Song at Midnight

Song at Midnight[2] (simplified Chinese: 夜半歌声; traditional Chinese: 夜半歌聲; pinyin: Yèbàn gēshēng, also known as Midnight Song, Singing at Midnight or literally "Midnight Voice") is a 1937 Chinese film directed by Ma-Xu Weibang, a director best known for his work in the horror genre. Often referred to as the first Chinese horror film, Song at Midnight is a loose adaptation of the 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera (Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) by Gaston Leroux, though the film injects a significant political subplot involving the leftist revolutionary movement to the original story. Song at Midnight was released before the eruption of the Second Sino-Japanese War in China.[3] The film did not easily evade the film censorship of Kuomintang, and its serious punishment to films dealing with horror or gods and spirits, or "superstition and heresy" at that time.[4] In order to successfully evade censorship laws in China at the time, the director Ma-Xu Weibang, with a passion to maintain his creation, visited Tian Han several times to figure out how to better process the script to be approved under censorship. The script was coauthored by Tian Han (under the pseudonym Chen Yu), who also wrote the Chinese anthem lyrics,"Yiyong jun jinxing qu" (March of the Volunteers.)

Song at Midnight
The Cinema Epoch edition DVD of Song at Midnight
Directed byMa-Xu Weibang
Produced byZhang Shankun
Written byMa-Xu Weibang
Based onThe Phantom of the Opera
by Gaston Leroux
StarringJin Shan
Gu Menghe
Zhou Wenzhu
Hu Ping
Music byTianhan
Xi Xinghai
CinematographyYu Xingsan
Xue Boqing
Edited byChen Yiqing
Production
company
Release date
1937
Running time
113 minutes
CountryRepublic of China
LanguageMandarin Chinese

Plot

The male protagonist, Song Dangping, is a revolutionary, who also works as a theatrical performer and also a role that left-wing groups use to represent themselves.[5] His love interest is a landlord's daughter, named Li Xiaoxia, but this love is strongly opposed by her father. Tang Jun, a thug and suitor of Xiaoxia, pours nitric acid onto Song Dangping out of jealousy, permanently disfiguring his face and hands, turning him into a "monster". Troubled by his appearance, Song spreads the rumor of his own death. Xiaoxia becomes emotionally and mentally disturbed at the news of Song's "death". Song lives in the seclusion of the theatre attic, only coming out to sing every midnight, comforting a mentally disabled Xiaoxia with his song.

Ten years later, a play troupe comes to the theatre to perform. One night, while a young and up-and-coming actor Sun Xiao Ou is practicing in the theatre, he hears the ghost of Song offering him guidance through singing. Song Dangping's “Song of the Night” helps the troupe in their performance the next day. Wanting to thank the “Phantom”, Xiao Ou tracks the source of the singer through his singing, leading him to the attic, where he meets Song. Song tells Sun about his experience in detail, and shows his face to Sun, causing Sun strong grief and resonance. They eventually become friends.

After another three years, business is sluggish and the troupe faces disbandment. When Xiao Ou goes to bid farewell to Song Dangping, Song takes out the already-modified "Hot Blood" script, a play that he wrote in his early years and promises that the troupe will be able to return to life with this drama. As promised, the troupe succeeds with "Hot Blood", and Xiao Ou goes to thank Dangping. Dangping asks Xiao Ou to visit Xiaoxia, whom he is too embarrassed to meet due to his disfiguration. Xiao Ou is impressed by Dangping's true feelings and promises to meet Xiaoxia disguised as Dangping. Xiaoxia hallucinates after she sees Xiao Ou impersonating Dangping and is greatly overjoyed. Late on, Xiao Ou reveals that his own sweetheart is the troupe actress Ludie, "Green Butterfly" (绿蝶), which shocks Dangping, since he knows Xiao Ou cannot continue impersonating him due to their friendship. A few days later, Tang Jun, who caused Song's disfigurement 13 years ago, covets Ludie when he is watching the play. After the play, Tang follows her backstage. Ludie refuses his advances and points out that she only belongs to Sun Xiao Ou. As Tang tries to force himself on her, Xiao Ou arrives and pulls Tang away from her. Tang draws his pistol at Xiao Ou. In order to protect her lover, Ludie blocks Xiao Ou and is shot and killed. The gunshot attracts Song Dangping, who is hiding in the background. Song proceeds to fight with Tang Jun and confesses: "I was killed by you 13 years ago." The fighting continues into the top floor, as Tang is stunned by the face of Song and quickly falls from the top floor.

The incident attracts a crowd of people, who assumes Dangping to be a monster after seeing his impaired face. The mob proceeds to launch an attack on Dangping in an attempt to rid themselves of the monster (除妖 chúyāo). Xiao Ou tries to explain the situation to the crowd, but his pleas fall on deaf ears. He finds Xiaoxia and explains to her that he was pretending to be Dangping, and the real Dangping quietly accompanied her for thirteen years in secret. Xiao Ou explains that this might be the last time she could see him alive which causes her to lose consciousness.

Dangping cannot escape the fiery mob, and eventually commits suicide by drowning himself in the river close by. Xiao Ou keeps Xiaoxia company until she regains consciousness a few hours later. When asked to recall their prior conversation, she describes everything as just a very long dream. Xiao Ou, unable to bear Xiaoxia experiencing further heartbreak, continues to impersonate Dangping for his recently lost friend, and they live the rest of their lives as a couple. The ending features some political commentary of the situation in China, as Xiao Ou mentions Dangping's belief that people must seek light out of all the darkness.

Theme

‘Song at Midnight' not only presents left-wing nationalist ideology indirectly, but also alludes to the war anxieties of the citizens in the late 1930s. The phantom in the film was related to the traumatic history in Shanghai and Hong Kong, which was under colonial domination.[3] The unique narrative style of the film also makes it different from the thirties common genre of "soft movie" entertainment and commercialization. Because of its "hard" characteristics, left-wing critics were able to promote Socialist Realism through this film, emphasizing cinema's mission to awaken the masses.[5] The director Ma-Xu Weibang was sensitive to the political anxiety among citizens, and used the visible element of horror to implicitly expressed the intellectual thirst for political revolution.[6] The plot is complicated by the theme of the scar. Danping is a talented opera singer whose face was turned into a horrifying cicatrix by Tang Jun's men. Danping's scar becomes the mark of the historic battle between feudal and revolutionary forces. Insofar as the facial deformity signals its bearer's sacrifice and the reality of his struggle, the scar is an icon of ideological virtue. Yet the scar also stands in counterpoint to the revolutionary message, because Danping is prevented from carrying out his mission because he does not want to show his face in public. Throughout the film, the scar threatens to become a sign of condemnation[7]

Reception and Reputation

After the release in February 1937, the horror film Song at Midnight directed by Maxu Weibang instantly became well known to almost every household in Shanghai and achieved a huge box office success. When the Dawanbao evening newspaper reviewed the film, the columnist, styled Ye Di, saw nothing wrong in making horror films, but only as long as they encourage people to fight against their fate.[5] The popularity of the film resulted from not only the appealing theme and content, but also the creator's constant endeavors for perfection and actors’ extraordinary interpretation. Moreover, the ingenuity of advertising also contributed much to the success of the unprecedentedly popular film.[8] A movie magazine at the time published an article regarding the incident of a teenage girl dying from shock upon seeing a giant billboard featuring the Phantom from this movie. However, this is merely a publicity stunt and a false story planted in by the studio of either Ma-Xu or Xinhua's founder, Zhang Shankun. The same article also went on to warn children under the age of six to stay away from this movie, and it is this sort of reverse publicity that gave rise to the packed theaters.[9] With excellent artistic quality and strong advertising campaign, Song at Midnight created a public sensation at that time, and because of its timeless influence, it was named as one of the best 100 Chinese films by both the Hong Kong Film Awards in 2005, and by Asia Weekly in 1999.[10] The film was the first talkie adaptation of the novel in feature length form and although not the most well-known interpretation of the novel, it is considered the most popular cinematic interpretation by film critics in the Chinese speaking world. Leo Ou-fan Lee, who would play up the "decadent" streak in film and literature of the 1930s,has recently lamented the "implausible and forced" patriotic message in what should otherwise count as a well-crafted horror film. explicit ideology, they resurface in the filmic strategies of representation. That Song at Midnight reveals an uneasy dialectic between revolutionary message and horror imagery is particularly poignant because it was released in February 1937, on the eve of the Japanese invasion and during a heated drive for clear social messages in literature.

Western Influence

Ma-Xu Weibang’s Song at Midnight is not a typical Chinese horror. The movie does not feature any of the iconographic characters from traditional Chinese horror such as fox-spirits, ghostly maidens, Taoist priests, and itinerant scholars. In fact, many elements in this film are considered to have been inspired by Western horror, specifically American classics such as Frankenstein (1931 film). The ending of Song at Midnight is very similar to that of Frankenstein, wherein both movies, the “monster” is chased by the fiery mob into a tower and killed after the building is set on fire. The Phantom in Song at Midnight also borrows the pathos in Frankenstein as a sympathetic monstrous figure.[11]

Soundtrack

The film released when the talkie era in China was developed, and the sound-recording technology provided the film with more auditory effects.[3] The use of songs as a part of the soundtrack in the film make it stand out from other horror films. These songs both contribute to the frightening atmosphere of the story world and progresses the plot. The three soundtracks made by Tian Han and Xian Xinghai showcase the beauty of classic Chinese lyricism and possess the fighting spirit of the Chinese people against the Japanese.[12]

Film Soundtracks
Name Written By Producer Appearance Time In-film
"Song At Midnight"《夜半歌声》[13] Tian Han 田汉 Xian Xinghai 冼星海 9 minutes
“Lovers of the Yellow River"《黄河之恋》 Tian Han 田汉 Xian Xinghai 冼星海 32 minutes
"Hot Blood"《热血》 Tian Han 田汉 Xian Xinghai 冼星海 71 minutes

Cast
  • Jin Shan as Song Danping (an opera singer).
  • Hu Ping as Li Xiaoxia (Song Danping's lover).
  • Gu Menghe as Tang Jun (the thug).
  • Shi Chao as Sun Xiaoou (an opera singer).
  • Xu Manli as Lv Die (Sun Xiaoou's lover).
  • Wang Weiyi as Old Zhang (Old gatekeepers).
  • Liu Shangwen as the leader of the opera troupe.
  • Zhou Wenzhu as the Nurse.

DVD release

As part of their Chinese film retrospective, Cinema Epoch released Song at Midnight on Region 0 DVD on May 8, 2007. The DVD includes subtitles in English.

An earlier DVD edition by the Guangzhou Beauty Culture Communication Co. Ltd was released on December 1, 2006 in the United States.

Remakes and Sequels

A sequel to the original film was first released in 1941: Song at Midnight 2, continuing the story of Song Danping.

Song at Midnight and its 1942 sequel have also been remade several times in Hong Kong and mainland China. The first remake, also named Song at Midnight was directed by Li Ying, and came out in 1956. The second remake named The Mid-Nightmare is a two-part series by Hong Kong director, Yuan Qiufeng, released in 1962 (part I) and 1963 (part II). Starring Betty Loh Ti and Lao Zhei. The third remake, directed by PRC director Yang Yanjin, also called Song at Midnight, was made in 1985.[3] And the fourth remake directed by Ronny Yu was released in 1995, under of the title of The Phantom Lover. It was the most famous remake, starring Pop singer Leslie Cheung in the lead role of Song Danping.

Song at Midnight Remakes[14]
Name Director Year
Song at Midnight Li Ying 1956
Song at Midnight Yuan Qiufeng 1962
Song at Midnight, Part II Yuan Qiufeng 1963
Song at Midnight Yang Yanjin 1985
The Phantom Lover Ronny Yu 1995

There have also been other films and television series that were inspired by Ma-Xu's original Song at Midnight, such as Yang Gongliang's Wanli Xingshi (1954) and Guixia (1956), a Taiwan production called Gesheng Meiying (1970),[5] and a 2005 television series by mainland director Huang Lei.

Further reading
  • Yiman Wang,The Phantom Strikes Back: Triangulating Hollywood, Shanghai and Hong Kong[15]
  • John Chua, Something Borrowed, Something New: Ye Ban Ge Sheng (Song at Midnight) and the Cross- Cultural Reinterpretations of Horror in Twentieth Century China[16] Asian Cinema;Fall/Winter2005, Vol. 16 Issue 2, p122
  • Totaro, D. (2009). The song at midnight. Offscreen, 13(3)
  • David Robinson, “Return of the Phantom,” Film Quarterly 53/3 (Winter 1999-2000): 43–46.
  • Yomi Braester, “Revolution and Revulsion: Ideology, Monstrosity, and Phantasmagoria in 1930s Chinese Cinema, Modern Chinese Literature and Culture, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 81-114
  • Ed Sikov, "Film Studies: an introduction." Ch10, pp143–157
  • Chua, J. (2005). Something borrowed, something new: Ye ban ge sheng (song at midnight) and the cross- cultural reinterpretations of horror in twentieth century china. Asian Cinema, 16(2), 122–146. doi:10.1386/ac.16.2.122_1
  • 金星.1937(10).影评：夜半歌声试评(马徐维邦编导).
  • 周舒燕.2018(1).恐怖电影与意识形态: 关于《夜半歌声》(1937) 的精神分析式解读. 北京电影学院学报.
  • 电影批评“夜半歌声”.1937(9).电声(上海).

References
  1. Yomi Braester (2003). Witness Against History. Stanford California: Stanford University Press. p. 81.
  2. Fim How (2017-02-27), 【夜半歌声】 中国经典怀旧恐怖爱情片 1937年版 金山 胡萍 主演 Chinese classical movieHD, retrieved 2019-03-25
  3. Yiman Wang (2013). Remaking Chinese Cinema: Through the Prism of Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Hollywood. China. p. 144.
  4. Wang, Chaohuang (2007). The politics of filmmaking: An investigation of the Central Film Censorship Committee in the mid-1930s. Frontiers of History in China. 2 (3), p. 425.
  5. Braester, Yomi. “Revolution and Revulsion: Ideology, Monstrosity, and Phantasmagoria in Ma-Xu Weibang's Film ‘Song at Midnight.’” Modern Chinese Literature and Culture, vol. 12, no. 1, 2000, pp. 81–114. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41490818.
  6. 邹璇子.2019(3).《夜半歌声》叙述中的战争焦虑.《艺苑》 2019年03期.
  7. Braester, Yomi (2000). "Revolution and Revulsion: Ideology, Monstrosity, and Phantasmagoria in Ma-Xu Weibang's Film "Song at Midnight"". Modern Chinese Literature and Culture. 12: 81–114 – via JSTOR.
  8. Xinying Zhang (2019). 电影《夜半歌声》票房奇迹探秘, Retrieved from http://www.cnki.com.cn/Article/CJFDTOTAL-SDSS201901013.htm.
  9. John Chua, Something Borrowed, Something New: Ye Ban Ge Sheng (Song at Midnight) and the Cross-Cultural Reinterpretations of Horror in Twentieth Century China. Asian Cinema; Fall/Winter2005, Vol. 16 Issue 2, p127
  10. "100 Greatest Chinese Films of the 20th Century". Asia Weekly Magazine. 1999-12-19. Retrieved 2007-05-10.
  11. John Chua, Something Borrowed, Something New: Ye Ban Ge Sheng (Song at Midnight) and the Cross-Cultural Reinterpretations of Horror in Twentieth Century China. Asian Cinema;Fall/Winter2005, Vol. 16 Issue 2, p128
  12. "夜半歌声 1937版影评 - 百度文库". wenku.baidu.com. Retrieved 2019-03-25.
  13. "2012-6-27 《夜半歌声》和田汉的歌词". 豆瓣 (in Chinese). Retrieved 2019-03-25.
  14. Braester, Yomi. “Revolution and Revulsion: Ideology, Monstrosity, and Phantasmagoria in Ma-Xu Weibang's Film ‘Song at Midnight.’” Modern Chinese Literature and Culture, vol. 12, no. 1, 2000, pp. 86. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41490818.
  15. Yiman Wang (2010). Quarterly Review of Film and Video, 21:4. p. 317.
  16. John Chua (September 2005). Asian Cinema, Volume 16, Number 2. Intellect. pp. 122–146.
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