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Song Danping
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Name
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Song Danping
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Played By
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Jin Shan and other actors.
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Appears in
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Song At Midnight (1937 film) , Song At Midnight 2 , The Midnightmare series , Song At Midnight (1985 film) , The Phantom Lover (1995 film) , Song At Midnight (2005 T.V Series) , Song At Midnight (2007)
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Song Danping is the Erik like character in the Song At Midnight series of films and T.V Series.
Song At Midnight[]
Song was a famous opera singer whom fell in love with a young woman Li Xiaoxia whom was the daughter of a powerful man called Wan-Yin . Wan-Yin did not like song and to stop his daughter from marrying him he disfigured his face with acid . They got a doctor to see to his face wounds , but the doctor could do nothing to help him . When Song's bandages were removed he was so shocked at his appearence that he told them to tell Li Xiaoxia that he had died.
Song sees his disfigured face for the first time.
. Li Xiaoxia did not take the news well as she nearly went mad with grief. He hid in the opera house were he tought a young male singer called "sung" how to sing. Sung believes songs voice to be that of a ghosts. Song appeard to him in a cloak with a hood that covers his face. He told sun about his dark past and says that every night at midnight he sings to Li Xiaoxia as a comfort (hence the title "Song at Midnight"), but he never reveals himself to her and in return for teaching sung how to sing he must pretend to be song come back from the dead. Li Xiaoxia believes that sung is actualy song back from the dead and is overjoyed at his "re-appearence". Song watches the two and is over-joyed himself that his lover is happy again . Wan-Yin the evil man who ruined Songs life and face tried to rape a young chorus girl but song jumped in and suprised him. Song shows him his ruined face and explains who he is and how much he has waited for this moment. He had a jar of acid in his hand and he threw it Wan-Yin but in a moment of rage he misses and they both start to fight each other an Wan-Yin gets thrown from a window. A large inraged mob go after song , chasing him to an old building and setting it on fire. Song escapes by jumping into the sea which is behind the building.
Song At Midnight 2[]
In the 1941 sequel Song is operated on by a doctor whom actually makes his face worse instead of helping . Song after the operation looked very ape like , a girl he fell in love with went blind and song took the situation and tried to use it for his advantage as being blind she could not see his disfigured face.
Song's new face
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Midnightmare[]
Song Danping appears in both remakes of the above films . Were he is played by a man called Zhou Lai .
Song in the remake
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1985 Movie[]
Song again appeared in the another remake.
Song In the 1985 Movie ?
The Phantom Lover[]
Song Danping appeared in this movie played by Leslie Chung.
Song Danping in this version is once again an actor.
A poster for The Phantom Lover
His passionate and devoted performances, drew the attention of the beautiful daughter of a corrupt and despotic official named To Wan-Yin (Jacqueline Wu). To Wan-Yin would sneak out of her house with her personal maid in the night to watch Dan Ping's play (he was acting as Romeo in Shakespeare's play--'Romeo and Juliet'). During the patriarchal era, romance between an actor (considered useless and without a bright future) and a rich man's daughter was definitely a taboo (it was an irony that the couple were 're-enacting' Romeo and Juliet in the movie). Hence after each performance, Dan Ping and Wan-Yin would have a rendezvous at the theatre and their love deepened to the extent that they vowed to run away from the city and to get married elsewhere.
However, Wan-Yin was betrothed to a man whom she did not love and was reputed to be cruel and sadistic and this persuaded her to throw caution to the wind and run away from home with Song. It also turned out that Wan-Yin's father arranged the marriage (as was the custom of China at that time) to benefit himself as he sought to become allies with another official of great influence, whose friendship would help to improve his social standing.
As fate dictated, the eloping couple was caught before the plan came to fruition and Wan-Yin's maid, who had assisted the eloping couple in their attempt to escape, was brutally beaten until she was crippled. Meanwhile, Wan-Yin was locked up in the house by her father to prevent her from eloping.
This did not end the couple's tragic fate. Wan-Yin's fiance had arranged his men to harm Dan Ping. After disfiguring Dan Ping's face with burning acid, they set the theatre ablaze with Dan Ping and many other innocent people in it. After Wan-Yin came to know about the fire and Dan Ping's disappearance, she resigned to fate and married her fiance.
On her wedding night, Wan-Yin's husband found out that she was not a virgin (he did not 'see red' on their nuptial night). Wan-Yin was then abused and eventually drove out of the house and was forced to lead a wandering life with her crippled maid. Wan-Yin soon lost all her senses as her longing for Dan Ping drove her crazy.
Many years later, a group of performing arts students traveled from Beijing to perform in the city where Song Dan Ping had performed, eager to adapt his exploits and to improvise on his legendary performances. They came to the theatre hall, with its outer foundations still intact but with the internal sections terribly destroyed, and made their temporary quarters there. Many people believed Song to have perished in the fire but he was indeed still living as the students made their home in his theatre.
Song, however, was badly scarred in the face and was never to reveal his once-handsome face to the outside world and earned the nickname 'The Phantom lover' by his once-loving audience. His personality was also changed as he was severely depressed and morose after the tragic incidents and had lived the life of a hermit ever since. When the students arrived at the theatre, he was slightly encouraged to reveal himself when one of the more talented students tried unsuccessfully to sing his ultimate love serenade whom he dedicated to Wan-Yin. Song later lashed out at the students' incompetence when he could no longer bear such disparaging performances of his efforts and decided to reveal himself and his scarred face to them.
When the officials heard that the students tried to popularise Song in their theatre performances and reenact his glorious days, they came to arrest the students. Little did they know their evil deeds were exposed to the public who came for the performances. One by one, the accomplices to the plot to burn down the theatre were forced to confess in detail, to their crimes.
Justice was finally achieved but only as a hollow victory on Song's part. In the closing moments, Song was seen holding his lover's hands. Wan-Yin had since become an invalid, and she had also become blind as a result of her ex-husband shooting her. She recognized Song, but lamented that she could not see him - a blessing for him, since she couldn't see how ugly his face had become. The two lovers finally departed the town in a coach, together at last. An epilogue reveals that Wan-Yin died a year later -- probably due to the shooting injuries -- and that Song never loved another woman in his lifetime.
The 2005 Soap Opera[]
Song Danping appeared in the 30 episode long soap opera version . Where he was played by two actors (one pre deformity , one post deformity).
Song Danping in the Soap Opera Version
2007 Animated version[]
This Movie is a fully animated version of the orignal 1937 movie including the orginal voices and soundtrack . Song Danping also appears in this version. More information is needed in this section.
Gallery[]
<Gallery> Image:Return.jpg|Song in the 1941 sequel. Image:Song.jpg|Song in the orginal.