化為六月息

-----【譯文初稿】-----

1971年九月的某一天，一位住在倫敦市中心的業餘無線電火腿族人士，無意中竊聽到一樁正在進行的大型銀行搶案，他立即向倫敦蘇格蘭警場(Scotland Yard)報案。不過由於這位報案人士所使用的無線電裝備，能接收到半徑10英哩內的訊號，所以無法確定是哪一間銀行發生搶案。警方展開搜索行動，要找出是那間銀行受害並追捕搶犯。這起搶案震驚了媒體與倫敦市民，大家都想揪出兇手，但是卻在幾天之後，一切有關這樁搶案的報導都停止了。

這起因罪犯使用雙向無線通訊設備，而被戲稱為「無線通話機搶案(walkie-talkie robbery)」的犯罪案件，在經過35年的時間之後，被搬上大銀幕，由動作巨星傑森‧斯坦森(Jason Statham)主演，他在片中飾演泰瑞(Terry)一角。

在電影中，由薩弗蓉‧布羅斯(Saffron Burrows)所飾演的馬婷‧勒芙(Martine Love)，是泰瑞的舊鄰居也是老朋友，她唆使泰瑞加入這起價值30萬英鎊，折合約六十萬美金的銀行搶案。對泰瑞而言，這是一個難得的機會，將可以改善泰瑞的家境。於是，這群毫無經驗的銀行搶犯開始著手策畫犯罪行動，他們打算從一家商店的地下室，挖一條長40英呎、直通銀行金庫的地道。這群搶犯除了從保險箱中取得大批珠寶與大量現金外，還發現了一系列的皇室醜聞照片。因此，當時政府便以國家安全為由，對這起搶案下禁令，進行言論箝制。

導演羅傑‧唐納森(Roger Donaldson)表示，在導這部電影時做了許多功課，甚至實際跟業餘火腿族人士進行會談。而編劇狄克‧柯萊曼(Dick Clement)與伊恩‧拉弗蘭納(Ian La Frenais)也投入不少心血，兩人為了獲得這起搶案的第一手資料，還跟當年其中的一位成員聯繫。

因在電視影集阿加莎‧克里斯蒂(Agatha Christie)中飾演偵探賀克爾‧波羅(Hercule Poiret)而聞名國際的英國傳奇演員大衛‧蘇切特(David Suchet)，也參與這部電影的演出。當大衛‧蘇切特被問到如果英國皇室看了這部電影後，會有什麼感想時，他說：「我想英國皇室的反應不會太糟，因為電影中並沒有指名道姓，而且只是電影的一開始而已，好讓整個故事可以發展下去。不過這部電影，確實也揭露了一些當年政府掌控、一般民眾並不知情的秘密。」【shows 13】

電影「銀行搶案」把當年發生的所有謎團都擺在一起，試圖還原整個事件的真相。然而導演唐納森不諱言指出，對於1971年九月的這起銀行搶案，雖然他事先作足了調查，仍舊沒有人知道整起事件的真相和細節。電影「銀行搶案」於2月28日在全英國上映。

※ 正式定稿與影像：「新唐人電視台 ─ 娛樂新幹線175」

※ The original article was taken from Reuters Website.  ( 原文取自路透社網站 )




-----【原文對照】-----

INTRO: A London bank robbery goes horribly wrong which results in the UK government placing a gagging order on news coverage about the event. Jason Statham and cast attended the world premiere of "The Bank Job" in London's Leicester Square. The film tells the true story of four robbers who end up uncovering a treasure chest of the dirty secrets, leading all the way to the monarchy. 


STORY: In September 1971, an amateur radio "ham" overheard what he believed to be a major bank robbery taking place near his central London flat. He called Scotland Yard and the search was on to find not only the robbers but where the crime was taking place. His radio picked up a signal within a ten mile radius where dozens of banks were situated. The event mobilised press and Londoners to find out the truth. A few days later, all news reporting about the robbery had ceased.

More than 35 years later, the story of "walkie-talkie robbery" as it was nicknamed because of the two-way radios the criminals used, made it to the big screen in a film starring East End action-hero Jason Statham.

An old neighbourhood friend Martine Love, played by Saffron Burrows, entices Statham's character Terry into a fool-proof bank robbery worth a reported 300,000 pounds (600,000 USD). It was the opportunity the small time petty criminal always wanted and the perfect chance to help his young family get off to a good start.  The inexperienced criminals came up with a plan to dig under the basement of a shop 40 feet away and into the vaults of the bank.

Director Roger Donaldson said an enormous amount of research went into the film, including an interview with the amateur ham Robert Rowland. Writers Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais even tracked down one of the original robbers to get the first-hand account of the event.

Besides unearthing a wad of cash and jewellery from the safety deposit boxes, the robbers uncovered a series of racy photos of an unnamed princess on a Caribbean island. The discovery lead to a D-Notice government gagging order, in times of national security.

Legendary British actor David Suchet stunned audiences by playing porn king Lew Vogel, a departure from his best known role as detective Hercule Poiret in the internationally known Agatha Christie television series. When asked what he thought the reaction of the monarchy would be upon seeing the film, he said: "I don't think they'd react too badly. This film doesn't point fingers at royalty. It was the situation at the beginning of the film, if you see the film, it's the situation, you realise it's about royalty. We don't say who it is. But that particular situation allows the rest of the film to happen. So we're not there to point the finger at anybody. But what the film does is raise the curtain on what happens when the Establishment is in control and us poor human beings don't know what's going on." Statham was less talkative about Buckinham Palace's reaction to "The Bank Job".【shows 13】

The film's disclaimer says it tries for the first time to reveal what really happened in September 1971 by putting all the pieces of the puzzle together. However, Donaldson admitted that even through all his research, no one will ever know the true events and details of the robbery. "The Bank Job" opens across the United Kingdom on February 28.