Kunqu Opera Movie: You Yuan Jing Meng
Performed by Mei Lanfang and Yu Zhenfei
Produced by Beijing Cinema Factory, 1960
Mandarin Chinese
Media: 1 VCD, Video CD
ISBN: 7880004246 9787880004243
ISRC: CNA020301780
The most famous, excellent, and classic Kunqu opera play was performed by two masters Mei Lanfang and Yu Zhengfei in 1940s and 1950s.
The Kunqu Opera classic was adapted from the Chinese ancient play Peony Pavilion. The title You Yuan Jing Meng can be translated as Wandering in the Garden, Waking from a Dream, also Wildest Dream of the Hero.
Written by the most gifted playwright of the Ming Dynasty Tang Xianzu (1550-1616), the "Peony Pavilion" tells the story of a young Chinese lady's chastened love in an extremely conservative society.
Du Liniang, a young lady closely supervised by her parents, fell in love with a young scholar, Liu Mengmei, whom she had only met once in a dream. Failing to find him in reality and struggling to keep the secret love from her parents, she died from pinning for her ethereal object of desire.
Even in death, she never gave up her love. After defeating conspiracies of the judges in the underworld, who planned to have her as concubine, her ghost found Liu and showed love to him in his dream. Liu dug open her tomb and brought her back to life and the two finally married after these twists and turns.
"The story was a legend of courage and love - courage despising rigid morals and love overcoming the gap between life and death," Bai Xianyong, a contemporary Kunqu opera writer, says.
国剧大师梅兰芳一共留下7部戏曲影像资料片。其中费穆执导的《生死恨》，是梅大师青年时代的作品。余下6部皆产生于二十世纪五、六十年代，其时梅大师年事已高，但表演技艺可谓登峰造极。这6部片子中，《霸王别姬》、《宇宙锋》、《贵妃醉酒》、《洛神》等4部是京剧，余下的两部，《断桥》和《游园惊梦》，是昆曲。
《昆曲艺术片：游园惊梦(VCD)》
1960年彩色舞台艺术片
艺术指导：崔嵬 导演：许轲
主要演员：梅兰芳 俞振飞 言慧珠 华传浩
《游园惊梦》是梅兰芳先生的昆曲代表剧目。此剧是《牡丹亭》中的一环。剧情是：杜丽娘背父母及塾师与春香至后花园春游，见断井颓垣，陡起伤春之感。游倦归房，梦中与书生柳梦梅至后园相会，园中花神皆出护翼，二人订情而别，杜母恰至唤醒丽娘，见其恍惚，嘱勿常游园，丽娘却心向梦境不已。梅兰芳在剧中饰杜丽娘。在唱念做工方面都有许多突出的地方，不仅表现出杜丽娘的温婉、娴雅贞静的性格，还把这位深锁幽闺的少女心灵深处的寂寞、惆怅、仿徨的心情恰如其分地表露出来，演得层次分明，不同凡响。
《游园惊梦》是梅兰芳下功夫最大，演出场次最多的一出戏。早在1918年演出时，由姜妙香配演柳梦梅，至1933年在上海演出时又得与昆曲名家俞振飞合作，由俞饰柳梦梅，均相得益彰。此后梅与俞合演多年，并博取众家精华，不断对此剧进行锤炼和提高，遂臻化境。堪称中国戏曲艺苑中的奇葩。1960年12月梅兰芳应邀在北京电影制片厂，将此剧搬上银幕，当时领导非常重视。组成优秀摄制组拍摄。仍请梅兰芳和俞振飞分饰杜丽娘及柳梦梅，梅的弟子言慧珠饰丫环春香。历时两月，梅兰芳和全组工作人员，以极大的热情，圆满完成了符合电影艺术和时代思想要求的拍摄任务。
电影版的《游园惊梦》有四位主演，梅兰芳之外，有言慧珠、俞振飞和华传浩。梅兰芳和言慧珠是京剧大家，俞振飞和华传浩是南昆嫡传，绝对的全明星阵容。
