The action scenes of ＂Rain of Swords＂ are exposed, and John Woo plays with the aesthetics of violence with a sword

Close-up showdown shows Wu’s real fighting skills

　　　　　　　 The martial arts suspense blockbuster directed by John Woo is about to premiere in Venice on September 3 and land in national theaters on September 28. On August 5, the producer Pony Pentium Pictures first exposed the action scene stills. "Sword Rain" focuses on "cold violence" and "retro style" martial arts style. And Woo, who learned secret techniques of gunfighting in Zhang Che’s kung fu films in his early years, seems to find inspiration in his first martial arts film from his most classic gunfights – sword-drawn duel, flying sword sumo, and the fire-fired double swords are more reminiscent of the iconic double guns of "Pony Brother".

"Sword Rain" is cold and violent, two guns become two knives, and martial arts are like dancing

　　　　　　　 "Sword Rain" tells the story of a female killer with high martial arts skills, Jinpen, who after washing her hands and marrying a man who sent a letter in a small town, but because she has a holy object and wants to live an ordinary life, she cannot start a bloody story under the turns of the killer organization. Previously, Woo, who loves martial arts films and swordsmanship, could only enjoy it in gunfight films. "I have all inherited the style of Zhang Che, and the protagonist uses a gun like a sword in a martial arts film." Therefore, even if Zhou Yun-fa picked up the gun, he insisted on using a short gun. "I will not use a machine gun unless I have to, because it is all caused by the power of the accumulation of bullets, and the real knight will only use a short gun."

　　　　　　　 In his first martial arts film "Sword Rain", John Woo can finally give up gunpowder and pick up cold weapons, abolishing all kinds of strange weapons. The main characters in the martial arts scenes in the play are all swords. "If the weapons are too fancy, there is less wisdom." In the exposure scene, the duel of sword drawing and the fight of flying sumo, if replaced by guns, is almost the same as the gunfight scene in "Two Men in Blood", especially the appearance of the two blades burning with flames, which is more reminiscent of the classic shape of Pony’s two guns. In addition, John Woo, who has borrowed the beauty of musical films in gunfight films, also rubbed the dance posture into the martial arts design of "Sword Rain". For example, the posture of the two strong duels is graceful and has a sense of stage styling.

Wu Yusen reveals that his creativity comes from comic strips

　　　　　　　 John Woo once said that he "doesn’t like flying martial arts," and his requirement for Dong Wei, a martial arts instructor, is first and foremost authenticity. "I find it hard to believe that a person can spin and fly into the air, fall down and continue to fight, or fly up after fighting, or can fight on the top of a bamboo pole. It’s not useful to look good. That’s not the case in our movies."

　　　　　　　 Judging from the exposure scenes, "Sword Rain" is rarely the big hanging wire and exaggerated design that is common in martial arts films. Most of them are sumo fights with real swords and real guns, and flying in the air will not violate the law of gravity. At the same time, the main characters are quite particular about their behavior. Every sword move must hold the sword technique. The frozen frame of every martial arts scene is almost a classical comic strip. Woo Yusen revealed that this is a major innovation in martial arts design in "Sword Rain". "Dong Wei’s movements are ancient and not exaggerated, like ancient comic strips. All fights are fought with atmosphere, emotion and unexpected tricks to win or lose. The perfect combination of action and artistic conception strives to create a natural, real, and even detective suspenseful martial arts design."

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