feuding families
2021/12/09 04:12:39 網誌分類: 生活
The 1957 Broadway show West Side Story was based on Romeo and Juliet. The show was such a hit (very popular) that theatre groups around the world performed it well after the show ended in Broadway. I saw it in London in 1984. A 1961 movie version of West Side Story won ten Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. I have seen the DVD movie version so many times I have lost count, which means I no longer know how many times I have seen it. Tomorrow, December 10, a 2021 movie version of West Side Story directed by Steven Spielberg will hit the big screen. It has received rave reviews, which means movie critics have given it top scores. I am dying to see it.
The big screen means the big screen in a movie theatre, as opposed to television. If you are dying to do something, it means you are very excited about doing it. West Side Story is about two feuding teenaged street gangs in the 1950s in Manhattan’s Upper West Side. The movie has extra meaning for me now because I now live in the Upper West Side. One is a Puerto Rican gang, the other a gang of white members. The younger sister of the Puerto Rican gang leader and the former leader of the white gang fall in love. Like Romeo and Juliet, the plot has a tragic ending.
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莎士比亞迷都會知道，他的劇作《羅密歐與茱麗葉》有一個悲愴的劇情（plot）。這套於一五九〇年代寫成的劇作，能經得起時間的考驗（stood the test of time）。若某事stands the test of time，意即它歷久不衰，長久以來廣受歡迎。《羅密歐與茱麗葉》描述兩個年輕戀人的故事，他們來自兩個有着世仇的家族（feuding families）：蒙太古與凱普萊特家族。羅密歐來自蒙太古家族，茱麗葉則來自凱普萊特。A feud就是兩個人、家庭或族群之間的夙怨、世代結仇又或長期鬥爭。劇情（plot）最終悲慘地以羅密歐與茱麗葉殉情作結。
一九五七年百老匯音樂劇《夢斷城西》，就是改編自《羅密歐與茱麗葉》。音樂劇一炮而紅（a hit），以至在百老匯公演完結後，多年來仍有世界各地的劇團上演這齣劇目。我一九八四年的時候就在倫敦看觀賞過。一九六一年《夢斷城西》的電影版上映，更榮獲十項奧斯卡金像獎，包括最佳電影和最佳導演。我看了電影版的DVD無數遍，次數多得我都已lost count，意即我都數不清我看了多少遍了。明天，即十二月十日，史提芬史匹堡執導的《夢斷城西》二〇二一年電影版將會登上大銀幕（the big screen）。電影獲得rave reviews，意即好評如潮，影評人都熱烈讚揚、給予高度評價。我逼不及待想要一看（dying to see it）。
The big screen就是戲院的大銀幕，是相對於電視熒幕而言。若你是dying to do something，意即你引頸以待、摩拳擦掌想要去做某事。《夢斷城西》是關於一九五〇年代，在曼哈頓上西城兩個結怨的（feuding）年輕街頭幫派。這套電影現在對我來說別具意義，因為我現在就在上西城居住。電影中的兩個幫派，一個是波多黎各籍幫派，另一個則是由白人組成的幫派。波多黎各幫派首領的妹妹，與白人幫派的前首領墮入愛河。就像羅密歐與茱麗葉，劇情（plot）有着悲慘的結局。
mickchug@gmail.com
中譯：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧
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