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Jingtian Posted 20 years ago
Vocabulary

Several idioms of a film review.

0I had thought of post this message in the board of 01a01b01font00Book and film reviews02font02b02a00, but I thought it over and realized that this board is more appropriate, as what I am asking about is several idioms appearing in film reviews.02br
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00One of my cousins asks me to translate some film reviews on 01i00The Shawshank Redemption02i00 for her. I go down the materials and find that some idioms are really beyond me. Would anyone please explain the underlined part of the following four sentences to me?02br
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001 The Shawshank Redemption defines a genre, 01u00defies the odds02u00, compels the emotions, and brings an era of artistically influential films back to Hollywood.02br
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002 Andy proves to Red and the other inmates that in the conventional walls of Shawshank prison convention will 01u00find no home02u00 in his lifestyle.02br
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003 Though full of hardened criminals, your heart will 01u00go out to02u00 these men as they display the most basic of human emotions, and deliver some of the most quotable lines in a film to date.02br
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004 This comment may contain 01u00spoilers.02u02br
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00Maybe it is difficult to guess the meaning of them without the situation of context. Does "defy the odds" here mean to succeed in spite of all kinds of possibilities? I guess I know the meaning of "find no home" here, but I don't know how to explain it accurately. Does sentence three mean that the audience will pity and share the feeling of those criminals? If there is a spoiler in a comment, there is something not good about the thing, isn't it?0-
  

Top answer

02u 02font 02br 02br 01font 00Maybe it is difficult to guess the meaning of them without the situation of context. Does "defy the odds" here mean to succeed in spite of all kinds of possibilities? 02br 02br 01font 00I guess I know the meaning of "find no home" here, but I don't know how to explain it accurately.

— Clive

  • 02u 02font 02br 02br 01font 00Maybe it is difficult to guess the meaning of them without the situation of context.
  • Does "defy the odds" here mean to succeed in spite of all kinds of possibilities?
  • 02br 02br 01font 00I guess I know the meaning of "find no home" here, but I don't know how to explain it accurately.
  • 02font 00Andy will not accept the conventions, will not allow prison to change his nature and character.
  • Andy will not conform.
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10 Answers
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0Hi Jingtian,02br
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01font001 The Shawshank Redemption defines a genre, 01u00defies the odds02u00, compels the emotions, and brings an era of artistically influential films back to Hollywood.02font02br
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01font002 Andy proves to Red and the other inmates that in the
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01. Yes, I think it means that people would not expect a movie like this to be successful, but it is.02br
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002. Convention will not be an important part of his lifestyle.02br
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003. Your interpretation is exactly right.02br
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004. "Spoilers" in the context of a film review means that the comment will "spoil" the ending for so
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0 Good morning Clive - I see we were writing at the same time! I disagree with your explanation of "spoilers," though. If you read film reviews on line, you will often see the line "May Contain Spoilers" followed by lots of blank space on the screen so that the reader who does not want the ending "spoiled" can stop reading without accidentally seeing more information that he wants to. If you
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0Hi Khoff,02br
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00I see from Google that your meaning is very common., and certainly correct in the context of a review. Thanks. 02br
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00I think perhaps this term has a number of meanings in other contexts. For example, another is this, from a comment on a bygone Presidential election:02br
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0Hi, Clive and khoff, thank you for your replies. 02br
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00It seems that you don't see eye to eye with each other with regard to "spoilers". I guess khoff's interpretation is to the point. I have looked up this word in several dictionaries and get similar meanings when it is used in a book or movie review. But not being a native speaker, I haven't come across with such usa
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0Hi,02br
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00No, I tried to say that I'm sure Khoff is right. Perhaps I didn't make myself clear enough. She's right.02br
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00Best wishes again, Clive0-
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0Thanks again, Clive. Then I don't have to reach the author, I guess.02br
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00But after I go through all parts of the reviews I have several more questions. I will post them here later after I check them out to see whether I can handle them myself.0-
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05 The cinematography by Roger Deakins is excellent. The editing superb: there's not a single 01u00dead spot02u00 in the whole movie.02br
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00If there is a dead spot in a movie, there is a certain view that is illogical. Is that right?02br
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006 There is Brooks (James Whitmore) who gets out after fifty years but is so instituti
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1font00Hi again,02font02br
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005 The cinematography by Roger Deakins is excellent. The editing superb: there's not a single 01u00dead spot02u00 in the whole movie.02br
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00If there is a dead spot in a movie, there is a certain view that is illogical. Is that right?01font
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0Thanks.02br
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00That's all for 01i00The Shawshank Redemption02i00. 02br
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00(01i00Die Verurteilten02i00 in German.)02br
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00(01i00Побег Из Шоушенка02i00 in Russian00.)02br
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00(《肖申克的救渎》in Chinese.)02br
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00But
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