 |
|
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) |
不管你是否喜欢《星球大战》，这部电影都将成为当代电影发展的分水岭，当代电影的发展历程被分成“星战前”和“星战后”两个阶段。而上周日，这部伟大的星际史诗将最后一次驶入轨道。
而正当这部可能成为电影史上最成功的系列影片的最后一部揭开面纱之际，业内关于星战系列的评价也出现了两种声音：乔治·卢卡斯的银河善恶战究竟是电影业的救世英雄，还是灾祸之源。
有人指责它将好莱坞变成了一个不尊重艺术价值的商业怪兽，星战中使用的高科技技术破坏了最基本的表演原则。
其他人则反驳说星战系列六部马拉松似的影片把世界各地数百万观众带进电影院，充分体现了电影的力量，也给观众带来了全新的感受。
《星战前传Ⅲ——西斯的复仇》是星战系列的最后一部，将给观众一个完整的交代，并带人们重温1977年的第一部星战。上周四，它首先在美国的10家影院上映，在此期间的影片收入将被用于慈善事业。上周日，它在法国戛纳电影节上举行了盛大的全球首映式。
人们现在已经开始谈论这部惊世巨作最后一集的票房收入了。到现在星球大战系列票房累计收入已达35亿美元，而相关产品的销售额更是高达90亿美元。
到网上随便搜索一下，你就会发现星战在许多电影迷心中已远不是一部电影那么简单了，它已成为了一种信仰。
人们应该都还记得看第一部星球大战的经历，因为它给观众带来了革命性的特技效果。
总部设在美国的《晚间娱乐》的评论家伦纳德·马尔丁说，“在很大程度上是他（卢卡斯）发明了电影特技效果。”
“那只是一种大概的说法，因为早在1900年，还是无声电影时代时就有特技了。但那时没有特技效果工业，而且使用特技的电影还很少。”
星战系列的故事情节通常很复杂，或者说太过复杂，但它将正邪对战的力量发挥到了极致，像天行者阿纳金与达斯·维达的对决，而这正是观众喜欢的概念。
但是在电影史学家彼得·贝斯肯德看来，这并不是什么好现象。贝斯肯德在最近接受法国《世界报》采访时说，星球大战和它正邪对抗的故事情节已经成为了一种过分简化的模型，被今天的大片广泛采用。
“不幸的是，我们还要在星战的影子里生活很久。”
导演保罗·施哈德说，星战系列吞噬了好莱坞的心灵和精神。
（中国日报网站译） |
Updated: 2005-05-17 10:07
