Undervalued For 31 Years, "Dragon" Was Magically Modified, Duan Yu And Xu Zhu Merged Together, Jiumozhi Fell In Love With Wang Yuyan

Recently, the launch of the new version of "Dragon" has caused quite a bit of controversy.

Due to problems such as improper casting, confusing plot, and poor production, the Douban score of the show has dropped to 3.3 points.

Among them, the scene in which Duan Yu sees Wang Yuyan's incontinence is definitely qualified to be shortlisted for the famous car accident scene in this year's domestic drama.

There is no suspense that this drama has become the worst-rated version of all the current versions.

Classic gems come first, and remakes will inevitably face comparisons, but it is indeed rare to have no highlights in all aspects like the 2021 version of "Dragon". Therefore, this drama will be together with the 2018 version of "The Swordsman" and the 2020 version of "The Deer and the Cauldron" , parallel:

The three worst mainland versions of Jin Yong's dramas.

Of course, there may be four more works in the future, after all, the new version of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" has not yet been aired.

Fan Fan has already written about the controversy surrounding the new version of "Dragon Movie" before. Let's talk about something else in this issue.

There will be a wave of remakes of Jin Yong's dramas every few years. Some are adapted into classics, and naturally there are also failures.

Before the 2021 version of "Dragon", there are already many cases of adaptation, such as:

In 2013, Chung Han-liang's version of "Dragon" had a Douban score of only 4.5.

Among all the remakes, the one with the weirdest plot is undoubtedly the 1990 Taiwanese version of "Dragon".

In terms of plot modification, I am afraid that all subsequent versions of film and television dramas will be beyond the reach of it.

At that time, the Taiwanese screenwriter made major revisions to the original work. In the play, Duan Yu and Xu Zhu were directly merged into one person, and Wang Yuyan and Meng Gu were also united. The screenwriter added many original plots, with all kinds of strange and chaotic elements flying everywhere, directly from The martial arts became a fairy tale drama.

The Douban score of this version of "Dragon" is only 4.7. The reason for this score is probably because not many people have watched it, otherwise the score will be even lower. But for the cinephile personally, I am deeply impressed by this version of "Dragon" because it is the first version I have ever seen.

In this issue of "Forgotten Domestic Dramas", let's introduce this magic transformation masterpiece in Jin Yong's drama——

"The Eight Parts of Demi-Gods"

This drama was produced by China Television and was broadcast at the end of 1990.

The producer is Zhou You, a gold medal producer in Taiwan's martial arts drama industry. She and Yang Peipei were responsible for almost half of Taiwan's costume martial arts dramas in the 1980s and 1990s. Zhou You has participated in the production of many classic Taiwanese dramas, such as: "Empress Wu Zetian", the 1991 version of "Flying Fox in the Snow Mountain", "Princess Huaiyu", the 1984 version of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", etc.

For domestic audiences, the most familiar one is the 1991 version of "Flying Fox in the Snow Mountain", which went to the snowy mountains in the mainland for filming, and changed the shortcomings of Taiwanese martial arts dramas with rough set art at that time. Unfortunately, although this drama cost a lot of money, it suffered from poor ratings at the time, which made Zhou You feel discouraged and gave up adapting Jin Yong dramas.

Before the 1990 version of "Dragon", Hong Kong had already launched multiple versions of film and television dramas. The more classic one was the drama version produced by TVB in 1982. This drama is divided into two parts: the first part is "Six Meridians of the Sword", The next part is "The Legend of Xu Zhu", which is a classic version in many people's memory, and its influence is not far behind that of the later 1997 version.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Taiwan's remakes of Jin Yong's martial arts dramas had two distinctive features: first, they made magical changes to the original works and greatly expanded the love scenes, which can basically be classified as romantic martial arts dramas; second, they loved to use Hong Kong stars to match the characters. Female protagonists often play multiple roles.

The 1990s version of "Dragon" is no exception, reflecting the style and interest of the Taiwanese martial arts dramas of that year in all aspects.

As usual, let’s start with casting.

The actor Qiao Feng is played by Hong Kong martial arts star Hui Tianci, who is also Hui Yinghong's brother. Hui Tianci himself has a background in kung fu and has played the male lead in many martial arts films. More importantly, he once played the role of Qiao Feng.

As early as 1982, Hui Tianci had acted in the Shaw Brothers film "The Gang", which was adapted from the novel "Dragon". The story of this film was derived from Jin Yong's original work, and the plot was highly restored. Only the names of the characters in the film were It has been completely changed, and the era background has been moved to the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties. The protagonist played by Hui Tianci in the film is actually Qiao Feng, the leader of the Beggar Gang.

The most innovative aspect of the 1990s version of "Dragon" is that the screenwriter combined the characters of Duan Yu and Xu Zhu in the original work into one.

Duan Yu is played by Guan Lijie, a regular actor in Hong Kong martial arts dramas. At that time, Guan Lijie was already 28 years old, but his appearance and temperament were still in line with the feeling of Duan Yu in the original work, especially at the beginning of the series, he was a kind-hearted and silly nerd who was a bit pedantic. The image is quite vivid.

The first heroine of "Tianlong" is naturally Wang Yuyan, but since Duan Yu and Xu Zhu are combined, the screenwriter made another stroke of a pen to make Wang Yuyan and Xu Zhu's official concubine Meng Gu (Princess of Xixia) merge into the same person , and Meng Gu, as the granddaughter of Li Qiu Shui, has a very similar appearance in the play, so Wang Yuyan, Meng Gu and Li Qiu Shui are all played by actress Song Gangling.

It is said that producer Zhou You originally planned to find Pan Yingzi, because she was the most popular costume drama actress in Taiwan at the time, but Pan Yingzi's schedule was too full, and Zhou You finally chose Song Gangling, an actress who had starred in the costume drama "Wang Zhaojun" , after filming this drama, she gradually faded out of the entertainment industry.

Like Wang Yuyan, Qiao Feng's official concubines A'Zhu and A'Zi are sisters. Of course, one person will play two roles. China Television's popular actress Zhang Yongyong plays the role. The actress who plays Zhong Ling later became famous with "The Fairy Wife" Ge Weiru from both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

From today's perspective, this show is definitely a star-studded show.

However, the filming process of this version of "Dragon" did not go smoothly that year. Because the actor Hui Tianci suffered a car accident, the filming period lasted for half a year. After the broadcast, the ratings were even less than ideal, and the plot was also criticized by the audience because of the magical changes. Criticize.

The beginning of this drama takes a bigger step than the 2021 version: Qiao Feng was ordered to assassinate the Liao coach Yelu Moge. As a result, on the way back, he unexpectedly ran into Li Qiushui and Tianshan Tonglao who were fighting in Xixia.

In the original work, the part about the child concubine in Tianshan Mountain was originally ghostwritten by Ni Kuang, so it has a certain fantasy color. The Taiwanese screenwriter used his imagination to add more fantasy elements to the original work.

Li Qiushui originally wanted to use the sound of the piano to lure and capture the legendary mythical beast "Jade Qilin" on a full moon night, but instead he ran into the poisonous "Manggu Zhu Clam" raised by the Child Elder in the sky. This pair of senior sisters, whose combined age is almost 200 years old, are also love rivals who have been entangled for many years, so they fight as soon as they meet.

Tianshan's child elder did not follow martial ethics and attacked Li Qiushui with poison. Fortunately, Qiao Feng, who was passing by, intervened and stopped the fight between the two.

As a result, the Tianshan Child Elder held a grudge and launched revenge on the Beggar Clan, causing the old gang leader Wang Jiantong to be injured by Manggu Zhuha. The only way to resolve the poisonous injury is to find the legendary beast Jade Kirin. Coincidentally, Yu Qilin was in Duan's family in Dali, so Qiao Feng set out for Prince Duan's Mansion.

On the way to Dali, Qiao Feng snatched a horse. The owner of the horse was Sang Qi, Murong's retainer in Gusu. Qiao Feng also met A'Zhu, the maid of the Murong family. The Murong family also came to Dali to look for the jade unicorn. of.

At the same time, people from Mantuo Villa also came to Dali with the purpose of getting the hair of Mrs. Duan Zhengchun Dao Baifeng, because the hostess of Mantuo Villa is Duan Zhengchun’s old lover Li Qingluo, and she hates her because of love. He wanted to kill Dao Baifeng by "sticking a villain".

Not only that, Li Qingluo also sent people to kidnap Duan Yu. Fortunately, Qiao Feng, who had seen an injustice on the road, took action and got acquainted with Duan Yu.

Later, the Tubo Imperial Master Jiumozhi came to Dali Tianlong Temple to challenge him. Qiao Feng happened to be there again and defeated Jiumozhi again.

Then, Qiao Feng learned that Princess Dao Baifeng had been possessed by witchcraft, so he ordered the disciples of the Beggar Gang to search for clues, and finally found Mantuo Villa. Duan Zhengchun came to find her, and finally broke Li Qingluo's witchcraft.

Dao Baifeng was grateful for Qiao Feng's generous action, so she took the initiative to tell him the clues about Yu Qilin. With the help of A'Zhu, Qiao Feng successfully found Yu Qilin and got the antidote.

On the other side, the rebellious young man Duan Yu ran away from home. As a result, he accidentally bumped into Quan Guanqing, the "first rhythm master of the Beggar Clan" on the road. He conspired with a mysterious man to use gunpowder to assassinate Qiao Feng, and this mysterious man was It's Murong Fu.

Duan Yu was discovered eavesdropping, and Quan Guanqing ordered his men to knock Duan Yu unconscious and throw him into a nearby river.

This scene happened to be overheard by a Beggar Clan disciple who was passing by nearby. This Beggar Clan disciple risked his life to deliver the message, and happened to meet A'Zhu before he died, so A'Zhu came to inform Qiao Feng regardless of the danger. In the end, Qiao Feng Feng was saved, but A'Zhu was seriously injured by the explosion.

Of course Duan Yu, who has the aura of the protagonist, cannot die. The nearby river is actually connected to the underground river of Wuliang Mountain. Duan Yu actually floats along the current into the Langhuan Paradise, where he meets the "fairy sister". The story only ends here. Return to the main line of the original work.

It's just that the "fairy sister" Duan Yu saw was not a statue, but Li Qiushui who was frozen in ice due to her martial arts practice.

After waking up, Li Qiu Shui discovered that Duan Yu was a unique martial arts prodigy, especially a good youngster who practiced the Beiming Divine Kung Fu of the Xiaoyao Sect. So Duan Yu studied under his master and learned the Beiming Divine Kung Fu and Lingbo Weibu.

The above is just the plot of the first episode. It can be said that——

Except for some character relationships in the original work, the plot is completely original to the screenwriter.

After Duan Yu learned Beiming Magic, the screenwriter brought the story back to the original work. Duan Yu met Zhong Ling and Mu Wanqing, and met the first heroine Wang Yuyan by chance.

In other versions of film and television dramas, Wang Yuyan is more like a fairy vase. Although she is proficient in various martial arts in the world, she is actually trying to please her cousin Murong Fu. In fact, Wang Yuyan's image in this drama is much higher than that in the original work.

In addition to her beauty and martial arts encyclopedia, she is also very independent in character. She is smart and considerate and can even use the empty city strategy to deceive Jiumozhi. She is just like the character of Huang Rong in "The Condor".

According to the design of leading heroines in Taiwanese martial arts dramas at that time, it was normal for the heroine to be crazily added to the role, so the screenwriter subversively added a character for Wang Yuyan that fascinated all living beings, and Duan Yu was not the only one to admire her.

For example: Jiumozhi, who was obsessed with martial arts in the original work, has become an old fool in this play.

In this play, Jiumozhi initially came to see Murong Fu to kick him out, but Wang Yuyan criticized his martial arts. From then on, Jiumozhi turned into a dog licker for Wang Yuyan. For this reason, he made a deal with Murong Fu and went to Duan Tianlong Temple in Dali. Challenge to win the Six Meridians Divine Sword, and exchange it for Wang Yuyan from Murong Fu.

If this is not enough, there is a plot later in the story where Jiumozhi uses the magic of ecstasy to control Wang Yuyan's mind in an attempt to possess her.

Of course, the main purpose of the screenwriter's arrangement is to allow the male protagonist Duan Yu to complete the main task of saving the beauty.

In addition to Jiumozhi, Wang Yuyan also has the second licking dog, Zhuo Bufan, who was the soy sauce character in the original work.

This plot is even more outrageous. I suspect that the screenwriter copied the scene of the Heartless Valley in Jin Yong's "The Legend of the Condor Heroes". In the original work, Zhuo Bufan was a soy sauce character who was beaten up by Xu Zhu, but in this drama he became an old man. A crazy man who claimed to have seen the "Condor Heroes" Xiao Longnu when he was young, and has been unable to forget her beauty ever since.

So under the introduction of Tianshan Child Elder, he set his sights on Wang Yuyan, who was as beautiful as Little Dragon Girl. What's even more outrageous is that Zhuo Bufan is also a master of witchcraft. He is suspected of being proficient in Maoshan magic and can control Wang Yuyan with spells, and thereby allow Wang Yuyan to marry Chao himself.

The screenwriter is extremely imaginative, but the problem is that the background of "Tianlong" is the Northern Song Dynasty, while "The Condor" takes place in the late Southern Song Dynasty.

So is Zhuo Bufan a time traveler?

As for Duan Yu's plot, because it was merged with Xu Zhu's story, it completely turned into a fantasy fairy tale.

First, Duan Yu unexpectedly met a crazy old woman who recognized her son everywhere. The kind-hearted Duan Yu influenced her. However, the unchanging rule in martial arts movies is that the protagonist must have adventures when he goes out. The crazy old woman is actually the most mysterious sect in the world, "Tianwai". The descendant of "Palace".

Because he valued Duan Yu's pure nature, he decided to pass on the mantle to him. As a result, Duan Yu learned the magical "Dream Control Technique" and gained the super power to communicate with people in dreams, and he could see the things he was thinking about in his dreams. Wang Yuyan.

Yes, you read that right, that’s how the script was written.

When Jiumozhi used the enchantment method to control Wang Yuyan's sanity, Duan Yu successfully restored Wang Yuyan's sanity by entering Wang Yuyan's dream.

The martial arts version of "Inception", do you like this idea?

As a result, due to insufficient skill, Duan Yu forced himself into a dream to wake up Wang Yuyan, causing his own backlash, and Duan Yu lost his memory.

As the biggest villain of the play, Murong Fu wanted to get rid of Duan Yu secretly, but Duan Yu had the aura of a protagonist after all, and was accidentally rescued by Shaolin abbot Xuan Ci. Duan Yu, who lost his memory, was taken into Shaolin and became a monk on the spot. From then on, he had a Buddhist name: Xu Zhu.

After becoming a disciple of Shaolin, Duan Yu's identity alternated between Duan Yu and Xu Zhu in the subsequent plots. Even in the same episode, Qianzu entered Shaolin as Xu Zhu and asked for punishment. Not long after, he was dragged to Xixia as the prince of Dali to choose his consort.

As the granddaughter of Li Qiushui, Wang Yuyan was brought to the Xixia Palace and canonized as the Princess of Xixia.

Compared with Duan Yu's line, the main plot of the other protagonist Qiao Feng has basically been retained.

However, because there are too many original plots, the story is full of holes, and many characters are a bit whitewashed compared to the original.

When Ah Zi first appeared, she still had the evil and brutal character of the original novel, but as she went on, she became more and more like she was just unruly and willful. This version of You TanZhi is more assertive than the original. In the second half of the story, he reconciles with Qiao Feng, becomes a good friend of the protagonists, and has always been the leader of the Beggar Clan.

The bigger character change is that of Murong Fu in this drama. As the number one villain in the drama, he is simply a troublemaker. So much so that when watching this version of "Tian Long Ba Bu", one often feels that "any bad thing in the world is the same as..." "Murong Fu can't escape the relationship."

From the moment he appeared on the scene, this version of Murong Fu has been constantly planning bad things and framing good people. For example, he blamed Qiao Feng for a masked murder, and then secretly colluded with Quan Guanqing and Kang Min to reveal Qiao Feng's identity as a Liao man.

The point is that Murong Fu's motive for framing Qiao Feng was because he admired Qiao Feng and wanted to win over him, so he wanted to ruin his reputation. That's why he framed him and left him isolated and helpless, so that he could unite with Qiao Feng to restore the country.

The most subversive adaptation is the tragedy of Murong Fu's identity.

In this play, the identities of Duan Yu and Xu Zhu are merged into one. As the protagonist, Duan Yu gets Xu Zhu's adventures, while Xu Zhu's tragic life experience falls on Murong Fu, as the villain.

In the original work, Xu Zhu is the illegitimate son of the Shaolin abbot and Ye Erniang, but in this drama, it also leads to an incident of a civet cat replacing the prince.

In order to take revenge, Xiao Yuanshan transferred Murong Bo's newly born baby to Ye Erniang's illegitimate son, causing the monk who was supposed to have grown up in the Shaolin Temple to become Murong Fu when he grew up.

Therefore, Murong Fu, who had been determined to revive the Yan Kingdom since childhood, was actually not from the Murong family at all.

Although he did many bad things, it was all a fool's errand, because his life was a complete tragedy.

Generally speaking, this version of "Dragon" is the most magically modified version of a film and television drama that I have ever seen. Many people think that this is a thunderous adaptation. Even if the new version of "Dragon" thirty years later "Part", compared with this drama, it can only be inferior.

According to an interview with Taiwanese media at that time, producer Zhou You once asked the screenwriter why he made such magical changes.

Zhou You himself once responded, claiming that it was the suggestion from screenwriter Liang Liren:

He thought that after receiving the screenwriting fee, he would be very unhappy if he just copied the original work.

From this perspective, when I look at this version of "Dragon", I feel that this drama is very ambitious and the creator intends to subvert the classics. If the production team had removed the name "Dragon" and directly labeled it as original.

It is estimated that it is likely to become an alternative classic among martial arts dramas!