欧美电影简介：《西部往事》

故事叙述一名神秘客(查理士布朗逊)来到小镇上，被卷入一名寡妇(克劳蒂雅卡迪奈尔)与铁路大亨的土地抢夺战。剧情在1954年《游侠神枪》(Johnny Guitar，又译《荒漠怪客》)的基础上加工，莱昂和贝托鲁齐参与了编剧。方达一反常态演反角，令人眼睛一亮。颜尼欧·莫里康的配乐已成经典。影片节奏舒缓，颇具气势。此片最有趣的角色，是由一向形象正义的亨利方达，难得在此片中扮演一名冷面的残酷杀手，从头到尾几乎没有表情，只有嘴角偶尔小有动作，让人不寒而栗……

Once Upon a Time in the West is a 1968 Italian epic¹ spaghetti western film directed by Sergio Leone for Paramount² Pictures. It stars Henry Fonda, unusually cast as the villain³, and Charles Bronson as his enemy. Bronson was offered the role after Clint Eastwood turned it down. The screenplay was written by Leone and Sergio Donati, and composer Ennio Morricone provided the film score. The original version, a big success in Europe, was 166 minutes long when it was first released in December 1968. The version for the US release in May 1969 was edited down to 145 minutes and was greeted with mostly negative critical response. It was a financial flop⁴ in the U.S.

 

Though less popular in the US than the earlier "Dollars Trilogy," Once Upon a Time in the West has gained a huge cult⁵ following around the world, particularly among filmmakers and moviegoers. In the 1970s, it was re-evaluated by many critics, many of whom called it a masterpiece. Directors such as Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese have spoken about the influence the film had on them and the way they made their movies. It is now considered one of the greatest films ever made and numerous critics consider it to be the finest ever Westerns. Time magazine listed it as one of the 100 greatest films of the 20th century. It also ranks highly on dozens more movie polls.

 

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 paramount   

a.最重要的，最高权力的

参考例句：

• My paramount object is to save the Union and destroy slavery.我的最高目标是拯救美国，摧毁奴隶制度。
• Nitrogen is of paramount importance to life on earth.氮对地球上的生命至关重要。

3 villain   

n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因

参考例句：

• He was cast as the villain in the play.他在戏里扮演反面角色。
• The man who played the villain acted very well.扮演恶棍的那个男演员演得很好。

4 flop   

n.失败(者)，扑通一声；vi.笨重地行动，沉重地落下

参考例句：

• The fish gave a flop and landed back in the water.鱼扑通一声又跳回水里。
• The marketing campaign was a flop.The product didn't sell.市场宣传彻底失败，产品卖不出去。

5 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。