十大“反资”电影？

Hollywood has always been the world capital of the film industry, and movies are the quintessential American art form. Moreover, the US cinema industry is a prime example of the free enterprise system in action, where winner-takes-all economic rules apply.

好莱坞一直以来就是全球电影工业的中心，而电影则是美国艺术形式的精髓。除此之外，美国电影业还是自由企业制度在现实中的应用，在这种制度下奉行“赢家通吃规则。

It is also one of the country’s leading exports – both culturally and financially. So it is only natural that many of the greatest films of all time have been about American capitalism.

电影无论在文化影响上还是商业价值上都是美国的主要出口产品之一。因此很多有史以来最伟大的电影都以美国资本主义制度为题材也就不足为奇了。

Here are my top 10:

以下是我眼中最具代表性的10部反映美国资本主义制度的电影：

●Up in the Air (2009): the tragicomic tale of a corporate hatchet man, brilliantly played by George Clooney, who flies around the country sacking people. The most poignant moments are in the closing sequence, when real people describe the agony of being fired.

●《在云端》(Up in the Air, 2009)：关于一位公司裁员专家的悲喜剧。片中由乔治·克鲁尼(George Clooney)扮演的这位专家飞遍全国，替别的公司开除员工。最辛辣的片段出现在影片结尾部分，现实生活中的真实个体描述了在被解雇时感受到的痛苦。

●Trading Places (1983): a brilliant comedy about commodity markets, with a virtuoso performance by Eddie Murphy. Both educational and full of great lines – especially from the evil Duke brothers.

●《运转乾坤》(Trading Places, 1983)：一部关于大宗商品市场的杰出喜剧，艾迪·墨菲(Eddie Murphy)在其中献上了精湛的演出。这部影片富有教育意义，台词也颇为经典，尤其是片中邪恶的杜克兄弟的台词。

●Chinatown (1974): perhaps the finest film noir ever, and surely Roman Polanski and Jack Nicholson’s best work. It is roughly based on the true case of high-level corruption over water rights in Los Angeles in the 1930s.

●《唐人街》(Chinatown, 1974)：这部影片或许称得上是有史以来最经典的黑色电影，同时也是罗曼·波兰斯基(Roman Polanski)和杰克·尼克尔森(Jack Nicholson)合作的最佳作品。本片情节取材于二十世纪三十年代洛杉矶水务领域高层的真实腐败案。

●The Social Network (2010): a dramatisation of Facebook’s creation. A searing reminder to entrepreneurs that the initial division of equity matters – and independent legal advice is crucial.

●《社交网络》(The Social Network, 2010)：戏剧化地展现了Facebook的创立过程。这部影片对于企业家来说是一个尖锐的提醒——在企业创立初期的股权划分问题以及寻求独立的法律建议至关重要。

●Glengarry Glen Ross (1992): a spectacular cast and a wonderful script, written by playwright David Mamet, make this easily the best fictional depiction of cold-call selling I have ever seen.

●《拜金一族》(Glengarry Glen Ross, 1992)：本片演员阵容强大，由剧作家大卫·马梅(David Mamet)操刀的剧本质量过硬，是我所看过的描写电话推销题材的最佳影片。

●Inside Job (2010): a devastating documentary about the recent credit crisis and banking collapse. Matt Damon narrates, an excellent music score but a slightly weak ending.

●《监守自盗》(Inside Job, 2010)：这是一部关于近期次贷危机以及银行倒闭的颇具震撼力的纪录片。马特·达蒙(Matt Damon)担任旁白，配乐极其出色，但结尾力度稍显不足。

●Citizen Kane (1941): for many fans the best film ever. Orson Welles directed, co-wrote and starred as Kane. Astonishingly, he was only 26 at the time. An epic portrayal of a media mogul who had almost unlimited money and power, but still dies lonely and unhappy.

●《公民凯恩》(Citizen Kane, 1941)：很多影迷都认为本片是影史第一佳片。奥森·威尔斯(Orson Welles)身兼编导演三职，扮演主角凯恩。令人震惊的是，当时他年仅26岁。本片以史诗般的镜头刻画了一个拥有无尽的金钱与权力，但仍在孤独与抑郁中死去的传媒大亨。

●Working Girl (1988): a romantic comedy set in an investment bank. Mike Nichols directed Melanie Griffiths, who was never better.

●《打工女郎》(Working Girl, 1988)：一部设定在投资银行情境下的浪漫喜剧。本片由迈克·尼克斯(Mike Nichols)导演，梅兰妮·格里菲斯(Melanie Griffiths)在片中奉上了演员生涯中的最佳表演。

●The Godfather (1972): a Mafia tale that could symbolise the struggles within all family businesses. Both the film and its sequels have it all: superb scripts, cast and music. The film made Francis Ford Coppola’s reputation.

●《教父》(The Godfather, 1972)：本片是一部黑帮传奇，任何家族企业中的尔虞我诈都可以在片中找到缩影。本片和它的两部续集具备了一部好电影应该具有的所有元素：超一流的剧本、演员阵容以及配乐。弗朗西斯·福特·科波拉(Francis Ford Coppola)凭借本片奠定了他在影坛的地位。

●There Will Be Blood(2007): an unrelenting drama about a rapacious oil baron, played by Daniel Day-Lewis. A case study in how bad guys often win. Directed, written and co-produced by the talented auteur Paul Thomas Anderson.

●《血色将至》(There Will Be Blood, 2007)：本片毫不留情地刻画了一位贪婪的石油大亨，该角色由丹尼尔·戴－刘易斯(Daniel Day-Lewis)扮演。可以将本片看做是关于“为什么坏人常常成为赢家的案例研究。本片由才华横溢的导演保罗·托马斯·安德森(Paul Thomas Anderson)执导，他还担任了本片的编剧和联合制片人。

It is surprising that almost all the entertaining movies about business focus on its dark side. In most cases, the tycoons are wicked – from Noah Cross played by John Huston inChinatown to Charles Foster Kane played by Orson Welles in Citizen Kane to Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone in The Godfather. Maybe this jaundiced view reflects the experiences of Hollywood writers and directors with studio bosses.

令人惊讶的是，几乎所有反映商业社会的娱乐影片都着重刻画了商业的阴暗面。在绝大多数影片的设定中，商业大亨们都是邪恶的，例如约翰·休斯顿(John Huston)在《唐人街》中扮演的诺亚·克罗斯(Noah Cross)，奥森·威尔斯在《公民凯恩》中扮演的查尔斯·福斯特·凯恩(Charles Foster Kane)以及阿尔·帕西诺(Al Pacino)在《教父》中扮演的迈克尔·科莱奥内(Michael Corleone)。这种偏见或许反映出了好莱坞编剧与导演们在和制片厂老板打交道过程中的亲身感受。

Mind you, I have rarely been to a place more obsessed by money and business than Hollywood – and that includes the creative types, not just the financiers. The former just hide behind their agents. It feels a touch hypocritical that the town likes to bite the hand that feeds it so well.

需要提醒一句的是，我几乎没有去过比好莱坞更痴迷于金钱和商业的地方——从事创意工作的人士也同样拜金，而不仅仅是那些为影片融资的投资商。只不过创意人士可以躲藏在自己的经纪人背后。这个地方如此喜欢抨击自己的衣食父母，令人难免感到有些虚伪。

Of course moving pictures are mostly fantasy. Real life is more mundane – even in the executive suite. And it is never as clear-cut as the narrative of a 90-minute screen story. Few of the pictures mentioned are morality tales, and several of the best, such as Citizen Kane or There Will Be Blood, leave questions unanswered. Arguably, the villains are often the most dynamic characters – like Williamson (Kevin Spacey) in Glengarry Glen Ross .

当然，电影几乎都是幻想。真实生活更加平凡——即使你住在行政套房也不过如此。而且真实生活也不会像90分钟的电影叙事那样清楚明了。上文提到的影片中几乎没有伦理剧，而且还有几部像《公民凯恩》、《血色将至》这样的经典影片采用了开放式结局。有人会说，反面人物往往都是最具活力的角色，例如凯文·史派西(Kevin Spacey)在《拜金一族》中扮演的约翰·威廉姆森(John Williamson)。

Does this rather negative image of capitalism in show business actually matter? Yes, because the media influences hearts and minds, and can make an impact on consumer support and government policy. Or perhaps I should just revise my taste in films?

电影工业塑造的这种较为负面的资本主义形象是否会对现实生活造成影响？答案是肯定的。因为媒体能够影响民众的情绪和思维，并能在赢得消费者支持以及影响政府政策方面发挥作用。不过也有可能是我自己该调整观影品味了。

The writer runs Risk Capital Partners, a private equity firm, and is chairman of StartUp Britain

本文作者管理着一家名为Risk Capital Partners的私人股本公司，同时还担任StartUp Britain主席