TEXT 3. SPIRITED AWAY (унесенные призраками)

Viewing Hayao Miyazaki ’s[2] Spirited Away, I was struck by a quality between generosity (щедрость) and love. On earlier viewings I was caught up by the boundless imagination of the story. This time I began to focus on the elements in the picture that didn’t need to be there. Animation is a painstaking process (трудный), and there is a tendency to simplify its visual elements. Miyazaki, in contrast, offers complexity. His backgrounds are rich in detail, his canvas embraces space liberally, and it is all drawn with meticulous (тщательный, дотошный) attention. We may not pay much conscious attention to the corners of the frame, but we know they are there, and they reinforce (усиливать, подкреплять) the remarkable precision of his fantasy worlds.

Spirited Away is surely one of the finest of all animated films, and it has its foundation in the traditional bedrock (традиционные устои) of animation, which is frame-by-frame drawing (покадровое движение кинопленки, покадровая прорисовка). Miyazaki began his career in that style, but he is a realist and has permitted the use of computers for some of the busywork. But he personally draws thousands of frames by hand. “ We take handmade cell animation ( аппликационная анимация ) and digitize it in order to enrich the visual look, ” he told me in 2002, “ but everything starts with the human hand drawing. ” That’s what I mean by generosity and love. Miyazaki and his colleagues care enough to lavish as much energy on the less significant parts of the frame.

The story of Spirited Away has been populated with limitless creativity. Has any film ever contained more different kinds of beings that we have never seen anywhere before? Miyazaki’s imagination never rests.

His story involves a 10-year-old girl named Chihiro [3], who isn’t one of those cheerful little automatons that populate many animated films. She is described by many critics as “ sullen (угрюмый, грустный)”. Yes, and impatient and impetuous (порывистый, бурный), as she’s stuck in the back seat during a long drive to a house her parents want to examine. Her father loses the way in a dark forest, and the road seems to end at the entrance to a tunnel. Investigating it, they find it leads to an abandoned amusement park (парк развлечений). This is the beginning of an extraordinary adventure.

Miyazaki says he made the film specifically for 10-year-old girls. That is why it plays so powerfully for adult viewers. Movies made for “everybody” are actually made for nobody in particular. Movies about specific characters in a detailed world are spellbinding (завораживающий)because they make no attempt to cater to us (угождать); they are defiantly, triumphantly, themselves. As I watched the film again, I was spellbound as much as by any film I consider great. That helps explain why Spirited Away grossed (приносить чистый доход) more than “ Titanic ” in Japan.

I was so fortunate to meet Miyazaki at the 2002 Toronto film festival. I told him I love the “ grat u itous motion ” (безвозмездный) in his films; instead of every movement being dictated by the story. “ We have a word for that in Japanese, ” he said. “ It’s called ‘ma’ [4]. Emptiness. It’s there intentionally. ” He clapped his hands three or four times. “ The time in between my clapping is ‘ma’. If you just have non-stop action with no breathing space at all, it’s just busyness. ”

I think that helps explain why Miyazaki’s films are more absorbing than the frantic action (безумное действие) in a lot of American animation. “ The people who make the movies are scared of silence ” he said. “ What really matters is the underlying ( лежащий в основе ) emotions. ”

(http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-spirited-away-2002)

 

7. Match the phrases from Text 3 (1-7) with their definitions (a-g); use them in your summary. Try to translate the phrases into Russian.

1.A painstaking process; 2.A bedrock of sth; 3.Frame-by-frame drawing; 4.Cell animation; 5.To cater to smb; 6.To gross; 7.Gratuitous.

a)creating each movement of the scene by hand; b)done without a reason; c)to please someone by giving something they want; d)an action employing great thoroughness; e)to earn a sum of money before taxes have been taken out; f)the basic principles of sth; g)a traditional form of animation implying the use of frames;

D, 2 - f, 3 - g, 4 - a, 5 - c, 6 - e, 7 - b

8. Find the equivalents of the following expressions in Text 3, give the Russian translations. Use them in your summary.

1) scrupulous (meticulous)	3) to make an effort (?)	5) impulsive (impetuous)
2) kindness and liberality (generosity and love)	4) countless (boundless)	6) gripping (spellbinding)

9. Translate Paragraph 2 of Text 3 from English into Russian beginning with “Spirited Away is surely one of the finest…” up to “…on the less significant parts of the frame”.

TRANSLATION: «Унесенные духами» является одним из самых лучших анимированных фильмов, который базируется на традиционным устоях анимации, будучи созданным при помощи покадрового движения. Миядзаки начинал свою карьеру именно с такого стиля, однако, он все же реалист и одобряет использование компьютерной техники. Тем не менее, он рисует множество форм собственноручно. «Мы используем аппликационную анимацию и оцифровываем ее с целью придачи ей лучшего вида», сказан он мне в 2002 году, «но все начинается с зарисовки от руки». Это именно то, что я имею ввиду под щедростью и любовью. Миядзаки с коллегами очень щедры по отношению к тому, чтобы придавать огромное значение самым незначительным частям рамки.

TEXT 4. INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS [5]

Quentin Tarantino ’s Inglourious Basterds is a big, bold, audacious (дерзкий, смелый) war movie that will annoy some, startle others and demonstrate once again that he’s the real thing, a director of quixotic (донкихотский, нереальный) delights. For starters, he provides World War II with a much-needed alternative ending.

From the title, ripped off (вырванный) from a 1978 B-movie, to the Western sound of the EnnioMorricone opening music, the film embeds (внедряет, запечатлевает) Tarantino’s love of the movies. The deep, rich colors of 35mm film provide t a ctile (осязаемый) pleasure. A character at the beginning and end, not seen in between, brings the story full circle. The “basterds” themselves, savage (дикие войны) fighters dropped behind Nazi lines (фашистские линии), are an unmistakable nod to The Dirty Dozen (1967).

And above all, there are three iconic characters, drawn broadly and with love: the Hero, the Nazi and the Girl. These three, played by Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz and Melanie Laurent, are seen with that Tarantino’s knack of taking a character and making it The Character, definitive (окончательный), larger than life, approaching satire in its intensity. Let’s say they feel bigger than most of the people we meet in movies.

The story begins in Nazi-occupied France, early in the war, when the Nazi arrives at an isolated dairy farm (молочная ферма) where he believes the farmer is hiding Jews (евреи). He’s right, and a young woman named Shosanna – the Girl – flees into the woods. It is for this scene, and his performance (выступление) throughout the movie, that Christoph Waltz deserves an Oscar nomination. He creates a character unlike any Nazi — indeed, anyone at all — I’ve seen in a movie: evil, sardonic (злобный), ironic, mannered, absurd.

The Hero is Brad Pitt, starring as Lt. Aldo Raine. He is played by Pitt as a broad caricature of a hard-talking Southern boy who wants each of his men to bring him 100 Nazi scalps. For years, his band improbably survives in France and m a ssacres (резни) Nazis. Pitt’s version of Italian is worthy of a Marx brother[6].

A Tarantino film resists categorization. InglouriousBasterds is no more about war than Pulp Fiction (Криминальное Чтиво) is about — what the hell is it about? Of course nothing in the movie is possible, except that it’s so bloody entertaining.

After I saw Inglourious Basterds at Cannes (Канны, Франция), although I was writing a daily blog, I resisted giving an immediate opinion about it. I knew Tarantino had made a considerable film (важный фильм), but I wanted it to settle, and to see it again. I’m glad I did. Like a lot of real movies, you relish (наслаждаться, смаковать) it more the next time. Immediately after Pulp Fiction played at Cannes, Quentin asked me what I thought. “ It’s either the best film of the year or the worst film, ” I said. I hardly knew what the hell had happened to me. The answer was: the best film. Tarantino films have a way of growing on you. It’s not enough to see them once.

(http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/inglourious-basterds-2009)

10. Match the phrases from Text 4 (1-7) with their definitions (a-g); use them in your summary. Try to translate the phrases into Russian.

1)Audacious 2)To rip off 3)Savage 4)Performance 5)To massacre 6)A considerable film 7)To relish

a)to steal something; b)acting in a film or in a play; c)to kill a lot of people; d)cruel, extremely violent; e)a motion picture that is worth reading; f)to get great pleasure and satisfaction from something; g)done with extreme confidence, despite risks and difficulties.

1 - g,2 - a,3 - d, 4 - b, 5 -f, 6 - e, 7 - f

11. Find the equivalents of the following expressions in Text 4, give the Russian translations. Use them in your summary.

1) idealistic (quixotic)	3) to link sth ()	5) to kill (to massacre)
2) a cheap film (a B-movie)	4) an ability to do sth (a knack of sth)	6) to begin being liked ()

12. Translate Paragraph 7 of Text 4 from English into Russian beginning with “After I saw InglouriousBasterds at Cannes…” up to “…not enough to see them once”.

 

TRANSLATION: После того, как я посмотрел «Бесславные Ублюдки» в Каннах, хотя я писал ежедневный блог, я отказался давать отзыв о фильме сразу же. Да, я знал, что Тарантино создал величайший фильм, но я хотел переварить его, и посмотреть еще раз. И я очень рад, что я так сделал. Как и со многими ст о ящими фильмами, ты получаешь больше удовольствия именно от последующих просмотров. Сразу же после «Криминального Чтива», которое было показано в Каннах, Квентин спросил мое мнение о фильме. «Это либо лучший, либо худший фильма года», сказал я. Я ничерта не понимал, что происходило со мной. И ответ был: лучший фильм. Фильмы Тарантино имеют тенденцию въедаться в зрителя. Их не достаточно посмотреть лишь раз.

TEXT 5. STAR WARS

George Lucas ’ space epic (космический эпос) has colonized our imaginations, and it is hard to stand back and see it simply as a motion picture, because it has so completely become part of our memories. It’s as goofy (бестолковый) as a children’s tale, as shallow as an old Saturday afternoon serial, as corny (банальный) as Kansas in August…and a masterpiece. Those who analyze its philosophy do so, I imagine, with a smile in their minds. May the Force be with them.

Star Wars was a technical watershed (водосборный бассейн) that influenced many of the movies that came after. These films came along at a crucial moment in cinema history, when new methods were ripe for synthesis. They developed editing, married special effects, advanced sound, a new photographic style and a freedom from linear storytelling ( линейное повествование ). Star Wars effectively focused the industry on big-budget special-effects blockbusters, blasting off (отрываться от земли) a trend we are still living through. But you can’t blame it for what it did, you can only observe how well it did it.

It’s possible, however, that as we grow older we retain within the tastes of our earlier selves. How else to explain how much fun Star Wars is, even for those who think they don’t care for science fiction? It’s a good-hearted film in every single frame.

By now the ritual of classic film revival is well established: an older classic is brought out from the studio vaults, restored frame by frame, re-released (переиздан) in the best theaters, and then re-launched (запущен вновь)on home video. With this “special edition” of the Star Wars trilogy, Lucas has gone one step beyond. His special effects were so advanced in 1977 that they spun off (от «spin», получать дополнительную выгоду) an industry, including his own Industrial Light & Magic Co. (ILM), the computer wizards who do many of today’s best special effects.

Now Lucas has put ILM to work touching up the effects, including some that his limited 1977 budget left him unsatisfied with. Most of the changes are subtle; you’d need a side-by-side comparison (сравнение друг с другом) to see that a new shot is a little better. The improvements are well done, but they point up how well the effects were done to begin with: If the changes are not obvious, that’s because Star Wars got the look of the film so right in the first place. This was the first film to pan the camera (использовать панорамную съемку) across a star field: “ Space scenes had always been done with a fixed camera, and for a very good reason. It was more economical not to create a background of stars large enough to pan through. ”

Lucas fills his screen with loving touches. There are little alien rats hopping around the desert, and a chess game played with living creatures. And consider the details creating the presence, look and sound of Darth Vader, whose fanged face mask (маска с зубами-клыками), black cape and hollow breathing are the setting for James Earl Jones ’ cold voice of doom (голос судьбы, обреченности).

Seeing the film the first time, I was swept away (под впечатлением, очень заинтересованный), and have remained swept ever since. The film philosophies that will live forever are the simplest-seeming ones. They may have profound depths, but their surfaces are as clear to an audience as a beloved old story. The way I know this is because the stories that seem immortal (бессмертный)– The Odyssey, Don Quixote, Huckleberry Finn – are all the same: a brave but flawed hero, a quest (квест, поиск), colorful people and places, sidekicks (друзья, сторонники), the discovery of life’s underlying truths.

(http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-star-wars-episode-iv-a-new-hope-1977)

 

13. Match the phrases from Text 5 (1-7) with their definitions (a-g); use them in your summary. Try to translate the phrases into Russian.

1)Linear storytelling 2)To blast off 3)To re-launch 4)To spin off 5)A side-by-side comparison 6)To pan the camera 7)To be swept away

a)To shoot a panoramic view by moving the camera; b)to give rise to something; c)finding the similarities of two or more things by having them next to each other; d)to be involved in a story emotionally; e)to create something new based on something else that already exists; f)to sell a product again, maybe in a slightly different way from before; g)a narrative that is told from a beginning to an end chronologically.

1 - g, 2 - b, 3 - e, 4 - f, 5 - c, 6 - a, 7 – d

14. Find the equivalents of the following expressions in Text 5, give the Russian translations. Try to use them in your summary.

1) silly (goofy)	3) a make or break moment ()	5) imperceptible (subtle)
2) a turning point (a crucial moment)	4) rebirth (to re-launch, to re-release)	6) thorough (within)

 

15. Translate Paragraph 2 of Text 5 from English into Russian beginning with “Star Wars was a technical watershed that…” up to “…you can only observe how well it did it”.

TRANSLATION: «Звездные Войны» стали своеобразным бассейном, который повлиял на все последующие фильмы, выпускаемые после. Эти фильмы выпускались во время наступления поворотного момента в истории кинематографа, когда новые методы созрели для выхода в свет. Они создали редактирование, соединили некоторые спецэффекты, улучшили звук, новые фотографический стиль, а также отстранились от линейного повествования. «Звездные Войны» сфокусировали киноиндустрию на много бюджетных спецэффектах, которые мы можем видеть и сейчас. Тем не менее, вы не можете винить их а то, что они сделали это, вы можете лишь наблюдать то, как они сделали это.