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巴斯特·基顿:无可匹敌 Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow(1987)

简介:

    In this series, we follow the life of the legendary movie comedy giant from his childhood on the stage to his film career. Along the way, we learn of the works of this genius and his methods in creating them. Furthermore, we see how events drove him to ruin and how they turned around in his later years to allow him to enjoy the acclaim that was his due.

演员:



影评:

  1. ……事实证明有资源而忍着不看是完全做不到的_(:з」∠)_(摆脱这阵Keaton fever的最好方式大概是另找一个祸害对象,但我很怀疑是否还能找到跟他同等级别的其他unique genius……wait and see吧。

    这部纪录片的叙述顺序大致是按作品年表来的,理念更多而八卦较少(事实材料主要是本人和周边人的访谈),显得信度高些。YouTube的资源没有英文字幕听着有点累,有些因为音质和采访对象口音问题实在是听不清。随便记一点看时的感想:

    1. Carl Davis的配乐真好,记得看过the General,Steamboat Bill Jr.和Our Hospitality的版本配乐都是他的,优美并且佐证了好的默片自带的音乐性节奏,所以印象很深。

    2. The prologue says it all: “Keaton had no formal education. He was a totally intuitive artist, most at home working on the mechanics of gags. Yet he had an astonishing understanding of the power of film. The big screen was his element, and on it he displayed a dazzling sense of cinema. Yet his roots were in vaudeville. He mocked the idea that he did everything himself, he always acknowledged his team(这点跟卓别林很不一样= =); but the vision was his.”

    3. 见到摄影机之后第一件事是拆了搞清内部原理再重装回去…因为拍the Electric House折了脚踝不能做特技动作所以就拍the Play House试验多重曝光…一天学都没上过然而天生有数理头脑,理工技能逆天,怎么办我好羡慕啊orz

    4. 其实爱笑并且非常容易被逗笑。但是因为对镜头的存在有特殊的敏感(…这什么二次元设定)所以拍他的照片通常只能拍到已经put on the film persona(即stone face)的情形。即使老了的时候一笑起来还是非常像小孩子。

    5. The General的拍摄纪录片段!体现了BK对feature film的几乎全部原则:虽然情节常常是围绕a specific prop/gag建立的,但是对storytelling有相当高的自觉,会尽量避免明显的拼凑连缀感;摈弃短片中的impossible gags(尽管很多都极有趣且极富魅力),只用natural gags以保证真实性(即,在不违背真实物理世界法则的前提下制造笑点);“never fake a gag”(以至于把一辆真火车头扔水里…),以求达到“so true it hurts”的效果。The General取材于历史,而其制作本身庄严且富戏剧性,亦足以成为历史了。在现场参与拍摄或是围观的人大概都会有这样的感觉:something is happening;伟大的事物正在成形。(但是拍摄间隙站在车厢顶上打棒球也太可爱了吧

    6. 当年的评论家是真厉害:“Sherlock Jr. lacks originality and ingenuity”???“the General is by no means as good as Mr Keaton’s previous efforts”???反而是Go West和Battling Buttler比较卖座。(倒也可以理解,这两部情节完整有曲折且偏sentimental,指望看到招牌的physical comedy的现代观众对其评价就会低一些…不过我说这也是刻板印象吧喂,至少我还挺喜欢Battling Buttler的啊

    7. BK其实是当时三大(或者无论多少吧)默片巨匠里最穷的(票房收入远不及卓别林和Harold Lloyd),但为了实现一个理想的镜头不惜一掷千金的态度让人很容易忽略这一点。倒不是有没有商业头脑的问题,他后来不满于其他喜剧演员(比如Marx brothers,BK作为MGM的gag writer为他们提供过很多gag)不把拍摄当回事的随意态度,说“when we used to make our pictures we ate, slept and dreamed them”,大概是完全没有心思考虑钱的问题(所以后来去MGM其实也是没钱了别无选择…)。题外话是看Harold Lloyd的纪录片时一个受访评论家说“Lloyd always did make more money(毫不犹豫)certainly than Keaton, and more than(迟疑一下)Chaplin if you put it on a per year basis”…突然爆笑。但他妻子Natalie太爱慕虚荣,明明自己不像两个姐妹那样是明星有收入(顺提在Our Hospitality里演技跟木偶似的完全无可救药23333),BK的收入也没达到CC和HL那样的程度,开销上却非要向他们看齐。只能说是…遇人不淑吧。根本不是一路人还坚持了那么多年才离婚也算是真爱了。

    8. MGM时期拍的既不free也不easy的Free and Easy:I bet somebody trying to teach Keaton how to act and how to be funny must have been the funniest thing in the whole dummy movie = =。以及BK熟人对强行绑定给他的饶舌搭档的吐槽: “that was part of his class that he had no class” 23333

    9. 酗酒的问题:两杯就人事不省的酒量非要一天一瓶威士忌,BK你果然是有自毁倾向吧…感觉如果他更extrovert或者aggressive一点都不会是这个结果TAT

    10. BK这样的默片明星的陨灭并不像《雨中曲》描绘的那样是由于他们心态上墨守成规落后于时代,或是自身嗓音条件和表演方式无法适应无声到有声的transition(毕竟《雨中曲》也是MGM出品,不排除为东家开脱的可能性…)。与其说是有声电影从一开始就以其先进性完胜无声电影,不如说是庸俗的、未经熟虑的汲汲之辈扼杀了成熟的、深思的、坚守其原则和信条的正派人,是资本对艺术的劫持,而喜新厌旧、因为猎奇而情愿容忍庸俗的观众起了推波助澜的作用。“Dialogues should be there only when they are necessary”;最初充斥的聒噪和无意义的为说而说其实还不如默片。(说起来有声片的第一部masterpiece算是什么时候出现的呢…尤其是如果只算美国本土的话?更不要提如果限制在MGM…?

    BK很大程度上更新了我对喜剧的认知。作为人类情绪而言喜并不是天然就比悲低一头,笑也不是就比泪更轻浮。会有这种错觉是因为那些喜剧还不够好。非说“喜剧的内核是悲剧”的,那估计是来自卓别林的刻板印象,喜剧之美完全可以以独立于悲剧的角度触及人性的本质:天真的浪漫主义,纯粹的赤子之心,它所有的愿望就是让人笑而已,让人不要忘记世界如此美好,而自己本可以像孩童那样毫无功利和无忧无虑。诚然也会有鲁迅所言“把无价值的东西撕碎给人看”的类型,那是讽刺喜剧,是有所郁结于中而发声于外的更具攻击性的“失望的理想主义者”,而讽刺不必是喜剧的全部目的。然而从技法意义上而言BK的电影超越了喜剧的范畴,甚至可以成为严肃电影的教科书,所以真的算纯粹的喜剧吗?看他的电影第一反应往往来不及笑,而是由衷的惊奇和赞叹,是直接的、intellectually amusing的审美体验。不如说美是共通的吧。

    而他本人如此谦逊,毫无怨尤地接纳自己的过错和他人的不公,安于被遗忘,甚至不认为自己是天才,尽管大家都认为是。实在没有办法不爱他啊。