films. Some indicate the main character(s). of the film, which help the audience associate their memory with the exact film, for example, The Godfather((教父》，Ali ((拳王阿里》，Hamlet《哈姆雷特》.Some titles give hint to what's going on in the film, for example,场Best Friend 's Wedding《我最好朋友的婚礼》，Around the World in 80 Days((环游地球80天》，Prison Break((越狱))，Saving Private Ryan
((拯救大兵瑞恩》.Some titles indicate the theme of the film, which may not be so eye-catching at the first sight, but which usually leave on the audience's mind a lingering aftertaste. For instance, Brave Heart((勇敢的心》，Beautiful Mind((美丽心灵))，Chocolat((浓情巧克力》.Some film titles reveal the background of the film, which consists of several aspects, such as time, place and environment in which the
story takes place. For example, Air Force One((空军一号))，Casablanca《卡萨布兰卡》，Manic《泰坦尼克号》.
In a broad sense, the informative function means that film titles should bear cultural connotation. As is known to all, films are the products of mental activities, with which cultural, political, and ideological factors are conveyed. The task of films is to record and reflect people's life. The social context, cultural phenomena and
ideology are shown and implied in films. To some extent, films are the miniature of specific cultures, touching almost every aspect of social life, art, history, religion, morality, etc.. The s击e is true of film titles, which should possess cultural transmission function. By this means, the target audience can obtain deeper implications of the film as well as a better comprehension of the source culture.
As has been stated before, cultural features of films are usually closely related to the quotation of idioms and allusions, which convey rich cultural meanings. As we know, in western countries, religious beliefs have great influence on people's daily life, which in turn have exerted influence on film titles. For instance, the film title Original Sin is enveloped in strong western color. It comes from the Bible, referring to the inborn sin of human beings. According to the Bible, there are two kinds of sins, original sin and actual sin, which means the sin that man commits in this life. Christianity thought that the root of all human crimes, disasters, sufferings and death come from Adam and Eve, because they eat the forbidden fruit, thus violating the God's will. Another film title Seven also possesses rich cultural meaning. Seven is a meaningful number in western religion, such as Seven Virtues(七大美德)，Seven Gifts of the Spirit(神的七大礼物)，the Seven Heavens(七重天)，the Seven Sacraments(七大圣礼)and so on. Here the title refers to the seven deadly sins, namely, pride, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, gluttony, and lust. Besides these, there are many other examples delight the audience's eyes: Adam's Rib, The Silence of the Lamb, Eye for Eye, The First Blood, etc.
2.3.2 Aesthetic Function
Film is an artistic product, which has its own aesthetic features. A successful film title can not only provide the information about the film but also offer audience pleasant feelings. The core of the aesthetic function is to please the organ of perception and senses.
In his A Textbook of Translation, Newmark points out that language is designed to please the senses, firstly through its actual or imagined sound, and secondly through its metaphors. The rhythm, balance and contrasts of sentences, clauses and words also play their part. As the art of language, the aesthetic values of film title are
generally reflected in its form, sound effect, force, rhythm and the application of rhetorical devices. From the previous analysis, one can see the artistic effects of the employment of rhetorical devices to film titles. For example, the use of simile end metaphor can help the audience associate the memory with the exact film as well as deepen the understanding by vividly revealing the theme of the film. Repetition may lay emphasis on the subject or the object of the whole film, thus leaving deep impression on the audience. Film titles tinged with ironical flavor are usually thought-provoking and accordingly arouse the audience's curiosity to come to the cinema to see the film. Besides, the rhythm, color of the words, force of the words and vivid image can also add elegance and power to the title.
A carefully designed film title can well perform the aesthetic function, creating such beauty as phonetic beauty and imaginational beauty. Generally speaking, the
application of alliteration can create phonetic beauty, for instance, Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice,《碟中谍》，etc.. Sometimes, in E-C translation of film titles, the Chinese four-character phrases, economical in wording but expressive in meaning, also play an important part in achieving great artistic effect. A typical example is the Chinese version((云中漫步)) for the American film A .Walk in the Clouds, which tells a romantic story. A young man and a woman who love each other are walking in the vineyard. If it is translated into“在云中走”，the audience cannot enjoy any romantic flavor. By contrast, the version((云中漫步》can arouse the romantic feeling in the heart of the audience: dreamlike vineyard, handsome hero,
beautiful heroine, and romantic love story.
2.3.3 Commercial (Appellative) Function
With the industrialization and commercialization of film industry, film has far exceeded the conventional artistic form. The commercialism is the innate feature of the film, and the box office is just the typical feature of the modern film's commercialism. As a kind of mental product, film-making goes through the same production period as other commodities do: producing the film, advertising and
releasing the film and consuming the film, i.e. watched by the audience. Nowadays, it is very common that a film costs hundreds of millions of dollars, especially the hot hit
made by Hollywood. For this reason, it is easy to see that if a film gets high box office, the film company would earn enough profits, otherwise, it would sustain losses or even go bank.pt. Therefore, in modern commercial society, the office is a key factor to judge whether a film is successful or not.
In a sense, film titles are a kind of brand and advertisement, since they have always been put in an eye-catching place, the vivid, concise and charm-embodied translated film titles will undoubtedly help to fulfill the box office value. The commercial function proposed in this thesis is, to some extent, similar to the vocative or the appellative function, the core of which is the readership, the addressee. According to Newmark, "the term `vocative' is used in the sense of `calling upon' the readership to act, think or feel, in fact to `react' in the way intended by the text." 2001 a: 41). In this thesis, directed at the receivers' sensitivity to act, the commercial function means that film titles are supposed to attract the audience's eyeballs and to become a great box-office hit.
The commercial function includes the informative function and the aesthetic function at certain level. Firstly, a good film title must be informative enough. As has been stated previously, the informative function is the basic function of the three. A title without any informative value can be said meaningless. Since the purpose of film titles is to attract the audience and arouse their interests, the audience have to get some background knowledge about the film. Secondly, a film title can be appellative enough by performing its aesthetic function. The audience is supposed to receive aesthetic pleasure from the title. When the audience are faced with such carefully designed film titles, they would be aesthetically entertained and accordingly their curiosity could be easily conjured up. The commercial function of film titles also consists of touching the heartstrings of the audience by means of the charm of the language, that is, brevity, smoothness and vividness. Apart from these, by catering to the psychological need and interest of the audience, the commercial function can be well achieved. Compare the following film titles:
