EZCNN 易英网

Hollywood Dreams: Singin’ In The Rain and the American Film Musical 好莱坞之梦：「万花嬉春」及美国歌舞片

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本

With the recent success of film musical like Chicago and Moulin Rouge, it’s worthwhile to look back at this most nostalgic of film genres and its apotheosis, Singin’ In The Rain (1952).

最近出现了几部成功的歌舞片，例如「芝加哥」和「红磨坊」，值得让我们重温这种最令人怀旧的电影类型，以及其中的经典之作「万花嬉春」。

The golden era of Hollywood musicals ran from the very inception of talkies in 1927 to their gradual decline in popularity in the late fifties. Singin’ In The Rain was the culmination of this tradition and remains one of the most beloved Hollywood movies of all time.

好莱坞歌舞片的黄金年代肇始于有声电影【注】在1927年问世之时，直到50年代后期受到观众冷落，逐渐凋零。「万花嬉春」达到这个类型传统的巅峰，而且一直是影史最受喜爱的好莱坞电影之一。

What MGM Studios introduced as a budget-restraining project by recycling elements of earlier productions – sets, songs, even the plot – developed into a witty satire. When these elements fell into place, the result was nothing short of the “glorious feeling” advertised in the original film posters.

这部片在米高梅片厂的预算管制下──将该片厂数部旧作中的电影要素──诸如场景、歌曲、甚至情节──拿来重新利用，发展成一部充满机智风趣的讽刺剧。当这些要素发挥了它们的作用，最后的成品简直就像是原版电影海报上的广告词所说的「荣光满胸臆」。

Set in 1927, the film stars legendary performers Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor and tells the story of Hollywood’s frantic scrambling to meet the new demands of sound films. Among the film’s many masterpieces of invention, O’Connor’s solo routine for “Make ‘em Laugh” stands out as he flops like a ragdoll wrestles with a dummy, and crashes through a film set.

这部电影由著名的演员金凯利和唐纳欧康诺领衔主演，故事背景设于1927年，叙述好莱坞慌乱仓促地制作有声电影以满足喜新厌旧的观众。在这部电影许多创新的杰出片段中，最令人激赏的是欧康纳在「散播欢笑」里像布娃娃般地发软倒地、和假人摔角、以及在影棚场景间撞得歪七扭八的独角戏。

Like all great musicals, Singin’ in The Rain continues to charm because its musical numbers perfectly reflect the character’s feelings.

如同所有的歌舞剧杰作，「万花嬉春」持续吸引现代观众，因为它的歌声舞影完美地反映出角色的情感。

【注】：talkie即有声电影的口语名称，影音同步有别于无声电影。

Vocabulary

单词发音

moulin [muˋlæn] n. 碾磨机；磨坊

rouge [ruʒ] n. 胭脂；口红

nostalgic [nɑsˋtældʒɪk] adj. 留恋过去的﹐怀旧的

apotheosis [ə͵pɑθɪˋosɪs] n. 典范﹐最完美的榜样

inception [ɪnˋsɛpʃən] n. 开始，开端

talkie [ˋtɔkɪ] n.【口】有声电影

culmination [͵kʌlməˋneʃən] n. 顶点；高潮的到达

all time  有史以来

studio [ˋstjudɪ͵o] n. 电影制片厂

restrain [rɪˋstren] v. 限制; 控制

plot [plɑt] n.（小说，戏剧等的）情节

witty [ˋwɪtɪ] adj. 机智的；说话风趣的

satire [ˋsætaɪr] n. 讽刺作品; 讽刺，嘲笑

fall into place  变得有条不紊，开始有头绪  to be correctly arranged

nothing short of  简直可以说是，几乎是  strongly showing this quality

frantic [ˋfræntɪk] adj.（因喜悦，愤怒等）发狂似的

scramble [ˋskræmb!] v. 勉强拼凑; 仓促行动

masterpiece [ˋmæstɚ͵pis] n. 杰作，名作

routine [ruˋtin] n.（经常表演的）固定剧目；一套固定舞步（或动作）

stand out 突出, 显着

flop [flɑp] v. 猛然坐下﹐猛然躺下

ragdoll 布娃娃

dummy [ˋdʌmɪ] n.（橱窗中的）模型人；假人

number [ˋnʌmbɚ] n. 演奏乐曲；上演节目

Sentence of the Day

Compared to modern films, Singin’ In The Rain was made for a song.

和近代的电影相比较，「万花嬉春」的制作预算极低。

for a song 极便宜地

课文讲解

Fred and his girlfriend, Ulrica, are browsing through their DVD collection one rainy weeknight:  佛瑞德和他的女朋友欧莉嘉在一个下雨的平日晚间翻选他们收藏的DVD：

F: Hmmm … what to watch?

嗯…要看什么？

U: It’s so drab outside, I need a pick-me-up. How ‘bout a musical?

外头没搞头，我需要找点乐子。看歌舞片怎样？

F: Ugh, no way. I can’t stand the way musicals break into song and dance for no apparent reason, like some incomprehensible Bollywood flick.

呃，门都没有。我不能忍受歌舞片毫没来由地就突然唱歌跳舞，就像令人摸不着头绪的印度歌舞片。

U: Tell you what: I know your tastes in film are a bit more austere than mine, but Singin’ in The Rain’s got music enough for me and satire enough for you.

听我说：我知道你欣赏电影的品味比我严格，但「万花嬉春」的音乐对我来说够好，情节对你来说够讽刺。

F: All right, that’s a musical I can deal with. The script is so sharp. I love how Gene Kelly’s character keeps rebuffing the advances of his dumb blonde co-star.

好吧，这样的歌舞剧我可以接受。剧本真够尖锐。我很乐金凯利演的角色不断地抗拒金发无脑的同台女星对他献殷勤。

U: Remember the scene when Donald O’Connor turns to Kelly and says, “Well, haven’t you heard? She’s irresistible. She told me so herself.”

还记得唐纳欧康诺在某一场戏里转向金凯利说，「呃，你没听过吗？她令人难以抗拒（魅力无边）。她亲口对我说的。」

F: And the studio boss in the film was based on Arthur Freed – Singin’ In the Rain’s own producer! Clearly, a labor of love. So, what changed with later musicals?

剧中的片厂老板的角色是以阿瑟佛利德为本的──他本身就是「万花嬉春」这部片的制作人！看得出来，真是心血结晶。如此看来，后继的歌舞片有何改变？

U: Well, Hollywood gave up writing original musicals and turned mostly to rehashed Broadway productions directed at older audiences.

呃，好莱坞放弃编写原创的歌舞片，大都转向去把百老汇的旧作改拍成歌舞片，诉求年轻较长的观众群。

F: There you go: My tastes are youthful, not austere. That’s why you’ll never catch me watching Chicago.

妳说到重点了：我的品味是年轻化而不是严格的。所以妳从未看到我在看「芝加哥」。

U: Ah, yes – your loss.

哦，是啊──那是你的损失。

－by Iain Ferguson

Vocabulary

单词发音

browse through  随意浏览各类

drab [dræb] adj. 单调的；无趣的

pick-me-up【口】提神的饮食；兴奋剂  a drink, often an alcoholic beverage, taken as a stimulant or a cure for a hangover

break into  突然……起来

incomprehensible [ɪn͵kɑmprɪˋhɛnsəb!] adj. 难懂的﹐不可理解的

flick [flɪk] n.【俚】电影

austere [ɔˋstɪr] adj. 严格的

deal with  与…打交道

rebuff [rɪˋbʌf] v. 断然拒绝，回绝

advance [ədˋvæns] n. 友好表示；殷勤

dumb [dʌm] adj.【主美】【口】愚笨的

irresistible [͵ɪrɪˋzɪstəb!] adj. 不可抵抗的；不能压制的

a labor of love 爱做的事, 出自喜爱而做的事  a task that is either unpaid or badly paid and that one does simply for one's own satisfaction or pleasure or to please someone whom one likes or loves

rehash [riˋhæʃ] v.〔略加变动的〕改写﹐改编; 重拍

direct [dəˋrɛkt] v. 将（注意力或谈话等）指向

Sentence of the Day

The film’s dialogue is a barrel of laughs.

这部电影的对白令人开怀大笑。

a barrel of laughs（非正式）快乐之源

Reference:

Singin’ In The Rain by Gene Kelly

Make ‘em Laugh by Donald O’Connor