Customer Reviews

Buster Keaton - A Hard Act to Follow: Star Without a Studio [VHS]

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Episode One - "From Vaudeville to Movies" (1895-1924): This 3-part video collection opens with a fantastic collage of scenes of the various pratfalls from Buster's early silent career. Then it starts at his birth, explaining the vaudeville act he had with mom and dad. Quitting that at 21, he rents himself out under the employ of Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, who becomes Buster's mentor and teacher in front of and behind the camera. Various scenes from their shorts are shown (1917-20). When Arbuckle goes on to loftier projects, Buster is given his own studio, and scenes from the 2-reel shorts he made there are shown (1920-23). Episode One continues with scenes of his wedding to Natalie Talmadge and Arbuckle's (he was probably framed) trial for murder. Towards the end we are shown life-threatening stunts that Buster made in the films "Our Hospitality" (1923) and "Sherlock Jr." (1924): hanging upside down by a rope tied around his waist over a waterfall...accidentally being whisked away through speeding river rapids that almost drowned him...and breaking his neck over plunging water from a water tower spout.

Episode Two - "Star Without a Studio" (1924-1933): By 1924, he had graduated to feature-length films (7 reels). Shown are the 3 mansions he had purchased with his growing fortune. By this time, he was earning $3,000 a week (by comparison, I think a small family could live on $60 a week in L.A. at that time). A great deal of footage is shown of his classic films "The Navigator", "The General", "Steamboat Bill Jr.", etc. The second half of Episode Two is devoted to his being signed over to MGM studios, where they minimized his creativity and independence. Scenes are shown of the films he made there (1928-33), which made a lot of money, but were substandard in quality from Buster's point of view, and which his friends explain, on camera, might have caused the drinking problem that developed at this time. The inability to handle alcohol caused his excessive absenteeism from workdays, leading to his discharge from MGM in 1933.

Episode Three - "A Genius Recognized" (1934-1966): Because of the drinking problem, Buster was basically blackballed from working at other major studios, but was signed by a low budget company called Educational Pictures to do 2-reel shorts. These were lesser in quality from the shorts he made in the early 20's, due to their short (a few days) shooting schedules and skimpy financial budgets. Scenes are shown of these, including one he made where his mom, brother and sister were included in the cast. After Educational went bankrupt in 1937, Buster was hired back at MGM, but only as a gag writer for other big stars - at 10% of his previous MGM salary. Episode Three then (curiously) skips about 10 years of his life (even though significant work was made during those years) and continues with his TV work in the 50's. The last part of Episode Three explains his re-discovery in the 60's as a film genius and ends with scenes that show his health had deteriorated from the effects of a lifetime of chain smoking.

Although this 3-volume set is the best analysis I've seen on Buster's life, at least 5 volumes would be needed to do his work justice. After I viewed this collection, I thought of a zillion other scenes from his films that deserved to be included. But I've watched it numerous times anyway and never seem to tire of it.

I have not yet had the chance to view the first volume of this set, but I will say that if episodes 2 and 3 are any indication, the series as a whole is flawless. It is most unfortunate that while everyone has heard of Charlie Chaplin, only a comparative few have had the joy of viewing (In my opinion)the work of a superior comedian. That is not to say that both were not geniuses in filmmaking, but on closer inspection of their careers, it becomes apparent that while Chaplin was often concerned with making films that would make him the one and only center of attention, Keaton simply wanted to make people laugh. It is truly tragic that the latter was stripped of much of his creative freedom so early in his career. But as the series shows, Keaton went beyond sulking, and continued to work steadily, whether it be in some horrendously bad shorts in the thirties, or television several years later. However, no matter how bad the circumstances around him, Keaton's unparalleled comedic abilities shine through. The main highlight is the third episode, which offers many snippets of the work that formed Keaton's comeback in the fifties and sixties. The interviews are quite fascinating, with numerous insights into Keaton's quiet genius. There is one where a man working on a Red Skelton film recalls how Keaton would come up with a gag that would solve a script problem as soon as he came on the set. Of particular interest is Keaton's last wife Eleanor. In listening to her, you are consoled that despite the disgraceful treatment he received from Hollywood, Buster spent the last three decades of his life with a woman who truly cared for and loved him. And in listening to the man himself less than two years before his death, it is obvious that no course of time or fate has stemmed Keaton's ferocious love and dedication to the cinema art form. Seeing film clips from "Film" (the experimental short written by playwright Samuel Beckett) and "The Railrodder", I was left with an even greater desire to seek these late Keaton works out in their entirety. From the beautifully done opening title sequence to the eloquent ending (which doesn't make the mistake of hovering around Keaton's death or going for fake sentiment), this is truly a commemoration that the Great Stone Face would have admired.

About 7 years ago, I saw an one-hour biography TV program on Buster Keaton in my home country, Japan. The approach to the entire life story on Buster that the program organized could be best summarized in some descriptions: "The Great Stone Face formed by his father's abusive training in his childhood", "Acrobatic performance that is one-inch-close to death" or "Happy ending of his life after lifelong loneliness" and so on and on. Until I had a chance to see this "Buster Keaton - A Hard Act to Follow" I used to have no doubt what a sad clown Buster was -- even sadder than Charlie Chaplin.

This 3-hour documentary, however, completely smashed down my biased understanding on Buster and was truely eye-opening in this sense. One of what few know here in Japan is that Buster made several appearances on TV and even hosted his own program -- while Charlie never allowed himself to go into TV business, with his good intentions, of course. In Japan, such words as "classic comedy", "silent movie" or "slapsticks" are practically (and almost automatically) synonymous with Charlie, and as a result, only Charlie gets the majority of attention and the "runner-up" could be Buster, only if you know him, that is. Also, what I never understand is that quite a few Japanese "intelligentsias" publicly rush into a rash comparison "Buster is dry and cool, while Chalie is so easy to resort to pathos". Why don't they just give a closer look at both respectively (and respectfully!) and accept that they are BOTH great?! Isn't that enough? "Buster Keaton - A Hard Act to Follow" -- this is the perfect solution to people with such ideas!

This documentary artfully interweaves Keaton's life and film career, providing the personal and professional contexts that lead to his celebrated classics. The three-part series delves into specific details on his creative process with invaluable interviews by Keaton, his wife, associates and historians to bring deeper appreciation of his genius. Rare outtakes and photos are used to great effect. Best of all, the filmmakers cover Keaton's later fall from prominence and rightful return as a critically lauded pioneer, documenting Buster as a human being as well as silent star. A masterwork about a master!

This is the definitive biography of Buster Keaton, with many rare film clips (some computer-enhanced to reveal details of some of his incredible stunts.) The series covers Keaton's entire career, warts and all. It is beautifully produced and a 'must' for every collector of film comedy.

I have watched this video countless times and each time it's as fresh as the time before. The genius of Buster Keaton is told through countless interviews with former friends, actors, and directors. Keaton was a perfectionist up to the day he died. His work shows it.

Episode 1 - "From Vaudeville to Movies" (1895-1924): This 3-part video collection opens with a fantastic collage of various pratfall scenes from Buster's early silent career. Then it starts at his birth, explaining the vaudeville act he had with mom and dad. Quitting that at 21, he goes under the employ of Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, who becomes Buster's mentor and teacher in front of and behind the camera. Various scenes from their 2-reel shorts are shown (1917-20). When Arbuckle goes on to loftier projects, Buster is given his own studio, and scenes from the 2-reel shorts he made there are shown (1920-23). Episode 1 continues with scenes of his wedding to Natalie Talmadge and Arbuckle's (he was framed) trial for murder. Towards the end we are shown life-threatening stunts that Buster made in the films "Our Hospitality" (1923) and "Sherlock Jr." (1924): hanging upside down by a rope tied around his waist over a waterfall...accidentally being whisked away through speeding river rapids that almost drowned him...and breaking his neck over plunging water from a water tower spout.

Episode 2 - "Star Without a Studio" (1924-1933): By 1924, he had graduated to feature-length films (7 reels). Shown are the 3 mansions he had purchased with his growing fortune. By this time, he was earning $3,000 a week (by comparison, I think a family of 4 could live on $60 a week in L.A. at that time). A great deal of footage is shown of his classic films "The Navigator", "The General", "Steamboat Bill Jr.", etc. The second half of Episode 2 is devoted to his being signed over to MGM studios, where they minimized his creativity and independence. Scenes are shown of the films he made there (1928-33), which made a lot of money, but were substandard in quality from Buster's point of view, and which his friends explain, on camera, might have caused the drinking problem that developed at this time. The inability to handle alcohol caused his excessive absenteeism from workdays, leading to his discharge from MGM in 1933.

Episode 3 - "A Genius Recognized" (1934-1966): Because of the drinking problem, Buster was basically blackballed from working at other major studios, but was signed by a low budget company called Educational Pictures to do 2-reel shorts. These were lesser in quality from the shorts he made in the early 20's, due to their tight shooting schedules and financial budgets being so much lower. Scenes are shown of these, including one he made where his mom, brother and sister were included in the cast. After Educational went bankrupt in 1937, Buster was hired back at MGM, but only as a gag writer - at 10% of his previous MGM salary. Episode 3 then (curiously) skips about 10 years of his life (even though significant work was done during those years) and continues with his TV work in the 50's. The last part of Episode 3 explains his re-discovery in the 60's as a film genius and ends with scenes that show his health had deteriorated from the effects of a lifetime of chain smoking.

Although this 3-volume set is the best analysis I've seen on Buster's life, at least 5 volumes would be needed to do his work justice. After I viewed this collection, I thought of a zillion other scenes from his films that deserved to be included. But I've watched it numerous times anyway and never seem to tire of it.

I can only second what the others have said-the whole thing is wonderful. Too bad it looks like we'll have no DVD release of this-I wouldn't part with my LD's of this for anything.

In the same style seen in "Unknown Chaplin", this video set shows the complete life of Buster Keaton using rarely seen footage. A facsinating work!! I would like to see a DVD version made.

Kevin Brownlow, a reknown film historian, collaborated on this 3 part documentary of Keaton's life and work. (Brownlow helped restore the long-lost print of Daydreams, and collaborated with Keaton's widow Eleanor on a picture book of his life.) Volume 1 is delightful--very well done. There are many production stills and anecdotes about the making of Keaton's films that are not available elsewhere.