Arthouse VS blockbuster:Will superheroes wipe out serious movies

重慶市酉陽第一中學校 冉 楊

你喜歡看好萊塢大片嗎？你知道除了這些大片以外還有一些非常優秀的小眾電影嗎？你知道這些小眾電影的生存面臨什么困難嗎？超級英雄電影和小眾電影可以共存嗎？讓我們一起來看看吧。

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In Dizzy Pursuit,a young couple receives unwanted visits from family members while trying to cast their independent feature film.The filmhighlightsthe difficulties of smallscale independent production for comic effect,but for many of those watching at the Raindance Film Festival in London,or who are attending the 75th Venice International Film Festival this weekend,the joke will be painfully felt.Film-making without thebackingof a big Hollywood studio is an uncompetitive（無競爭力的）struggle.

Figures released last week showed howprofitablethe cinema business has been recently.A series of carefully timed blockbusters,including Mamma Mia！,resulted in a 94%increase in last weekend's takings（票房收入）at British cinemascompared withlast year.And this sort of improvement has been evident all summer.The sametrendhas been seen across the US and Canada,where 2018 has set a record of$11.6 billion in box-office takings.

So the space between two apparently separate film economies,runningside by side,has never gaped（張開）so wide：One half has delivered a series of comic-book heroes and popular remakes to commercial success；the other hasprovidedfresh and morethoughtfulfilmsforthe critics and the arthouse.

As Vanessa Redgrave said last week,funding heavily flooded in favour of the comic-book films while serious independent film-makers must battle to find investors.

Joe Russo,the co-director of this year's profitable Avengers:Infinity War,has earnedinterestsin comic-book blockbusters,but he said the idea that cinema is lowering its standards is nonsense.As a leading director who once had his own big break at the Slamdance festival,he is also prepared to take his responsibilities.He and his brother have produced Dizzy Pursuit afterspottingthe director Jay Alvarez's work at Slamdance,just as the director Steven Soderbergh first spotted the Russos in 1997.

Another analyst Charles Gant also is unpersuaded（不被說服的）by the idea that the industry has split and that only blockbuster films willsurvive.“The award season tells you a different story.The difference is that those great films that win praise are now rarely being fully financed by one studio as they once were，”he said.

Reading Check

1.What's the major difficulty that the arthouse films face?

A.The existence of the superheroes.

B.A shortage of funding.

C.A lack of excellent directors.

D.Being neglected by the film festivals.

2.According to the article,who has a different opinion from Joe Russo?

A.Jay Alvarez. B.Charles Gant.

C.Vanessa Redgrave.D.Steven Soderbergh.

Language Study

Ⅰ.Words in the context

Ⅱ.Difficult sentence

1.In Dizzy Pursuit,a young couple receives unwanted visits from family members while trying to cast their independent feature film.

翻譯：___________________________

【點石成金】本句中while引導時間狀語從句，表示“當……時”。

2.As Vanessa Redgrave said last week,funding heavily flooded in favour of the comicbook films while serious independent film-makers must battle to find investors.

翻譯：___________________________

【點石成金】本句中while引導并列句，表示對比轉折。as在句中表示“正如，如同”。

3.As a leading director who once had his own big break at the Slamdance festival,he is also prepared to take his responsbilities.

翻譯：___________________________

【點石成金】as在本句中表示“作為”。who引導定語從句，修飾先行詞a leading director。

Using Language

Ⅰ.Important vocabulary in the text Words

1.cast v.為（戲劇、角色）選派演員

2.highlight v.突出；強調

3.struggle n.&v.奮斗；努力

4.profitable adj.有利潤的；有益的

5.trend n.趨勢；傾向；動向

6.thoughtful adj.深思熟慮的；體貼的；關心別人的

7.interest n.利益；好處

8.survive v.生存；存活；幸免于難

Phrases

1.wipe out全部摧毀；徹底消滅

2.compare with與……相比

3.side by side并行不悖；相安無事；并肩地

4.provide sth for sb給某人提供某物

5.in favour of支持；贊成

6.be prepared to do sth準備好做某事

Ⅱ.Complete the following sentences in correct forms with the words and phrases given above.

1.We have been using both systems,_______,for two years.

2.We have concerns about whether the government will be able to _______practical social services _______poorer families.

3.Their lead was _______by four goals in ten minutes.

4.Everyone in the classvoted _______the dancing party.

5.I _______lend you the money if you promise to pay it back.

6.Statistics show that there has been a 20%reduction in burglary _______last year.

主題應用·語庫構建

Ⅰ.熱詞積累

電影類話題詞組：

film industry電影行業

romantic film愛情電影

adventure film驚險影片

thriller驚悚片

martial arts film武術片

comedy喜劇

soap opera肥皂劇

sports programme體育節目

chat show訪談節目

quiz show智力競賽節目

masterpiece杰作

blockbuster（尤指）非常成功的書（或電影）

cast演員陣容

main characters主角

be directed by由……執導

be played by由……扮演

play a part扮演角色

be set in以……為背景

be hugely successful取得巨大成功的

Ⅱ.話題美句

電影評價類美句：

1.The filmbelonged toa type of Chinese story called Wuxia.（外研社必修2）

這部電影屬于一種被稱之為武俠的中國故事。

2.Films like this rarelyreach the cinema.Go and see Crouching Tiger,Hidden Dragon.It will make your heartleap with excitement at its beauty.（外研社必修2）

很少有機會在影院看到這樣的電影。快去看《臥虎藏龍》吧。它能給你帶來心跳加速的美的享受。

3.The acting is great and the Kung Fu combats and the special effects areamong the best ever produced anywhere.（外研社必修2）

表演出色而且功夫動作和特效在已有的任何地方拍攝制作的電影中都是最好的。

4.It is a moving and beautiful film whichis_worth_seei_ngon a big screenrather thanon DVD.Zhang Yimou's film isa true masterpiece.（外研社必修2）

這是一部值得去電影院在大銀幕上觀賞的電影，而不僅僅是看DVD。張藝謀的電影是真正的杰作。

5.Saving Private Ryan isan unforgettable anti-war filmand alsoa story of courage and_sacrifice.Spielberg has made a lot of good films,but hehas never made one with such a strong message.Andthe message is simple—We want peace；we don't want war.（外研社選修6）

《拯救大兵瑞恩》是一部令人難忘的反戰電影，也是充滿勇氣和犧牲的故事。斯皮爾伯格已經拍了很多好電影，但他從來沒有拍過一部傳遞這么強烈主旨的電影。主旨很簡單——我們想要和平，我們不想要戰爭。

6.Butword_spread_around_New____York,the audiencesgrew bigger and bigger,and soon the opera wasan extraordinary hit.（外研社選修6）

但是消息在紐約流傳開，觀眾越來越多，很快這部歌劇就異常火熱。

7.When welook_back_ov_er what are generally agreed to be the best films of each year,these are not always the films that win the big awards.（外研社選修10）

當我們回顧時發現，通常被認為是年度最佳的那些影片并不總是贏得大獎。

8.Audiencestend tolike big,expensive filmsthat are_superficially_interesting_b_ut have no real depth.（外研社選修10）

觀眾傾向于喜歡表面上有趣但沒有真正深度的昂貴的大片。

電影人物與情節描寫類：

1.The storytakes_placein the early 1800s in China.（外研社必修2）

故事發生在19世紀初期的中國。

2.As in the old Wuxia stories,characters leap through the airevery_now_and_t__hen,withbeautiful,graceful movements,whileaudiences shout in surprise.（外研社必修2）

正如在古代武俠故事中一樣，影片中的人物們不時在空中跳躍并做出許多優美的動作，同時觀眾看到這些時都發出驚叫。

3.Brave,good and strong,Xiulian is the character we care about most.（外研社必修2）

我們最關注秀蓮這個角色，她勇敢、善良、堅強。

4.Beautiful Zhang Ziyiplays the part ofYu Jiaolong,a young woman who is not as good as she seems.（外研社必修2）

美麗的章子怡扮演玉嬌龍，一個并不像外表看起來那樣善良的年輕女子。

5.Butone cannot forgetthe wonderful Chow Yun-Fat,who isas goodwith a swordashe is with a gun.（外研社必修2）

但是誰也不會忘記周潤發，他真是很了不起，使劍和使槍一樣厲害。