钟惦棐老师: 自从您称西影故事片《人生》为“中国的西部片”以来,不少报刊杂志都争相转引,有的人甚至以此而自豪。我以为这样划分是不妥当的,尽管在“西部片”前冠之以“中国的”限制词,仍然是十分牵强,不准确的。我们知道,“西部片”具有特定的含义。它是美国的一个独特的片种,正如纪录片、戏曲片、意识流、生活流影片是互相不能混淆一样。西部片是以十九世纪下半叶美国东部人开发西部荒野为题材的影片。从历史上看,十九世纪六十年代,白种人大规模地进军西部,用所谓的现代文明代替原始文明。于是,西部印第安人的那具有蛮荒野土的淳朴的民风被破坏,他们被武力驱逐,被整批杀害,而白种人在那里为争夺金矿、牧场等又互相残杀。西部片正反映了这一特定地域的历史生活,但它又不是历史的真实纪录,不具有纪实性。尽管它的不少影片贯穿了真实的历史人物和事件,但又不乏其夸张、虚构的笔墨。从“美国西部片的开端”(乔治·萨杜尔语)《火车大劫案》起,到麦卡琼的《海底两万里》、《犯过罪的人》,约翰· Zhong Kui-tao Teacher: Since you call the Western movie “Life” a “Western film in China,” many newspapers and magazines have been vying with each other. Some even pride themselves on it. I think it is inappropriate to make such a distinction. Although the “Chinese” restriction in front of “Westerns” is still far-fetched and inaccurate. We know that “westerns” have specific meanings. It is a unique American genre, just as documentaries, dramas, stream of consciousness, and lifestyle films can not be confused with each other. Westerns are films based on the development of the western wilderness by the eastern United States in the second half of the nineteenth century. Historically, in the 1860s, Caucasians marched into the West on a large scale, substituting the so-called modern civilization for the original civilization. As a result, the simple customs of the Wild West, desolate wilderness, of the western Indians were destroyed. They were expelled by force and killed in batches, while white people were killing each other for contested gold mines and ranches. The western film reflects the historical life in this particular area, but it is neither a true record of history nor a documentary record. Although many of its films run through real historical figures and events, there is no lack of exaggeration and fiction. Beginning with “The Beginning of the American Westerns” (George Sadr) “The Great Train Robbery,” to McCabin’s “20,000 Miles Under the Sea,” “Who committed the sin,” John