Just like Cassavetes' very own films, the improvisational performance given by the astonishing leading actors make Mikey and Nicky rock.nAlthough the film was directed by Elaine May, already known as a brilliant comedian for her sketch comedy by the time she became a filmmaker, it seems to contain more of a John Cassavetes-like style. May used Cassavetes, the man himself and his real-life friend Peter Falk- as her protagonists, adding another layer of intimacy into the picture. nPeter Falk, Hell Yeah! The man with a "lazy" eye. Cassavetes had used Falk's fake eye in an interesting way in many his earlier works. In the movie Woman under the Influence, Falk couldn't quite focus his vision. His wife in the film, played by the AMAZING Gina Rowlands, is a bit crazy and Falk's eye is never emphasised. However when he looks into the distance, he seems unfocused- like the dead eye actually sees the thing that will help him with his crazy wife and their screwed family.nThe quirky fake eye of Peter Falk's in Mikey and Nicky seems to have a way more huge impact than another famous example in the history of cinema that has used dead eyes to make a point- Fredrick Wiseman's unfairly infamous Titicut Follies. In Titicut, there is a scene when a guard is preparing for the funeral and stuffing the dead eyes of an inmate with cotton. Noted that this very inmate is the same guy being forced fed of liquid food with a four feet long tube inserted into his nose, in the previous scene. What qualifies Peter Falk's fake eyes with a more bizarre fashion than the ones in Titicut is the definition and function of an eye. Falk's fake eye never spins but actually speaks in Mikey and Nicky. It almost declares an independence or a revolution from his mind. If people say eyes are windows of one's soul, then, in the films, Falk appeared to have a very troubled soul. The "window" here is broken that can no longer prevent the soul from suffering the freezing gale fiercely blowing outside. nHowever odd it appears to be, the quantity of the impact generated by the fake eye is way outnumbered by the fake friendship between Mikey and Nicky. The first hour of the film is not unnecessary at all. The intimacy shared by Nicky and his best friend at that time, Mikey, could only be vividly illustrated in the crummy hotel, the desperate African American pub, the lousy NYC streets, the "smoking free" bus, and the dark, gate-locked cemetery, where Nicky would have, for the only time, shown his civilized silhouette- saying "Excuse me" to the graves he steps onto by accident.nAll the intimate moments, interrupted by the frequently occurred disagreements and the childish fight, have accumulated until reach the climax- the touching and brutal ending. We have shown the shot of a door earlier in the film, but the one at the end, together with Cassavetes' helpless scream, has the most influential impact on the audience. In no other film (except perhaps Nuit et Brouillard) do we stare at images of a door so imploringly. In the absence of a voice of objection in the film (there is no soundtrack and sound effects) we want the door, as the idiom goes, to speak. The film discomforts us for all that it doesn't do, the privacy it doesn't breach and the secret it doesn't reveal. We turn to the inanimate objects in the film in order to help formulate our own responsibility as witnesses to the events, the ritual subjection, that we see. We want somebody, something, to react because we have no stand in. The door of Mikey's house, in this unperturbed and sober movie, become as implacable as the screen we are watching, but in the process also become as charged and animated by phantoms. nn1/29/2015 #HFA "FURIOUS CINEMA '70-'77"
看上去，也许除法斯宾德《佩特拉·冯·康德的苦泪》之外，这是世界上最接近贝克特的电影；不过可以说这是假象，卡萨维茨（和他的朋友们，由难以置信的优雅美妙的伊莲·梅带领）并不贝克特化。像他自我意识强的其它时候（《面孔》《丈夫们》——其实也是更直白的时候：与《杀死地下老板》这种几乎是潜意识挣扎下露出的怪诞真理相比有一种塞林格碰见普鲁斯特的感觉；但我并不是在贬低它们！）一样，主角是一个有缺陷的、可谴责的人；不过，和其它几部相比，在这里他几乎是轻微的自闭症者：一层更明显而奇异的天使般气息覆盖了一切。注意几处反逻辑的对话如何恰到好处地——几乎太恰到好处，像《面孔》那样，不过人为性本来就是艺术无需掩饰的特征——运用在了正确的地方。注意惊人而如梦的冷色高颗粒度摄影（除了Nell的家，一个关键的场地，那里有大块的暖色，漂亮的烤面包机和垃圾桶）、超前的街拍、暗镜头使用（参见《三女性》）以及后现代主义剪辑，包括跳接、轻微的画面不同步（参见帕索里尼《定理》；这里有几个镜头几乎肯定是后期配上不一样的台词）和仿佛在平行宇宙或意识碎片间切换的深夜反打对话（也许是因为电影整整拍了两年：本身几乎就是反电影行为：“This is not the movie!”）。她原是喜剧导演（《新叶》《心碎的孩子》，后者据说很好）；这正使她有能力和勇气做这一切，卡萨维茨明白。但我不知道他们怎么能把这个故事讲得这么美，几乎宏伟——恍若沟口健二，是的，沟口健二。
梅和制片人朱利安·施拉兹伯格（Julian Schlossberg，[他本是派拉蒙雇员，后自立门户建立了Castle Hill Productions]）于1978年向派拉蒙买回了本片版权，并进行重新剪辑，相比公映版本缩短了大致10分钟片长。那年稍晚，于影院上映了该重剪版本。CC推出的《麦基与尼基》是梅和朱利安版本的首次重制。
梅和朱利安
编译自CC的文章10 Things I Learned: Mikey and Nicky，作者Kim Hendrickson，路米内译，方括号内为译者注
好朋友之间的相处应该保持一种距离还是时时刻刻在一起？这个非黑即白的选项并不存在很多场景里，正常情况下，好朋友之间的相处总是处于一种动态的平衡当中，即一方面时时刻刻保持一致，另一方面也是会在即将靠近的时候保持一种距离。如果两个人没有了边界感，那么最终必然会走向悲剧，答案也很直白，因为这个世界上并没有完全一致的两个人，即使是无话不谈的好友，也不能时时刻刻保持一致的情绪。
今天给大家推荐的影片《麦基与尼基》就是这样一部电影，它讲述的是友谊，或者是以友谊为蓝本，但却并不局限于友谊，它旨在为观众们提供一种边界感，这种边界感可以让我们与旁人的相处更加融洽。
麦基与尼基是一对好友，尼基窃得了一大笔钱，因为失窃的是自己的匪帮老板，于是，尼基求助于自己的好友麦基，麦基因此给好朋友策划了出逃计划。然而计划赶不上变化，尼基的性格乖张，所以他一直在变换着自己的性格，因为麦基无法通过不断地变更逃跑计划来迎合尼基的心情，于是，麦基原本的好耐心变没了。
尼基依旧是在我行我素，然而这个时候的麦基却并不愿意继续由着尼基的性子胡来了，麦基与尼基大吵了一架，然后一个人走了。尼基意识到自己的好友扔下了自己而去，便从原本的出逃，转为寻找好友之路了。这个时候的尼基并不愿意继续逃跑了，转而是想要孤注一掷的找到好友请求原谅，而就在他找到了麦基的住处之后，一门之隔的尼基与麦基两个人却在一瞬间生死两隔。
《麦基与尼基》在以友谊为蓝本的同时为我们营造出来了一种环境，一种若即若离的环境，有人说，本片的特点在于女性导演讲述的男人与男人之间的故事，这自然是本片的特点之一，然而在这个背后，是不是还有别的故事可以发掘？比如说我们换一个角度去看待本片，结合一下当时的历史背景去看待本片，似乎更加合理了。
麦基与尼基两个好友本身是相互依存的，与此同时，这个相互依存在于两个人谁也离不开谁。但是这种离不开并不意味着两个人就必须形影不离，而是在于两个人可以彼此保持适当的距离然后彼此依赖。麦基需要一个人理解自己，而尼基本身则是需要麦基的存在来为自己解决麻烦。两个人在影片中表现出来的是好友，然而现实中，如果出于一种正常的逻辑当中，这样的好友表现出来的通常不是朋友而是敌人。
想想看，警察本身是打击犯罪的，如果这个世界上没有了犯罪分子，警察也就失去了存在的必要性。因此，再看看尼基与麦基两个人，尼基好像是天生就会不断地提出问题的，而麦基的存在在于不断地解决尼基提出来的问题。然而这种无休止的解决谁都会累，因此，尼基与麦基存在的最好的方式就是两个人保持一定的距离，各自分数各自的地盘，然后不去逾越这道围栏。
看到这里，大家有没有想到本片所上映的时代背景是不是根本片有一些异曲同工的妙用？冷战时代的美国跟苏联是不是有一种麦基与尼基的感觉？这里并不是特指某一方是麦基或者是尼基，而是说两个冷战时期的超级大国之间的微妙的联系是不是像极了尼基与麦基之间的相互依存？
冷战期间，西方的资本主义阵营被确立之后，东方的社会主义阵营随机确立，后来的北约成立之后，华约随即成立。而之后的一系列对抗的发生都是建立在一方提出了一种新的存在状态或者说是新的领域之后，另一方给出来的回击等等。这些不就是本片所展现出来的尼基与麦基之间的关联吗？当然，这种猜测不过是根据当时的时代背景做的一次延申，至于说本片的立意当中有没有参杂时代背景，这是不得而知的，或许创作者本人就能回答。
因此，在考虑本片的时候，我们可以知道上文提到的朋友之间的边界问题一直有其合理性存在，看似若即若离的关系实际上是最好的，每一个在亲密的人都要保持一种相应的距离这才是最好的相处之道，如果失去了这种距离，那么人与人之间的相处就会产生麻烦。
就如同影片最后，尼基在门外即使是看到了危险即将临近，也要先跟自己的好友道歉，而麦基在门内，一边堵上了门坚决不让尼基进来，另一边却祈祷着尼基赶快走开躲避危险。这本身就是一种矛盾的心理在作祟，如果尼基跟麦基两个人的关系是正常化的，就不会产生这样的情形。
因此，朋友间的边界在哪里，这似乎是一个很好回答的问题，实际上也最难用一个普遍的答案来囊括，保持一种距离感，似乎是最好的解决路径了，否则，友谊就会在顷刻间支离破碎。
……
你好，再
Just like Cassavetes' very own films, the improvisational performance given by the astonishing leading actors make Mikey and Nicky rock.nAlthough the film was directed by Elaine May, already known as a brilliant comedian for her sketch comedy by the time she became a filmmaker, it seems to contain more of a John Cassavetes-like style. May used Cassavetes, the man himself and his real-life friend Peter Falk- as her protagonists, adding another layer of intimacy into the picture. nPeter Falk, Hell Yeah! The man with a "lazy" eye. Cassavetes had used Falk's fake eye in an interesting way in many his earlier works. In the movie Woman under the Influence, Falk couldn't quite focus his vision. His wife in the film, played by the AMAZING Gina Rowlands, is a bit crazy and Falk's eye is never emphasised. However when he looks into the distance, he seems unfocused- like the dead eye actually sees the thing that will help him with his crazy wife and their screwed family.nThe quirky fake eye of Peter Falk's in Mikey and Nicky seems to have a way more huge impact than another famous example in the history of cinema that has used dead eyes to make a point- Fredrick Wiseman's unfairly infamous Titicut Follies. In Titicut, there is a scene when a guard is preparing for the funeral and stuffing the dead eyes of an inmate with cotton. Noted that this very inmate is the same guy being forced fed of liquid food with a four feet long tube inserted into his nose, in the previous scene. What qualifies Peter Falk's fake eyes with a more bizarre fashion than the ones in Titicut is the definition and function of an eye. Falk's fake eye never spins but actually speaks in Mikey and Nicky. It almost declares an independence or a revolution from his mind. If people say eyes are windows of one's soul, then, in the films, Falk appeared to have a very troubled soul. The "window" here is broken that can no longer prevent the soul from suffering the freezing gale fiercely blowing outside. nHowever odd it appears to be, the quantity of the impact generated by the fake eye is way outnumbered by the fake friendship between Mikey and Nicky. The first hour of the film is not unnecessary at all. The intimacy shared by Nicky and his best friend at that time, Mikey, could only be vividly illustrated in the crummy hotel, the desperate African American pub, the lousy NYC streets, the "smoking free" bus, and the dark, gate-locked cemetery, where Nicky would have, for the only time, shown his civilized silhouette- saying "Excuse me" to the graves he steps onto by accident.nAll the intimate moments, interrupted by the frequently occurred disagreements and the childish fight, have accumulated until reach the climax- the touching and brutal ending. We have shown the shot of a door earlier in the film, but the one at the end, together with Cassavetes' helpless scream, has the most influential impact on the audience. In no other film (except perhaps Nuit et Brouillard) do we stare at images of a door so imploringly. In the absence of a voice of objection in the film (there is no soundtrack and sound effects) we want the door, as the idiom goes, to speak. The film discomforts us for all that it doesn't do, the privacy it doesn't breach and the secret it doesn't reveal. We turn to the inanimate objects in the film in order to help formulate our own responsibility as witnesses to the events, the ritual subjection, that we see. We want somebody, something, to react because we have no stand in. The door of Mikey's house, in this unperturbed and sober movie, become as implacable as the screen we are watching, but in the process also become as charged and animated by phantoms. nn1/29/2015 #HFA "FURIOUS CINEMA '70-'77"
看上去，也许除法斯宾德《佩特拉·冯·康德的苦泪》之外，这是世界上最接近贝克特的电影；不过可以说这是假象，卡萨维茨（和他的朋友们，由难以置信的优雅美妙的伊莲·梅带领）并不贝克特化。像他自我意识强的其它时候（《面孔》《丈夫们》——其实也是更直白的时候：与《杀死地下老板》这种几乎是潜意识挣扎下露出的怪诞真理相比有一种塞林格碰见普鲁斯特的感觉；但我并不是在贬低它们！）一样，主角是一个有缺陷的、可谴责的人；不过，和其它几部相比，在这里他几乎是轻微的自闭症者：一层更明显而奇异的天使般气息覆盖了一切。注意几处反逻辑的对话如何恰到好处地——几乎太恰到好处，像《面孔》那样，不过人为性本来就是艺术无需掩饰的特征——运用在了正确的地方。注意惊人而如梦的冷色高颗粒度摄影（除了Nell的家，一个关键的场地，那里有大块的暖色，漂亮的烤面包机和垃圾桶）、超前的街拍、暗镜头使用（参见《三女性》）以及后现代主义剪辑，包括跳接、轻微的画面不同步（参见帕索里尼《定理》；这里有几个镜头几乎肯定是后期配上不一样的台词）和仿佛在平行宇宙或意识碎片间切换的深夜反打对话（也许是因为电影整整拍了两年：本身几乎就是反电影行为：“This is not the movie!”）。她原是喜剧导演（《新叶》《心碎的孩子》，后者据说很好）；这正使她有能力和勇气做这一切，卡萨维茨明白。但我不知道他们怎么能把这个故事讲得这么美，几乎宏伟——恍若沟口健二，是的，沟口健二。
A
1.
本片导演伊莲·梅 （Elaine May）是当时进入美国导演协会（DGA）的第三位女性。在此30年前，也就是1930年代，多罗茜·阿兹纳（Dorothy Arzner）是加入DGA的首位女导演；而后是艾达·卢皮诺（Ida Lupino），50年代则为断档。
2.
《麦基与尼基》对于梅是很私人的。她成长的家族和帮派有关联，影片中的角色就源自于当时她认识的低阶黑帮。实际上这个项目她从1950年代起就开始构思了，那个时候她住在芝加哥并和即兴表演剧团「指南针」（Compass Players）一起工作。据她的好友如艾伦·阿金（Alan Arkin）、迈克·尼科尔斯（Mike Nichols）回忆，曾在梅的公寓中看见到处撒着记有相关角色的纸片。这是她第一部完全原创的电影剧本。
3.
梅并不是一开始就想着让卡萨维蒂和法尔克这一对来出演的。事实上，选尼克一角的时候，她曾让查尔斯·格罗丁（Charles Grodin） 来和法尔克试戏，格罗丁在梅的上一步作品《心碎的孩子》中主演了一个卑鄙的小渣男。法尔克当时觉得让格罗丁来演这个没用的骗子过于凶恶。后来法尔克找卡萨维蒂看球赛（凯尔特人vs湖人）时，把这部片子的事情告诉了他。《麦基与尼基》是此二人首度联合主演荧幕作品，虽然本片最终在1976年上映时，观众们已经欣赏过他们合作出演的《夫君》（1970）和《醉酒的女人》（1974）了。
4.
梅靠着表演界的重量级人物演活了帮派大佬们。首当其冲的是桑福德·迈斯纳（Sanford Meisner），他是「迈斯纳表演技巧」（Meisner technique）的创立者，他亦是著名戏剧团体「群体剧场」（Group Theater）的创始成员。出演的还有威廉·希奇（William Hickey），他是知名的「HB表演工作室」（HB Studio）的导师，这家工作室由乌塔·哈根（Uta Hagen）和赫伯特·伯格霍夫（Herbert Berghof）设立。迈斯纳的爱徒包括詹姆斯·肯恩（James Caan）、史蒂夫·麦奎因（Steve McQueen）和黛安·基顿，芭芭拉·史翠珊（Barbra Streisand）和乔治·席格（George Segal）则是希奇学生。
5.
内德·巴蒂（Ned Beatty）在片中饰演名为沃伦·金尼的杀手，他有一个服装上的要求：希望裤子短一点以凸显角色笨笨的样子。
6.
因为拍摄海量胶片使梅成了好莱坞的一个传说，《麦基与尼基》长达100万英尺（约300公里）的素材创了纪录。据本片制片人迈克尔·豪斯曼（Michael Hausman）称，2018年他参加了《登月第一人》试映，现场该片导演查泽雷提及共拍摄了超过100万英尺胶片，算是在40年后破了梅的纪录。100万英尺的体量，相当于4小时片长的《乱世佳人》所拍胶片的2倍有余。
7.
由于大量的夜间外景拍摄，《麦基与尼基》的制作过程颇费周折。剧组在费城拍了60天，但此时已经超期和法尔克拍摄《神探科伦坡》的档期冲撞，剧组不得不迁至洛杉矶，在那里又再拍了60天。
8.
因剪辑过程持续到了第二年，派拉蒙就想接下片子撤掉梅。据传梅拿走了两卷原底片，以保证自己仍对制作有掌控权。制片豪斯曼曾回忆，那段时间有警官因寻找这些素材而上门来访，他们问他是否知道麦基和尼基身在何处，豪斯曼则向他们指了指他的猫[只有猫晓得]。
9.
1976年的12月，本片终于纽约的巴黎戏院上映。那些冲着伊莲·梅的喜剧日常[她是五六十年代知名喜剧人]和两部前作风格（《新叶》和《心碎的孩子》都是喜剧）而来的观众，并没有作好心理准备来接受这部关于男性情谊的暗黑故事。本片的宣传标语“别指望会喜欢上他俩”并没有吸引到什么观众。影片收到一些正面评价，但票房失利。直到1987年的《伊斯达》，期间伊莲·梅并无指导过任何影片，而《伊斯达》亦被大量的制作问题和媒体恶评所扰。尽管梅作为电影人当年面对着诸多挑战，今天她已被认为是她那一代人中最值得尊敬的人物之一，包括《麦基与尼基》和《伊斯达》在数十年之后都广受好评。
10.
梅和制片人朱利安·施拉兹伯格（Julian Schlossberg，[他本是派拉蒙雇员，后自立门户建立了Castle Hill Productions]）于1978年向派拉蒙买回了本片版权，并进行重新剪辑，相比公映版本缩短了大致10分钟片长。那年稍晚，于影院上映了该重剪版本。CC推出的《麦基与尼基》是梅和朱利安版本的首次重制。
编译自CC的文章10 Things I Learned: Mikey and Nicky，作者Kim Hendrickson，路米内译，方括号内为译者注