. Jiang Qing， wife of Mao Zedong， who introduced the idea of“revolutionary” （model） operas， noted during staging of the opera that a squad in that era was usually equipped with weapons such as Type 38 Arisaka rifles， bayonets， grenades and at least one light machine gun or maybe two carbines. In the new film， we see both light and heavy machine guns， a tank and cannon.

“In the novel， the Hall of Tiger is as small as a shack， big enough to accommodate only three people，” explains screenwriter Zhou Qiyue. “It’s not warm enough to survive winter.” Though upgraded in both the TV series and opera， it still looks rustic. In the 3D version， however， the structure is overwhelmingly grand C a modern military base spacious enough for thousands of bandits and even a private plane.

The overall upgrade of the entire story in the 3D version consequently elevated Yang Zirong， a heroic scout， into the“James Bond of China.”

What is hiding behind the smokescreen of the improvements is Tsui Hark’s obsession and pursuit of the “marvelous， gorgeous， splendid， and posh，” which cope well with the core spirit of the original work， realistic yet magical， China red yet Hollywood C satisfying both authorities and spectators.

Tsui Hark owes much of his success to the perfect transition from revolutionary romanticism to fantasy consumerism， which unfolds smoothly from beginning to end. He has demonstrated that the truths of revolutionary mass culture of a different era required a certain “formula” C one which he has revived triumphantly for today’s consumers C and packaged in a new bottle.