The Cold War Is Hot Again: Films in 2018

① Geopolitical tension in the 20th century inspired many dramas, thrillers and spy films.

② "The Third Man", "The Manchurian Candidate" and "Dr Strangelove" became instant classics.

③ And who could forget Ivan Drago, the hulking antagonist of "Rocky IV", or General Orlov, the fanatical Soviet soldier in "Octopussy"?

④ Although cold-war films petered out after the fall of the Soviet Union, they will make a comeback in 2018 as Russian-American relations deteriorate once more.

⑤ Jennifer Lawrence will play a secret-service seductress in "Red Sparrow"; Ralph Fiennes will direct "The White Crow", the story of ballet star Rudolf Nureyev's defection to the West; Pawel Pawlikowski, the Oscar-winning director of "Ida", will direct a love story set in the tense 1950s; and a new adaptation of John le Carré's "The Spy Who Came in From The Cold" will hit television screens.

⑥ As questions of collusion and Russian influence linger, these fictions may feel all too real.

▍普通单词和搭配

inspire: vt. 激发 (创作灵感)；促使产生

instant classics: 风靡一时 (指一炮而红的经典之作)

hulking antagonist /ˈhʌlkɪŋ/ /anˈtaɡ(ə)nɪst/: 身形巨大的反派

protagonist /prəˈtaɡ(ə)nɪst/: n. 主角

fanatical Soviet soldier /fəˈnatɪk(ə)l/: 狂热的苏联士兵

peter out /ˈpiːtə/: 逐渐消失

make a comeback: 复出；卷土重来

deteriorate /dɪˈtɪərɪəreɪt/: vi. 恶化

seductress /sɪˈdʌktrəs/: n. 勾引男人的女子

defection to /dɪˈfɛkʃn/: 叛逃到 (别的地方)

tense 1950s /tɛns/: 紧张的1950年代

adaptation /adəpˈteɪʃ(ə)n/: n. 改编作品

hit television screen: 登陆电视屏幕

linger /ˈlɪŋɡə/: vi. 存留；逗留

all too: (表示程度) 太过于

▍背景知识表达

geopolitical tension: 地缘政治紧张局势

the fall of the Soviet Union: 苏联解体

collusion and Russian /kəˈl(j)u:ʒ(ə)n/：通俄门

▍电影名字

"The Third Man" : 《黑狱亡魂》(1949 英国／美国)

"The Manchurian Candidate": 《满洲候选人》(1962 美国)

"Dr Strangelove": 《奇爱博士》(1964 美国)

"Rocky IV": 《洛奇4》(1985 美国)

"Octopussy": 《007之八爪女》(1983 英国)

"Red Sparrow": 《红雀》(2018 美国)

"The White Crow": 《白色乌鸦》(2018 英国)

"Ida": 《伊达的抉择》(2013 波兰)

"The Spy Who Came in From The Cold":《柏林谍影》(小说改编剧集)