a film by Jan de Bont
1996
In the film, a team of storm chasers try to perfect a data-gathering instrument,
designed to be released into the funnel of a tornado,
while competing with another better-funded team with a similar device
during a tornado outbreak across Oklahoma.
TV weatherman Bill Harding is trying to get his tornado-hunter wife, Jo,
to sign divorce papers so he can marry his girlfriend Melissa.
But Mother Nature, in the form of a series of intense storms
sweeping across Oklahoma, has other plans.
Soon the three have joined the team of stormchasers
as they attempt to insert a revolutionary measuring device"Dorothy"
into the very heart of several extremely violent tornados. (from IMDB)
EXTRACT from SCRIPT
Joey: [Discussing at Meg's on the tornadoes they have seen so far]
No, that was a good size twister. What was it, an F3?
Bill: Solid F2.
Melissa: See, now you have lost me again.
Bill: It's the Fujita scale. It measures a tornado's intensity by how much it eats.
Melissa: Eats?
Bill: Destroys.
Laurence: That one we encountered back there was a strong F2, possibly an F3.
Beltzer: Maybe we'll see some 4's.
Haynes: That would be sweet!
Bill: 4 is good. 4 will relocate your house very efficently.
Melissa: Is there an F5?
[Everyone goes dead silent]
Melissa: What would that be like?
Jason 'Preacher' Rowe: The Finger of God.
Melissa: None of you has ever seen an F5?
Bill: ...Just one of us.
TORNADOES
They are fascinating, too. Tornadoes are terrifying.
They are sudden, strong and very destructive.
And there is nothing you can do to stop them.
They can destroy houses, cars and roads in seconds.
But they can also carry a baby or a pile of plates several kilometres...
and put them down intact.
The film "Twister" is about tornadoes... and the people who watch them.
Two rival groups are trying to get information about a very big tornado.
Who will win?
Nice Jo and Bill with their students and their broken car,
or mean Dr Miller with his assistants and his expensive equipment ?
SPECIAL FX
To make an adventure film, you need special effects.
For Twister, the weather is very important.
The special-effects coordinator explains,
"To make hail, I put milk in ice, so the ice is easier to see."
There are also flying houses and cows.
Sound is very important, too.
A mix of different noises, including camels, makes the unique tornado sound.
"We all want to be close to danger," says Jan De Bont,
director of “Speed” and “Twister”. " Not in danger, but we want the excitement.
And that's what this film is all about."
Bill: Jo. Things go wrong. You can't explain it, you can't predict it.
Killing yourself wo'nt bring your Dad back.
I'm sorry that he died, but that was a long time ago.
You gotta move on. Stop living in the past, and look what you got right in front of you.
Jo: What are you talking about?
Bill: Me, Jo.
The DANGER of TORNADOES
I. Lisez le texte,
puis répondez aux questions en Anglais!
a. What can tornados do ?
_____________________________________________________________________
b. What is a “Twister” ?
_____________________________________________________________________
c. Is Dr. Miller a nice man ?
______________________________________________________________________
d. What special effects do they use for “Twister” ?
______________________________________________________________________
II. Relisez le texte,
puis dites si les affirmations sont vraies ou fausses.
Relever les mots ou expressions dans le texte
qui justifient votre choix !
V F
|
1. |
Tornados are very destructive. ________________________________________________ |
|
|
|
2. |
They used the real tornado sound in « Twister ». ________________________________________________ |
|
|
|
3. |
Cows and houses fly in the film. ________________________________________________ |
|
|
|
4. |
For the special effects the weather is not important. ________________________________________________ |
|
|
|
5. |
Jan de Bont is a famous actor. _________________________________________________ |
|
|
III.
a. Mettez les mots suivants dans
l’ordre
afin de poser des questions au sujet du film “Twister”.
1. tornadoes / can/ carry / what / ? /
_____________________________________________________
2. a / trying / who / is / to get / about / information /tornado / ?
_____________________________________________________
3. has / equipment / got / who / expensive / ?
_____________________________________________________
b. Répondez aux questions que vous venez de formuler.
1.
___________________________________________________
2.
__________________________________________________
3.
__________________________________________________
IV. Mettez les phrases suivantes à la forme négative.
1. People watch tornadoes.
______________________________________________________
2. They are trying to get information.
______________________________________________________
3. They will win.
______________________________________________________
V. Dans le texte, retrouvez les équivalents anglais des mots suivants:
1. le temps
________________________________________________
2. plus facile
________________________________________________
3. cher
________________________________________________
VI. Mettez les phrases suivantes au singulier :
1. Tornadoes destroy everything.
______________________________________________________
2. Babies can be carried away.
______________________________________________________
3. These students are nice men.
______________________________________________________
VII. EXPRESSION ECRITE
Ben Wilson a été témoin d’une tornade.
Imaginez ce qu’il a vu et ressenti.
Start like this :
“Yesterday afternoon, I was going to school, when ….”
RESUME
Jo Harding était encore enfant lorsqu'elle a vu son père emporté par une tornade.
Quinze ans plus tard, devenue météorologue,
elle et son équipe de jeunes chercheurs casse-cou sont sur le pied de guerre.
La météo de l'Oklahoma prévoit en effet une série de tornades d'une force exceptionnelle
et ils sont impatients de tester 'Dorothy',
l'appareil de mesure révolutionnaire conçu par l'ex-mari de Jo, Bill.
Celui-ci est sur le point de se remarier avec Melissa, une jolie psychanalyste.
Reconverti "Monsieur-Météo", Bill 'poursuit' Jo pour qu'elle signe les papiers de divorce.
Mais le démon des tornades le poursuit toujours...
WHAT IS A TORNADO ?
A violently rotating column of air
in contact with the ground and cloud base,
originating from a Mesocyclone.
A MESOCYCLONE is a vortex of air within a convective storm.
It is air that rises and rotates around a vertical axis,
usually in the same direction as low pressure systems in a given hemisphere.
see photos below ...
TORNADO INTENSITY SCALE
What are STORMCHASERS ?
Jo: Bill, it's coming! It's headed right for us!
Bill: It's already here!
A
real
F5
TORNADO
Don't get caught by one !