漫画书《罪恶大城》大放异彩

Comic Book Stories Come to Life in Sin City

漫画书《罪恶大城》大放异彩

 

Director Robert Rodriguez teams up with graphic¹ novel author Frank Miller² to create a visually stunning³ (although ultra-violent) film noir that is remarkable⁴ for its style and technical achievement. Alan Silverman has a look at Sin City.

 

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It's a place where danger lurks⁶ in every shadow and you can't trust anybody ... even your partner. And the women... eh, eh, the women.

 

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The world of Sin City comes from the stark⁷ black-and-white graphic novels or comic books by Frank Miller that have become cult⁸ classics; and for filmmaker Robert Rodriguez, it's a chance to delve⁹ into the stark and stylized noir genre¹⁰.

 

Robert Rodriguez: I just love this material. I've always wanted to do a film noir, I love the seediness, the excitement of it [and] the visceral quality... the fact that you get to go meet people that you would never meet in your normal life and see things you would never see. It enters your dreams. Film noir has always been enticing¹¹ to people and I think that's because it's the dark side of life. People like that.

 

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Sin City intertwines three of Miller's stories, with characters from each drifting or blasting in and out of the others. Bookending this anthology is the story of Hartigan, a worn-out, haggard police detective played by Bruce Willis.

 

Willis: We had the comics out every day and they are not comic books, they are drawn¹² stories of very adult, film noir crime stories; and as a pure film noir movie, Hartigan has a role to fill. He's an honest cop who goes up against everybody else in this city who is not honest.

 

For example, Jackie Boy, a flamboyant¹³ detective-gone-bad, played by Benicio del Toro.

 

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Sin City is a digital creation; everything except the actors -- the scenery, the skyline, even the car Jackie Boy is driving -- is computer-generated imagery. Oscar-winner del Toro says acting¹⁴ in the blank space (that would later be filled in) was a fascinating exercise.

 

Benicio del Toro: It reminded me of theater, I trained as a theater actor and you had a bare stage and you had to pretend you were in the middle of Eighth Avenue and traffic is just going by... It reminded me a little bit of that and that made it fun. It was back to basics for me.

 

Adding to the gritty fantasy are the women of Sin City. Every one of them curvaceous and voluptuous¹⁵ and scantily¹⁶ clad -- if clad at all. Rosario Dawson plays tough-as-nails Gail, leader of the "Old Town" streetwalkers [prostitutes]. She admits to a few second thoughts when she saw her body-hugging wardrobe.

 

Rosario Dawson: Well, the costume designer did give me a bouquet¹⁷ of flowers when I decided¹⁸ I was actually going to wear 'the' outfit¹⁹.

 

They may be dressed to fit men's fantasies, but Dawson insists they are not merely objects of desire.

 

Rosario Dawson: All the women who are in Old Town take care of ourselves. We are in control of what we are. We know what our assets are ... and we call the shots, which I think is really powerful, I think there's a very even strength between the men and the women. It's a pretty tough town on both sides.

 

Like the source material, the film portrays²⁰ a graphically²¹ violent world. Robert Rodriguez, who co-directed it with Frank Miller, says this is definitely not for kids.

 

Robert Rodriguez: It is so over-the-top and stylized, like in the books, but that's what helped temper it. It was so black-and-white, so abstract, so representative that, as violent as it is, like in the comic, it felt tempered by the stylization, I made this an 'R' [restricted, no one under 17 admitted without a parent]. I didn't' try to trick people. It's a restricted movie. If parents let their kids in, that's their decision, but it doesn't mean I'm going to change how we made the movie. Frank made what he wanted to do and I wanted to do the exact same thing for cinema and suffer the consequences. If people don't go see it because it's 'R,' that's fine. It's not about appealing to the mass audience. It's really just about making the movie we want to make and tell the story we want to do.

 

The wide-ranging ensemble²² cast of Sin City also features Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Clive Owen, Elijah Wood, Carla Gugino and Nick Stahl. Along with Rodriguez and Miller, Quentin Tarantino gets a credit as "special guest director."

 

Alan Silverman for the Voice of America in Hollywood.

 

注释：

Sin City 《罪恶之城》

lurk⁵ [lE:k] n. 潜伏，埋伏

stark [stB:k] adj. 刻板的

graphic novel 文笔生动的小说

comic book 连环漫画册

cult [kQlt] n. 宗教崇拜

delve into 钻研，深入研究

stylized [5stailaizd] adj. 程式化的，按固定格式的

genre [5VRrE] n. （文艺作品的）类型，流派

film noir 电影胶片

visceral [5visErEl] adj. 本能的，内心深处的

anthology [An5WClEdVi] n. 诗选，文选

detective [di5tektiv] n. 侦探

gritty [5^riti] adj. 坚韧不拔的

curvaceous [k\:5veiFEs] adj. 曲线美的

voluptuous [vE5lQptJEs] adj. 艳丽的，性感的

streetwalker [5stri:twC:kE(r)] n.（街头的)拉客妓女

wardrobe [5wC:drEub] n. 衣服，行头

bouquet [5bu(:)kei] n. 花束

1 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

2 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

3 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

4 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

5 lurk   

n.潜伏，潜行；v.潜藏，潜伏，埋伏

参考例句：

• Dangers lurk in the path of wilderness.在这条荒野的小路上隐伏着危险。
• He thought he saw someone lurking above the chamber during the address.他觉得自己看见有人在演讲时潜藏在会议厅顶上。

6 lurks   

n.潜在，潜伏；（lurk的复数形式）vi.潜伏，埋伏（lurk的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Behind his cool exterior lurks a reckless and frustrated person. 在冷酷的外表背后，他是一个鲁莽又不得志的人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Good fortune lies within Bad, Bad fortune lurks within good. 福兮祸所倚，祸兮福所伏。 来自互联网

7 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

8 cult   

n.异教，邪教；时尚，狂热的崇拜

参考例句：

• Her books aren't bestsellers,but they have a certain cult following.她的书算不上畅销书，但有一定的崇拜者。
• The cult of sun worship is probably the most primitive one.太阳崇拜仪式或许是最为原始的一种。

9 delve   

v.深入探究，钻研

参考例句：

• We should not delve too deeply into this painful matter.我们不应该过分深究这件痛苦的事。
• We need to delve more deeply into these questions.这些是我们想进一步了解的。

10 genre   

n.(文学、艺术等的)类型，体裁，风格

参考例句：

• My favorite music genre is blues.我最喜欢的音乐种类是布鲁斯音乐。
• Superficially,this Shakespeare's work seems to fit into the same genre.从表面上看， 莎士比亚的这个剧本似乎属于同一类型。

11 enticing   

adj.迷人的；诱人的

参考例句：

• The offer was too enticing to refuse. 这提议太有诱惑力，使人难以拒绝。
• Her neck was short but rounded and her arms plump and enticing. 她的脖子短，但浑圆可爱；两臂丰腴，也很动人。

12 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

13 flamboyant   

adj.火焰般的，华丽的，炫耀的

参考例句：

• His clothes were rather flamboyant for such a serious occasion.他的衣着在这种严肃场合太浮夸了。
• The King's flamboyant lifestyle is well known.国王的奢华生活方式是人尽皆知的。

14 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

15 voluptuous   

adj.肉欲的，骄奢淫逸的

参考例句：

• The nobility led voluptuous lives.贵族阶层过着骄奢淫逸的生活。
• The dancer's movements were slow and voluptuous.舞女的动作缓慢而富挑逗性。

16 scantily   

adv.缺乏地；不充足地；吝啬地；狭窄地

参考例句：

• The bedroom was scantily furnished. 卧室里几乎没有什么家具。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His room was scantily furnished. 他的房间陈设简陋。 来自互联网

17 bouquet   

n.花束，酒香

参考例句：

• This wine has a rich bouquet.这种葡萄酒有浓郁的香气。
• Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。

18 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

19 outfit   

n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装

参考例句：

• Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
• His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。

20 portrays   

v.画像( portray的第三人称单数 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The museum collection vividly portrays the heritage of 200 years of canals. 博物馆的藏品让运河200 年的历史再现眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The film portrays Gandhi as a kind of superman. 这部电影把甘地描绘成一个超人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 graphically   

adv.通过图表；生动地，轮廓分明地

参考例句：

• This data is shown graphically on the opposite page. 对页以图表显示这些数据。
• The data can be represented graphically in a line diagram. 这些数据可以用单线图表现出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 ensemble   

n.合奏(唱)组；全套服装；整体，总效果

参考例句：

• We should consider the buildings as an ensemble.我们应把那些建筑物视作一个整体。
• It is ensemble music for up to about ten players,with one player to a part.它是最多十人演奏的合奏音乐，每人担任一部分。