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Citizen Kane 大国民

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本  

Citizen Kane is often hailed as the greatest film ever. The result of the inspired efforts of Orson Welles, who co-wrote, produced, directed, and starred in the 1941 production, almost every convention of modern cinema, from camera angles to storytelling conventions, was either invented or perfected in Kane.

「大国民」常被赞扬为史上最伟大的电影。在1941年由奥森韦尔斯所合写、制作、导演并主演的这部电影中，他的灵感直觉所带出的艺术结晶，几乎是所有现代电影从摄影角度到叙事方式的惯用手法，都是从「大」片开创出来或是得以更加完善。

Kane was an epochal film for many reasons. First, the story was a thinly veiled criticism of the life of William Randolph Hearst – the most powerful man in American publishing of that era. But more importantly than Welles’s boldness in portraying Hearst, Kane was the first film to decisively overcome the limitations of producing movies on an indoor soundstage.

「大」片具有几项划时代的意义。第一，片中故事有些微对威廉鲁道夫赫斯特──当时美国出版业最有势力的人──的影射与批评。韦尔斯不仅大胆地描写赫斯特，「大」片更重大的意义在于它是第一部决意要克服室内搭景拍摄限制的电影。

One technique used inKane that revolutionized cinema was deep focus photography. This technique allows filmmakers to distort the audience’s perception of distance and size by employing a combination of lighting and lens choice so that the entire frame is in focus. In one exquisite sequence we see a normal-size window behind Kane as he signs away his fortune. Yet when Kane walks towards the window, it appears enormous and dwarfs him. A deep focus illusion symbolically illustrates how small Charles Foster Kane has become.

在「大」片中所用而为电影带来革命的一个技巧是深焦摄影。藉由综合运用灯光及镜头的选择以使整个构图的焦距都清楚，电影创作者可以用这个技巧让观众对距离及大小的观感受到扭曲。在一段精妙的片段中，我们看到在凯恩签财产弃权声明书时，他背后有一扇正常大小的窗户。但当凯恩走向这扇窗户，窗户显得巨大，让凯恩像个侏儒。深焦镜头的幻觉呈现出查尔斯佛斯特凯恩变得渺小的象征意义。

To this day, Citizen Kane remains a filmmaker’s textbook for its technical virtuosity, dramatic excellence, and sheer panache.

直至今日，「大国民」的纯熟技巧、卓越戏剧以及孤芳绝傲，仍是电影创作者效法的教材。

Vocabulary

单词发音

hail [hel] v. 承认……为；拥立[（+as）]

inspired [ɪnˋspaɪrd] adj. 得到启示的; 有灵感的

convention [kənˋvɛnʃən] n.（艺术上的）传统手法

epochal [ˋɛpək!] adj. 新纪元的, 划时代的

thinly [ˋθɪnlɪ] adv. 薄薄地；稀疏地；细细地; 勉强地，几乎没有

veiled criticism 含蓄的批评

veiled [veld] adj. 隐含的; 隐藏的；模糊的

portray [porˋtre] v. 描绘﹐描写﹐描述

decisively [dɪˋsaɪsɪvlɪ] adv. 决然地；果断地

soundstage 摄影棚

distort [dɪsˋtɔrt] v. 使变形; 使失真; 使反常

exquisite [ˋɛkskwɪzɪt] adj. 精美的；精致的；制作精良的

sequence [ˋsikwəns] n.（电影中描述同一主题的）连续镜头

sign away 签字让与, 签字出卖

dwarf [dwɔrf] v. 使显得矮小

illusion [ɪˋljuʒən] n. 错觉，幻觉；假象

illustrate [ˋɪləstret] v.（用图，实例等）说明，阐明[（+with）]

virtuosity [͵vɝtʃʊˋɑsətɪ] n.（在美术、音乐等方面的）精湛技艺

panache [pəˋnɑʃ] n. 夸示, 假威风, 炫耀

Sentence of the Day

He was a person who never did anything by halves.

他做任何事情总是全心全意。

not do anything by halves 做任何事情都力求完全彻底

课文讲解

Dorothy, a film society member, is eating dinner with her husband, Harry:  电影社社员多萝西正和她的先生哈利一起吃晚餐：

D: Rosebud.

玫瑰花蕾。

H: Pardon? Isn’t this ravioli?

什么？这不是意大利馅饼吗？

D: “Rosebud” was Charles Foster Kane’s final word in Citizen Kane. We watched it last week, remember?

「玫瑰花蕾」是「大国民」中查尔斯佛斯特凯恩的遗言。我们上个星期才看的，记得吗？

H: Right, right. It was great, but unfortunately I fell asleep.

对，对。真是好电影，但很不幸我睡着了。

D: And so never found of what “rosebud” meant.

所以你永远搞不清楚「玫瑰花蕾」的涵意。

H: No. But I loved that scene in the cabin where Kane is a child. The camera goes right through where a table was a moment before.

是啊。不过我喜欢小凯恩在小屋的那场戏。摄影机的移动先经过桌子的位置，然后再看到桌子在那里。

D: Ah, the invisible furniture. The table was moved out of the way as the camera moved past, then slipped back into space before the camera panned down. But if you watch closely, you can see that the hat on the table is shaking slightly from the move.

呃，隐藏式的家具。当摄影机经过时，桌子先暂时移开，然后在摄影机镜头摇下之前，把桌子再搬回定位。但如果你仔细瞧，你可以发觉桌上的帽子因为移动而有些轻微震颤。

H: Orson Welles certainly had some tricks up his sleeve.

奥森韦尔斯的确有几招独门绝活。

D: Not only Welles, but also his director of photography, Gregg Toland. Welles gave Toland equal billing with himself in the film credits.

不只韦尔斯，他的摄影师葛来格托兰德也有几招。在电影片尾演职员表上，韦尔斯让托兰德和他有同等的排名。

H: You know, it struck me that the tragedy of Kane was that he was incapable of loving anyone around him.

你知道，我觉得凯恩的悲剧在于他没有能力爱他周遭的人。

D: Absolutely, even though he desperately wanted to. It’s like he manipulated others for their love, but could never give any of his own.

完全正确，即使他很想去爱人。就像他操纵别人以得到他们的爱，却完全不能付出自己任何一点爱。

H: What was “rosebud” anyway?

「玫瑰花蕾」到底是什么意思？

D: Watch the movie and find out.

自己去看电影弄明白。

－by Iain Ferguson

Vocabulary

单词发音

ravioli [͵rævɪˋolɪ] n.【义】（单复同形）略有馅的水饺

cabin [ˋkæbɪn] n. 小屋

pan down 降下镜头拍摄…

pan [pæn] v. 摇镜头；摇摄

have something up one’s sleeve 运筹帷幄, 胸有成竹; 有独门绝活 hidden but ready to be used

billing [ˋbɪlɪŋ] n. 节目表里演员依重要性排列次序

desperately [ˋdɛspərɪtlɪ] adv. 绝望地; 拚命地

manipulate [məˋnɪpjə͵let] v.（熟练地）操作，运用

Sentence of the Day

Kane looked at the world through rose-colored glasses.

凯恩眼中的世界比实际上更为缤纷美好。

through rose-colored glasses 用过分的愉快、乐观或恰当的态度看待事物

Reference

Citizen Kane - The Theatrical Trailer

Citizen Kane from 土豆網