Arthouse VS blockbuster:Will superheroes wipe out serious movies

重庆市酉阳第一中学校 冉 杨

你喜欢看好莱坞大片吗？你知道除了这些大片以外还有一些非常优秀的小众电影吗？你知道这些小众电影的生存面临什么困难吗？超级英雄电影和小众电影可以共存吗？让我们一起来看看吧。

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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（无竞争力的）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（张开）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（不被说服的）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.

翻译：___________________________

【点石成金】本句中while引导时间状语从句，表示“当……时”。

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.

翻译：___________________________

【点石成金】本句中while引导并列句，表示对比转折。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.

翻译：___________________________

【点石成金】as在本句中表示“作为”。who引导定语从句，修饰先行词a leading director。

Using Language

Ⅰ.Important vocabulary in the text Words

1.cast v.为（戏剧、角色）选派演员

2.highlight v.突出；强调

3.struggle n.&v.奋斗；努力

4.profitable adj.有利润的；有益的

5.trend n.趋势；倾向；动向

6.thoughtful adj.深思熟虑的；体贴的；关心别人的

7.interest n.利益；好处

8.survive v.生存；存活；幸免于难

Phrases

1.wipe out全部摧毁；彻底消灭

2.compare with与……相比

3.side by side并行不悖；相安无事；并肩地

4.provide sth for sb给某人提供某物

5.in favour of支持；赞成

6.be prepared to do sth准备好做某事

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.

主题应用·语库构建

Ⅰ.热词积累

电影类话题词组：

film industry电影行业

romantic film爱情电影

adventure film惊险影片

thriller惊悚片

martial arts film武术片

comedy喜剧

soap opera肥皂剧

sports programme体育节目

chat show访谈节目

quiz show智力竞赛节目

masterpiece杰作

blockbuster（尤指）非常成功的书（或电影）

cast演员阵容

main characters主角

be directed by由……执导

be played by由……扮演

play a part扮演角色

be set in以……为背景

be hugely successful取得巨大成功的

Ⅱ.话题美句

电影评价类美句：

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

这部电影属于一种被称之为武侠的中国故事。

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）

很少有机会在影院看到这样的电影。快去看《卧虎藏龙》吧。它能给你带来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）

表演出色而且功夫动作和特效在已有的任何地方拍摄制作的电影中都是最好的。

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）

这是一部值得去电影院在大银幕上观赏的电影，而不仅仅是看DVD。张艺谋的电影是真正的杰作。

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.（外研社选修6）

《拯救大兵瑞恩》是一部令人难忘的反战电影，也是充满勇气和牺牲的故事。斯皮尔伯格已经拍了很多好电影，但他从来没有拍过一部传递这么强烈主旨的电影。主旨很简单——我们想要和平，我们不想要战争。

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

但是消息在纽约流传开，观众越来越多，很快这部歌剧就异常火热。

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.（外研社选修10）

当我们回顾时发现，通常被认为是年度最佳的那些影片并不总是赢得大奖。

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

观众倾向于喜欢表面上有趣但没有真正深度的昂贵的大片。

电影人物与情节描写类：

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

故事发生在19世纪初期的中国。

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）

正如在古代武侠故事中一样，影片中的人物们不时在空中跳跃并做出许多优美的动作，同时观众看到这些时都发出惊叫。

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

我们最关注秀莲这个角色，她勇敢、善良、坚强。

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）

美丽的章子怡扮演玉娇龙，一个并不像外表看起来那样善良的年轻女子。

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

但是谁也不会忘记周润发，他真是很了不起，使剑和使枪一样厉害。