Ye ban ge sheng

Song At Midnight (1937): Brief Review -

China's first horror-musical is truly an iconic film and a great love story. As the word is out there, this film is based on the famous "The Phantom of the Opera" by Gaston Leroux and also borrows some elements from "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." Since I have seen both of these movies (silent and talkie) and now this Chinese flick, I believe I am in a position to make some vivid statements that might not align with these myths. I'd like to disagree with the notion that this film is inspired by the aforementioned movies. "Song At Midnight" features the Phantom, but he is neither in love with the Prima Donna nor is he the villain of the story. He has a macabre face, but the character hardly resembles the plots of "Hunchback" or "Phantom." "Song At Midnight" is very original in its own right and also explores serious topics like revolution and its ideals in the horror-musical genre, something I don't think any films of this genre or sub-genre attempted at the time (or even today? Do we really have anything like this? If yes, let me know). So it's not just a great horror musical; it is also a great drama that was ahead of its time. And did I mention the classic tragedy and classic romance yet? Oh buddy, you are in for too much at once, especially from a Chinese film made in 1937. I was feeling exactly the same while watching the film-that it contained too much content for one movie, even for an American or German film, and then I had to remind myself that it was from China. Truly unbelievable! The footage and sound quality may be lacking, but one must consider the contemporary filmmaking in China, which was quite similar to that in India, and observe how they handled multiple genres like horror, romance, musical, and tragedy together. Absolutely top-class for its time and story-wise timeless even today. I don't think anyone can match it, even now. Multiple remakes exist for the same reason, but the OG remains untouched.

RATING - 8/10*

By - #samthebestest.

The most immediate drawback to this film is the dialogue. At times it's extremely stiff and stilted, or at least the translation is. But it's still a rather remarkable film for for it's time. Try to get past the whole "Phantom of the Opera in Chinese" thing. If you can get beyond that, and watch the film for what it is in its own right, I think it's far more enjoyable. The interplay between light and shadow in the setting is really interesting, and probably more interesting than the plot itself. It's also amazing how Westernized this is for a Chinese film, from the music in the score to the wardrobe, and really to the action scenes at the end of the movie.

Ever since it was conceived by French writer Gaston Leroux in his novel, "The Phantom of the Opera", the tale of a disfigured musical genius who roams the Opera house has become one of the most famous horror stories of all, and the inspiration of many films. Without a doubt, the most famous of those films was Rupert Julian's "The Phantom of the Opera", produced by Universal studios in 1925 with Lon Chaney as the Phantom. That classic adaptation would be one of Universal's biggest hits of all time, and not only in America, as literally in every country it was shown it became very popular. In one of its showings, the film was seen by a young Chinese filmmaker named Weibang Ma-Xu, whom fascinated by Chaney's performance, conceived his very own version of the story and titled it "Ye Ban Ge Sheng", literally, "A Song at Midnight".

The story is set in an old theater, where many important actors performed once, but that now is abandoned as rumor says that the ghost of famous singer Song Dangping (Shan Jin) roams the place. One night, an acting troupe arrives, hoping to have success in such a famous theater. However, they all end up disappointed when they see the sad state of disuse in which the theater is right now. Despite this, they begin the preparations for their debut, and young singer Sun Xiaoou (Chau-Shui Yee) is chosen to play the lead. Xiaoou retires to practice alone, as he has troubles to sing the part correctly, and it's at this moment when he hears the ghost of Song Dangping, who appears to teach him how to sing. With the aid of the ghost, Xiaoou is a success, but when he tries to thank his master, he discovers the secret behind the ghost of Song Dangping.

As written above, director Weibang Ma-Xu wrote "Ye Ban Ge Sheng" as a reinterpretation of "The Phantom of the Opera"'s story, however, he only took the concept of the deformed musical genius and created his very own tale out of it. "A Song at Midnight" is essentially, a tragic romance with horror elements, as the plot focuses on the Phantom's inability to be with the woman he loves (played by Ping Hu) and his decision to use his disciple to interact with the world he lost. It's a really fresh take on the concept, as it truly keeps the spirit of the story while at the same time adapting it to the Chinese culture. Ma-Xu plays skillfully with mystery and suspense, as he unfolds the details of the story with the care of an artisan. It's pretty obvious that he loved the concept a lot, as his development of both plot and characters is remarkably good.

Interestingly, the idea of the story wasn't the only thing Ma-Xu adapted from Western film-making, the style Ma-Xu uses in "A Song at Midnight" is also clearly inspired by Universal horror movies of the 20s and the 30s (mainly "Frankenstein" and "Dracula"). With the excellent cinematography by Boqing Xue and Xingsan Yu, together with a slightly expressionist set design, director Ma-Xu creates an ominous gloomy atmosphere of mystery and magic that really sets the mood for this story of horror and romance (most of the scenes are set at night). Naturally, the film has many limitations due to budgetary reasons, however, Weibang Ma-Xu inventively manages to create a very powerful film that looks great despite his limited resources. I also must say that the work of make-up for this Phantom is simply excellent.

The cast is pretty effective in their performances, and despite the natural melodrama of the story, there's little overacting in the film. In his debut on film, Chau-Shui Yee (who would become a big star in the 40s) is very good as the young Sun Xiaoou, and while he looks a bit wooden at times, he truly had a natural presence in front of the camera. As the tragic anti-hero Sing Dangping (Shan Jin) is simply excellent, managing both the fearsome and the vulnerable sides of his character with a great ease and control. It's impossible to know if the singing voices of their characters are those of Shan Jin and Chau-Shui Yee, but their work is simply masterful. Ping Hu plays Li Xiaoxia, Sang Dangping's lover, and while she looks beautiful in her role, she is prone to overacting just a bit too much for her own sake, although it's not really a problem.

While an interesting example for early Chinese horror, "Ye Ban Ge Sheng" is sadly far from being a masterpiece, as there are several details that prevent this film from being perfect. Contrary to what could be expected, the film's main problem is not caused by the low budget, but by the strange pace the film has at times. What I mean is that often the story flows at a good pace but suddenly it gets slowed by long scenes of Chinese opera that, while of great beauty (and very interesting to foreigners), damage the pace the story has and can be boring to people not expecting this (In a way similar to Universal's 1943 remake of "The Phantom of the Opera"). Other than that, the movie is an excellent Chinese entry into the early horror genre, and those with a fondness for Universal horror films from the 30s will find a movie very much akin to their tastes.

Sadly, when it was initially released, "A Song at Midnight" struggled to be taken seriously because Chinese critics considered it was "too American" for a Chinese film. Fortunately, audiences reacted better and it is now one of the most famous horror films in the country (so much that Ma-Xu directed a sequel in the 40s, the Shaw brothers made a remake in the 60s, and recently Ronny Yu has done another version in the 90s). Fans of Asian cinema, this movie was the beginning of all. 8/10

If I'm being truthful, the performances in this are not the main selling point. Some/many of them are from performers I'd assume all came from the Theater which is fine except for nearly every moment being played for people far in the cheap seats. Big isn't a negative for the film, and the main performance by the title character Song (a magnificent double meaning for that word in the title)rather that every voice is pitched for the utmost Melodrama - and what else is more melo/operatic than Phantom of the Opera itself. It's the ultimate Romantic Feel-Bad saga, and I wouldn't expect a good version of this to not have emotional punch.

What is important here and why I suspect this is still seen today and wound up on the 1001 Movies to See Before You Wind Up in the Rafters of a Theater Haunting the Love of Your Life is because Ma-Xu's direction is so over powering. This Song-Phantom has wretched make-up that the filmmakers show as this large mass of lumps and crevices (Wade Wilson would feel better about himself to a degree), and the imagery is loaded with portent and sadness and Gothic ennui. There have been more phenomenal (Phantom of the Paradise, more iconic (the 1925 Chaney one) and lesser (the 1943 Universal Studios) versions of the story, but this is the one where the fog and smoke is thick and plot matters less than feeling.

This is a world depicted as a scary place, overloaded with Eastern mysticism and all that "Your Spirit Isn't Gone From This Plane" portent, even before Song gets that acid thrown in his face but especially in the second half of the film, and the control over keeping us locked into a shot, how he has the actors move so in spaces, sometimes like in a trance, is terrific (look when the woman goes ever so gradually to the windows and sees the mysterious man in the back... whoa). The power of the film manages to come through a fair to middling DVD transfer; this seems like a prime title for a boutique company- if not Criterion, which would seem natural, than Cinematographe- to do a blu ray restoration.

The few reviews on IMDb and elsewhere for this early Chinese film "Song at Midnight" are overly generous methinks. It's true there's some haunting black-and-white imagery, but much of the style and some of the story elements are highly derivative of Universal's classic monster movies, particularly the 1925 "The Phantom of the Opera." The plot is meandering, with scenes that last far too long and with too many forlorn looks. The acting is atrocious, wavering between stilted artificiality, with actors seemingly unsure of what to even do with their hands and so just hold them up awkwardly or where to look and so gaze off at nothing, and outbursts of ridiculous histrionics whenever the story calls for displays of emotion. As most mention, this is a loose reworking of Gaston Leroux's novel "The Phantom of the Opera," but more so inspired by the 1925 Lon Chaney adaptation, as well as strangely anticipating some aspects of the inferior Universal remake in 1943. There's also a clumsy political message thrown in. Seemingly less remarked upon, if at all, is how elements from another French classic, "Cyrano de Bergerac," are melded into an already confused and unfocused narrative.

The similarities to the 1925 film are most apparent at the beginning and end: first, with the shadow shots of the Phantom with superimposed titles, just as in the prior version, except he's singing this time, and, later, with the mob chase. Here, the mob is inexplicable other than being derivative of the 1925 film, wherein the story actually built up to it. Similar to the later 1943 version, however, this Phantom is a musician (a singer instead of a violinist) who becomes disfigured by acid thrown in his face, unlike in the book. In this case, the incident initially leaves the Phantom, named Song Dangping here, with his face and hands wrapped in bandages, which ironically recalls the appearance of the Invisible Man in the 1933 film as played by Claude Rains, who would also go on to star in the 1943 "Phantom of the Opera." Like the 1943 film and most of the adaptations thereafter--worst of all the 2004 adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber integrated musical--this one is also bogged down by musical numbers that interrupt the main horror plot. (The one musical version I'd recommend is the loose reworking "Phantom of the Paradise" (1974).)

Otherwise, "Song at Midnight" is similar to other later romantic retellings of Leroux's story, which downplay or, as here, entirely erase the criminal misdeeds of the Phantom. Instead, a random villain is invented--not unlike the 1962 Hammer adaptation, where the villain was also a sexual deviant. Here, as we learn in an extended flashback, Dangping was a political revolutionary as well as a famous singer. Anyways, after the acid attack leaves him as perhaps the most grotesque Phantom I've seen on the screen, to give credit where it's due, Dangping enlists another singer as a surrogate for romancing his former lover, who misbelieves that Dangping is dead. Essentially, this is what Cyrano de Bergerac did, too, to hide his big nose. The Phantom even teaches the younger singer to sing to her.

Little of what make Leroux's story interesting is here. There's no Christine faced with the dilemma between her art, as represented by the Phantom, and a normal life, as embodied by Raoul. The only love triangle in the film at all is tacked on at the end and is more a threat of rape than an actual choice for the woman. "Faust," the original play-within-the-play, which reflected this outer Faustian bargain put to Christine is gone; here, exchanged for "Yellow River Love," a clunky political romance like the outer narrative and Dangping's "Red Blooded," which replaces the Phantom's opera "Don Juan Triumphant" from the book, I suppose. At least, the plays within still relate to the main outer play, though, unlike in the 1943 and other adaptations, even if it is for the clumsy political metaphor of light and darkness. Otherwise, the theatre here is considerably smaller than the Palais Garnier of Paris and, in general, architecture figures less prominently in this adaptation than in others or the book.

What the film does have are rooms full of cobwebs and stormy nights, for the sort of atmosphere one might expect from an old-dark-house horror mystery. There's even an old man with a limp who just seems to be in the film for the same reason. Oddly, in one sequence, the theatre is so cold that you can see the actors' breath. There's also some nice use of fog, moving camera shots and canted angles, but much of this style seems derivative of Hollywood horror output, and some of the canted angles, in particular, are employed for shots that don't seem to call for them. One of the more avante-garde camera tricks to affect the appearance of a room spinning also does no favors to the histrionics of the actress when she learns of the supposed death of Dangping--and just makes the scene rather laughable. Other shots and scenes are just too long; a half hour should've easily been cut from the film. The repetitive shots of the old man leading the theatrical troupe down a corridor, for instance, are especially needless. One can overlook the creaky soundtrack by contrast.

(Note: The Phantom's disfigurement is revealed to him and the spectator through a mirror.)