And in TO LIVE you filmed in real settings. It seems the film had some production problems. You have the reputation of being a director who listens a great deal to suggestions from actors and crew. The first version of the script told of the struggle between the different factions of the Shanghai Mafia fighting for control of the opium market. The final film differs greatly from the original screenplay.
Violence is very fashionable in the cinema today.
I want to get away from it. That is the basic reason for changing the original script. Now the film deals primarily with the fate of a woman living in a society controlled by the Mafia. The struggle between the Mafia gangs is relegated to the background of the story. The Boss is a cruel Chinese Godfather.