[双语新闻]-怪兽哥斯拉踏上好莱坞星光大道

Film character 'Godzilla'

　　Godzilla honored with star on walk of fame

　　Fifty years after he first lumbered from the sea to breathe fire, trample cities and thrill generations of filmgoers, Japan's most famous movie monster, Godzilla, was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame recently.

　　The gargantuan reptile is the latest in a pantheon of famous critters, including Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny and Woody Woodpecker, to have his name enshrined on Hollywood Boulevard along with 2,200 flesh-and-blood stars, like Cary Grant and John Wayne.

　　Accepting the honor on behalf of the self-proclaimed "King of the Monsters" was the 5-foot-4-inch-tall Japanese actor who plays Godzilla on screen, Tsutomo Kitagawa. The actor donned the fearsome rubber suit he wears in his latest picture, "Godzilla Final Wars," which opens on Dec. 4 in Japan.

　　The film is the 28th Godzilla adventure produced by Japanese studio Toho Co. Ltd. since the giant, prehistoric lizard, awakened by atomic bomb tests, first roared out of the Pacific to threaten civilization in the original 1954 movie.

　　A metaphor for the perils of the nuclear age, the film was made nine years after the end of World War II, when the firebombing of Tokyo and atomic destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were still fresh in Japan's national consciousness.

　　Soon after it was released in Japan, Hollywood producers bought U.S. rights to the film and instead of dubbing it into English, they recut the original with new scenes starring Raymond Burr as an American reporter covering the monster's rampage through Tokyo.

　　Although Godzilla was a deadly and destructive force in his big-screen debut, the fire-breathing beast returned in subsequent films to save mankind from other monsters.

　　Several of his former outsized foes, including the giant moth-like creature Mothra, make comeback appearances in "Final Wars," which Toho is touting as its last Godzilla tale -- at least for now.

　　"So long as Godzilla can fascinate people, I believe he will be resurrected by new generations of filmmakers in the future," producer Shogo Tomiyama said.

　　Godzilla's star was unveiled outside Hollywood's landmark Grauman's Chinese Theatre, where his latest film was set for its world premiere.

　　A throng of onlookers shouted "We love you, Godzilla!" and "Viva Godzilla!" as the monster posed for pictures, spewed bursts of carbon-dioxide gas at photographers from his jaws and danced a few steps with Hollywood's honorary mayor, Johnny Grant.

　　(Agencies)

　　怪兽哥斯拉踏上好莱坞星光大道

　　50年前，它步履笨重地走出海面，口吐火焰，践踏城市，令几代影迷胆战心惊；50年后，日本最著名的电影怪兽“哥斯拉”在好莱坞星光大道上赢得了一颗“星星”。

　　这只体形庞大的爬行动物是星光大道“卡通生物园”里的新成员，这里还住着米老鼠、宾尼兔和啄木鸟伍迪等。怪兽哥斯拉把自己的名字铭刻在好莱坞大道上，和卡里·格兰特、约翰·韦恩等2200名真人明星一起名载史册。

　　怪兽哥斯拉的扮演者、身高5英尺4英寸的日本男演员村田雄浩代表自称“怪兽之王”的哥斯拉接受了这份荣誉。他身穿可怕的橡胶外套，这也是他在最新影片《哥斯拉：最后战争》中的怪兽造型。该片将于12月4日在日本公映。

　　这部电影是自1954年首部哥斯拉电影问世以来的第28部哥斯拉冒险系列电影，由日本学者影业公司制作。在1954年拍摄的最早的影片中，这条庞大的史前蜥蜴在一次原子弹试验中苏醒，首次咆哮着浮出太平洋，威胁人类文明。

　　作为对核时代危机的隐喻，这部电影拍摄于二战结束后第9年，当时东京遭火焰炸弹空袭事件和广岛、长崎的原子弹爆炸事件在日本民族的意识里仍然鲜活。

　　这部影片在日本发行后不久，好莱坞制片人就购买了它在美国放映的版权。他们并没有用英语给它配音，而是重新剪切了母片，由雷蒙德·伯尔饰演的美国记者来报导怪兽践踏东京的狂暴行为。

　　尽管怪兽哥斯拉首次亮相电影银屏时代表的是一种破坏性极强的致命力量，但在后来的影片中，这头喷火野兽回归善良，从其他怪兽手中拯救人类。

　　它从前的几位头号敌人，包括蛾形巨型生物摩斯拉也在新片《哥斯拉：最后战争》中再次现身。学者影业公司声称这是他们制作的最后一部哥斯拉电影——至少现在来说是这样的。

　　“只要哥斯拉能让人们着迷，我相信将来他会在新一代电影制作人手中复兴的。”制片人富山庄五说。

　　哥斯拉的“好莱坞之星”已在好莱坞地标格劳门中国剧院外面揭幕，哥斯拉最新影片也将在这里举行全球首映仪式。

　　当这头怪兽摆好造型准备拍照，张开大口向摄影师喷出二氧化碳爆炸气体，还和好莱坞名誉市长强尼·格兰特跳起了舞，这时，一群旁观者大喊“我们爱你，哥斯拉！”，“哥斯拉万岁！”

　　（中国日报网站译）