肯塔基州的骄傲 Kentucky Pride(1925)
又名: 马史(港)
导演: 约翰·福特
主演: 格特鲁德·阿斯特 皮切丝·杰克逊 J·法瑞尔·麦克唐纳 亨利·B·沃斯奥 Man o' War 温斯顿·米勒 George Reed Belle Stoddard Malcolm Waite Sayre Dearing
类型: 剧情
制片国家/地区: 美国
上映日期: 1925
片长: USA: 70 分钟 IMDb: tt0015973 豆瓣评分：0 下载地址：迅雷下载
演员：
影评：
The opening few shots of 《Kentucky Pride》(1925) evoke an instant feeling of comfort. We see a group of horses, or a single lone horse, passing the time quietly in a pasture. The way in which the body of each horse fits so neatly into the screen seems almost to alleviate any sense of tension we might have initially felt when viewing the scene. Contrary to any normal conception of film history, the illusion created by this scene encourages the belief that the movie camera was invented precisely for the purpose of containing a four-legged beast such as a horse within its frame. Whether standing or lying on the ground, moving or stationary, horses fit perfectly into the standard rectangular frame of the cinema screen. Furthermore, the opening scene of 《Kentucky Pride》 makes no attempt to reproduce the actual sound of the horses' untroubled movements. We are encouraged to believe that this is because the horses are communicating with each other through some internal means that cannot be captured as sound. Indeed, in this silent movie, the monologue of the newly born mare is presented to us through subtitles on the screen. However unnatural silent film may seem for humans, one is struck by how natural it is for horses. This leads us to the further illusion that monochrome film was invented precisely for the purpose of capturing the firm glossy coats and white head markings of a horse. Such is the effectiveness of silent monochrome film in capturing horses that we begin to believe that the medium was specifically designed precisely for that purpose alone. For a brief illusory moment, the real history of cinema is eclipsed. Eadweard Muybridge and Etienne-Jules Marey's pre-cinematic depictions of galloping horses, Auguste and Louis Lumière's invention of the cinematograph, and Thomas Alva Edison's development of the Kinetoscope all pale into insignificance. Such is the strange power and appeal of 《Kentucky Pride》. At the time of its release, theNew York Timesmade no mention of 《Kentucky Pride》.[1] At the present time, it is not even available on DVD and receives very few public screenings. It is generally regarded as one of Ford's less important works, produced after he achieved acclaim with《The Iron Horse》(1924) and just before he started work on his 1926 masterpiece《Three Bad Men》. It was a mere three years since he had moved to Fox Studios and adopted the name John, having previously issued his films at Universal Studios under the name Jack. In reference to the working conditions under his contract with Fox at that time, Ford later made these remarks: "you didn'tchoosethese things - they were thrown at you and you did the best you could with them."[2] It goes without saying that 《Kentucky Pride》was also produced according to a predetermined script. This did not preclude, however, unexpected experiences while shooting on location away from the Hollywood studio. Ford recalled one such episode as follows: "We went to Kentucky to do a little story about horse racing. There was one little filly - just a beautiful thing - and she had a crush on me. . I always remember her - she just loved me - very unusual for a horse."[3] Reading this, we can sense that the illusion evoked by《Kentucky Pride》is not quite as far from reality as one might have supposed. This film, which Joseph McBride described as having "unexpected sweetness and charm,"[4] begins with the moment of birth of a horse named Virginia's Future. Ford captures this moment from the perspective of the newborn herself, and the story is clearly narrated by the horse, as I have already mentioned. Through the subtitles, we learn that Virginia's Future is seeking to live by the precept of "Run straight and run fast" inherited from her race-horse mother. Virginia's Future's owner, the gambler father of the Beaumont family, is played by Henry B. Walthall, whom Ford rated as "one of the greatest actors of all time."[5] The Irish horse trainer, Mike Donovan, is played by J. Farrell MacDonald, whom Ford often cast in supporting roles during this period. Mr. Beaumont lives with his second wife and Danny, his daughter by his first wife. He looks forward to Virginia's Future's growth into a outstanding race horse. Mrs Beaumont, however, shows interest only in her husband's property, not in horses. Mr. Beaumont is forced to bet his entire estate on Virginia's Future after having to sell off several of his other horses following a game of poker. This story provides the backdrop to the memorable scene of the horse race. Ford entrusted the shooting of this scene to Georges Schneiderman, whose capturing of the brute kinesis of the horses makes the abstractness of Muybridge and Marey's suspended-motion photographs look barbaric by comparison. The only film that comes anywhere near capturing the action of a horse race so vividly is Boris Barnet's 《The Old Jockey》(1941), which belies the extremely Stalinist circumstances of its production. However, there is more to the horse-race scene in《Kentucky Pride》than simply the excitement of the action. First, it is a race that Virginia's Future is not expected to win. Secondly, there is the sense that this will not be the last horse-race scene in the film. In the event, Virginia's Future leads the race until almost the end, when she suddenly falls and breaks a leg. With this, the fate of man and horse are decided together. Beaumont is stripped of all the property he had bet on the horse and his family is thrown into ruin. Mrs. Beaumont orders Donovan to kill Virginia's Future and leaves her husband's house with another man. The distraught Mr. Beaumont is forced to part company with his daughter, Danny. Furthermore, Virginia's Future, whom Donovan has somehow avoided killing, is sold off after she has given birth and is forced to work slavishly as a pack horse. Anyone watching the film will surely anticipate that the human father will someday be reunited with his daughter and the mother horse will be reunited with her daughter. This is indeed how the story plays out. Virginia's Future's daughter, Confederacy, wins the "Futurity Race" in the Kentucky Derby before her mother's eyes, and Mrs. Beaumont's lover loses his entire estate. Furthermore, Beaumont is reunited with his daughter and buys back Virginia's Future with money gained from his bet on Confederacy. Thus, the two broken families are reunited. Virginia's Future's monologue continues as follows in the subtitles: "When I saw my baby flying ahead, all the aching disappointment, the bitterness of my own life seemed to melt away. . Suddenly I knew that I had not failed, that I too had carried on. . My darling baby . had paid my debts in full."[6] Watching the happy ending of this sentimental story of filial love, it is easy to concur with Scott Eyman's comment that "Kentucky Prideremains a shameless - shamelessly effective - film."[7] One can see in this film a clear expression of Ford's "tradition and duty" theme, as noted in Tag Gallagher's comment: "in this incipient vignette style lie seeds of Ford's greatness."[8] However, the most surprising aspect of 《Kentucky Pride》 is the detail of Ford's staging. A good illustration of this is the sequence in which the destitute Beaumont and Donovan (now working as a policeman) pass by Virginia's Future (pulling a heavily laden cart) at a cross-roads without noticing her. The shot at the beginning of this sequence is wonderful. The horse and the two men are placed in such a way as to stand out from the surrounding bustle of the street scene. Donovan picks an argument with the cart driver at the congested cross-roads. Beaumont, who happens to be also at the scene, rests his hand idly on the side of the cart horse. Virginia's Future remembers the sensation of that same hand on her side at the moment of her birth and responds by patting her front right hoof on the ground. However, this gesture is unrecognized by Beaumont, and the two just pass as if nothing had happened. In this extremely short sequence, a drama far removed from the excitement of the race track is played out. Nevertheless, the significant actions - the unconscious movement of Beaumont's right hand, the professional behavior of Donovan in his long raincoat managing the traffic jam, and Virginia's Future's desperate but resigned gesture - all stand out clearly from the hustle and bustle of the surrounding outdoor scene. The viewer cannot fail to be moved by what can justifiably be called one of the most beautiful scenes in the entire history of film. It is surely a miraculous moment that could only have been created by John Ford after his real encounter with the filly who had a crush on him. This sequence develops the film's distinctive theme emphasizing the significance of tactile memory where words or the look of the eyes are ineffective. It achieves this through the clever juxtaposition of easily overlooked details - the movement of a man's hand, the glossy coat of a horse, and the bustle of a congested street. In another scene, Beaumont and his daughter unexpectedly meet each other again at the race course. She is shown silently covering her father's eyes from behind with her hand. Here too, it is the sense of touch, rather than looks or words, that move the story along. In such scenes, Henry B. Walthall fulfills the role of Beaumont simply by his presence. In the words of Ford himself, "He had nothing to do in that picture - but he had such a presence - like Barrymore had, but Walthall was a much better actor."[9] This "presence" was the key to the effectiveness of Ford's depictions of people and animals in his films. It is this presence that also lies behind the appeal of the film's opening shots and evokes the illusion described earlier. Ford made great use of scenes of galloping horses in his later films, but this alone did not suffice to make him a creative genius. Other directors, including Akira Kurosawa, could take shots of galloping horses. John Ford's greatness lies in his treatment of still horses, not only moving ones. He knew how to give horses a "presence" on the screen not inferior to that of human beings by pointing the camera at their glossy coats and making you want to reach out and touch them. The effortless way he achieved this is surely the fulfillment of the real "tradition and duty" of the filmmaker.