The TV series ” Rush Year 1937 ” is a 39-episode series produced by China International Television Corporation, directed by famous director Guo Jingyu, and starring Sun Honglei, Kou Shixun, Ye Tong and Zhang Dinghan.

Zheng Shusen (Sun Honglei), a young hoodlum, meets gangster Pang De (Kou Shixun) who is hiding in prison to avoid consequences from the outside world. They form an alliance and become known as the Shanghai Beach gang.

During the period when the Japanese forces were pushing into Shanghai, Pang De and Zheng Shusen give up their pursuit of vengeance and devote themselves to national salvation. They also run into Yu Zhonghe (Qian Yongfu) who is inevitably intertwined with their grievances and hatred among the three gang forces, Zheng Shushen eventually turns into a shrewd gangster. The Japanese army begins to advance into Shanghai and pursues anti-Japanese organizations such as the New Fourth Army. Upholding their national justice, Pang De, Zheng Shusen, and his brothers devote themselves to the aim of national salvation.

Director Guo Jingyu said, “This is not a gangster drama, but a war film. At first, I only wanted to shoot the growth of a small historical character, but when I inserted the background of Shanghai Beach, I felt the story evolved into something more elaborate and beautiful. The lines depicting the raw emotions in fighting for the countries bring the actor’s portrayal to a whole new level. Instead of the old theme of just heroism, the drama portrays the goodness and beauty of ordinary people.

New interpretation of the narrative style

“Rush Year 1937” attracts the audience with more than two storylines and interweaves the turbulent and complex background of the early period of the anti-Japanese War. This forces the audience to be entangled in a tense plot, intriguing them to follow the characters’ fate closely and create a psychological need for them to keep watching.

Making of the characters

“Rush Year 1937” gathers experienced actors including Kou Shixun, Sun Honglei, Ye Tong, and Qian Yongfu as they battled it out in front of the cameras. The drama also broke the audience’s passive viewing habits through unconventional innovative narratives, allowing the audience to participate in the story and interact with the characters.

Excite the actors

Speaking of “Rush Year 1937”, Sun Honglei said that Zheng Shusen changes from a weak person to a conscious anti-Japanese righteous man. The transformation in this story is a process of growing up and becoming stronger. Shaping such a role is no doubt a test for him. Kou Shixun believes that the story is more like a modern version of “Le Comte de Monte-Cristo”. “When there is nationwide hatred, Pang De chose to contribute to the country. I would choose the same too. A good film is something that should make the audience relate and ponder”.

“Rush Year 1937” Reviews

The drama is not just a story about gangsterism, but also anti-Japanese notions and power struggles. The first half of the story is easily reminiscent of “Shanghai Beach” and “Le Comte de Monte-Cristo” with its layers of bureaucracy and complex narrative. However, characters like those in “Shanghai Beach” and “Le Comte de Monte-Cristo” would not suffice for this TV series. This series is filled with history that is full of indelible bullying and self-sacrificing. The theme of abandoning the ego and jointly resisting Japanese forces makes the whole drama sublime. (Xinhua Online Review)

Sun Honglei, Ye Tong, and Kou Shixun, the three powerful actors, showed the audience a vivid picture of the passing era. A major feature of the drama is the combination of the anti-Japanese War and the gangster struggles in Shanghai, which makes the conflict more intense. (Sina Review)

Dangerous plot settings and schematic editing are important factors in the appeal of “Rush Year 1937”. The four characters in this show have displayed their justifiable acting skills. (Sina Review)

电视剧《刀锋1937》是中国国际电视总公司出品的39集抗战题材电视剧，由著名导演郭靖宇执导，孙红雷、寇世勋、叶童及张定涵领衔主演。

讲述了小混混郑树森迫于生计，认识了躲在狱中避仇的江湖大佬庞德，并在其安排下逐渐发展为上海滩帮派中的新力量。在日军进逼上海时刻，庞德和郑树森放弃了江湖仇杀投身于民族救亡的洪流中。

在抗战前夕，郑树森（孙红雷 饰）一个生活在社会低层的狱卒，在认识了躲在狱中避仇的江湖大佬庞德（寇世勋 饰）后，被迫卷入了江湖仇杀的阴谋之中。为了生存，郑树森和几个在弄堂里谋生的小兄弟，在庞德的安排设计下，逐渐发展成上海滩帮派势力中的一股力量。郑树森、庞德、虞中和（钱勇夫 饰）三股江湖帮派势力之间的恩怨情仇不可避免的交织在一起，最终将郑树森造就成一个青出于蓝的江湖大佬。这时日军开始进逼上海，对新四军等抗日组织进行追杀。在民族大义面前庞德、郑树森和他的兄弟们舍小我完成大我，投身于民族救亡的洪流中，用鲜血写就了一段历史传奇。

导演郭靖宇说：“这不是一部黑帮戏，而是抗战片。起初我只想拍一个小人物的成长史，最后却将大背景放在了上海滩，觉得有了一种更华丽、形式感的东西。”再加上剧中主要人物和共产党员抗日救国的慷慨陈词，让人明显看到了主旋律色彩，“剧本最后只做了5个月，以这种题材来说算是顺利的了。我也不知道它是不是主旋律戏，有人说所有反映真善美的都是主旋律，从这个角度讲这个戏当然是主旋律的，但并不是以前讲的那种狭义的主旋律。”

全新演绎叙事风格

《刀锋1937》在叙事上由两条以上的故事脉络吸引观众，并将抗日战争前期动荡复杂的背景交织于故事中，这样迫使观众在紧张的情节里、在一个个突如其来的事件中、在激烈的动作中紧跟剧中人物的命运，产生了欲罢不能的观看心理需求。

群像式人物塑造

《刀锋1937》邀请了寇世勋、孙红雷、叶童、钱勇夫等演技派在剧中一较高下，还通过非常规创新的叙事打破观众被动的收视习惯，让观众参与到故事中来，与剧中人物一起且悲且喜，在内容上拓宽了故事容量，为群像式人物的刻画在有限篇幅内找到了叙事的平衡点。

激发演员兴奋点

孙红雷谈到《刀锋1937》时说，郑树森从一个懦弱的人，成为一个自觉的抗日义士，这个转变在这个故事里是一个由弱渐强过程，塑造这样的角色无疑对他是个考验。寇世勋认为剧中故事更像一个现代版的《基督山恩仇记》。“当国仇家恨一起袭来的时候，庞德选择为国出力。我想让我来选择也是一样的。一部好的影视作品一定要给观众一些东西思考，作品才能有反响。”

《刀锋1937》口碑摘选：

该剧不只是讲述抗日和势力争斗的黑帮故事，故事的前半段容易让人联想到《上海滩》和《基督山恩仇记》，两个男人对一个女人的一往情深，复仇欲念的疯狂扭曲，江湖纷争的险恶诡怪。层层设局，处处埋雷，叙事庞杂而不凌乱。但是，仅仅有《上海滩》般的人物是不够的，仅仅有基督山伯爵那样的疯狂复仇也是虚脱的。历史，还要有那饱受欺凌却不可磨灭的历史，舍弃小我，同仇敌忾，共同抗日的主题让整部剧最终升华。（新华网评）

孙红雷、叶童、寇世勋三位实力派演员在剧中同台飚戏，为观众展现了一幅逝去时代的生动画面。该剧一大特点是把抗日与大上海黑帮斗争结合在一起，使矛盾冲突更为激烈。（新浪评）

险象环生的情节设置，风格化的剪辑处理是《刀锋1937》吸引人重要因素，而真正撑起这部剧的是四位主角的精彩表演。心机深沉、背负着血海深仇，有如“基督山伯爵”似的寇世勋，际遇坎坷、百炼成钢的乱世英雄孙红雷，红颜胜雪、颇具传奇色彩的风尘女子叶童，阴险狡诈的第一黑帮老大钱勇夫，几个人在机关算尽、计谋重重的尔虞我诈中各显风采。（新浪评）