24 September 2009

The Blues Brothers ( 福祿雙霸天 )


// They will never get caught.
They are on a mission from God. //




"Joliet" Jake Blues is released from prison after serving three years for armed robbery. Jake is at first irritated at being picked up by his brother Elwood in a battered former police car, instead of the Cadillac the brothers used to own, but Elwood explains the car's advantages. The brothers visit their childhood home, a Catholic orphanage. They learn the institution will be closed unless $5,000 in property tax is collected. Jake indicates they can quickly obtain the funds, but the orphanage director refuses to accept any stolen money. The brothers visit an evangelical church service where Jake has an epiphany: they can legitimately raise the funds by re-forming their rhythm and blues band.

電影【福祿雙霸天】(The Blues Brothers, 1980)裡,身材短胖而動作靈活的約翰貝魯西(John Belushi)是全劇的靈魂,他演唱節奏藍調時游刃有餘的表情,讓觀眾直覺認為這位芝加哥出身的演員,必定是天生就帶著藍調音樂基因。
事實上,貝魯西早先著迷的音樂類型是搖滾和重金屬,對於藍調音樂的認識,還是在認識加拿大籍的搭檔丹艾克洛伊(Dan Aykroyd)後被啟蒙的。
一回貝魯西聽著艾克洛伊播放加拿大Downchild Blues Band的專輯Straight Up(1973),興起了一起組個藍調樂團的想法,一旁的作曲家霍華蕭爾(Howard Shore,近年因為【魔戒】系列配樂而出名)馬上跟著敲邊鼓,提議以「藍調兄弟」(The Blues Brothers)為團名,不久兩人開始了玩票性質的表演。

在導演約翰蘭迪斯(John Landis)調整過艾克洛伊所撰寫的劇本後,替美國藍調音樂文化作傳的【福祿雙霸天】開拍,為藍調兄弟歌唱事業顛峰之作,樂隊班底將曼西尼(Henry Mancini)創作的【Peter Gunn】(1958)影集主題詮釋得精彩萬分(這段音樂幾乎可說是「藍調兄弟」的假借主題),片中還重唱了狄昂肯(Dimitri Tiomkin)為CBS影集【Rawhide】(1959)譜寫的主題曲,揶揄美國南方的鄉村音樂,多位黑人音樂巨星在片中客串獻藝,更豐富了原聲唱片的內容,可惜這張唱片的銷量,不及首張專輯的三分之一。

同年底,另一張取材自環球劇場演唱會實況的專輯Made in America出版,結果銷售成績竟不到原聲唱片的三分之一,使得艾克洛伊與貝魯西暫時降低了對演出歌唱事業的熱情。隨著約翰貝魯西在一九八二年初因為吸毒過量暴斃,正宗的「藍調兄弟」就此走入歷史。