The ones who entered this year’s Valentine’s Day file turned out to be Andy Lau and Zheng Xiuwen!
"Dragon and Phoenix Fight"
This film, which was released in 2004 and starred by Andy Lau and Zheng Xiuwen, has a rating of 6.7 on Douban, which is not only far lower than a number of classic Hong Kong films that have been rereleased before ("Eastern Heretic: The Ultimate Edition" 8.7, "A Ghost Girl" 8.6, "Sweet Honey" 8.8, "Journey to the West: The Great Sage Married" 9.2, "The Grandmaster of the Generation" 7.8), even in the works of director Johnnie To, it is not a masterpiece.
A list of some reruns of Douban movies in recent years
Therefore, as soon as the replay news was announced, some people said that the filmmakers were trying to make money.
Is it money? We give the choice to the audience. If the audience supports the show and the film company makes money, it means that the business vision is good; if the box office is not good, it loses the publicity fee for the replay, which is also the film company’s own money.
However, we found that in recent years, only one domestic movie, "Journey to the West: The Great Sage’s Marriage", has grossed over 100 million yuan.
So what kind of movie is "Dragon and Phoenix Fight"?
That has to start with Galaxy Images, the production company headed by Mr. To.
Galaxy Image
As is known to all, Galaxy Image is most respected by fans for its many stylized works, such as "The Birth of a Word", "Two Can Only Live One", "Dark Flower", and "Gunfire" in the late 1990s.
From left: "The Birth of a Prefix", "Two Can Only Live One", "Dark Flowers", "Gunfire" posters
The fate of shooting this kind of gray, violent and fatalistic work is usually not to be popular. Therefore, Galaxy Imaging once struggled to operate.
In order to survive, Mr. To and Mr. Wei also led their colleagues to make commercially successful films, earning money to make stylized works. Among these hit films were the romantic films "Lonely Man and Widow" and "Slimming Men and Women" starring Andy Lau and Samuel Cheng.
"Alone Man and Widow" "Slimming Men and Women" poster
Released in 2000, "A Man and a Woman" is about office romance, full of fun and a sense of the times. In the Hong Kong market at that time, it won 35.21 million Hong Kong dollars at the box office.
2001 released "slimming men and women", handsome men and beautiful women into fat boys and girls, is the biggest point of the movie, the plot is easy and funny, loved by urban audiences, the box office 40.32 million Hong Kong dollars.
The current hot sale of "Ex 3: Goodbye Ex" is to capture the psychology of lovelorn syndrome and provide relief channels for those who are unhappy on the emotional road. The "Lonely Men and Widows" and "Slimming Men and Women" of that year are a tender and delicate depiction of the emotional life of urban men and women, and presented in a light comedy way, which played a role in soothing the soul, and achieved a great harvest at the box office.
"Ex 3: Goodbye Ex" stills
The 2004 release of this "Dragon and Phoenix", in the genre of comedy and love, the story of stealing a beautiful enemy, and the combination of "Johnnie To + Andy Lau + Cheng Xiuwen", won the Hong Kong market box office that year 15.30 million Hong Kong dollars.
"Dragon and Phoenix Fight" stills
"Dragon and Phoenix" has also been released in the mainland, and the box office is not very good. The reason is that the film girl believes that it is caused by the contrast between the story before and after the film. Most of the first half of the movie, the hero and heroine of the two thieves fight wits, which makes people think it is a dazzling theft movie, but in the end it ends with love as an excuse, and it is anticlimactic.
So is this "Dragon and Phoenix Fight" worth watching? Yingmei invited a few senior Hong Kong film fans who have seen this film to score and make short comments for your reference.
Zhao Zhu (screenwriter) 75 points
The peak plays of Du Qifeng and Wei Jiahui, the best "thief partner" of Andy Lau and Zheng Xiuwen. The concept of love in life and death, after the package is flipped layer by layer by the thief couple’s wits and courage, has actually dispelled some of the tragic colors, so there are still many audiences who will express their puzzlement and dissatisfaction with Zheng Xiuwen’s happy smile at the end. But compared with the current environment of domestic films, Wei, Du, Liu, and Zheng are all at their peak. It is recommended to watch.
Nine Lives (Film and Television Practitioner) 65 points
The plot is too ordinary, and the Galaxy Imaging movie works are at a lower middle level, right? But Andy Lau and Zheng Xiuwen, a classic Hong Kong movie CP, are still worth revisiting on the big screen, and the soundtrack is good.
Kitty (Film New Media Editor) 70 points
To Qifeng + Andy Lau + Cheng Xiuwen, there is a beautiful atmosphere of the golden age of Hong Kong movies. Especially the elements such as Nokia mobile phones and jumping beads, it is full of nostalgia. For some reason, I always feel that the character and plot in Andy Lau’s film are very similar to "Dark War". Although I can guess the ending halfway through, I can’t help but keep watching with a smile on the corner of my mouth. This is probably the charm of Hong Kong classic romances. And the ending is very touching.
Cui Ding (editor of the film website) 70 points
The film that Du Qifeng and Wei Jiahui cooperate in is full of all kinds of wit and humor. The old couple walks in the rivers and lakes, obviously in love, but they are going to separate. It is a modern love story, but the core is very retro and legendary.
Wang Jiachuan (Editor-in-Chief of Film Media) 65 points
It can be seen as the last installment of Andy Lau’s CP trilogy. Although there are also small sentiments, small pleasures, and small contradictions, it ends with a big tragedy. To Qifeng is not filming the confusion of love, but the supremacy of love.
The re-release date of "Dragon and Phoenix Fight" is February 10, that is, this Saturday, referring to Valentine’s Day on February 14. When Andy Lau and Zheng Xiuwen return to the classic screen CP, they bring people not only the emotion of the fleeting of Shaohua, but also the beauty of the frozen time frame.
So, would you go to the cinema for them?