Customer Reviews

The General / Steamboat Bill Jr.

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The two funniest and most visually artful movies ever made! Some of my amazon friends have expressed concern over my lack of gung ho patriotism and regard for home-grown all-American products. Well, y'all, I say without reservation that the silent-era comedies are America's answer to the Parthenon, the Sistine Chapel, and the Mercedes Benz 300SL, and Buster Keaton is our Shakespeare, Goethe, and Ibsen all in one.

Steamboat Bill is a classic wimpy-son-overcomes-macho-dad story, with fantastic physical humor and a storm scene made with propellor fans that's more effective than anything done with computer graphics.

The General is a miracle of cinematography - the best chase scenes ever, the best realization on film of the Civil War period - and a total hoot besides. Buster plays a Rebel engineer who steals a locomotive and gets chased by half the Yankee army; oddly enough, the script is based on a real event of train-theft and sabotage, but the clever saboteur was a Yankee and the pursuers Secessionists. I guess Buster was a Copperhead, a northerner with southern sympathies, but I'll forgive him.

Sweden has Bergman, Italy has Fellini, Japan has Kurosawa, but America has Buster Keaton! Happy Fourth of July!

I had seen The General twice before purchasing this DVD, and acquiring it was my main goal for this purchase. I had not seen Steamboat Bill, so this 2 in 1 DVD seemed like the best buy.

Overall, I was not disappointed. The images are extremely sharp and clean for movies of this vintage. They almost look brand new, save for some inevitable, but minor artifacts of age. The General is tinted monochrome. Mostly sepia, with some blue tinted night scenes, a common effect in silent films. Steamboat Bill is straight black and white.

Many people are not aware that The General is based on a true story about a locomotive stolen during the Civil War (see: http://ngeorgia.com/people/thegeneral.html), and that the real locomotive now resides in a museum in Kennesaw, GA. The Keaton film is one long exciting chase scene. The first time I saw it, I was actually a little disappointed. It really isn't a comedy, like most of Keaton's films. Rather it is an action movie with sight gags. Once I understood that, I really appreciated the genius of the film, and it is now one of my all-time favorites. It was filmed on location near Cottage Grove, Oregon.

Steamboat Bill Jr. is pure fun. It ranks among the best of Keaton's works, I think. Its the story of the son of a steamboat captain, who falls in love with the daughter of a rival boat operator. The climactic storm scene boasts a number of special effects that rival, or even surpass, today's computer generated effects for believeability. There is also one really hokey, but funny effect involving a flying tree.

My favorite scene in Steamboat Bill was in a hat shop, where there is an inside joke that will be understood only by those who have seen more of Keaton's work.

I would give this DVD five stars instead of four, except that I have mixed feelings about the Alloy Orchestra soundtrack. Their percussive style was very effective in The General with its rapid-fire chase scenes and mechanical locomotive movements. On this film I give them an A. However, they were far less impressive on Steamboat Bill. Here, the music often felt intrusive and distracting, drawing attention away from the action to the orchestra itself. Moreover, a couple of times the style of the music failed to match the mood of the scene. On this movie I give the orchestra a C-. I would really like to see some DVD's with a "Mighty Wurlitzer" theater organ soundtrack to mimic the performance one might have experienced in most theaters of the 1920s. Orchestral accompaniment was quite rare in the silent era, except in the largest big city theaters.

Well, at least it's the one I was waiting for. "The General" is one of my all-time favorite movies, and "Steamboat Bill" is my second most favorite Keaton movie. I've seen the Kino DVDs of both films, and I was blown away by the quality of Film Preservation Associates' restoration. Just astonishing--they look like they were filmed last week.

If there was one weak point of those DVDs, it was the music. For example, the music for "General" was basically a series of Civil War tunes. Not bad by any means, but unremarkable. The music didn't add or subtract from either movie.

That all changes with THIS new DVD edition! The Alloy Orchestra (which is actually just three people) composed and performed brand new scores for both films, in high fidelity stereo (of course). The difference is astounding. Thanks to the new scores, both movies have a new energy and immediacy, and I find this edition to be far more entertaining than the original Kino releases. And, since the versions of the films on this DVD are the same FPA restored versions on the Kino releases, I'd have to say this is the DVD that Buster Keaton fans should DEFINITELY own, even if they already own the first Kino releases.

But don't just take my word for it. If you can, rent this DVD, compare it to the original Kino release, and judge for yourself. See if you're as impressed as this Keaton fan was.

I was very disappointed when I watched this dvd. I had seen "The General" for the first time at an outdoor theatre last summer in Greece. I was absolutely blown away by Keaton's genius. I, along with a international audience were entertained, moved, and inspired by this film. I did a bit of research as to what dvd edition to purchase and took a chance on this one. Wrong choice. In my opinion the music here just doesn't "feel" right. And, at times even becomes a bit irritating. It really is too bad because the visuals of this eition are superb. Shame on Roger Ebert for saying The Alloy Orchestra is "the best in the world at accompanying silent films." I highly recommend this film but not this dvd.

While the Kino releases of these and other Buster Keaton films are entertaining, this release has the advantage of (1) being taken from excellent prints of the movies, and (2) the music (non-intrusively) complementing the story. In The General the music has a simple chugging quality, and changes tempo with the speed of the trains, while in Steamboat Bill it imitates the windstorm. It's a great effect - the music, while not a "soundtrack," onomatopoeietically (?) does what the musicians in the original theaters likely did - it helps bring out the excitement in the story.

Both films are wonderfully acted and provide many laughs. Indeed these are two of the top silent film comedies of all time. Unfortunately, the new soundtrack recorded by the Alloy Orchestra is not only substandard compared to the music I've seen accompanying past versions of the films, but often, and I mean OFTEN downright distracting and inappropriate to the action. I'm selling my copy and looking for a copy of one or both films with more appropriate soundtracks.

The General

Buster Keaton's love of history, engineering and operatic displays of action are put to their finest use in his masterwork, The General. However unwelcoming the concept of an incredibly accurate historical movie about the civil war may seem, or a title which refers to an army rank, rest assured that The General is imbued throughout with a wonderful sense of fun, as with all Keaton. The pervasive irony running through The General is the fact that little Buster is helping fight the civil war just by happenstance - all he really wants to do is save his girlfriend. The appeal of The General may lie in its ability to take you back to what it would have been like in frontier America, its remarkable visual beauty (incredible cinematography), or possibly Keaton's trademark operatic stunts, the climax of this movie which is one of his most impressive (the famous bridge scene was the most expensive shot in all of silent cinema).

But the thing which makes this and all Keaton films a joy to watch is the irrepressible charm and appeal of his onscreen persona. You just can't help liking little Buster, and rooting for him in all the troubles he happens to fall into. 5 stars from me - one of the all time greats.

This DVD is a great buy, b.c you get Steamboat Bill Jr also - one of Buster's best features, which sees his little character at his most charming, trying to woo the daughter of his father's rival steamboat captain. The effectiveness of the storm scene at the end are alone worth the price of entry - you'll be surprised.

I just picked up a copy of this and sampled the transfer/image quality and the new scores by the Alloy Orchestra. I am happy to say that both are excellent, and I personally prefer the Alloy Orchestra's scores over those found on the Kino discs. I am confident that fans of the films will not be dissapointed! Thanks to Image Entertainment for some excellent work!

A great collection with the two best films by Buster Keaton, the greatest actor-director of all time.

While Chaplin has more heart, Keaton has more art. Keaton out Jackie-Chans Jackie Chan with his daring stunts and, in my opinion, matches D.W. Griffith for innovation and brilliance in the silent era.

These two films are musts for any cinephile.

The picture is perfect. Why can't the Laurel and Hardy series be so good, especially their silents, which look just hideous, even in the Hallmark releases. BUT, the music for the General is SO BAD I can't get through it. I don't know what kind of organ or synthesizer they use, but the new-age sound certainly does NOT suit the 1920s. The music just plods along without humour, and very little contrast. I have seen these films with live accompaniment, and with great music, the comedy just comes alive; but with anything less than great, the film falls flat and seems at best droll, at worst just kind of stupid. Very, VERY BAD. But one thing this proves, movies even back to the middle 1920s are clean, clear, and sharp. Never accept less than that in your collection! And send companies letters demanding it!