Retrospective - Chinese Opera Masterpieces on Screen
The Injustice Done to Dou E
窦娥冤 (Dou E Yuan) by ZHANG Xinshi
China / 1959 / 99' / 35 mm
Director of Photography: BAO Jie
Composer: Huang Lijia, adapted from: GUAN Hanqing
Starring:WANG Xiulan, NIAN Fengchun, YANG Hushan, XIAO Yuelai
Pu Opera
Background
The Injustice Done to Dou E was shot in 1959 in order to commemorate the 500 years since the birth of the famous playwright GUAN Hanqing. GUAN Hanging, who lived during the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368), is considered to be a Chinese Shakespeare. The Injustice Done to Dou E (Gan Tian Dong Di Dou E Yuan) is recognized as one of the top ten most important tragedies in Chinese classic. An interpretation of this opera exists in 86 different opera styles...
Pu Opera is a very old type of opera which comes from the Shanxi province and dates back to the Ming Dynasty (1522-1566). It grew very popular in the northern provinces of China. Pu Opera is very powerful and often uses complex stunt choreography to define the characters.
WANG Xiulan, who plays Dou E, was born is 1932. This celebrated actress is a follower of the Pu Opera. She is famous for her parts of the young girl (Hua Dan). She studied with MEI Lanfang and CHENG Yanqiu, the two major stars of Peking Opera.
The Film
One of the ten greatest tragedies in Classical Chinese drama. Its production falls on the so-called "Golden Age of Chinese Chinema", which falls on the mid-50s through the mid-60s of the 20th century. In 1959, The Injustice Done to Dou E was a big success throughout the country. The year 1959 is significant in Chinese history because the government wanted to show the difference between the right-wing movement and the traditionalists, who represented the past regime. It also puts into action the rule that "the past is the present" ("Gu Wei Jin Yong"), "to use the past in order to build the present". Operas at that time were created in that context, and the historical Dou E was one of these operas.
Synopsis
The Injustice Done to Dou E is a story of a romantic young widow DOU E from Chouzhou. Her husband Cai dies only two years after their marriage. She is courted by an immoral man, ZHANG Luer (literally: "The mule Zhang"). Dou rejects him; to spite her, he wrongly accuses her of the murder of her father.
Before her execution, DOU E swears that her innocence will be proven within three years after her death when three of her predictions come true: blood that will never drop on the ground but flow in the air, snow that will fall in the midst of summer, and a three-year long drought in Chouzhou. All these predictions come true, including the very "Snow in June". Three years later, the ghost of DOU E reveals the injustice to her father, DOU Tianzhang, who becomes an inspector of imperial government and reopens the tiral. The inspector condemns the officer ZHANG Luer and the corrupt official is put to death. DOU E is revenged.
Filmography
- Zhang Xinshi 张辛实
Director:
- They Are Not Strangers 他们并不陌生 (Ta men bing bu mo sheng) (1982)
- A Porcelain Vase 祭红 (Ji hong) (1979)
- Stormy Island 风云岛 (Feng yun dao) (1977)
- Qiang Di Song 羌笛颂 (1960)
- The Story of Xicheng Xi 锡城的故事 (Xi cheng De Gu Shi) (1959)
- L'Injustice faite à Dou E / The Injustice to Dou E 窦娥冤 (Dou E Yuan) (1959)
- Guan Bu Zhu 关不住 (1956)
- Hua Mulan 花木兰 (1956)
Screenwriter:
- They Are Not Strangers 他们并不陌生 (Ta men bing bu mo sheng) (1982)
- Wang Xiulan 王秀兰 (1932-)
Actress - Role: Dou E
- Stream Flows to East 涧水东流 (Jian shui dong liu) (1961)
- Bai Sui Guai Shuai 百岁挂帅 (1959)
- L'Injustice faite à Dou E / The Injustice to Dou E 窦娥冤 (Dou E Yuan) (1959)