The risky business of remakes
电影翻拍有风险
“Snow White”, Disney’s live-action remake of a beloved animated film, had an icy reception before its release in cinemas on March 21st. A trailer posted three months ago has earned just 60,000 likes and over 1m dislikes. “If I saw this movie on a plane I would still walk out,” grumbled one YouTube user.
《白雪公主》是迪士尼对一部深受喜爱的动画电影的真人翻拍，在3月21日影院上映前遭遇了冷淡到冰点的回应。三个月前发布的预告片仅获得6万个点赞，却有超过100万个不喜欢。“就算在飞机上看这部电影，我也会摔门离去。”一位油管用户抱怨道。
By respinning familiar tales, remakes can offer studios a surer path towards commercial riches. What makes for a successful remake? It is a question on the minds of many Hollywood executives, as well as cinephiles.
通过重新演绎熟悉的故事，翻拍作品可以让电影公司更有把握地获得商业成功。什么因素造就成功的翻拍？这是影迷们，更是许多好莱坞高管们思考的问题。
To answer it, The Economist analysed 200 remakes released since 1995; each had a minimum of 5,000 ratings on IMDB, an online movie database. Three lessons stand out.
为了回答这个问题，本刊分析了自1995年以来发布的200部翻拍电影，每部电影在电影网络数据库IMDB上都至少有5000条评分。有三点经验教训尤为突出。
First, it is not enough to use state-of-the-art special effects; computer-generated imagery needs to be handled carefully. Of the 20 worst remakes (as measured by IMDB audience ratings), half are horror films, in part because of their use of unconvincing special effects.
首先，仅仅使用最先进的特效是不够的，电脑生成图像要谨慎使用。在20部最糟糕的翻拍电影中（根据IMDB观众评分衡量），有一半是恐怖片，部分原因在于使用了不够逼真的特效。
Second, comedies come with grave risks. This is the worst-performing genre for remakes, earning an average IMDB rating 1.5 points (out of ten) lower than the originals. Comedy remakes also tend to make the least at the box office.
第二，喜剧有巨大的风险。喜剧是翻拍作品中表现最差的类型，IMDB平均评分比原作低了1.5分（满分十分）。喜剧翻拍作品的票房表现也往往是最差的。
Not a single one significantly outshines the original film it was based on, according to audience ratings. It may be that viewers of comedies and horrors crave an element of surprise, which is hard to offer in a faithful remake, because audiences already know which gags and gasps to expect.
根据观众评分，没有一部翻拍喜剧明显超越原作。也许是喜剧和恐怖片观众渴望看到惊喜，这是忠实原版的翻拍作品很难提供的，因为观众已经知道会看到哪些笑点和惊吓。
The best remakes get their inspiration from abroad. Since 1995 about a third of the top remakes have been based on foreign source material, including six of the top ten. So are the only two remakes to have won Academy Awards for Best Picture: “The Departed” (2006), based on a Hong Kong film, and “CODA” (2021), based on a French-Belgian one.
第三，最好的翻拍作品往往从国外汲取灵感。自1995年以来，大约有三分之一的最佳翻拍作品是基于外国素材改编的，包括前十名中的六部。获得奥斯卡最佳影片奖的唯二两部翻拍电影也是基于国外素材：一部是2006年的《无间道风云》，改编自一部香港电影；另一部是2021年的《健听女孩》，改编自一部法国和比利时合拍电影。
Unfamiliarity with the originals may mean that audiences come in with lower expectations and without any attachment to the original.
对原作的不熟悉可能意味着观众带着较低的期望，并且没有任何原作情怀。
重点词汇：
source
n. 来源；发源地；原始资料 v. 从…获得
release
n. 释放；让渡；发行 vt. 释放；让与；准予发表；发射
inspiration
n. 灵感；鼓舞人心(的东西)；吸气
rating
n. 等级；评定；收视率；额定值
risky
adj. 危险的；冒险的；大胆的
element
n. 要素；元素；（学科的）基本原则；(复数)恶劣天气；元件
significantly
adv. 意味深长地；意义深远地；重要地；较大地
trailer
n. 拖车，挂车；（卡车或货车的）载货挂车；<美>旅行拖车，(拖车式)活动房屋；（电影或电视节目的）预告片；拖尾物，蔓生物（尤指蔓生植物）；追踪者 vt. 用拖车运输 vi. 乘拖车，住在拖车，乘拖车式活动房屋旅行
horror
n. 恐怖；战栗；厌恶；震惊 adj. 恐怖的
icy
adj. 冰的；冷淡的
commercial
adj. 商业的 n. 商业广告
minimum
adj. 最少的；最低程度的 n. 最低限度；最小量
database
n. 数据库
reception
n. 接待；反应；接待处；欢迎；接收；招待会
in part
部分地
stand out
vi. 突出；脱颖而出 vi. 离岸;坚持
lower
adj. 低的；下级的；下层的 v. 降低；减弱；跌落
grave
n. 墓穴，坟墓；死亡 adj. 重大的；严肃的；黯淡的 vt. 雕刻；铭记