Buzz
Part one of the Feng Shen movie series is causing a stir in the Chinese box office, receiving countless accolades for its special effects, visual effects, character makeup, and captivating storyline.
On August 1st, QQ reported that the film Feng Shen Part One grossed over 1.1 billion CNY after 10 days of release. Initially, the film's reputation wasn't high, even facing doubts of becoming a flop like many recent adaptations inspired by Feng Shen Yan Yi. However, after its release, the film's reputation gradually reversed, warmly welcomed by audiences.
According to QQ, director Wu Ni Zhen, who also helmed the film Hoa Bi 2, dedicated nearly 10 years to this project. During the preparation phase, he and the production team traveled to over 20 provinces across China to select filming locations. The production team consisted of 8,000 people, with a filming period of 18 months. In 2018, he selected over 100 young actors aged 19 to 20 to participate in a 6-month training program for martial arts, horseback riding, archery, muscle training, acting, ultimately choosing 6 of them to star in Feng Shen Part One.
It is known that the budget for all three parts of the Feng Shen Trilogy amounts to 3 billion CNY. Part one, with the lowest budget, still took 5 years to complete. Director Wu Ni Zhen paid the most attention to the special effects.
According to QQ, Feng Shen Part One is regarded as the pinnacle of makeup and special effects in Chinese cinema due to the complexity in character design and the vast number of characters. The film features many grand scenes that require high precision, with meticulous attention to detail.
The special effects in Feng Shen Part One consist of two crucial aspects: character design and magical effects. Characters such as Huang Feihu, the Four Generals of the Ma Family, Nezha, Chancellor Wen Zhong, Shen Gongbao... and their mythical mounts like the Five-Colored Divine Bull, the Mysterious Kylin... although characters from the mythological world, have appeared numerous times on screen and are familiar with Chinese culture.
To construct the most accurate character designs, director Wu Ni Zhen and the film crew visited many museums, historical sites, temples, as well as studied books and newspapers about the characters in Feng Shen.
Furthermore, according to director Wu Ni Zhen, the most challenging aspect of filmmaking was constructing the characteristic fantasy world of Feng Shen Yan Yi. There, the mythical characters use magic, fly in the sky, possess immense strength, and have appearances several times larger than normal humans. Examples include the Phoenix under Nezha's feet or the mechanical tricks of the Mac Family.
Director Wu Ni Zhen invited companies and experts from Hollywood, who have worked on major projects like Star Trek and Star Wars, to handle the special effects in the film. It also took the film crew five years to create such a masterpiece.
Special effects building the Prosperous Tower in the film
Post-production scene of snowstorm in the film
According to film critic Zhang Xiao Bai: 'Chinese cinema needs meticulously crafted films with good special effects like Feng Shen. This not only provides visual pleasure to the audience but also helps domestic filmmakers learn from Hollywood's working methods and level of special effects.'
Producer Quan Yi Na also believes that Chinese mythological and historical films must meet the standards set by Feng Shen Part One: 'The visual effects, artistic character design, and the ability to shape the characters in the film are very good. The director used traditional aesthetics to tell an ancient story with all aspects balanced.'
According to Sina, it is also thanks to the excellent special effects, compelling storyline, careful selection of actors suitable for their roles, that the film Feng Shen has reversed its reputation, with daily revenue increasing steadily.
