Huayu Entertainment Starts with Xiang Yu, the Hegemon of Western Chu

The original film "Brotherhood of Blades" was planned to have a shooting period of 85 days, but due to budget issues, the production period was repeatedly shortened, and the actual shooting time was only 67 days.

On the busiest day, we filmed over a hundred shots.

Slow and steady wins the race, but rushing things will inevitably lead to many regrets.

Fortunately, this time "Brotherhood of Blades" was more relaxed.

Because Jiang Yang joined the production with his own investment, his salary was symbolic, which saved the production team the cost of a male lead, significantly increasing their income.

Therefore, they have the means to spend 85 days steadily filming according to plan.

Yang Mi has left, but filming for "Brotherhood of Blades" hasn't wrapped up yet.

After finishing filming at the Huairou Film and Television Base, the crew moved to the Ulanbutong Grassland for location shooting.

We're mainly filming one scene here.

In the final part, Shen Lian, the only surviving member of the three brothers, chases after Zhao Jingzhong, nicknamed "Bibala," to the area outside the Great Wall with Ding Xiu, leading to the final battle of the film.

Jiang Yang, Zhou Yiwei, and Nie Yuan naturally got their hands on it.

Wang Qianyuan and Xie Miao won't escape either, because after the fight, there's a scene of the three brothers riding horses together.

The two sides involved in this battle were the "Avengers" team composed of Shen Lian and Ding Xiu, and Zhao Jingzhong and a small squad of Tatar cavalry supporting him.

The original final battle was a disappointment.

The entire film "Brotherhood of Blades" is 107 minutes long, including the opening and closing credits. This battle lasts for less than ten minutes, which is clearly insufficient as the "final battle" that the audience is most looking forward to.

The battlefield was then divided into two parts.

In order to buy time, Ding Xiu took the initiative to meet the small group of Tatar cavalry, fighting thirteen of them single-handedly. Unfortunately, this impressive feat was not even shown on camera.

Director: I can't come up with anything else.

The main part of the battle was between Shen Lian and Zhao Jingzhong.

Hey, wait a minute.

Didn't you two just decide a winner a few minutes ago?

I told you not to finish him off, otherwise I'd have to fight twice!

Now that the "Brotherhood of Blades" crew has both money and time, they've set aside a full twenty days to film this big scene, so they can't just use these shabby shots to fool the audience.

Everyone, including director Lu Yang, reached a consensus:

We must fight, and fight big, and fight beautifully!

The scene provided in "Brotherhood of Blades" actually has room for development and doesn't just go downhill.

On the grasslands beyond the Great Wall, Zhao Jingzhong is the first to appear in the shot. He notices that someone is following him like a ghost, and he thinks it is Shen Lian, so he prepares to ambush him in the grove.

Before the matchlock gun could be lit, it was ambushed by Shen Lian and fell to the ground.

Zhao Jingzhong had three followers. One was killed, and the other two, fearing for their lives, escaped. The pursuers took off their hats and discovered that the other two were Ding Xiu.

The current situation is two against one, with Zhao Jingzhong sandwiched between the front and rear.

As expected of someone who once served as the head of the Eastern Depot, Zhao Jingzhong remained calm even in this situation and still had the energy to spout nonsense.

He revealed a mystery: it turned out that Emperor Chongzhen did not order Wei Zhongxian's execution, but rather he wanted Wei Zhongxian dead, and had already decided to silence the three Shen brothers.

This isn't really a satire; it's mainly an explanation for viewers who didn't understand what Zhao Jingzhong was doing.

Delay the time.

Sure enough, a small squad of Tatar cavalry appeared.

Zhao Jingzhong's reinforcements arrived, and he rallied his spirits, jumped out, revealed his identity, and invited them to help eliminate Shen Lian and Ding Xiu.

At this point, the situation seemed to be turning in Zhao Jingzhong's favor.

From this point onward, Jiang Yang's version differs from the original.

Why did Ding Xiu go to meet him?

At this time, the Tartar cavalry were still in the distance, while he and Shen Lian were still attacking Zhao Jingzhong from the edge of the grove.

Abandoning natural barriers like the grove of trees and choosing to engage regular cavalry in open terrain—what kind of brainwave is that!

What's more, the other side was also carrying a bow and arrows.

Normally, these Tatar cavalrymen wouldn't need to engage Ding Xiu in close combat at all. They even had the advantage in numbers. They could have surrounded him from a distance and shot him dead with a kite.

There's no need to get close if the blood hasn't dried up.

Therefore, the correct course of action for Shen Lian and Ding Xiu was obviously to set up the pre-planned battlefield in the grove.

While this environment cannot reverse the enemy's numerical advantage, it can at least limit the cavalry's impact and the archers' field of vision and range.

Zhao Jingzhong had every reason to meet up with the other party.

Even if Shen Lian and Ding Xiu couldn't take down Zhao Jingzhong in a short time before the Tartar cavalry charged, they were at least able to force him back into the grove.

Since the Tartar cavalry were ordered to meet Zhao Jingzhong, they could not be left to their own devices and had to follow them in.

Now, we've entered our home field.

Ding Xiu's weapon, the Miao Dao, was unstoppable. It was originally designed for military battles rather than for martial arts heroes. According to the setting of "Brotherhood of Blades," it originated from Qi Jiguang's army.

While Shen Lian's secondary weapon, the crossbow, has a shorter range, it is easy to fire and can be used unpredictably, making it suitable for ambushes.

The matchlock gun that Zhao Jingzhong had previously taken out and aimed at but never actually used has now found its purpose, proving that the props team's work was worthwhile.

This grove of trees has become a graveyard for Tartar cavalry.

Hunt time!

With the advantage of the terrain, Shen Lian and Ding Xiu launched a series of successful sneak attacks, and the enemies were gradually eliminated.

The main focus is on Shen Lian.

Ding Xiu is undoubtedly the number one martial arts master in the original "Brotherhood of Blades".

With Jiang Yang's addition, Shen Lian's combat power has been greatly enhanced. As for who is stronger between him and Ding Xiu, since they haven't fought directly, let's leave that as a mystery.

After watching, the audience might even have a few words to discuss it.

Regardless of whether Ding Xiu is as good as Shen Lian, Zhou Yiwei is definitely not as good as Jiang Yang.

Therefore, Jiangyang is the primary location.

It may not be an exaggeration to say that the Tartars were fierce and fearless in battle, but if they were being slaughtered one-sidedly and still insisted on fighting to the last man, that would not be bravery but rather madness.

Any normal commander would know to first leave the dangerous combat environment in this situation.

The reason for arranging the Tartars' retreat here was not to portray them as cowardly or weak, but simply to gradually plunge Zhao Jingzhong into despair.

They could clearly see the reinforcements, and they were almost able to rendezvous, but they watched helplessly as they ran away.

Is there anything more tragic than this?

Now, the situation has once again become two against one, with Shen Lian and Ding Xiu, and Zhao Jingzhong, having lost support, has completely collapsed.

The design concept behind Jiang Yang's scene is not simply to kill Zhao Jingzhong to avenge himself, but to carry out a "torture" on Zhao Jingzhong both physically and mentally.

Torture and murder are done to vent anger.

Because the overall tone of "Brotherhood of Blades" is very depressing, depicting the helplessness of ordinary people being crushed by the wheels of history.

But at least at this moment, Shen Lian completed the power reversal between himself and Zhao Jingzhong.

Don't you think of us as ants?

Now I can make you live or die as I please!

Who are the ants?

Even if the dignified Director of the Eastern Depot betrayed the Ming Dynasty and surrendered to the Jin Dynasty, becoming a traitor, he still couldn't escape dying under the blade of an ant like me!

Ahem, this isn't a line from a script, saying it out loud would be too childish. This is what it means.

Jiang Yang made a "thriller-style adaptation".

If "Brotherhood of Blades" is depressing from beginning to end, viewers will feel suffocated after watching it, no wonder it won't do well at the box office.

The pressure at the beginning is for the final release.

This is a common trope in many action movies. Although it may not necessarily reflect Lu Yang's original intentions, he is an amateur when it comes to designing action scenes.

Now that Jiang Yang and Sang Lin have gone through all that trouble, this is how the film turned out. What can he do about it?

Something seems off, but I have no choice but to accept it.

"Brotherhood of Blades, filming wrapped!"