美国国家公共电台 NPR--James Cameron's epic movie 'Titanic' was released 25 years ago

James Cameron's epic¹ movie 'Titanic²' was released 25 years ago

Transcript³

Starring Leonardo de Caprio and Kate Winslet, Titanic became the first movie to gross a billion dollars. The special effects of the late 1990s are part of what made this film a blockbuster.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The movie "Titanic" was released 25 years ago today. It starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet and became the first movie to gross $1 billion.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

The special effects of the late 1990s are part of what made this James Cameron film a blockbuster.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "TITANIC")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTORS: (As characters, screaming).

REBECCA KEEGAN: One of the big kind of changes that he ushered⁴ in was the use of digital visual effects. If you watch "Titanic" closely, you'll see that there are little, tiny, digital stunt⁵ people that go tumbling off the ship. It was not common at all when Cameron did it in the '90s. It was pretty cutting-edge.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "TITANIC")

LEONARDO DICAPRIO: (As Jack⁶) Come on, I've got you.

INSKEEP: Rebecca Keegan is the author of "The Futurist," a biography of James Cameron, and says the movie's appeal went way beyond the visual.

KEEGAN: It was actually a phenomenon that was particularly popular among teenage girls, which was to go see it and have crying parties. There was this just enormous catharsis, this kind of need to cry that people seemed to have that "Titanic" fulfilled.

MART?NEZ: But Keegan says it's unlikely we'll see a movie like "Titanic" again.

KEEGAN: It was the beginning of the era for digital visual effects. It was the beginning of the era for people falling in love with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. But it was the end of an era for a certain kind of ambitious, romantic Hollywood filmmaking.

INSKEEP: A quarter-century later, there's still a big debate about something that happened at the end of this movie.

MART?NEZ: Yeah, a 25-year-old spoiler alert here. Did Jack have to brave the icy water and die to save Rose? Or was that hunk of wood big enough for the both of them to survive?

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "TITANIC")

KATE WINSLET: (As Rose) Jack?

KEEGAN: Cameron says he actually figured out the physics of this and that had Jack gotten onto the door with Rose, the door would have sunk. So they both would have died.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "TITANIC")

WINSLET: (As Rose) Jack?

MART?NEZ: You hear that? It was out of selfless love and, I guess, physics.

INSKEEP: And at least their love will go on.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MY HEART WILL GO ON")

CELINE DION: (Singing) You're here. There's nothing I fear. And I...

1 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

2 titanic   

adj.巨人的，庞大的，强大的

参考例句：

• We have been making titanic effort to achieve our purpose.我们一直在作极大的努力，以达到我们的目的。
• The island was created by titanic powers and they are still at work today.台湾岛是由一个至今仍然在运作的巨大力量塑造出来的。

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 ushered   

v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The secretary ushered me into his office. 秘书把我领进他的办公室。
• A round of parties ushered in the New Year. 一系列的晚会迎来了新年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 stunt   

n.惊人表演，绝技，特技；vt.阻碍...发育，妨碍...生长

参考例句：

• Lack of the right food may stunt growth.缺乏适当的食物会阻碍发育。
• Right up there is where the big stunt is taking place.那边将会有惊人的表演。

6 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。