On July 30, Zhang Yimou and his daughter Zhang Mo collaborated on the film "Sniper" to resist US aggression and aid Korea, which will be released. This film is not only the first collaboration between Zhang Yimou and his daughter, but also his first panoramic war-themed film.
Although the quality of Zhang Yimou's movies is usually guaranteed, and there is also a reassuring new "Mou Boy" Zhang Yi in the starring lineup, many netizens, including me, will worry about whether the name "Sniper" is appropriate when they see the film.
1. The new name "Sniper" is more representative Zhang Yimou's film was originally named "The Coldest Gun" when it was originally recorded, and this name does reflect the historical background of the story - the "Cold Gun Cold Gun Movement" in the later period of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, which has a certain historical accuracy.
But the new name "Sniper" is more representative of the theme and content of the film, more intuitive and attractive.
In the "Cold Gun Cold Gun Movement", a group of outstanding top shooters emerged, the most well-known of which was Zhang Taofang. The hero, known as the "farsighted eye", managed to kill 214 enemies with 436 rounds in 32 days.
In the movie "The Coldest Gun", the prototype of the protagonist Zhang Dagong is Zhang Taofang. Therefore, the word "most" here is used very appropriately. In addition, the movie corresponds to the "heat" of war with "cold", which not only fits the theme of "cold guns and cold cannon sports", but also shows the cruelty and ruthlessness of war.
Therefore, the use of the word "cold" is undoubtedly very ingenious. To sum up, the title of "The Coldest Gun" is undoubtedly very good. So why change it to Sniper?
2. The benefits of changing the name to "Sniper" There is a rumor on the Internet that the name "The Coldest Gun" is not good, which seems to be saying that the volunteer soldiers "shoot cold guns" behind their backs, which damages the image of the volunteer soldiers.
However, this point of view was actually put forward by some netizens who do not understand history. The "Cold Gun and Cold Gun Movement" in which Zhang Taofang participated was ordered by the Volunteer Army Headquarters, so "cold gun" is not only an official term, but also a historical term.
We can't judge the content and characters of a movie just because of a name. This is a real problem in China's film market, and many viewers have little understanding of the content of films involving historical themes, and they do not understand history or military affairs.
This has led to some viewers misunderstanding or criticism of the movie because of a name. For example, Zhang Yimou's previous "One Second", although the name is very literary, it has not been recognized by many audiences.
And those more direct and simple movie names, such as "Warm Embrace" and "Iron Fist of Shame", are more popular with the audience. Therefore, we need to have a deeper understanding of history and culture in order to better understand and appreciate film.
At the same time, film creators also need to pay more attention to the consistency of the film's name and content in order to better convey the theme and emotion of the film.
In today's film and television drama market, the term "sniper" has become popular, no matter what the background of the times, as long as a handsome sniper and a cool sniper rifle appear, the work will look more upscale and better-looking.
Coupled with the influence of "big sniper" in online games, "Sniper" has become a favorite and easy-to-understand name for the audience. However, this also raises questions about whether the renaming of "The Coldest Gun" to "Sniper" is just to cater to the market demand, and whether such a compromise can really bring in the box office?
3. Potential problems of "Sniper" For director Zhang Yimou, there are also two potential problems with the name of the movie "Sniper": 1. It does not conform to historical facts in China"Snipers"As a special noun, it appeared in the mid-to-late eighties of the last century, and even the first special sniper rifle in our country appeared at that time, and in the previous decades, our army did not use it"Snipers"The noun.
In Bright Sword, when Zhao Gang explained why snipers were called "sharpshooters", he pointed out that this was the most common term for the establishment of our army. In the order of the headquarters of the Volunteer Army on the launch of the "cold gun and cold artillery campaign", the term "special marksman" was also used, which was also the common written term for "sharpshooter" in our army.
In fact, the story of Zhang Yimou's movie "Sniper" is set in the "Cold Gun and Cold Gun Movement" to resist US aggression and aid Korea, and it is more appropriate to be titled "special shooter" rather than "sniper" that appeared in China 30 years later.
As a result, the name of the film "Sniper" is somewhat incongruous in terms of historical context.
If you search for "Sniper" film and television dramas, you will find that there are at least ten or more "Sniper" movies or TV series in Chinese and foreign film and television libraries, some of which are relatively close to the movies directed by Zhang Yimou.
In 2020, the film "Sniper" produced by Jindun Film and Television Center aroused questions from producer Li Xuezheng. He publicly stated on the Internet that he didn't understand why director Zhang Yimou had to repeat the names of movies used by others.
Li Xuezheng does not need to feel aggrieved at all, because the "Sniper" he supervised was not a pioneering work. As early as 2009, Tong Dawei and Liu Zi starred in a TV series called "Sniper".
This is just a film and television drama with the same name and surname, if all sniper-themed film and television dramas are counted, then this number will be even larger. The most famous of these is undoubtedly "My Brother's Name is Shunyo".
And Zhang Yimou's "Sniper" has jumped from an untapped field into a highly competitive market. The advantage of the Red Sea market is that if done well, it has the potential to be a big success; But the disadvantages are also very obvious, and if you are not careful, you may fail miserably.
"The Coldest Gun" was officially renamed "Sniper", this summer file, let us witness the story of the coexistence of risks and opportunities, whether it is a brave pursuit or delusional, everything is waiting for your answer.