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Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of
the
Sith | |
Like it or not, modern cinema can be divided into
pre-Star Wars and post-Star Wars, so pivotal
is the space epic that enters
its final orbit on Sunday.
As the curtain falls on possibly the most
successful film series ever, the industry is divided over whether George
Lucas's galactic clash between
good and evil was the film industry's champion or its nemesis
.
Some argue it turned Hollywood into a commercial beast with no regard
for artistic merit. Star Wars, it is said, used technology that undermined
fundamental principles of acting.
Others contest that the six-part movie marathon
brought millions of new viewers to theaters the world over, recognized the
power of a film's score and wowed
audiences in a fresh way.
"Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith" is
the final chapter and brings viewers full
circle
, back to the first Star Wars film of 1977.
It will be shown in 10 U.S. cinemas on Thursday to raise money for charity
and gets a world premiere in Cannes on Sunday.
Already people are talking of box office records for the finale of a
franchise that has already amassed well over $3.5 billion at the box
office and $9 billion in merchandise sales.
A casual surf of the Internet shows how many moviegoers speak of Star
Wars not as a film, but a religion.
People tend to remember where they saw the first Star Wars film, so
revolutionary were the special effects it produced.
"To a very real degree, he (Lucas) invented the special effects film,"
said Leonard Maltin, U.S.-based film critic for Entertainment Tonight.
"That is a generalisation, as there have been effects since the silents
in 1900. But there was no special effects industry and effects-driven
movies were rare."
The storyline is often complicated, come say too
complex, but it boils down to
the forces of good against evil, Luke Skywalker against Darth
Vader, a concept audiences seem to like.
But for film historian Peter Biskind, that may not be such a good
thing. In a recent interview with France's Le Monde newspaper, he said
Star Wars and its good-against-evil storyline has become a simplistic
prototype for today's blockbuster.
"Unfortunately, we will be living in the shadow of Star Wars for a long
time."
Director Paul Schrader said the series "ate the heart and soul
of Hollywood."
(Agencies) |
不管你是否喜歡《星球大戰》，這部電影都將成為當代電影發展的分水嶺，當代電影的發展歷程被分成“星戰前”和“星戰后”兩個階段。而上周日，這部偉大的星際史詩將最后一次駛入軌道。
而正當這部可能成為電影史上最成功的系列影片的最后一部揭開面紗之際，業內關于星戰系列的評價也出現了兩種聲音：喬治·盧卡斯的銀河善惡戰究竟是電影業的救世英雄，還是災禍之源。
有人指責它將好萊塢變成了一個不尊重藝術價值的商業怪獸，星戰中使用的高科技技術破壞了最基本的表演原則。
其他人則反駁說星戰系列六部馬拉松似的影片把世界各地數百萬觀眾帶進電影院，充分體現了電影的力量，也給觀眾帶來了全新的感受。
《星戰前傳Ⅲ——西斯的復仇》是星戰系列的最后一部，將給觀眾一個完整的交代，并帶人們重溫1977年的第一部星戰。上周四，它首先在美國的10家影院上映，在此期間的影片收入將被用于慈善事業。上周日，它在法國戛納電影節上舉行了盛大的全球首映式。
人們現在已經開始談論這部驚世巨作最后一集的票房收入了。到現在星球大戰系列票房累計收入已達35億美元，而相關產品的銷售額更是高達90億美元。
到網上隨便搜索一下，你就會發現星戰在許多電影迷心中已遠不是一部電影那么簡單了，它已成為了一種信仰。
人們應該都還記得看第一部星球大戰的經歷，因為它給觀眾帶來了革命性的特技效果。
總部設在美國的《晚間娛樂》的評論家倫納德·馬爾丁說，“在很大程度上是他（盧卡斯）發明了電影特技效果?！?
“那只是一種大概的說法，因為早在1900年，還是無聲電影時代時就有特技了。但那時沒有特技效果工業，而且使用特技的電影還很少?！?
星戰系列的故事情節通常很復雜，或者說太過復雜，但它將正邪對戰的力量發揮到了極致，像天行者阿納金與達斯·維達的對決，而這正是觀眾喜歡的概念。
但是在電影史學家彼得·貝斯肯德看來，這并不是什么好現象。貝斯肯德在最近接受法國《世界報》采訪時說，星球大戰和它正邪對抗的故事情節已經成為了一種過分簡化的模型，被今天的大片廣泛采用。
“不幸的是，我們還要在星戰的影子里生活很久。”
導演保羅·施哈德說，星戰系列吞噬了好萊塢的心靈和精神。
（中國日報網站譯） |
Updated: 2005-05-17 10:07
