奇幻武侠大片《长城》预告片发布,在过去几周引起了不小的反响。不少美国人觉得疑惑,为什么一部以中国千年长城为背景的电影会是英语片?而且主演竟是美国影星马特·达蒙(Matt Damon)?无论如何,这部电影的支持者(有来自中国的,也有来自美国的)认为中美两国合作的影片可以让中国在全球舞台上为更多观众所了解。
中美观众在同一部电影上产生分歧可不是第一次了。有时候,在美国本土不受待见的美国影片反而会受到中国观众的欢迎;反之,在中国本土饱受差评的中国影片反而会赢得美国观众的喜爱。下面,我们就来看看让太平洋两岸观众意见不一的三部影片吧!
The trailer for the upcoming fantasy-action film The Great Wall has been causing quite a stir over the past several weeks. A number of Americans are questioning why a film set on the eponymous wall approximately 1,000 years ago has been shot in English and apparently features Matt Damon as its lead actor; however, supporters of the film, both in China and the US, have argued that the Chinese-American coproduction will increase China's visibility on the global stage.
This is far from the first time that American and Chinese audiences have disagreed on a film, though. In fact, sometimes Chinese audiences will prefer an American film disliked in its own home country, and vice-versa. Let's take a look at three recent films that divided audiences on both sides of the Pacific.
1) 《魔兽》(2016)
影片简介:
根据经典游戏《魔兽世界》改编,是观众期待已久的一部影片。影片让观众置身于艾泽拉斯国度的奇幻世界中,感受兽人与人类之间史诗般的冲突与斗争。
中国观众怎么看:
从预售情况来看,《魔兽》是中国票房史上观众最期待的影片之一。这部电影刚在中国上映就引起来巨大反响,创造了周末最高票房纪录。
虽然电影取得巨大成功的很大一部分原因是《魔兽世界》游戏在中国的影响力,但我们不能忽视电影的宣传效果。上映前就在中国各大网站上发布了几十部针对中国观众的预告片。有针对性的宣传再加上游戏原有的粉丝基础,这使得《魔兽》电影在中国市场获得史无前例的成功。(值得一提的是制作商传奇影业今年被万达收购。)
美国观众怎么看:
简单来说,《魔兽》引得美国观众炸开了一锅粥,票房十分不尽如人意,差评如潮。在线影评平台烂番茄网(Rotten Tomatoes)用这么一句话来总结这部电影:“粗劣地改编畅销游戏,作为电影,没有太大艺术价值。”多数批评家抨击电影过度依赖《指环王》之类的传统魔幻风格;有一位拿它与彼得·杰克逊(Peter Jackson)导演的《霍比特人》三部曲作为比较,《霍比特人》也因其过度奢华的视觉效果而饱受指责。What it's about:
Warcraft is the long-awaited cinematic adaptation of the insanely popular Warcraft video game franchise. Set in the fantastical world of Azeroth, the film thrusts viewers into the center of an epic clash between the orcs and humans that populate the land.
What Chinese audiences thought:
Based on pre-sales, Warcraft was one of the most highly-anticipated films in Chinese cinematic history. Upon release, the film proved a massive hit in China, where it set a record for the highest-grossing opening weekend of all time.
While a good portion of the film's success is undoubtedly due to the massive popularity of the World of Warcraft video game franchise in China, credit must be given to the film's promoters, who released dozens of trailers—tailor-made for Chinese audiences—onto the Chinese web. This combination of targeted promotion and a preexisting fanbase made Warcraft an unprecedented smash hit in China. (It's also worth noting that Warcraft's production company, Legendary Pictures, became a subsidiary of Chinese conglomerate Wanda Group this year.)
What American audiences thought:
Warcraft bombed in the US. Its box-office performance was wretched, and most critical reviews were unforgiving at best. The online review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes summarized the film's merits (or perceived lack thereof) as “...a sluggish and derivative adaptation of a bestselling game with little evident cinematic value.” Most critics focused on the film's formulaic fantasy trappings, with one comparing Warcraft's extravagant visual effects to Peter Jackson's recent Hobbit trilogy, which was often criticized for its excessive CGI.