蒂姆?伯頓：一個鬼才導(dǎo)演的崛起

他是好萊塢的鬼才導(dǎo)演，他曾編導(dǎo)過一大批超級耐看的片子：《剪刀手愛德華》、《圣誕夜驚魂》、《大魚》、《僵尸新娘》、《查理和巧克力工廠》、《愛麗絲夢游仙境》??2012年，他已經(jīng)有兩部新片上映——《黑暗陰影》和《亞伯拉罕·林肯：吸血鬼獵人》。他的電影充滿了黑色幽默的詼諧和憂傷，陰森中有華麗，溫暖中有殘酷，黑暗中有溫情，他呈現(xiàn)給觀眾一個詭異奇幻的世界。他就是鬼才式人物蒂姆·伯頓。在本文，讓我們一同走近蒂姆·伯頓和他的電影，體驗一次黑暗怪誕世界的奇幻和美妙。

Tim Burton is an anomaly2) in Hollywood. He’s a deeply personal filmmaker who somehow makes incredibly successful movies. While many fans consider Burton an auteur (and one can see similar characters and themes that crop up throughout all his movies)， the director himself seems to have a more down to earth3) view of his career， in keeping with his humble beginnings.

Once Upon a Time

The story began many years ago in a town which was already filled with more than its fair share of directors， actors and film studios. The place: Burbank4)， California.

It was there he grew up and spent his childhood as a young boy often dreaming and creating his own imaginary world. His head was filled with a dark and mysterious curiosity regarding all that surrounded him. He was often feeling around in the darkness for a sense of direction or a sense of self but， amidst all this confusion， there stood a boy with a dream of his own—there stood Tim Burton.

Burton was a strange young man. Born to a middle-of-the-road5) family living in a middle-of-the-road town， he grew up with a middle-of-the-road life. Burton， however， was no middle-of-the-road guy. He was a misfit from the outset—a square peg6) in a round hole， a big fish in a small pond. It was only a matter of time before the young Tim Burton would break free from his confusion， turn it around， embrace it， branch out and take on the world.

In 1979 he graduated from the California Institute of the Arts and undertook his first job in animation working for Disney on the film The Fox and the Hound (1981). This was not the kind of feature7) Burton had in mind， and during this period he spent much of his spare time dreaming up his own animated adventures. In Burton’s mind was a whole new world， a macabre8) world， a world of twisted fantasies and a distorted reality.

It was during his time with Disney that he felt a real sense of what he wanted to become. Soon he began to make his own short animated films and to express his world through his drawings. These early images were to give way to9) a creativity and style that is incomparably and irresolutely Burton’s signature throughout film.

But is the style， look and feel of his films due to Burton and his vision， or is it merely a reflection of the work and styles of a number of people who surround him and who have had some input into every aspect of the development process of all Burton’s movies? This begs the question10)—is Tim Burton an auteur or merely a marketing dream?

And So It Begins

His films predictably have a sense of the obscure running through them. The main characters are always oddballs11) shunned by the society which surrounds them. Much like Burton， there is a real sense of the lost boy shining through from the dark depths of Burton’s own black humour. Burton himself has been known to acknowledge that these characters bear more than a slight resemblance to himself.

Indeed， he once described film making as a very “expensive form of therapy” and continued on， confessing to being “put in the weird category” when he was younger. “Once put in there you feel like an outsider， a foreigner. I felt like a foreigner in my own country.”

Tim Burton collaborates with the same people in many of his films. Composer Danny Elfman12) has worked on almost every Burton film ever made. Actors Johnny Depp13) and Helena Bonham Carter14) (to name but two) have starred in many of Burton’s films and add to the overall tone with their quirky ways and individual looks.

So， would a Burton film be a Burton film without these stereotypes? Would it work without the actors， without the music? Could Burton get the same results by using some other actor? Is he the auteur he takes credit for， or are those around him all ingredients in one big cooking pot which， when blended together， create a certain flavour?

Even when he breaks form and does something you wouldn’t naturally associate with Burton， such as when he directed the musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)， he still keeps form by working with his regular collaborators， Depp， Bonham Carter and also producer Richard Zanuck15)， with whom he has worked with on numerous other films， such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) and Big Fish (2003).

Sweeney Todd is a dark musical movie about the infamous murderous barber of Fleet Street， London， in the 19th century. Many of us heard the horror stories when we were little， and Burton brought this horror story to life， incorporating his usual macabre， spiky16) and twisted look at the world.

Burton the Auteur? Words from Others

Barry Grant has written numerous works on auteur， genre and authorship. He once said that， when it comes to Burton， he feels “Tim Burton is an auteur with a consistent vision from film to film. Thematically he is very concerned with fantasy and imagination. While he may not have a discernibly consistent style like， say， Jean Renoir17) or Orson Welles18)， he does work within fantasy in a fairly consistent way.”

He certainly seems to be well-received within his field with nominations for BAFTAs19)， Oscars and many more awards. Indeed， he has won several awards working in this field， and I think it only fair to acknowledge the fact that Burton has most certainly made his mark20)! He has made it with his own inimitable style and in his own inimitable way—and it has to be his way. His style was always so distinct and individual， even before he became a top Hollywood player.

When he was a young boy sitting in his bedroom， the drawings and characters he created were virtually the same as those he creates today. His style is so unique and so true to his own form that he is without doubt one of the finest auteurs of our lifetime.

The turning point for Burton came in 1990 with the film Edward Scissorhands. This was both his first collaboration with Johnny Depp and also Depp’s big break into the movie business. Both Burton and Depp had huge success following Edward Scissorhands， and this saw beginning of a relationship that would see Depp and Burton work together in another eight movies to date.

Depp himself notes Burton as having “vision” and being able to forge his own style of “creative atmosphere.” Burton describes his fondness for Depp and says that one of the reasons for his fondness is that Depp is “weird.” Burton tells us that he sees himself in the actor， and this enables him to bring out everything he needs from Depp on screen. When asked about why he uses Depp in so many pictures， he once said Depp was a “character actor in a leading man’s body … he changes with each film.”

There is no doubt the two men are close. Depp is godfather to Burton’s son.

It almost feels as though Burton is so obscure that he searches for like-minded people who empathize21) with him and with whom he can work time and time again. This close-knit22) group would sometimes seem to become like family to him， and when they all come together under his umbrella of creativity， then the magic happens.

Edwin Page， author of Gothic Fantasy: The Films of Tim Burton， is extremely familiar with Burton’s work and with his relationships with the actors he uses over and over again.

He spoke to me of the many reasons why he considers Tim Burton to be an auteur， “These include notable trademarks， such as the use of a graveyard—which is seen in Beetle Juice， Batman Returns， Corpse Bride， The Nightmare Before Christmas， Big Fish， Sleepy Hollow and other films of his. Another of his trademarks is the alteration of the film studio logo at the start of his films.”

He then goes on to talk about the feel of a Burton movie. Most people who are familiar with his films will be familiar with the “certain atmospheric which Burton tends to lend his work， usually that of the gothic. He has a tendency towards quirkiness and black humour. This atmospheric is made clear in his films Planet of the Apes (2001)， Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) and Alice in Wonderland (2010)， both of which follow in the footsteps of previous films， but which are noticeably darker and more gothic in nature， thus Burton has brought his own style to bear23).”

What Tim Did Next

With so many successes under his belt24) and many more to come， Tim Burton is undoubtedly one of the finest directors of our time with his very own distinctive style. If you go to see a Tim Burton film， you always know what to expect， and you are never going to be let down. He currently has two more films in progress， Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children， and The Addams Family.

Tim Burton continues to thrill audiences around the globe， and we can all take comfort from knowing our insights and journeys into his dark but comforting world are not over just yet!

蒂姆·伯頓是好萊塢的鬼才。他執(zhí)導(dǎo)的影片具有極其濃厚的個人色彩，但竟也獲得了巨大的成功。雖然許多影迷認(rèn)為伯頓是位有著自己獨特風(fēng)格的導(dǎo)演(人們不難看出他所有的電影中都貫穿著類似的人物和主題)，但伯頓本人對自己事業(yè)的看法卻似乎更加務(wù)實，更符合他不起眼的事業(yè)發(fā)端。

追夢少年

故事要從許多年前的一個小鎮(zhèn)說起，鎮(zhèn)上的導(dǎo)演、演員和電影制片廠比通常的小鎮(zhèn)都要多。這里就是位于加利福尼亞州的伯班克。

正是在這里，少年漸漸長大，度過了童年時光，那時的他常常夢想著、創(chuàng)造著自己的想象世界。對于周圍的一切，他的頭腦中充滿著帶有黑暗和神秘色彩的好奇。他經(jīng)常在黑暗中摸索和探尋，尋找方向感或者自我的感覺。而就在這一片混沌之中，站立著一個擁有自己夢想的男孩——他就是蒂姆·伯頓。

伯頓是一個怪異的年輕人。他出生在一個尋常小鎮(zhèn)的尋常家庭里，過著尋常的生活。然而，伯頓本人卻不是尋常之輩。他從一開始就是一個與環(huán)境格格不入的人——圓形榫眼中的一個方形榫頭、小池塘里的一條大魚。對于年輕的蒂姆·伯頓來說，掙脫這個混沌的狀態(tài)，改變它、接受它，然后向外發(fā)展、走向世界，只不過是時間問題。

1979年，他從加利福尼亞藝術(shù)學(xué)院畢業(yè)，找到了第一份工作：為迪士尼的電影《狐貍與獵狗》(1981)做動畫繪制。然而，這并不是他心目中的故事片。在此期間，他將大部分業(yè)余時間都用來構(gòu)想自己的動畫歷險故事。在伯頓的心目中有一個全新的世界，一個以死亡為主題的恐怖世界，一個充滿怪誕幻想和扭曲現(xiàn)實的世界。

正是在迪士尼工作的這段時間里，伯頓真正明白了他想要做什么。很快，他便開始制作自己的動畫短片，通過繪畫來描繪自己的世界。這些早期的圖像逐漸演變成伯頓電影特有的創(chuàng)造性和風(fēng)格，以一種無可比擬但又不易確定的方式貫穿伯頓電影的始終。

但伯頓電影的這種風(fēng)格、視覺效果以及給人的感受是來自伯頓個人和他的想象力呢，還是僅僅反映了攝制組主要成員的工作和風(fēng)格？因為這些人圍繞在伯頓周圍，對伯頓電影制作過程的每一方面都提過自己的建議。這個問題的潛臺詞：蒂姆·伯頓是一位個性導(dǎo)演，還是僅僅是一個營銷天才？

嶄露頭角

伯頓的電影總有一種神秘感貫穿始終，這一點觀眾是可以預(yù)見到的。影片的主角總是一些無法為身邊的社會所接受的怪人。就像伯頓本人一樣，那種迷茫男孩的真實感覺始終閃耀在伯頓深不見底的黑色幽默中。據(jù)悉，伯頓本人曾親口承認(rèn)這些人物都和他本人有著相當(dāng)程度的相似。

的確，他曾經(jīng)把電影拍攝描述成一種非?！鞍嘿F的治療方式”，并承認(rèn)他年輕時曾被“歸入怪人一類”?！耙坏┍粍潪楣秩?，你就會覺得自己是個局外人、一個外國人。我在自己的國家卻感覺像個外國人。”

蒂姆·伯頓在許多電影中都和同一班人馬進行合作。作曲家丹尼·艾夫曼幾乎參與了伯頓執(zhí)導(dǎo)的每一部影片。演員約翰尼·德普和海倫娜·博納姆·卡特(僅以此兩位為例)在伯頓的許多電影中擔(dān)當(dāng)主角，并以其怪誕的行為和個性鮮明的相貌強化了電影的整體基調(diào)。

那么，如果沒有了這些模式化的東西，伯頓電影還是伯頓的電影嗎？沒有了這些演員和這些音樂，伯頓的電影還能火嗎？如果換用其他演員，伯頓還能達到同樣的效果嗎？他是當(dāng)之無愧的個性導(dǎo)演呢，還是圍繞在他周圍的人都是一口大鍋里的各種原料，混在一起就能做成具有某種風(fēng)味的佳肴？

有時，他會打破某種形式的約束，做出一些你通常不會將之和伯頓聯(lián)系起來的事情，比如他執(zhí)導(dǎo)了音樂劇《理發(fā)師陶德》(2007)。但即使如此，他仍然會通過與通常的合作者進行合作來保持其特有的形式，比如他在《理發(fā)師陶德》中仍然與德普、博納姆·卡特以及制片人理查德·扎納克合作，之前他已經(jīng)與他們合作過多部影片，如《查理和巧克力工廠》(2005)、《大魚》(2003)等。

《理發(fā)師陶德》是一部陰郁的音樂劇電影，講述的是19世紀(jì)倫敦艦隊街上一個臭名昭著、殺人不眨眼的理發(fā)師的故事。我們許多人在小時候都聽過這個恐怖故事，伯頓又將這個恐怖故事復(fù)活了，同時融入了他一貫驚悚、尖銳、扭曲的世界觀。

個性導(dǎo)演？且聽他人如何評說

巴里·格蘭特曾就個性導(dǎo)演、風(fēng)格和創(chuàng)作寫過多部著作。他曾經(jīng)說過，就伯頓而言，他覺得“蒂姆·伯頓是位個性導(dǎo)演，他在每一部電影中都表現(xiàn)出一貫的想象力。從主題上說，他十分關(guān)注幻想與想象。也許他不像讓·雷諾阿和奧森·韋爾斯那樣有一個明顯一致的風(fēng)格，但在運用幻想方面他的確較為一致。”

在電影圈里，伯頓顯然很受歡迎，多次榮獲各類獎項提名，包括英國電影和電視藝術(shù)學(xué)院獎、奧斯卡獎以及其他許多獎。他也確實在這個圈子里拿到了多項大獎。因此，毫無疑問，伯頓已在電影界產(chǎn)生了深遠(yuǎn)影響，這樣的說法我想是公道合理的。他用自身無可模仿的風(fēng)格和一種無可模仿的方式——那絕對是他自己的方式——取得了成功。他的風(fēng)格總是如此鮮明、如此獨特，即使在他成為好萊塢頂尖導(dǎo)演之前就已如此。

當(dāng)他年紀(jì)尚輕時，他坐在臥室里創(chuàng)作的那些繪畫、那些人物就已和今天創(chuàng)造的幾乎相同了。他的風(fēng)格如此獨一無二、如此忠實于自己的藝術(shù)形式。毫無疑問，他已成為我們這個時代最優(yōu)秀的個性導(dǎo)演之一。

伯頓事業(yè)的轉(zhuǎn)折點是他1990年拍攝的電影《剪刀手愛德華》。這是他和約翰尼·德普的第一次合作，也是德普在電影事業(yè)方面的重大突破。在《剪刀手愛德華》之后，伯頓和德普都取得了巨大成功。這也成了德普與伯頓合作的開始，之后，到目前為止，他們又合作了八部影片。

德普本人也認(rèn)為伯頓有“想象力”，能夠形成自己具有“創(chuàng)造性氛圍”的獨特風(fēng)格。伯頓也描述過他對德普的喜愛，說他喜歡德普的一個原因就是他很“古怪”。伯頓告訴我們說他在德普身上看到了自己的影子，這使得他可以從德普身上激發(fā)出他在銀幕上需要的一切。有一次，人們問他為什么在那么多電影中都用德普做主角，他說德普是位“天生一副男主角身材的性格演員……能隨著每一部電影而變化”。

毫無疑問，兩人的關(guān)系很緊密。德普是伯頓兒子的教父。

人們有時候會覺得伯頓太晦澀了，所以他才尋找性情相投的人合作，這些人能與他產(chǎn)生共鳴，他會跟他們反復(fù)合作。這個關(guān)系密切的小團體在他看來有時就像是家人，他的創(chuàng)造力就像是一把大傘，當(dāng)他們都聚集在這把大傘之下時，奇跡就會發(fā)生。

埃德溫·佩奇曾寫過《哥特式幻想：蒂姆·伯頓的電影》一書，他對伯頓的工作以及他與反復(fù)使用的演員之間的關(guān)系了如指掌。

他曾對我談起過他把伯頓視為個性導(dǎo)演的許多原因：“這包括一些明顯的招牌式特征，比如對墓地場景的使用——這在《嘩鬼家族》、《蝙蝠俠重現(xiàn)江湖》、《僵尸新娘》、《圣誕夜驚魂》、《大魚》、《斷頭谷》以及他執(zhí)導(dǎo)的其他影片中都曾出現(xiàn)。他的另外一個招牌式特征就是在電影開始時改動制片公司徽標(biāo)的模樣?！?/p>

接著，他又談了伯頓電影的“感覺”問題。大多數(shù)熟悉伯頓電影的人都熟悉“伯頓喜歡給自己作品添加的那種氛圍，通常是哥特式作品常有的氛圍。他對離奇的情節(jié)和黑色幽默情有獨鐘。這種氛圍在他執(zhí)導(dǎo)的電影《人猿星球》(2001)、《查理和巧克力工廠》(2005)以及《愛麗絲夢游仙境》(2010)中表露無遺。后兩部電影都是根據(jù)已有電影進行的改編，但它們無疑更黑暗，更具有哥特式風(fēng)格，而伯頓也因此成功地使觀眾接受了他的風(fēng)格?！?/p>

下一步做什么

蒂姆·伯頓無疑是當(dāng)代最出色的導(dǎo)演之一，擁有自己獨特的風(fēng)格。眾多的成功已成為他的囊中之物，但更多的成功還在后面。如果你去看蒂姆·伯頓的電影，你總是知道該期待什么，而且永遠(yuǎn)不會失望。他目前正在籌拍的有兩部電影：《怪屋女孩》以及《亞當(dāng)斯一家》。

蒂姆·伯頓將繼續(xù)為全球觀眾帶來驚險刺激的快感。我們曾在他創(chuàng)造的黑暗卻又令人欣慰的世界里探索、領(lǐng)悟，當(dāng)我們知道這一探索之旅還遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)沒有結(jié)束時，又怎會不感到欣慰呢？

1.auteur [???t??(r)] n.〈法〉(具有自己獨特風(fēng)格的)電影導(dǎo)演 2. anomaly [??n?m?li] n. 異常的人或物

3.down to earth：實際的，不加渲染的

4.Burbank：伯班克，一座位于美國加利福尼亞州洛杉磯縣中部的城市。伯班克被稱為“世界媒體之都”，華特·迪士尼公司、美國廣播公司、華納兄弟等許多媒體與娛樂公司的總部或重要部門都設(shè)在這里。

5.middle-of-the-road：中立的，平庸的

6.peg [peɡ] n. 短樁

7.feature [?fi?t??(r)] n. 故事片

8.macabre [m??kɑ?br?] adj. 恐怖的，令人毛骨悚然的，以死亡為主題的

9.give way to：讓路，讓步

10.beg the question：引起疑問，令人質(zhì)疑

11.oddball [??d?b??l] n. 古怪的人

12.Danny Elfman：丹尼·艾夫曼(1953～)，美國作曲家，被稱為好萊塢影音世界的黑色鬼才，與同走奇想路線的導(dǎo)演蒂姆·伯頓結(jié)為影音絕配，雙方曾合作過《剪刀手愛德華》、《斷頭谷》等。

13.Johnny Depp：約翰尼·德普(1963～)，美國電影演員，憑借影片《剪刀手愛德華》一舉成名。其代表作還包括《斷頭谷》、《查理和巧克力工廠》、《加勒比海盜》(Pirates of the Caribbean)等。

14.Helena Bonham Carter：海倫娜·博納姆·卡特(1966～)，英國電影演員，以演歐洲文藝片著稱，近年來開始轉(zhuǎn)向好萊塢商業(yè)片。

15.Richard Zanuck：理查德·扎納克(1934～2012)，美國好萊塢最知名且備受尊敬的制片人，因制作影片《音樂之聲》(The Sound of Music)蜚聲影壇，曾與導(dǎo)演蒂姆·伯頓合作過多部影片，比如《大魚》、《查理和巧克力工廠》、《愛麗絲夢游仙境》等。

16.spiky [?spa?ki] adj. 尖刻的

17.Jean Renoir：讓·雷諾阿(1894～1979)，法國著名電影導(dǎo)演，法國電影自然主義的代表人物，代表作品有《大幻滅》(The Grand Illusion)和《游戲規(guī)則》(The Rules of the Game)等，影響深遠(yuǎn)。

18.Orson Welles：奧森·韋爾斯(1915～1985)，美國著名的電影導(dǎo)演、編劇和演員，代表作品有《公民凱恩》(Citizen Kane)、《簡·愛》(Jane Eyre)、《麥克白》(Macbeth)等。

19.BAFTA：英國電影和電視藝術(shù)學(xué)院(The British Academy of Film and Television Arts)，每年給杰出的電影、電視、兒童電影和電視以及互動媒體頒發(fā)獎項。

20.make one’s mark：產(chǎn)生或留下深遠(yuǎn)影響

21.empathize [?emp?θa?z] vi. 有同感；表同情；起共鳴

22.close-knit：緊密相連的；密切結(jié)合的

23.bring sth. to bear：使發(fā)生影響，使產(chǎn)生效力，使成功

24.under one’s belt：達到的；獲得的