我曾侍候过库布里克（2017）

结果就有点灾难 有很多非常愤怒的反馈
It was a bit of a disaster, there was so much angry reaction to it, like:
“你们怎么可以这样草率处理大♥师♥作品？”
“How could you just do this to a master’s oeuvre?”
做格式转换不是那么简单的
When you do that, it’s not a case of
不是说把菲林塞进个什么机器就能出来另一种格式
just sticking a piece of film into a machine and it comes out in a new format.
整个过程都得重新做 必须得有像利昂那样对这些电影了如指掌的人
You have to do everything again, you have to have people like Leon, who knew the film backwards.
我授权批准了完美重制和数字化的资金
I authorized incurring the cost for perfect mastering and digitization.
再次重制 并且是比录像带更高质量的格式
Remastered again, and in yet a higher quality format than it had been available in VHS.
毫无疑问 只有一个人能领头这个修复过程
Without a doubt, there was only one man that could have headed that restoration effort,
那就是利昂
And that was Leon.
像利昂这样 既对电影的制♥作♥过程有很棒的掌握 也熟悉发行过程
Someone like Leon, who had that wonderful grasp of the production process and the distribution process,
这是很罕见的
Which is quite a rare animal.
你得通过反复的工作和冲印去熟悉一卷菲林
You learn the film by working with it and printing it.
如果你冲印它15年了 你就会熟悉原始底片
You know? And if you’ve printed it for 15 years, you know the negative.
我并不熟悉 感觉非常棘手
And I didn’t. It was that daunting.
他受的训练让他知道这电影听上去应该是什么样
He was trained in the way to know how it was supposed to sound,
要怎么处理那些音轨 知道看上去应该是什么样
Know what to do with the tracks, know how it’s supposed to look,
要怎么处理底片
And know how to handle the negatives.
这些事只有他知道
And he was the only person who knew that.
他工作中这最后一部分 就是保存一切资料
This final part of his job was basically preserving everything,
确保一切状态良好 所有影像资料都安全地存好在保险库架子上
Making sure it was in good order, making sure it was all vaulted and securely on the shelves.
所以他收拾东西来了美国
So he packed up and he came to the US.
必须得有个制定标准的人来监管这个过程
Somebody has to be the standard bearer for that thought process,
这就是利昂的作用
and this is where Leon comes in.
他承担起了这个艰巨的任务 让一切工作能够起步
Leon was tasked with this kind of Herculean effort to move the ball ahead,
还得承受那些骂声 有些人认为根本就不应该去碰这个事
And then take all the flack from the people who thought that this shouldn’t be done at all.
利昂只好站在暴风雨中心去承受那些尖锐评论
And Leon was the person who was left standing there when all the knives came out.
而且斯坦利这么多年来得罪过的人 也没给他好日子过
And I know he took a huge amount of shit for what Stanley had done to people for many many years.
因为现在斯坦利不在了
Because Stanley wasn’t around anymore.
然后库布里克帮的人 克里斯蒂亚娜和扬 华纳兄弟的那些人
And there was the Kubrick Gang, Christiane and Jan, the Warner Brothers people.
他们是出了名的不好打交道 不会听任何人的指挥
They were known for being tough, and not taking any bullshit from anybody,
按照自己的想法行事 因为他们有这个人在点头
And doing what they wanted to do because they had this guy approving it.
斯坦利是独一无二的 华纳自然不会说不
He was unique, so Warner wasn’t gonna say no.
但评论家也不会说是 所以利昂就被夹在这中间
The critics weren’t gonna say yes, and Leon was caught in this position in between,
不得不努力取悦所有人
Of having to be the guy that had to dress all parties.
我要处理一部电影时 需要了解它的制♥作♥过程 它的历史
When I’m working on a film, I need to learn the production history of the film, the archeology.
需要知道它是如何制♥作♥出来的
And you have to know how it was made,
一旦掌握了这些 就好像菲林在跟你说话一样
and when you got it, it’s that the film speaks to you.
光是重现斯坦利原本做出来的效果 就花了两三年的时间
Just to recreate what Stanley had done originally took two to three years,
去查资料 找大♥师♥ 研究并证明原本的影片是个什么样
Of research, and finding masters, and go in and proving that that was exactly what it was.
然后才可以开始数字化的工作
And then you could start to do your work.
《巴里•林登》有很多特别长的镜头
Barry Lyndon, it’s a lot of long long long shots,
而且经常是室外的 风景啊 建筑外观
And often it’s outside, often they’re landscape, exteriors.
利昂总是知道画面应该有多亮 对比应该有多强
Leon always knew how bright it was supposed to be, how contrasted it was supposed to be,
色彩应该多浓或者饱满
How rich or how dense.
你跟他共事就会意识到 他的才能有多广
And you realize as you work with him, that his skills are enormous.
终于完成以后你就发现其实要做的事还有很多
And then you finish it and you realized that it’s not really finished at all.
因为后来利昂必须搬进华纳兄弟
Because Leon then had the task of moving into Warner Brothers,
只剩他一个人了 一个人去争取更多的格式转换
Where he was the only person who was left, and fighting for another transfer to be done,
争取保证影片本身的样子得以保存
Or something to be kept up in a certain way.
突然间他就像是与全世界为敌
All of a sudden it’s Leon against the world.
他被一点一点消磨着
And they were just grinding him down,
在这个过程中华纳展现出的善意和支持已经比其他任何人都多了
Because Warner had exuded good will way beyond what anybody would’ve done in going through the process.
那会很多人跟我说
I got, you know, people calling me and saying,
你知道外界怎么说你吗 说你是在找麻烦
“You know what they’re saying about you right now, is that you’re looking for problems.”
不 我们不是在找麻烦
No, we’re not looking for problems.
从来没有去找麻烦
We were never looking for problems.
但如果问题确实存在 就得指出来
But if there were problems, you have to point them out.
必须的 就从荣誉上来说 必须指出来 说”这里不对”
You have to. I mean in all honor, you have to say,”This isn’t right”.
他越来越消瘦 越来越病弱
So he started getting thinner and thinner, and sicker and sicker.
他那时看上去很憔悴 而且害怕
He looked very gaunt and a bit scared.
有段时间我才30公斤重
I weighed in, at one point, 65 pounds.
这是我不太好的时候写的自我肯定
This is when I wasn’t very well, and it was my affirmation.
“我是利昂•维塔利 我在治疗自己”
“I’m Leon Vitali, I’m healing myself.”
他在工作中总是全身心投入 百分之百 甚至更多
He was always present for the work, 100%, more.
他就像是 很多人这么叫他 是只蟑螂
But he’s, you know everybody says, he’s like a cockroach.
不太好听 但他就是不会被任何事阻碍 一直前进
Not a great term, but there’s nothing that will stop him, just keeps going.
后来他们把他的办公室给了别人
Eventually they gave his office away
给他在华纳兄弟的走廊里放了个办公桌
and they gave him a desk in the hallway of Warner Brothers.
他就这么一个人坐在那 继续整理所有的档案
And he was sitting there alone, still going through all the files,
确保事情有人做 有进展
making sure all the things were done.
如果有人想放映《2001:太空漫游》 就得他出面去做
And if somebody wanted to screen 2001, he had to be there for that.
不会有其他人能做到那种程度的痴狂细节
No one else was gonna follow through with the level of maniacal detail,
只有斯坦利或者利昂可以
That only Stanley, or only Leon could’ve done.
成果就在作品里
And it shows in the work.
这些现在仍然保存着的大作 没有那些努力是不会存在的
It’s this body of work that exists today, that never would have existed.
是因为利昂在斯坦利身边付出了那么多年的劳动 才保留下来
Because Leon took the sweat equity of all those years with Stanley.
利昂纠正了所有之前版本的过失
Leon righted every single wrong that was done.
他把这些电影保存了下来 以后的一代代人
He basically preserved the process so that for future generations
当他们看到斯坦利的作品
that would get to see Stanley’s work,
能看到大♥师♥做出来的本来的样子
They would see it the way the master made them.
这永远都会是利昂在斯坦利•库布里克的遗产里留下的印记
That will always be Leon’s imprint on Stanley Kubrick’s legacy.
加州洛杉矶市正在举办一个展览…
Right now in Los Angeles, California there is an exhibit…
导演斯坦利•库布里克…
Director Stanley Kubrick…
那个展览开办了 搞了盛大的开幕式 全球巡展
And then the exhibit comes about, and there’s this big opening, a world tour,
结果利昂并没有参与其中
And Leon kind of not really a part of it.
我感觉利昂被彻底忽视了 请了那么多库布里克专家
I felt like Leon was really dismissed. All these like “experts” on Stanley,
在那聊斯坦利 细数他是个怎样的人
Talking about Stanley, and what he was like.
但是有这么个人 站在角落里 这么多年来他都站在角落里
There was this person, still standing in the corner, how he always would be,
和斯坦利在表演 电影制♥作♥ 所有方面合作了那么多年
Who’s worked with him from acting, from cinematography, everything.
却好像他不存在一样
And meanwhile it was like Leon didn’t exist.
那个开幕式 整个过程 你有参与其中吗？
I guess the opening, or the presentation? Were you part of that?
从举办方的正式角度吗？完全没有
You mean in a kind of official matter? No not at all.
那个大型晚会 很多人去讲了关于斯坦利的事情…
The actual big gala thing where people came and spoke about Stanley…
不 不 我没去那个
Oh no no, no I didn’t go to that.
没去吗 -没有
You didn’t go to that? -No.
是你自己选择不去还是说他们没邀请你？
Was that like a choice by you or they just didn’t invite you or?
没邀请我去啊
No they just didn’t invite me.
利昂完全有权利说 这个展览太差劲了 我不想和它扯上关系
Leon had every right to say, that exhibit stinks, and I want nothing to do with it,
但是完全相反 他说”你想去啊？我可以带你去”
Just the opposite. He said, “You wanna go? I’m gonna take you.”
后来我有个朋友也想去
When another friend of mine wanted to go,
利昂就说”我很乐意带你们再去一次”
Leon said: “I’d gladly take you guys again.”
看到詹姆斯•L•布鲁克斯这么优秀的电影人像孩子一样在问问题
And to see a great filmmaker like James L. Brooks asking questions like a kid,
让一个如此熟悉幕后的人带着走在库布里克的世界里
To walk through these worlds with a guy who knows them intimately,
真的太棒了 他真的很大度友善
It’s just incredible. And he’s so generous about it.
我问他能不能带一群学电影和视觉艺术的高中生去看展
When I asked Leon to take a bunch of high school film and visual arts students,
他二话不说就答应了 我挺吃惊的
He said yes like this. I was shocked.
那次经历真的很好 能够跟人分享也让他精神振奋
It was so amazing. It lifted his spirit to be able to share.
我记得最近一次学院会议上
I remember at the recent Academy meeting,
他们在聊应该跟哪些人做个口述回忆录
They were talking about people that they needed to have an oral history with.
我就说 我不懂你们怎么还没有跟利昂•维塔利做口述回忆录
And I said, well I don’t understand why you guys haven’t done an oral history on Leon Vitali.
早就该做的
And I said, “you should have done it a long time ago,”
筹备库布里克展览的时候就该做
“when you were preparing the Stanley Kubrick exhibit.”
我听说他帮忙带别人去看展都带了差不多30次
I found out that he went 25 or 30 times with people, as favors to people.
让更多人接触到大♥师♥的世界
Just to give them that same gift.
我对那里很多展品都有非常深的情感和依恋
There was such a kind of emotional attachment to so much of that material.
会让我想起 啊我还记得拍那个场景的时候 我在忙这个那个
I could actually say, “Well I remember when I was doing that, working on that.”
每样东西对于我来说都有故事
There was a story about, just about every bit of it.
光是各种镜头我都看了几个小时
I spent hours just looking at lenses.
比起他去世的时候 我感觉看展的过程更像是在和他告别
It felt more like I was saying goodbye to him this time than when he died.
有些地方就像人一样
You know some places are like people.
有的会”闪” 有的不会
Some shine and, some don’t.
这里有坏东西吗？
Is there something bad here?
对于利昂来说 他不仅失去导师 要独自面对生活
And for Leon, not only did he have to face life without his mentor,
他还搬到了洛杉矶 一开始是为了监督数字修复
He also moved to Los Angeles, initially to work for the estate on the restoration.
后来他决定留在洛杉矶
But then he made the decision to stay in Los Angeles,
然后突然发现这里有各种不低的门槛
And suddenly found that doors are not easily opened.
听见了吗 不准进去！
You understand? Stay out!
有段时间我不得不资助他
I had to help him for a while, financially.
想想有点让人难过 因为他辛苦工作了那么久
And I guess that’s kind of sad, because he’s worked so much.
按理说应该是可以照顾好自己的 他的生活方式也很简朴
You would hope that he would have enough to survive, the pretty simple lifestyle he lives you know.