化為六月息

-----【原文】-----  

INTRO: Frank Miller comic book adaptation "300" receives its world premiere in Berlin. 


STORY: U.S. director(導演) Zack Snyder(錫克·薛達) uses cutting edge(最尖端) technology to tell an ancient tale in his new film "300", an ultra-violent depiction of the legendary battle between Spartans and Persians at Thermopylae in 480 BC. 

Severed limbs fly, decapitations(斬首) get the slow motion treatment(處理), Persians are gorged(吞吃) by a charging rhinoceros(犀牛), elephants are dashed on the rocks and there is blood everywhere. And it is all achieved thanks to computer generated special effects, including the almost exclusive use of blue screens behind actors on which the background was later superimposed(疊印). 

Based on a graphic novel of the same name by Frank Miller,"300" does not pretend to be realistic or historically accurate, Snyder told Reuters in Berlin, where the film had its world premiere late on Wednesday (February 14) and is in competition at the Berlin Film Festival.

Warner Brothers, the studio(電影製片公司) behind "300", will hope Snyder can repeat the box office success of another Miller adaptation "Sin City", which made 160 million U.S. dollars (USD) worldwide from a 40 million (USD) budget, according to movie site www.boxofficemojo.com. But it was not easy getting the project off the ground, according to producer Gianni Nunnari , especially because the release of "Troy" in 2004 led to "sandal fatigue" in Hollywood.

Miller's inspiration for the novel came from watching the 1962 movie "The 300 Spartans" as a boy, when he first encountered the idea that heroes are not necessarily always the ones who win.

Inspired by the tale of a group of 300 Spartans under King Leonidas(斯巴達國王李奧尼達) holding out against the advancing Persian masses led by Xerses(大流士之子薛西斯), he traveled to Greece to the site of one of the most famous last stands in history for inspiration.

"All my life I wanted to tell this story because it's the best story I've ever encountered," Miller said in production notes distributed to promote the movie. "There's a reason why we are as free as we are, and a lot of it begins with the story of 300 young men holding a very narrow pass long enough to inspire the rest of Greece."

In Berlin, Gerard Butler and Brazil's Rodrigo Santoro, playing Xerxes, were peppered with questions about their impressive physiques(體格) in the torso(軀幹)-revealing capes(披肩) and shorts(短褲) that they wore.

'300' will be go on general release internationally in March.







-----【初譯】-----

【引言】美國知名電影導演錫克‧薛達 (Zack Snyder)，在他的最新力作「三百勇士‧為光榮而戰 (300)」裡，採用了最新科技，來鋪陳一個古老的傳奇故事。「三百勇士」一片的時空背景，設定於西元前480年，位於古希臘中部東海岸的溫泉關 (Thermopylae)，當時，斯巴達人(Spartans)正與波斯人(Persians)激烈交戰中。


【報導內容】拜電腦科技所賜，電影中的場景，無論是漫天亂飛的人體殘肢、執行斬首時的慢動作處理、生吞波斯人的巨型犀牛、在岩石上狂奔的象群，或是血跡四濺的景象，全都是利用演員身後的藍色螢屏，在進行電影後製工作時，所疊印上去的。

星期三(2月14日)，舉行於柏林(Berlin)的電影首映會上，導演薛達表示，這部改編自法蘭克‧米勒(Frank Miller)同名圖像小說(graphic novel)的電影，並不強調與史實相符。這部電影，同時也在柏林電影節(Berlin Film Festival)中，角逐有關獎項。

為「三百勇士」這部電影製片的華納電影公司 (Warner Brothers ) 表示，希望「三百勇士」這部電影，能與同樣是改編自米勒圖像小說的「萬惡城市(Sin City)」一片一樣，有亮麗的票房表現。根據美國摩久票房中心( box office mojo )的統計，「萬惡城市」一片的全球票房為十六億美元，遠高於製片成本的四億美元。不過，製片人吉安尼‧奴納利(Gianni Nunnari)則表示，自從2004年「特洛伊木馬屠城」一片上映後，觀眾似乎對於以希臘、羅馬作為題材的電影，不再感到興趣，因此「三百勇士」一片是否能如預期般的成功，仍有疑慮。

米勒寫「三百勇士」這部圖像小說的靈感，是來自他青少年時期所看的一部電影。這部電影是在1962年上映的，片名為「三百斯巴達人(The 300 Spartans)」，片中描述斯巴達國王李奧尼達(Leonidas)率領三百位斯巴達壯士，奮勇抵抗大流士之子薛西斯(Xerses)，所率領的波斯軍團的大舉入侵。看完這部電影後，米勒第一次湧現出，所謂的英雄，未必是最後獲勝的一方，這樣的想法。也因此，米勒特地到希臘去，拜訪這場戰役的遺址所在地。

米勒在為「三百勇士」這部電影寫宣傳文宣時表示：我畢生都想將這個故事告訴每個人，因為這是我生命中見過最好的故事。這個故事告訴了我們，為何我們能夠如此自由自在的生活著。整個故事的主軸，圍繞在三百個青壯年男子，長期死守非常窄的戰略通道，因而激發其他希臘城邦團結一致，共同抗敵。

在柏林的電影首映會上，記者的問題焦點，大都集中在主要演員傑瑞德‧巴特勒(Gerard Butler)，與飾演薛西斯的巴西籍演員洛治奧‧山圖路(Rodrigo Santoro)的身上。在電影中，他們壯碩的體格，與僅穿著披肩與短褲的服裝造型，令觀眾印象深刻。

「三百勇士」這部電影即將在三月份時，與世界各地喜愛電影的朋友見面。